NATO reconfirms coalition force, condemns China, Russia

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In the final communiqué, leaders agreed to have “opened a new chapter in transatlantic relations”, as they faced a more complex “and more complex”.

Alliance approved “NATO 2030” a consultation mechanism to prepare for its future Strategic concept, a document aimed at leading the alliance towards increased global competition and more unpredictable threats.

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“NATO 2030” includes awareness of a “Russia more aggressive”, for a more brutal “terrorism”, continued instability, increased cyber and hybrid threats, new technologies, pandemics and climate change like new threats.

The document also states that China's “empowering deeply shifts the balance of power. ”

“Agreeing (on) NATO's 2030 agenda, leaders have made decisions to make our alliance stronger and better adjust for the future,” said Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg during a press conference at the end of the summit.

Moscow denies any wrongdoing, but the Allies are increasingly concerned given Russia's recent aggression at its eastern border and its secret and cyber attacks to undermine Western states.

In another direct reference to Russia, NATO members agreed on a new cyber defence policy.

“Cyberspace risks at any time and we must have strong technical skills, political consultations and military planning to keep our system safe “, Mr. Stoltenberg said.

The United States President Joe Biden met earlier with leaders of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania countries that gained independence from the former Soviet Union in 1991. They are now full members of NATO and the European Union, yet the Baltic countries are cautious about the Kremlin's regional ambitions.

In a recent interview with NBC, Russian President Vladimir Putin called it NATO “a Cold War relic”.

I'm not sure why it still exists,” said Mr. Putin.

President Biden will meet with him in Geneva on Wednesday.

Stoltenberg said China's growing military presence from Baltic to Africa means that NATO must be prepared.

“Kinna is coming closer to us. We see them in cyberspace, we see China in Africa, but we also see that China invests heavily in our critical infrastructure,”, the NATO secretary general said.

Alice Billon-Galland, a researcher in the London-based Chatham House organization, says European allies have to work both with the United States and China, but ultimately do not want to be found in the middle of a confrontation between Washington and Beijing.

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A day earlier, many of the leaders who met in Brussels on Monday issued a statement at the end of the G-7 Meeting in Cornwall, Britain, denouncing human rights violations on the part of China. Beijing has accused the group of slandering.

Pull From Afghanistan

After 20 years of military operations, NATO and the US had agreed that they would withdraw forces from Afghanistan. President Biden has scheduled September 11th 2021 as the retirement deadline.

NATO leaders reaffirmed their commitment to continue supporting Afghanistan, with training, international support for Afghan forces and institutions, and funds to ensure the continued functioning of the International Airport,” said Mr. Stoltenberg.

NATO has about 10,000 troops in Afghanistan, from countries that include Germany, Britain, Turkey, Georgia, Romania and Italy.

Allies are concerned about security at their embassies as well as at Kabul airport. Turkey, a NATO member, has offered to secure the airport in an effort to boost its role in the alliance.

The “The question is whether Turkey's readiness to do so, which is clearly welcomed in Washington, would be enough to overcome other problems in this relationship,” said Bulent Aliriza, director of Turkey's Project at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies. “There are serious doubts about that,” he said.

The preservation and operation of Kabul's airport is among many security topics discussed by President Biden at his bilateral meeting with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday. The US-Turkey relationship has been problematic, especially after Ankara's purchase of the S-400 Russian missile defence system, its military offensive in Syria and support for Azerbaijan in the Nagor-Karabakh war with Armenia.

America has returned

Biden conveyed his message to Brussels, as America has returned, reconfirming the United States' commitment to the alliance's collective defence principle.

I want all of Europe to know that the United States is present. The United States is here,” said Mr. Biden at his meeting with Mr. Stoltenberg.

President Biden's visit brings a new tone in relations with the military alliance. His predecessor, former President Donald Trump, had said that NATO was out of time and had complained that the US was paying more than it owed in the organisation.

Stoltenberg said the past four years had underlined the importance of strong multilateral institutions.

There will be various political leaders elected in many allied countries in the years ahead,” he said. “I am confident that as long as we understand that it is in the interest of our security to stay together, in the interest of national security to stay together, we will guard it NATO as the foundation of our security. ”

Last Strategic Concept NATO was drafted in 2010. The Allies hesitated to renew it during the difficult years of the Trump administration. / VOA