The NATO alliance has grown in the wake of Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, with Finland joining the alliance in 2023 and Sweden becoming its 32nd member in March. During a pair of European trips this month, Biden argued that, contrary to the arguments of his political opponents, the United States would be foolish to isolate itself from major European conflicts.
“The best way to avoid these types of battles in the future is to stay strong with our allies,” Biden said during a trip to the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery in France to commemorate the 80th anniversary of D-Day. “I think there is a new rise and there is a feeling among some in the country that they want to let go of that, the idea that we are now becoming semi-isolationist, which some people are talking about. … It’s not who we are.”
His words were a not-so-subtle reference to Trump’s foreign policy. Trump has said he would not protect NATO allies who spend too little on their own defense, comments Biden has called “dangerous” and “un-American.”
At the upcoming summit, participants will celebrate NATO’s 75-year history and its decades of success as a bulwark against the Soviet Union and now Russia.
But the meeting will also pose a major test for Biden, as many allies are unhappy with his unwillingness to let Ukraine attack targets in Russia, while others are frustrated with his staunch support for Israel’s invasion of Gaza. The summit could also spark large-scale pro-Palestinian protests. Such demonstrations have erupted at virtually every international meeting and Biden appearance in recent months, and a major summit of military powers in the US capital is unlikely to be an exception.
Stoltenberg on Monday praised increased European defense spending and said the continent is a strong partner in Washington’s efforts to keep the world safe. He said 23 of NATO’s 32 members now meet the alliance’s defense spending targets of 2 percent of their countries’ gross domestic product, compared to seven member states just five years ago.
“The numbers have more than doubled … since I took office,” Biden said during remarks with Stoltenberg from the Oval Office. “And we look forward to building on all this progress next month.”
Stoltenberg, who has been Secretary General since 2014, has made clear that he agrees with Biden’s emphasis on the importance of the transatlantic alliance. “Twice when Europe was at war, the US chose isolationism – and twice they realized it didn’t work,” he said at an event at the Wilson Center, a foreign affairs research group in DC, before his meeting with Biden.
How that sentiment plays out in day-to-day decisions as the war in Ukraine enters its third summer fighting season will be a key topic among leaders heading to Washington. Many NATO leaders are frustrated by Biden’s reluctance to give Ukraine more leeway to attack military targets in Russia.
Last month, Biden signed off on allowing Ukrainian commanders to use US-supplied weapons against limited military targets in Russia, authorizing them to strike back against Russian forces attacking Ukrainian soldiers, or preparing to attack them, in and around the city of Kharkov. near the border in northeastern Ukraine.
But a series of European elections in the days leading up to the NATO summit could weaken some countries’ arguments against Biden. French President Emmanuel Macron, a leading advocate of further empowering Ukraine, could be significantly weakened by parliamentary elections. That means he would arrive in Washington not as a leader who will move NATO forward, but as a warning symbol to others about the far right’s potential to shift foreign policy more toward Russian interests.
Britain will also hold elections less than a week before the start of the summit, and the ruling Conservative Party is expected to do poorly. A new administration is unlikely to pursue a dramatically different Ukraine policy, but a new prime minister may not be willing to immediately put pressure on Biden, said Ivo Daalder, the U.S. ambassador to NATO under President Barack Obama.
“The countries most likely to push hard to do more against Ukraine will be significantly weakened as a result of the European elections,” Daalder said. “That changes a lot of the situation.”
Biden has also taken a number of actions to reaffirm US support for Ukraine. Vice President Harris and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan traveled to Switzerland last week for a peace summit in Ukraine, where Harris announced more than $1.5 billion in aid to Ukraine’s energy sector and humanitarian efforts.
The United States last week also expanded its sanctions on Russia to include Chinese defense companies that help Russia continue its war against Ukraine. And while at the Group of Seven summit in Italy last week, Biden held a joint press conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky after the two leaders signed a 10-year security deal.
Still, the White House has made clear that it wants to keep summit talks on Ukraine’s future membership in NATO to a minimum, offering general assurances but no concrete timeline.
In coming weeks, NATO leaders are expected to take other actions to strengthen the alliance against possible policy changes by Trump should he win the 2024 election. They plan to move coordination of arms aid to Ukraine, for example from its current role with the US military to NATO.
NATO allies have also sought to demonstrate that the alliance benefits the United States, hoping to counter arguments from a wing of the Republican Party that claims that NATO, and European defense in general, is more likely to a juice is then a stimulus for American resources.
“NATO is good for American security, good for American industry and good for American jobs,” Stoltenberg said Monday. “Over the past two years, more than two-thirds of European defense acquisitions were made by American companies. That’s more than $140 billion in contracts for U.S. defense companies.”
Whatever debates take place at the high-level meeting will likely be accompanied by vociferous protests outside. International gatherings like the NATO summit are often a magnet for protesters looking to express their dissatisfaction with the president’s policies, and that has become even more so in recent months.
Since Hamas’s attack on Israel on October 7, Biden has emphasized that his commitment to the country is rock-solid, even as civilian casualties have increased. Critics, including American liberals and many Western leaders, have accused him of supporting a scorched-earth invasion that would kill more than 37,000 Palestinians. Biden has faced months of protests over his support for Israel — everywhere from his childhood home in Scranton, Pennsylvania, to the streets of Paris.
D.C. leaders have not said how many protesters they expect. Last year, anti-NATO protests were held in several European countries ahead of the summit in Vilnius, Lithuania. The year before, thousands of demonstrators flocked to Madrid.
Police and city leaders in Washington said they are working with federal authorities to launch a strong law enforcement response to the event, noting they are accustomed to hosting large summits, conferences and other events with significant security needs.
D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser will activate the city’s Emergency Operations Center to help coordinate law enforcement’s response to the event, officials said at a news conference last week.
Federal and local law enforcement agencies also plan to set up a security perimeter and checkpoints around the Walter E. Washington Convention Center for the duration of the summit, likely disrupting vehicular and pedestrian traffic and public transportation around the convention center, the Carnegie Library and Mount is disturbed. Vernon Square.
Residents will be able to enter their homes and businesses, city leaders said, but may have to undergo security screening. Police said they plan to contact potentially affected businesses in the weeks leading up to the summit.
Jenny Gathright and Peter Hermann contributed to this report.
