Since the opportunity for the NATO leaders’ summit was first announced two weeks ago, US and European officials have been discussing possible announcements that the leaders could make at the end of the meeting.
These include new round of sanctions on Russian oligarchs, additional measures to control the country’s finances and new measures to restrict imports of Russian energy products. Discussions are underway on what measures could be released to provide additional support to Ukraine, including new military aid or financial assistance to strengthen the country’s security.
Biden has opened up the option of expanding U.S. troops to NATO members on the eastern edge of the alliance, which at a critical juncture strengthens US commitment to European security.
But the stark reality that those moves are unlikely to contain Putin’s war is that Biden will visit Brussels for a special session of the Council of Europe and an immediate meeting of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization with the G7. Biden could add another stop in Eastern Europe, officials say in Poland. He is leaving for Washington on Wednesday for high-level diplomatic maneuvers.
Although Biden has succeeded in mobilizing European and Asian allies behind punitive sanctions and unprecedented military aid, he and his NATO allies have drawn lines on where their support will end up. While all parties appear to support a diplomatic solution to the crisis, US and European officials say the parameters for such a solution remain elusive.
It opens up how Biden’s visit to Europe, one of the infiltration moments of his presidency, could have changed the course of the worst conflict in Europe since World War II. This presents another point of discussion that world leaders must begin to talk about: what will happen if Ukraine can no longer withstand Russia’s attack, or when?
“They need to see what happens if Ukraine is lost,” said Wesley Clark, a retired army general and commander of NATO’s top allies. “After they weigh in on the problem of what will happen if Ukraine falls, they need to consider what more can be done to keep Ukraine in the war. Yes, there is a risk. There is always a risk in dealing with Mr. Putin.”
Biden is challenged to be ‘the leader of the world’
“To be the leader of the world is to be the leader of peace,” Zhelensky said in English.
Former President of Ukraine Pedro Poroshenko during his visit to Europe this week challenged Biden to visit Ukraine “as a symbol of our unity.”
Speaking to CNN’s Jim Agosta on Saturday afternoon, Poroshenko called Biden “my best friend and best friend of Ukraine,” and said that Biden’s visit was “the most appropriate step to prove that the world is with us. Against Russia.”
Those personal appeals would have resonated with a man who vowed to restore American leadership, renew American alliances and defend democracy from the creeping wave of dictatorship.
That challenge would not be relevant anywhere else than this week’s emergency talks, when the war in Ukraine is a prelude, and leaders are looking for direction and purpose.
“I challenge Biden to fulfill his responsibilities as President of the West and President of the Democratic Community of the Nation. NATO under the administration of George W. Bush.
“If NATO does not meet this challenge, we need to consider other security arrangements,” he said. “What a powerful challenge to NATO’s relevance in this day and age. It sets the stage for … (the) summit.”
Limitations to support Ukraine in full view before the trip
As the summits were announced last week, some European diplomats expressed concern about what they see as a lack of key action by leaders at a high-level meeting closely monitored by both Russia and Ukraine.
As the United States and its allies seek to avoid direct confrontation with Russia, Ukraine’s key objectives include NATO’s assistance in setting up a no-fly zone or the provision of Soviet – era warplanes. That is, any announcement from the meetings will focus more on increasing existing aid, including military and financial assistance, or using new sanctions on Russia.
European and US officials said the announcements and discussions on a final joint statement were ongoing as countries expected to decide whether or not to take a decision to prepare for the summit.
“The president is eager to see his colleagues face to face. I suspect they will have many new actions that they can reveal and publish during those conversations, but I’m not going any further than them. A few days ago,” US Deputy National Security Adviser John Finer told CNN last week. .
Executing a key announcement during the summit will help underscore the current unity among the allies, which has come as a surprise as Putin’s military struggles with ground casualties, U.S. officials say.
“He miscalculated about the West. He thought there might be some reefs, there might be a couple of obstacles, but he can bear it, he can continue, and he can move forward,” said Mary Yovonovich. Former US Ambassador to Ukraine.
“Instead, he has inspired NATO’s resurgence.
Facing China after the Biden-Xi call will come to mind first
“This is an incredibly important summit. It is taking place on an extraordinary basis in the midst of a crisis. [are] On the same page, this is good. But it is also important to send a signal to Vladimir Putin, “said Kurt Volker, a former US ambassador to NATO and special envoy to Ukraine.
Volcker identified a number of messages that the Confederacy needed to send during its summit, including the reaffirmation of the 5th Amendment to the Joint Security Guarantee Act and the clarification of Russia’s use of nuclear weapons.
However he acknowledged that their numbers were not enough to defeat Ukraine’s commitment to NATO.
“I think it is very important that NATO sends a signal about Ukraine that it is in NATO’s interest for Ukraine to survive as an independent and sovereign nation in Europe,” Volcker said. “We do not want to say what we will not do. We do not want to say too much about what we will do. But we must send a signal to Putin that we will not sit idly by.
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