On Tuesday next week, the summit of leaders of NATO's 31 member countries will be held in Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania. The summit in the Baltic state, which borders the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad, was scheduled last year, after the start of the Russian offensive in Ukraine, and was intended to send a message of support for all Alliance members in the member states adjacent to Russia and threatened by it.
The summit in Lithuania coincides with the Ukrainian military's counteroffensive against the Russian occupation forces. The heads of state will also send a message of determined support for Ukraine. However, despite the desire to present a united front against Moscow, members of the Western military alliance are finding it difficult to formulate a unified position on a number of issues that should have been decided at the summit.
Zelensky on NATO membership: "That day will come soon, very soon" // Photo: Reuters
The first issue is Sweden's inclusion in the Alliance. It is not only Turkey that has so far refrained from removing its opposition to Sweden's accession to NATO, a objection that has been strengthened by the Swedish authorities' decision to allow the burning of the Koran near the main mosque in Stockholm last week. Hungary, which in the past said it would not prevent expansion of the Western military alliance, could also oppose Sweden's accession if Turkey continues to veto the move. For Hungary, the approval of Swedish membership is a means of pressuring the EU to thaw funds, which have been frozen because of accusations by the European Commission of Hungarian violations of the EU's fundamental principles on the rule of law and transparency.
Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, photo: AP
The second issue on which no agreement has yet been reached is finding a replacement for the current NATO secretary-general, Jens Stoltenberg, a former Norwegian prime minister who has held the post since 2014. Due to these disagreements, it was decided yesterday to extend Stoltenberg's term until early October 2014. Stoltenberg's term has been extended three times in the past, and the current extension allows stability and guarantor in dealing with the Russian threat. The British daily The Telegraph reported yesterday that US President Joe Biden supports the future appointment of EU President Ursula von der Leyen as NATO secretary-general. Von der Leyen previously served as Germany's defense minister, and was not highly regarded for her performance by the German military leadership.
President Biden, who will participate in the Vilnius summit, is preparing to leave for a five-day visit to Europe, which will begin next Sunday. Biden will first visit Britain, where he will meet with King Charles III, for the first time since his coronation. Biden did not attend the coronation but sent his wife. The US president will also visit Finland, the new member of NATO, which has decided to abandon its traditional policy of neutrality in the face of Russian aggression.
Wrong? We'll fix it! If you find a mistake in the article, please share with us