NATO leaders will conclude their Washington summit on Thursday with a clear focus on backing Ukraine and countering what the allies say is the growing threat Russia poses to Europe, as U.S. President Joe Biden faces growing calls from members of his Democratic party to drop his re-election bid.
Before a summit session devoted to Ukraine, the 32 NATO countries and EU leaders will meet with partners from the so-called Indo-Pacific Four - Australia, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea - for discussions expected to focus on perceived threats posed by China and Russia to both regions.
Biden, 81, will hold a rare solo news conference in the afternoon, where reporters are certain to question his candidacy in the Nov. 5 presidential election, despite his hope to shift the narrative, surrounded by allied leaders he has spent his three years in office cultivating.
Biden's uneven performance in a June 27 debate against Trump and low public approval ratings have raised fresh doubts about his mental fitness, with nine Democratic members of Congress and one Democratic senator calling for him to step aside.
European leaders worry that November's U.S. presidential election could yield a sharp change in Washington's support for Ukraine and NATO. Republican candidate Donald Trump, 78, has questioned U.S. support for allies and the amount of aid given to Ukraine to fight Russia's invasion.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy will also hold a news conference with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg after a two-hour session with NATO leaders, as well as meetings with both Republican and Democratic lawmakers at the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday.
The Ukrainian leader, keen to cement ties with U.S. lawmakers on both sides of the political aisle in the event that Trump is reelected, met with congressional leaders involved in defense, spending, diplomacy and national security.
He told reporters he invited Mike Johnson, the Republican leader of the U.S. House of Representatives, to visit Kyiv.
MESSAGE TO RUSSIA
In a clear warning to Russian President Vladimir Putin, the United States said on Wednesday it would start deploying longer range missiles in Germany in 2026, the most potent U.S. weapons to be based on the European continent since the Cold War.
A NATO declaration said the allies would provide at least 40 billion euros ($43 billion) in military aid to Ukraine within the next year, although they stopped short of the multi-year commitment Stoltenberg had sought. NATO members also pledged to continue to support Ukraine "on its irreversible path to full Euro-atlantic integration, including NATO membership".
Greeting South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol on Thursday, Stoltenberg said Russia's closer cooperation with North Korea showed how European and Indo-Pacific security were interlinked.
He referred to what NATO says is North Korea's supply of munitions to Russia for the war in Ukraine and said NATO was "deeply concerned about the possibility of Russia in return delivering support to North Korea's nuclear and missile programs."
Yoon said the closer military and economic ties between Moscow and Pyongyang were a "stark reminder of the fact that the European security and the Indo-Pacific security are indivisible" and said Thursday's meeting would further strengthen ties between the Indo-Pacific and NATO states.
The NATO summit declaration sharply criticized China, calling it a "decisive enabler" of Russia's war effort in Ukraine and saying Beijing continues to pose systemic challenges to Euro-Atlantic security.
NATO and the four Indo-Pacific countries are set to launch new joint projects at the summit - on Ukraine, artificial intelligence, disinformation, and cybersecurity.
EMBATTLED BIDEN
Biden, who will host the session event on Ukraine, has argued that NATO is "stronger than it's ever been" and that Ukraine can and will stop Russian leader Putin "with our full, collective support".
The increasingly embattled U.S. president on Wednesday met with new British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Finland's President Alexander Stubb.
While Biden has been seeking to rally allies and Democratic voters, several high-ranking European officials met a top foreign policy adviser to Trump during the summit.
On Wednesday, Trump said he would not pull the U.S. out of NATO but reiterated that he wanted members to pay more. "I just want them to pay their bills. We're protecting Europe. They take advantage of us very badly," he said.
Trump had pressed congressional Republicans to stall military aid for Ukraine before later reversing course earlier this year.
Zelenskiy urged U.S. political leaders on Tuesday not to wait for the outcome of the U.S. election before moving forcefully to help Ukraine and called for fewer restrictions on the use of U.S. weaponry.
