NATO summit kicks off in Washington with spotlight on Ukraine

YEREVAN, JULY 10, ARMENPRESS. NATO’s 75-year anniversary summit kicked off in Washington on Tuesday. Delegates from all 32 member nations, as well as Australia, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea, and Ukraine will participate in the three-day event. 

According to Reuters, in his welcome speech US President Joe Biden pledged to forcefully defend Ukraine against Russia's invasion, stressing that “Ukraine can and will stop Putin.” After his remarks Biden surprised NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, whose term ends in September, with the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

The centerpiece of the NATO summit is set to be new commitments of military and humanitarian aid to Ukraine, the report adds. Biden and the leaders of Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Romania issued a joint statement with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy announcing the delivery of five additional Patriot and other strategic air defense systems to Kyiv.

According to Foreign Policy, this week, NATO plans to agree on creating a command center in Germany to help train, equip, and coordinate Ukrainian forces for Kyiv’s expected eventual accession. The alliance maintains that it will not formally welcome Ukraine into the bloc until its war with Russia concludes. However, according to the report, President Zelensky is expected to use this week’s summit to push for Kyiv’s membership.