Biden reaffirms ‘sacred’ commitment to Nato
Brussels summit marks pivotal moment for the alliance
President Joe Biden reaffirmed the US commitment to Nato yesterday as leading members declared it a pivotal moment for an alliance beleaguered during the presidency of Donald Trump, who questioned the relevance of the multilateral organisation.
Shortly after arriving at the alliance’s headquarters for the first Nato summit of his presidency, Biden sat down with Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and underscored the US commitment to Article 5 of the alliance charter, which spells out that an attack on one member is an attack on all and is to be met with a collective response.
“Article 5 we take as a sacred obligation,” Biden said. “I want Nato to know America is there.”
It was a sharp shift in tone from the past four years, when Trump called the alliance “obsolete” and complained that it allowed for “global freeloading’’ countries to spend less on military defense at the expense of the US.
Looking forward, Stoltenberg noted myriad challenges still facing the alliance. “We are meeting at the pivotal time for our alliance, the time of growing geopolitical competition, regional instability, terrorism, cyber attacks and climate change,” Stoltenberg said at the start of a joint session of the Nato leaders. “No nation and no continent can deal with these challenges alone. But Europe and North America are not alone.”
Biden, who came to Brussels following three days of consultations with Group of Seven leaders in England, was greeted by fellow leaders with warmth and even a bit of relief.
We are meeting at the pivotal time for our alliance, the time of growing geopolitical competition, regional instability, terrorism, cyber attacks and climate change.”
Jens Stoltenberg | Nato Secretary General
Transatlantic partnership
Belgium Prime Minister Alexander de Croo said Biden’s presence “emphasises the renewal of the transatlantic partnership.” De Croo said Nato allies were looking to get beyond four stormy years under the Trump administration and infighting among member countries.
“I think now we are ready to turn the page,” de Croo said.
Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi made a not-so-subtle dig at Trump, while welcoming Biden. “This summit is a continuation of yesterday’s G-7 and is part of the process of reaffirming, of rebuilding the fundamental alliances of the United States that had been weakened by the previous administration,” he said. “Think that President Biden’s first visit is to Europe and try to remember where President Trump’s first visit was?”
Trump’s first overseas visit as president was to Saudi Arabia.
Trump routinely berated other Nato countries for not spending enough on defense and even threatened to pull the US out of the world’s biggest security organisation and even questioned the mutual defense provision of the Nato charter, a central tenet of the alliance.
When alliance members last met for a summit in England in December 2019, Trump grabbed headlines by calling Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau “two-faced” and French President Emmanuel Macron “nasty.”
Trump lashed out after Trudeau was caught on a hot mic gossiping with other leaders about Trump turning photo opportunities into long news conferences.