The United States looks forward to welcoming its NATO allies to Washington this summer to celebrate the 75th birthday of NATO, said National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan. Speaking at a press conference at NATO headquarters, he added that this upcoming meeting will also serve “to showcase the fact that the NATO alliance is bigger, stronger and more united than it has ever been.”
A primary topic of discussion at the Washington NATO summit in July will be the alliance’s shared support for Ukraine, said Mr. Sullivan:
“Putin has been counting on dividing this alliance, but today we heard again total unity and a degree of intensity of that unity that has not flagged one bit since the beginning of this brutal invasion by Russia nearly two years ago. Putin has also been counting on flagging support. Today, I heard renewed commitments, from many different NATO allies of tangible support for the brave Ukrainians who are defending their country.”
With regard to burden sharing, the United States looks forward to seeing more allies meet their two percent of GDP benchmark necessary for funding NATO.
Another topic of discussion in Washington will be how to energize the defense industrial base, in order to increase production of critical capabilities, said Mr. Sullivan.
“And it's not just about total numbers. It's also about the types of capabilities that we need to be investing in. Because this fight over the last two years has taught us about the evolving nature of technology and warfare, and NATO has to stay at the cutting edge in that regard,” he said.
NATO has begun to deepen its ties with its Indo-Pacific partners, explained Mr. Sullivan:
“This is not about bringing NATO to Asia. It is about working together with like-minded partners in the Indo-Pacific on challenges that really transcend geography, cyber, economic security, nuclear proliferation, and yes, the evolving interconnections between Russia, China, Iran and North Korea, among other issues.”
National security advisors from NATO also discussed the situation in the Middle East, including the threat that Iran poses to regional stability and to a vision of a more peaceful, prosperous, interconnected region.
NATO looks forward to welcoming Sweden into the alliance soon as the 32nd member, said Mr. Sullivan.
The Washington Summit will continue to build this vital and dynamic defense alliance known as NATO.
