BIDEN, NATO SEND DEFIANT MESSAGE TO RUSSIANS
Allies boost forces, extend invitations to Finland, Sweden
Under pressure to find new ways to confront Russia as its invasion of Ukraine drags into its fifth month, President Joe Biden and his NATO allies on Wednesday announced a historic surge of forces along Europe’s eastern flank and welcomed
Finland and Sweden as soon-to-be members as they promised to defend “every inch” of NATO territory.
The military announcements were intended to send “an unmistakable message” that NATO remains unified against Russia’s belligerence, said Biden, standing alongside NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on the second day of the NATO summit here.
“In a moment when (Russian President Vladimir) Putin has shattered peace in Europe and attacked the very, very tenets of rule-based order, the United States and our allies — we’re going to step up,” Biden said. “We’re proving that NATO is more needed now than it ever has been. And it’s as important as it ever has been.”
NATO’s resurgence and expansion, after years when it sometimes seemed adrift, was intended to signal that Putin’s invasion of Ukraine is having an effect opposite from the one he sought. The Russian leader wanted “less NATO,” Stoltenberg said, but instead is getting “more NATO.”
The United States and its allies have been looking for ways to show that their early determination to help Ukraine and confront Russia would not wane, despite Moscow’s recent gains on the battlefield and the growing domestic costs of the conflict for America and other countries.
The new U.S. military deployments include a permanent headquarters for the U.S. 5th Army Corps in Poland — a move that Putin has long resisted — as well as additional rotational com
bat brigades to Romania; enhanced rotational deployments to the Baltic region; an increase in the number of destroyers stationed at Rota, Spain, from four to six; and two additional F-35 squadrons to the United Kingdom.
The alliance also released its new Strategic Concept, its first since 2010. The document, a road map for addressing threats and challenges in the coming decade, underscores just how much the security environment has changed in recent years; the previous Strategic Concept called Russia a “strategic partner” and did not mention China at all, while this one directly addresses both Russia’s current aggression and China’s growing influence.
White House officials said that the combination of the accession of Finland and Sweden — two militarily nonaligned Nordic states prompted to join by the invasion of Ukraine — and the more robust force posture in Europe, as well as increased NATO funding targets, underscored the alliance’s resolve and growing influence.
Wednesday’s announcements were also a respite from some of the tensions that recently exposed fissures among NATO allies. At a summit of the Group of Seven industrialized democracies earlier this week, leaders were unable to agree on the specifics of a deal to impose price caps on Russian oil. Significant disagreements have also emerged between some of the NATO countries over how hard to push for an end to the war in Ukraine and how to continue supporting the country in the face of economic fallout back home.
Addressing by video some of the NATO leaders at the G-7 summit Monday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy asked for additional military and economic support, including air defense systems, and called for an end to the conflict by winter, when he fears the weather could lead to a prolonged stalemate.
On Wednesday, Zelenskyy again virtually addressed leaders at the Madrid summit, warning that Russia’s ultimate aim is to expand its empire westward, and that it will not stop at Ukraine.
“It wants to absorb city after city — all of us — and then all in Europe, whom the Russian leadership considers its property, not independent states,” Zelenskyy said, according to remarks released by his office. “This is Russia’s real goal.”
Easily the biggest breakthrough as the leaders arrived in Madrid on Tuesday was the news that Turkey had dropped its previous objections and would allow Finland and Sweden to begin the process of joining the 30-member military alliance. Turkey, like all NATO allies, has a veto over new members, and it objected to the two countries’ support for certain Kurdish groups.
The period of uncertainty over whether Turkey would exercise its veto over the two Nordic nations allowed Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to spotlight grievances over support in parts of Europe for Kurdish militants, as well as to distract from his government’s economic problems at home.
But it was unclear what concrete concessions, if any, Turkey received in exchange for allowing Finland and Sweden’s accession to move forward. On a call with reporters Tuesday, a senior administration official said Turkey did not ask the United States for any specific actions.
“I want to particularly thank you for what you did, putting together the situation with regard to Finland and Sweden, and all the incredible work you’re doing to try to get the grain out of Ukraine and Russia,” Biden told Erdogan on Wednesday, before a private meeting between the two leaders.
White House officials said that while Biden deliberately did not insert himself deeply into the talks among Turkey, Finland and Sweden, he worked behind the scenes to give the agreement a final push.
White House officials said that while Biden deliberately did not insert himself deeply into the talks between Turkey, Finland and Sweden, he worked behind the scenes to give the agreement a final push.
The accession of the Nordic countries had long been in the works, administration officials said, noting that in the months before Russia entered Ukraine, as Moscow began massing troops on the country’s border, Biden had recognized the changed European security environment. In December reached out to Finnish President Sauli Niinisto to begin conversations about the possibility of Finland and Sweden joining NATO.
Putin has always bitterly objected to any expansion of the alliance, whose members pledge to come to each other’s defense in case of any attack, seeing it as a way of hemming in his country and limiting its influence.
The alliance had previously agreed to deploy additional forces on its eastern f lank, scaling up from the existing battle groups to brigade-size units.
Most of those troops won’t actually sit in the frontline countries, but they will position their equipment and train on the ground frequently so that they are ready to speed to the defense of the NATO countries that border Russia in case of an emergency.
The Madrid summit also marks the first time that leaders of four Asian countries — Australia, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea — attended the military and diplomatic gathering, signaling the alliance’s growing focus on Asia.