New Delhi: Leaders from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and other countries have gathered in Vilnius, Lithuania for a crucial Heads of State Summit on 11 and 12 July. The summit will cover several critical issues, ranging from regional defence deals to Sweden’s membership and exploring the next phase of the Russia-Ukraine war.
Lithuania is hosting 50 foreign delegations with 2,400 representatives, including 40 prime ministers and presidents from NATO and non-NATO countries, including Australia, New Zealand, Japan, and South Korea. Up to 150 other high-ranking politicians are also attending. This is also Finland’s first NATO Summit since joining the alliance in April this year.
Vilnius, the Lithuanian capital, is roughly 300 km from Belarus and a short distance away from the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad. As a result, security has been strengthened in the country with as many as 12,000 troops deployed along with warships, air defence systems and artillery for the two-day meeting.
As one of three Baltic states, Lithuania is a significant NATO member. It was one of the first countries to send aid to Ukraine. Further, it is among the top 10 countries in terms of expenditure on defence compared to the size of the economy. Lithuania spends 2.54 per cent of its GDP on defence.
Over the next two days, leaders are expected to hold talks on increasing their financial contribution to the alliance and deterring Russia by establishing long-term military commitments with Ukraine as well as Sweden’s NATO membership.
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Sweden membership
Roughly a year since Sweden applied for NATO membership, the country is finally on its way to joining the alliance after Turkey agreed to lift its objections Monday.
Following a meeting between Turkey President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, NATO secretary general Jens Stoltenberg and Sweden Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson in the Lithuanian capital, Stoltenberg announced Turkey’s decision, taking the country’s accession protocol to the Grand National Assembly where it will be ratified.
Previously, Turkey blocked Sweden’s membership to NATO, accusing the country of anti-Turkish activities and harbouring Kurdish separatists. The Turkish President also criticised Stockholm last month for allowing a protest where a man publicly burned a Quran, and stated that Swedish authorities needed to fight Islamophobia.
However, the alleged Islamophobia in the country was not one of Turkey’s objections against Sweden.
Over the past year, Sweden has made numerous changes to meet Turkey’s demands, including passing new legislation and amending the Constitution on matters of counter-terrorism as well as agreeing to extradite Turkish individuals accused of crimes back home. While Erdogan continued to demand more, even stating that the country will only approve Sweden’s bid in exchange for approval of Turkey’s bid to join the European Union, a breakthrough was reached Monday, bringing Sweden closer to becoming a NATO member.
What’s on the cards for Ukraine?
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky criticised NATO Tuesday for not setting a clear timeline for the country joining the military alliance. He tweeted that it is “absurd” that Ukraine has not been given a timeline on its path to NATO membership.
He added that it seemed there was “no readiness” to invite Ukraine to the alliance or to make it a member of the alliance.
While Kyiv has accepted that the country cannot join the alliance while it is at war with Russia, Zelensky called this uncertainty a “weakness” and incentive for Russia “to continue its terror”.
We value our allies. We value our shared security. And we always appreciate an open conversation.
Ukraine will be represented at the NATO summit in Vilnius. Because it is about respect.But Ukraine also deserves respect. Now, on the way to Vilnius, we received signals that…
— Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) July 11, 2023
The Baltic states, including Lithuania, are also keen on receiving clarity on Ukraine’s membership. This week, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda observed that the alliance should avoid Ukraine’s membership “becoming a horizon”, where “the more you walk towards it, the farther it is”.
Nevertheless, despite a lack of clarity on the membership front, NATO will be deepening its relationship with Ukraine in this summit by transforming the existing forum, the Ukraine NATO Commission, to the Ukraine NATO Council, giving the country the power to summon meetings. The alliance will also be approving a multi-year assistance package extending significant military aid to Kyiv to reform the country’s armed forces.
Increased military spending, regional defence deals
One of the significant developments expected out of this summit is an increase in member states’ defence investment commitments, making the previous target expenditure of 2 per cent of GDP the new minimum all members must invest.
By stepping up investments, the alliance aims to deter Russia’s strategies in Ukraine and change the course of the war by highlighting the alliance’s long-term military commitment to Ukraine.
NATO secretary general Jens Stoltenberg said Friday that the alliance will see an 8.3 per cent increase in defence spending within NATO.
In a more dangerous world, we must invest more in defence. In 2023, we will see 8.3%, the biggest increase in our defence spending in decades across #NATO European Allies & Canada. At #NATOSummit in Vilnius we’ll agree an even stronger commitment to spend 2% of GDP in defence. pic.twitter.com/Y2avMJh5SK
— Jens Stoltenberg (@jensstoltenberg) July 7, 2023
He further stated that the alliance also aims to adopt three regional defence plans to strengthen its position in Europe, the Baltic region, the Mediterranean, and the Black Sea. As a part of these plans, NATO will deploy roughly 300,000 troops, including air and naval forces. By strengthening forces in these regions, the military alliance hopes to defend its members against any future Russian aggression.
Members are also expected to discuss and approve a new “defense production action plan” which aims to “aggregate demand, boost weapons production capacity and increase interoperability” between member nations, Stoltenberg stated ahead of the NATO defence ministers’ meeting in Brussels last month.
Apart from discussing new reforms, the alliance is also expected to look into the “2022 Strategic Concept”, a policy document that was adopted in the NATO summit in Madrid last year, to improve the alliance’s deterrence capabilities such as collective exercises, combat forces, and command structures to cyber and space resilience among others.
With non-NATO members Japan, Australia, New Zealand, and South Korea also attending the summit, NATO countries are also expected to discuss further outreach into the Indo-Pacific, considering the alliance is currently preparing Individually Tailored Partnership Programmes (ITPPs) with each of the four countries.
(Edited by Asavari Singh)
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