Biden and world leaders meet at 2021 NATO summit

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) held its 31st summit in Brussels today.

It’s past 10 p.m. in Brussels now, but if you’re just catching up on the day, here are some of the highlights:

US President Joe Biden stopped briefly at a 9/11 memorial at NATO headquarters before departing Monday’s summit.

Biden stood at the twisted piece of metal from the North Tower of the World Trade Center and made the sign of the cross before greeting Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg one final time.

“Got to remind everybody: NATO. NATO,” Biden could be overheard telling Stoltenberg, presumably a reference to the US invocation of Article 5 following 9/11.

They spoke for a little while longer, placing their hands on each others’ shoulders, before Stoltenberg walked Biden to his car.

President Biden says he can assuage concerns among European allies about the state of American democracy by showing up and proving his commitment to restoring traditional alliances.

Biden was questioned about fears among western nations that recent events in the United States, including the Jan. 6 riot, have shaken the country’s historic position as a leader of the free world.

Biden said he was convinced that leaders he is dealing with this week on a European tour have a more nuanced view of the American people and “know generically the character of the American people and know where the vast center of the public stands.”

“I think that they have seen things happen, as we have, that shocked them and surprised them that could have happened, but I think they, like I do, believe the American people are not going to sustain that kind of behavior,” Biden said.

Biden said he believed the Republican Party is “vastly diminished in numbers,” and called the GOP’s leadership “fractured.” But he said the Trump phase of GOP politics was “passing.”

“That’s why it’s so important that I succeed in my agenda. Whether it’s dealing with the vaccine, the economy, infrastructure. It’s important we demonstrate we can make progress and continue to make progress,” he said.

President Biden told CNN’s Jeff Zeleny that when he called the Russian President a “killer,” he answered honestly, adding he didn’t “think it matters a whole lot” in terms of their upcoming summit. 

Biden initially responded to Zeleny’s question by chuckling and replying: “I’m laughing, too,” a reference to Putin’s reaction in an interview when he was asked about Biden’s initial comments. 

“The answer is I believe he has in the past essentially acknowledged that he was – there are certain things he would do or did do. Look, when I was asked that question on air I answered it honestly. I don’t think it matters a whole lot in terms of this next meeting that we’re about to have,” Biden added. 

When asked how he would ever be able to trust Putin if the two leaders are able to move forward, Biden said he would “verify first and then trust.”

“In other words everything would have to be shown to be actually occurring. It’s not about, you know, trusting, it’s about agreeing,” Biden said. 

Biden pointed to other examples and treaties with other adversaries in the past, saying, “you don’t say I trust you, you say this is what I expect and if you violate the agreement you made then, the treaty’s off.”

“I’m hoping that President Putin concludes that there is some interest in terms of his own interest in changing the perception the world has of him, in terms of whether or not he will engage behavior that’s more consistent with what is considered to be appropriate behavior for a head of state,” Biden added.

US President Joe Biden repeated a call Monday “to prove to the world and to our own people that democracy can still prevail against the challenges of our time and deliver the needs of our people.”

Speaking after his first NATO summit, Biden said it was up to Democratic nations to prove to the world that autocracies cannot deliver for their people.

“That’s how we’ll prove that democracy and that our alliance can still prevail against the challenges of our time, deliver for the needs and the needs of our people,” he said.

He said NATO members must root out corruption, guard against hatred and “phony populism,” and invest in strengthening institutions “that underpin and safeguard our cherished democratic values.”

Biden was speaking after meeting with the 30-member defense alliance, as well as a number of leaders one-on-one.

He offered a firm defense of the Article 5 collective defense clause, and said “everyone in that room understood the shared appreciation that America is back.”

Article 5 is the principle that an attack on one member of NATO is an attack on all members. It’s been a cornerstone for the 29-member alliance since it was founded in 1949 as a counterweight to the Soviet Union. Article 5 has only been invoked once: After the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks on the US.

Biden said there was a “strong consensus” among leaders about his plans to withdraw troops from Afghanistan by Sept. 11.

And he repeated his concerns that Russia and China are “driving a wedge” between western allies.

Watch here:

Video Ad Feedback

820a9250-b97e-41c2-858c-c584566caaaa.mp4

01:39 - Source: cnn

CNN’s Jeremy Herb contributed to this report.

Speaking at a news conference following a full day of meetings with NATO leaders, President Biden was asked about his upcoming meeting with Russian President Putin on Wednesday.

Specifically, he was asked what it would mean for the US-Russia relationship if jailed opposition activist Alexey Navalny were to die or be killed in prison.

“Navalny’s death would be another indication that Russia has little or no intention of abiding by basic fundamental human rights,” Biden said.

“It would be a tragedy. It would do nothing but hurt his [Putin’s] relationships with the rest of the world, in my view,” he continued.

Navalny was imprisoned earlier this year by a Moscow court for allegedly violating the probation terms of a 2014 case in which he received a suspended sentence of three and a half years.

On June 9 a Moscow court ruled that two organizations linked to Navalny are “extremist” groups – forcing them to shut down and rendering their members ineligible to run in upcoming elections.

US President Joe Biden was just asked about his upcoming meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. He refused to give details about what he expected the meeting to look like or what topics it might include, but said he will make clear where the “red lines” are.

“I’m going to make clear to President Putin that there are areas where we can cooperate, if he chooses, and if he chooses not to cooperate and acts in a way that he has in the past relative to cybersecurity and some other activities, then we will respond. We will respond in kind,” Biden said.

He said he’s spoken to Putin in the past, and described him as “bright” and “tough.” Biden also said he would provide more details after the Wednesday meeting.

“The fact is that I will be happy to talk with you when it’s over, not before, about what the discussion will entail,” he said.

Watch here:

Video Ad Feedback

b563d318-3f75-461f-8847-8e66c285ce3b.mp4

01:25 - Source: cnn

US President Joe Biden opened his press conference tonight in Brussels by noting that the United States is “approaching a sad milestone” of 600,000 Covid-19 deaths. 

“We made enormous progress in the United States. Much of the country is returning to normal, and our economic growth is leading the world, and the number of cases and deaths are dropping dramatically. But there’s still too many lives being lost. We’re still averaging in the last seven days the loss of 370 deaths per day — 370 deaths. That’s significantly lower than at the peak of this crisis, but it’s still a real tragedy. We’re approaching a sad milestone. Almost 600,000 lost lives because of Covid-19 in America.” 

He pleaded with Americans who haven’t gotten the vaccine to get vaccinated “as soon as possible.”

“We have more work to do to beat this virus. And now’s not the time to let our guard down,” Biden said. “Please get vaccinated as soon as possible. We have had enough pain. Enough pain.”

US President Joe Biden is speaking to reporters now from Brussels after participating in the 2021 NATO summit.

Biden arrived at the gathering with a vow to reaffirm the United States’ commitment to a military alliance his predecessor viewed with disdain. He placed enhanced attention on Russia and China, along with the cyber-threats emanating from both countries.

NATO leaders largely backed Biden’s decision to withdraw troops from Afghanistan, according to a senior administration official present for the talks.

The group agreed in its final statement to provide “transitional funding” to keep the airport open, and Turkey — a NATO member state — committed to keeping troops in the country to safeguard the facility.

A final communiqué issued by the group highlighted the “threat” presented by Russia and the “challenges” posed by China following the meeting on Monday.

Read more about today’s summit here.

A White House official says the delay to US President Joe Biden’s news conference is attributed to the NATO plenary session with leaders running long, as well as all of the one-on-one meetings he conducted on the sidelines of the summit.

No fresh time estimate was given beyond the “shortly” — which was 30 minutes ago. 

US President Joe Biden says he’s held a “very good meeting” with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

Speaking across the table from the Turkish leader, Biden declined to offer any other details on their sit-down, which was expected to be contentious.

Asked by a reporter to repeat himself, Biden said only, “I didn’t say anything.”

Reporters had been waiting for more than an hour for the photo-op, which was originally scheduled for the start of the meeting. But only official photographers were allowed in at the beginning.

Erdoğan didn’t speak during the spray.

A host of topics was expected on the agenda, including counterterrorism, Afghanistan, Syria and human rights.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said he had a brief conversation with US President Biden on the sidelines of the summit where he took the opportunity to advance the military and political cooperation between the two countries and to discuss the political and economic situation in Latin America and the impact it has had on migration into the United States.

Sanchez also applauded Biden for re-joining the Paris Climate Agreement and for how Biden was relying “on science to be able to respond to the pandemic and the evolution Covid-19 situation in his country.”

The Spanish prime minister said Biden had inspired him and other progressive leaders when he won the elections in the United States. Sanchez added that so far, his administration had been able to live up to its promises.

“President Biden, as a progressist leader, inspired many of us when he won the elections some months ago and I think the first steps he has taken as President, in his administration, corroborate and certify that progressive inspiration that he gave to other progressive governments such as that of Spain,” Sanchez told journalists at a news conference after the NATO Summit on Monday.

The leaders of the 30 NATO countries agreed “that the impact of significant malicious cumulative cyber activities might, in certain circumstances, be considered as amounting to an armed attack,” an assessment that could lead to the invocation of the organization’s mutual self-defense clause, Article 5.

The countries “(reaffirmed) that a decision as to when a cyber attack would lead to the invocation of Article 5 would be taken by the North Atlantic Council on a case-by-case basis,” according to a joint statement released during the NATO leaders’ summit on Monday.

 “We will make greater use of NATO as a platform for political consultation among Allies, sharing concerns about malicious cyber activities, and exchanging national approaches and responses, as well as considering possible collective responses. If necessary, we will impose costs on those who harm us,” the joint communique said.

Speaking to the press on Sunday, US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said that “the notion is that if someone gets hit by a massive cyberattack, and they need technical or intelligence support from another Ally to be able to deal with it, they could invoke Article 5 to be able to get that,” but underscored it would be “on a case-by-case basis.”

The NATO joint communique noted that “Cyber threats to the security of the Alliance are complex, destructive, coercive, and becoming ever more frequent.”

“This has been recently illustrated by ransomware incidents and other malicious cyber activity targeting our critical infrastructure and democratic institutions, which might have systemic effects and cause significant harm,” it said.

Some more background: The United States has been hit with a spate of cyberattacks in recent weeks, some of which are believed to have been caused by malign actors in Russia. The joint communique denounced Moscow’s “malicious cyber activities; and turning a blind eye to cyber criminals operating from its territory, including those who target and disrupt critical infrastructure in NATO countries.”

The allies said that in order to face the “evolving” challenge of cyber attacks, they on Monday “endorsed NATO’s Comprehensive Cyber Defence Policy, which will support NATO’s three core tasks and overall deterrence and defence posture, and further enhance our resilience.” 

“Reaffirming NATO’s defensive mandate, the Alliance is determined to employ the full range of capabilities at all times to actively deter, defend against, and counter the full spectrum of cyber threats, including those conducted as part of hybrid campaigns, in accordance with international law,” the joint communique said.

It also noted that NATO as an organization will “continue to adapt and improve its cyber defences” and that they will “further develop NATO’s capacity to support national authorities in protecting critical infrastructure, including against malicious hybrid and cyber activity. We will ensure reliable energy supplies to our military forces.”

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg says it’s not up to Russia to decide whether or not Ukraine is allowed into NATO, explaining that Moscow has no “veto” power over such a decision.

“Every nation has the right to choose its own path,” he told journalists after the NATO summit. “The message is that it is for Ukraine and the 30 allies to decide when Ukraine can become a NATO member.”

The NATO secretary general used the example of his own country, Norway, as well as the Baltic nations, whose accession to NATO also did not please Russia.

“We will not return to an age when we had big powers who decided what neighbors could do,” he said. “This is about fundamental principles of accepting the right of every nation to decide, so it’s for the 30 allies and Ukraine to decide when Ukraine is ready for membership.”

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg says there is “no way” NATO can ignore China’s economic and military rise, highlighting its investment “new destructive technologies” that have the potential to change the nature of warfare. 

“China is soon to be the biggest economy in the world, they already have the second biggest defense budget and hold the biggest navy,” Stoltenberg told journalists after the summit. “They are investing heavily in new modern capabilities, including by investing in new destructive technologies, such as autonomous systems, facial recognition and artificial intelligence and putting them into different weapons systems that are really in the process of changing the nature of warfare in a way we have hardly seen before.”

“This matters for our security,” Stoltenberg concluded. “There’s no way to deny that so the question is how we address that.”

The NATO secretary general also said he was pleased with the fact that there was now a “united and clear position” on China, which had not been the case. 

NATO leaders have agreed to provide “transitional funding” to ensure that the international airport in Kabul continues to operate, given its significance to the landlocked country of Afghanistan. 

“Recognising its importance to an enduring diplomatic and international presence, as well as to Afghanistan’s connectivity with the world, NATO will provide transitional funding to ensure continued functioning of Hamid Karzai International Airport,” the North Atlantic alliance leaders said in the communiqué. “We will also step up dialogue on Afghanistan with relevant international and regional partners.”

“We are working on exactly how to do it but there is a strong commitment from NATO,” NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said after the meeting, adding that Turkey has been playing a key role in discussions around the issue. 

 The alliance will also retain a Senior Civilian Representative Office in the Afghan capital, in addition to providing “training and financial support to the Afghan National Defence and Security Forces, including through the Afghan National Army Trust Fund.”

“We continue to support the ongoing Afghan-owned and Afghan-led peace process, and call on all stakeholders to help Afghanistan foster a lasting inclusive political settlement that puts an end to violence; safeguards the human rights of Afghans, particularly women, children, and minorities; upholds the rule of law; and ensures that Afghanistan never again serves as a safe haven for terrorists,” NATO leaders also said in the communiqué.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg says the mood at the summit was like “first day back at school” and recalled what he called a “strong message” delivered by US President Joe Biden.

“It was really great to be together and to meet together in person, as a truly transatlantic family or as prime minister Johnson said, it was like the first day back at school seeing all your old friends again and that was really the atmosphere in the room,” he told journalists after the summit. 

“We heard a strong message from President Biden on America’s commitment to NATO,” Stoltenberg went on to say, adding that all the remaining allies had made “an equally strong commitment” in return. 

“All leaders agreed that in an age of global competition Europe and North America must stand strong together in NATO, to defend our values and our interests, especially at a time when authoritarian regimes, like Russia and China challenge the rules based international order,” he also said. 

The heads of state and government of NATO member states have issued a communiqué highlighting the “threat” presented by Russia and the “challenges” posed by China, following a meeting on Monday. 

“We face multifaceted threats, systemic competition from assertive and authoritarian powers, as well as growing security challenges to our countries and our citizens from all strategic directions,” the communiqué read. “Russia’s aggressive actions constitute a threat to Euro-Atlantic security.”

“China’s growing influence and international policies can present challenges that we need to address together as an Alliance,” the statement added. “We will engage China with a view to defending the security interests of the Alliance.”

You can read the full communiqué here.

NATO leaders meeting in Brussels today have largely backed the US decision to withdraw troops from Afghanistan, according to a senior administration official present for the talks.

Some American allies had griped ahead of the summit that they weren’t properly consulted before Biden announced he would withdraw US troops from Afghanistan by Sept. 11. Others have questioned how security can be maintained in the country when US troops leave, particularly at Kabul International Airport and at other diplomatic facilities.

The official, who was present for the closed-door NATO talks, said there was unanimity among countries who had contributed troops to the Afghanistan mission that the withdrawal was the right decision.

“Each of them said that they ultimately agreed with the decision to draw down this year. They understood that the time has come. And the real focus in the room was not on the question of staying or going in 2021, the real focus was on how we work together as an alliance to continue to provide support to the Afghan national security forces, the Afghan government and the Afghan people,” the official said.

Now, NATO leaders are discussing practical ways to maintain security in Afghanistan, including embassy presence, security training, counterterrorism efforts and economic aid.

The official said despite reports of friction among NATO allies over the Afghanistan decision, “that is not the vibe in the room today.”

“There’s an incredible amount of warmth and unity around the entire agenda, including the ‘in-together-out-together’ aspect of the Afghanistan drawdown,” the official said.

US President Joe Biden delivered remarks behind closed doors at a NATO summit in Brussels and met on the sidelines with leaders from Poland, Romania and the Baltic states, according to a senior administration official.

The talks centered mainly on Russia, the official said, ahead of Biden’s summit with Vladimir Putin on Wednesday.

Biden communicated to the Baltic leaders that the US wants a “stable and constructive relationship with Russia, but also will respond in the face of Russia’s harmful activities,” the official said.

China also arose in the conversations, the official said, adding they also discussed Belarus, and in particular “air piracy” in light of the recent forced diversion of a Ryanair flight bound for Vilnius.

Similar themes emerged in his meeting with the Polish and Romanian leaders. He discussed his intentions for the summit with Putin and offered a commitment to “stand up at the face of the threat posed by Russia.”

Biden spoke more in-depth with Poland’s President Andrzej Duda to go deeper on security cooperation.

At NATO, Biden has also spoken to the prime ministers of Spain and the Netherlands, along with G7 leaders who traveled from the summit in Cornwall to NATO.

Here is the official readout of Biden’s meeting with President Duda of Poland:

“President Biden spoke today on the margins of the NATO Summit with President Andrzej Duda of Poland. The President reiterated his support for NATO’s strengthened defense and deterrence agenda and his resolute commitment to the defense of Allies on NATO’s eastern flank, including Poland. He discussed his plans for the upcoming summit with President Putin.”

A draft version of the NATO summit communiqué that the leaders of the North Atlantic alliance member states are expected to approve on Monday will, for the first time, highlight China’s military ambitions, a senior official from a NATO member state told CNN.

The contents of the draft communiqué were first reported by the New York Times.

Despite its novel emphasis on China, the 45 page and 79 paragraph long draft still describes Beijing as presenting “challenges,” whereas Russia is clearly labelled as a “threat.”

China was also a key topic at the G7 summit over the weekend in England. One of Biden’s major proposals to the group was a global infrastructure program meant to compete with China’s Belt and Road initiative and was included in the summit’s final statement. But it didn’t include any specific commitments from countries on how much they’re willing to contribute.

CNN’s Kevin Liptak contributed reporting to this post.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan discussed cooperation between the two countries on Covid-19, trade and defense as they met on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Brussels, according to a readout of the meeting issued by the UK prime minister’s office.

Here’s a full readout of the meeting from a Downing Street spokesperson:  

“The Prime Minister met Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan at the NATO Summit in Brussels today. 
“The Prime Minister and President discussed the fight against coronavirus and their countries’ respective vaccine rollouts. They agreed on the importance of working together to defeat the pandemic and work towards the resumption of travel between the UK and Turkey. 
“The leaders agreed to work to deepen the relationship between the UK and Turkey in a range of areas including trade and defence. 
“The Prime Minister welcomed the de-escalation of tensions in the Eastern Mediterranean and stressed the importance of reaching a settlement in Cyprus through the UN-led process. 
“The Prime Minister and President also discussed a range of other foreign policy issues including Syria, Libya and Afghanistan.” 

US President Joe Biden is using time away from summit meetings on his European tour this week for intense preparations ahead of his talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday, according to officials, as he works to avoid the pitfalls his predecessors faced meeting with the Russian leader. 

Most of his formal meetings this week have started after noon, leaving his mornings free for consultations with advisers. He has held lengthy preparation sessions with senior officials, including Secretary of State Tony Blinken and National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, to discuss the wide range of issues he plans to bring up with Putin, from cyber to Syria to Ukraine. 

The President has also asked foreign leaders at the G7, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel, for their input as he prepares for the meeting in Geneva, according to people familiar with the conversations. 

Putin even came up as a point of conversation during his tea with Queen Elizabeth II at Windsor Castle, Biden told reporters, saying she “wanted to know” about the Russian president. 

Given some NATO allies had expressed concern about the optics of Biden’s summit with Putin, Sullivan said Biden would speak privately with leaders “about what he intends to talk to Putin about” during a summit of the defense alliance on Monday.

“He gets to hear from them as well, so that he will go into Geneva with the full support and solidarity of all of our NATO allies,” Sullivan told reporters on Air Force One Sunday. Sullivan specifically highlighted Biden’s meeting with Turkish President Erdogan on Monday as a chance to “compare notes.”

As Biden becomes the fifth straight American president with whom Putin has met, officials want Biden to be prepared for Putin’s tactics, including his well-known habit of turning discussions of Russia’s bad practices back on the United States. Biden has told aides he believes Putin will respond to directness during their talks, and wants to be ready to offer a frank message.

“He’s overprepared!” Biden’s wife Jill exclaimed last week when asked whether her husband was primed for his meeting with Putin.

Along with Merkel, Biden has opened the door for input to other key allies in bilateral meetings and conversations on the margins over the last several days. The idea serves dual purposes, aides said: While Biden’s decades in foreign policy give him a self-assurance about his approach, he sees value in the views of others who have had similar meetings with the Russian leader.

From CNN’s Kevin Liptak, Phil Mattingly, Jeff Zeleny, Kaitlan Collins in Brussels and Natasha Bertrand in Geneva

Read more about Biden’s preparation for the Putin meeting here.

The first session of the NATO summit is officially underway. The White House confirmed that US President Joe Biden met earlier today with the leaders of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania.

The meetings with the Baltic leaders were on Biden’s schedule but were not open to press coverage.

All 30 NATO world leaders wore face masks as they entered a hall for the family photo, practicing social distancing. They were told via overhead to remove their masks and look at the cameras for a full 15 seconds. 

After the photo was taken the group was told to look at a futuristic, columnar screen in the center of the room, which lit up with a video touting the alliance. The clip was accompanied by soaring music. 

“Cool,” Biden appeared to mouth at the video’s conclusion. 

The leaders were then told to put their masks back on before the summit began.

Watch here:

Video Ad Feedback

676e4ef5-ce1c-4677-9a51-e4d6fabade5e.mp4

02:45 - Source: cnn

World leaders are gathering today in Brussels, Belgium, for the 2021 summit of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

Here are some key things to know about the group:

Its purpose: The organization’s charter states that the signing parties will “seek to promote stability and well-being in the North Atlantic area,” and will “unite their efforts for collective defense and for the preservation of peace and security.”

When it started: NATO was established April 4, 1949 when 12 nations signed the North Atlantic Treaty in a ceremony in Washington, DC.

NATO’s leader: The current secretary general is Jens Stoltenberg, former prime minister of Norway. He released the organization’s latest annual report on March 16.

Member countries:

Albania (2009) Belgium (1949) Bulgaria (2004) Canada (1949) Croatia (2009) Czech Republic (1999) Denmark (1949) Estonia (2004) France (1949) Germany (1955, as West Germany) Greece (1952) Hungary (1999) Iceland (1949) Italy (1949) Latvia (2004) Lithuania (2004) Luxembourg (1949) Montenegro (2017) Netherlands (1949) North Macedonia (2020) Norway (1949) Poland (1999) Portugal (1949) Romania (2004) Slovakia (2004) Slovenia (2004) Spain (1982) Turkey (1952) United Kingdom (1949) United States (1949)

Read more about NATO here.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg welcomed US President Joe Biden to Brussels and thanked him for his “rock solid commitment to our Alliance.”

“I know we can count on America & America can count on #NATO2030,” Stoltenberg tweeted Monday.

The key summit kicked off on Monday with a family photo of the leaders in attendance.

NATO’s leaders have gathered in Brussels, Belgium, for a “family photo,” a picture taken of the group at each landmark summit.

The photo session will be followed by the day’s main agenda, with the global leaders set to discuss Russia and China, among other matters.

The summit is Biden’s first alliance summit as US president. It follows his appearance at the G7 summit over the weekend in England.

Many of Biden’s fellow leaders at the NATO summit have commented on the US’ global role and recommitment to multilateralism under the new president.

Read more about today’s meeting here.

Watch the historic moment unfold:

Video Ad Feedback

17238f4c-1910-4c36-8abc-4e2444f1f37e.mp4

00:46 - Source: cnn

Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi says Monday’s NATO summit is part of the ongoing process of reaffirmation of the US’s role within the alliance, after four years of “undecided” membership under former President Donald Trump.

“This summit is the continuation of the G7 encounter yesterday,” Draghi told journalists when he arrived at the summit in Brussels.

“It’s part of the reaffirmation and rebuilding process of the fundamental alliance for the United States, which was, how to put it, ‘undecided’ during the previous administration.”

“Think that President Biden’s first visit is to Europe, and try to remember where President Trump’s first visit was to,” Draghi also said.

President Trump’s first trip abroad as US President was to Saudi Arabia. 

“So we are here to reaffirm this alliance but also to reaffirm the importance of the European Union within it,” Draghi added.

“A stronger European Union means a stronger NATO,” he said.

US President Joe Biden has arrived for his first in-person North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) summit after taking office, vowing to reaffirm the United States’ commitment to a military alliance his predecessor in the White House viewed with disdain.

The summit comes as Biden looks to reassert American leadership on the world stage and strengthen global partnerships during his first international trip as President. It comes on the heels of several meetings with US allies and the annual Group of Seven (G7) summit in Cornwall, England.

Biden said Sunday he would reiterate the US’s commitment to NATO’s collective defense clause and communicate to allies that it believes Article 5 is a “sacred obligation.”

Here’s what to expect of today’s meetings:

Read more about today’s meeting here.

French President Emmanuel Macron and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had a “long” meeting on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Brussels on Monday. 

“Ahead of the NATO summit, I had a long one-on-one exchange with President Erdogan,” Macron tweeted on Monday.
“In order to move forward with clarity, respect and exigency.”

According to the French Presidency, the meeting between the two lasted a total of 45 minutes, longer than expected, because the two men were keen to discuss all matters in depth, including strategic clarification among allies on the values, principles and rules within NATO, as well as the situation in Libya and Syria. 

Macron also used the opportunity to clarify his and France’s stance on Islam.

“The meeting was an opportunity for the President to reiterate that France respected Islam and Muslims, that French secularism respected all religions,” a spokesperson for the French Presidency said.

“These are the values ​​of the Republic. Macron highlighted that these values ​​should be respected and should not be instrumentalized.”

US President Joe Biden is also set to meet with Erdogan at today’s summit.

See the French president’s tweet:

US President Joe Biden met with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg in Brussels after arriving for his first in-person summit of the alliance after taking office.

“I want to make it clear, NATO is critically important for US interests in and of itself. If there weren’t one, we would have to invent one. It allows America to conduct its business around the world in a way that never would have occurred were it not for NATO,” Biden told reporters, noting the importance of Article Five as a “sacred obligation.”

“I just want all of Europe to know that the United States is there, the United States is there,” Biden said.

The US President cited challenges facing the group of 30 nations, including that Russia is “not acting in a way that is consistent with what we had hoped,” and China, citing agreement at last week’s Group of Seven Summit.

Stoltenberg, echoing other world leaders at the G7 summit, said NATO “will open a new chapter in our transatlantic relationship with the meeting today to discuss a wide range of issues, including Russia.”

He continued, “I think that allied leaders look forward to consulting with you ahead of the meeting with President Putin. We will address China, and we have seen a convergence of views among allies,” outlining China’s “coercive behavior” as something NATO needs to respond to as a group.

Biden also thanked Stoltenberg for his “incredible leadership.”

“Quite frankly, we have competent people coming, but I wish you were not leaving,” he said, praising Stoltenberg’s ability to pull people together.

More on today’s summit: The NATO summit comes as Biden looks to reassert American leadership on the world stage and strengthen global partnerships during his first international trip as President. It also comes on the heels of several meetings with US allies and the annual Group of Seven (G7) summit in Cornwall, England.

Biden said Sunday he would reiterate the US’s commitment to NATO’s collective defense clause and communicate to allies that the US believes Article 5 is a “sacred obligation.”

During Monday’s summit, NATO leaders are expected to discuss how to manage future threats and “ensure effective burden sharing,” according to White House press secretary Jen Psaki.

Read more about today’s meeting here.

CNN’s Kevin Liptak contributed reporting to this post. 

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has said that China does not “share our values,” citing Bejing’s crackdown on democratic protests in Hong Kong and persecution of minorities as a key difference with the alliance.

“We see how they crack down on democratic protests in Hong Kong and also persecute minorities in their own country and use modern technology, social media, facial recognition to monitor and surveillance their own population in a way we’ve never seen before,” he said ahead of the key summit in Brussels on Monday.  

The issue is about what to do “at home,” explained Stoltenberg, because “China is coming closer to us.” 

“We see them in cyber space, we see China in Africa, in the Artic but we also see China investing heavily in our own critical infrastructure and trying to control it,” the NATO chief added.

“We have seen the discussions about 5G Huawei and that’s the reason why the NATO 2030 agenda is so important.”

However, China is not an adversary, or enemy, Stoltenberg stressed.

There are also “opportunities” in NATO’s relationship with China, according to the Secretary General.

“For instance, on arms control and climate change we need to talk to China. At the same time, what we have seen over now several years is a significant military build-up by China,” he said.

Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda said Monday that Russia was trying to “swallow” Belarus and that NATO needed to have a “very clear, united and decisive response” to the situation.

Nauseda made the remarks as he was arriving at the NATO summit in Brussels, which will focus on Russia, China and Afghanistan.

“We have a lot different kinds of threats arising in the region,” Nauseda said, adding that the country is seeing “additional threats coming from the east, which are related to aggressive behaviour of Russia.”

Nauseda said the situation in Belarus was also becoming an issue for the region.

The country has seen repeated unrest since a hotly disputed election last year.

“What is also very important (is) that we see the efforts of Russia to swallow this country,” Nauseda said. 
“Belarus is losing the last elements of the independence, and those trends are very dangerous and we have to be aware of them,” he added.

“I would expect that President Biden will send a very clear message about the decisiveness and unity of NATO, and will react with very clear messages to what is happening,” he said.

Nauseda added that NATO could not have closer ties with Moscow until the country changed its “pattern of behavior.”

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has listed some talking points for the upcoming NATO summit.

Arriving in Brussels, Merkel noted that the event was the first summit with the new US President. 

She then listed some challenges to be discussed on the agenda, including Russia, the Indo-Pacific area and China. 

Regarding Afghanistan, Merkel said leaders will discuss what was achieved there, what can be learned and “future concepts.”

The German leader said “hybrid challenges” and cyberattacks would be discussed, as well as Russia’s disinformation campaign, which affects Germany. 

The situation in Ukraine and “threats in Belarus, where human rights are being kicked,” are also on the agenda, Merkel added.

The Prime Minister of Luxembourg, Xavier Bettel, has said NATO’s relationship with the United States is “still existing,” despite a tense period while former US President Donald Trump was in office.

Bettel said that under President Joe Biden, “we have someone who believes in multilateralism.”

Trump was extremely critical of NATO during his tenure in the White House.

Arriving at NATO headquarters on Monday, Bettel also said that “if we are able to have a better and cleaner and safer world, we don’t need to invest that much in weapons.”

“I know it’s not the most popular sentence to say here [at NATO] but it’s a fact,” he added.

Bettel also said it was key to not view the entire world as enemies.

“It cannot be that we only talk about people but not with people,” the Luxembourg leader said.

US President Joe Biden will “be taking some pretty tough messages to [Russian] President [Vladimir] Putin in the course of the next few days,” British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Monday.

Johnson was speaking on arrival at the NATO summit in Brussels.

He reflected on the attack in the English city of Salisbury in 2018, “when innocent members of the public faced poisoning from [the nerve agent] novichok.” The Prime Minister noted that NATO allies stood by Britain during the crisis.
Johnson said he is “always hopeful things will improve with Russia but I’m afraid so far it’s been pretty disappointing from a UK point of view.”
“When I saw President Putin I made that very clear, I said we are ready to do things differently, we’re ready to try to have closer relations but you’ve got to change the way you behave,” he added. 

The UK leader also said today’s summit would involve discussions on “Afghanistan, Ukraine and also the ways we want to modernize NATO.”

NATO does not want a new cold war with China “but I think people see challenges,” UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said as he arrived at the alliance’s summit in Brussels today. 

Johnson said there are “things we have to manage together” but that NATO also sees “opportunities” with China.

His comments come after the G7 summit this weekend, which saw that group’s strongest condemnation of Beijing in recent decades.

China is also on the agenda for the NATO summit today, with alliance chief Jens Stoltenberg saying that the country poses “some challenges” to security.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg welcomed global leaders to Monday’s summit on Twitter, saying in a post that the meeting came at a “pivotal moment” for the group.

“In an age of global competition, we stand strong together as a transatlantic family,” he wrote.

Arriving at the summit today, Stoltenberg said that it was time to “open a new chapter in our transatlantic relations,” according to a NATO statement.

The Secretary General also warned that the alliance’s relationship with Russia was “at its lowest point since the Cold War because of Russia’s pattern of aggressive behaviour.”

On China, Stoltenberg said the country offered opportunities but “also poses some challenges to our security.”

US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin will join President Biden at the NATO summit in Brussels.

Austin left the US on Sunday afternoon, according to a post on his Twitter account.

“Wheels up, and en route to Brussels to join @POTUS for the @NATO summit,” he wrote.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is also in Brussels, where he met with Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama on Sunday. The pair signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on 5G.

“This US-Albanian MOU represents the steadfast commitment of the United States and Albania to shared priorities, in particular to the shared commitment to using only trusted equipment providers to ensure 5G security,” the State Department said in a statement Sunday.

Joe Biden will this week confront two relentless forces that could seriously hamper his presidency: Vladimir Putin and Capitol Hill deadlock. Both will test the President’s leverage and ability to fulfill his agenda of restoring American global leadership and enacting one of the most ambitious economic transformations at home in generations.

The first goal was advanced by the G7 summit, in which Biden proved he was more than just the anti-Donald Trump. The meeting closed with a commitment to provide a billion doses of Covid vaccines to the developing world, an agreement on thwarting tax evasion by multinational corporations and unity on human rights abuses in China.

Of course, the real test of G7 summits comes when the leaders go back home.

The vaccine pledge is for instance just a drop in the bucket of what is needed. A tough line on China will try trans-Atlantic unity. But the democratic world did show relief at working with an American president again and embraced his aspirations.

Now, the US leader turns his attention, after the NATO summit in Brussels, to Putin.

Read more:

US President Joe Biden arrives for a plenary session during G7 summit in Carbis Bay, Cornwall on June 13, 2021. (Photo by PHIL NOBLE / POOL / AFP) (Photo by PHIL NOBLE/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Related article Analysis: Biden is about to confront two relentless forces that could seriously hamper his presidency

National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said last week that President Biden’s upcoming meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin was “vital” for defending America’s interests.

Biden will meet with Putin in Geneva, Switzerland on June 16 for a high-stakes summit.

Sullivan acknowledged that the meeting was unlikely to yield immediate results.

“If you are going to wait for really significant deliverables, you could be waiting for a long time conceivably,” he added.

Sullivan said that the US focus is to “communicate from our President to their President what American’s intentions and capabilities are and to hear the same from their side.”

“At the end of the day what we are looking to do is for the two presidents be able to send a clear signal… to their teams on questions of strategic stability so we can make progress on arms control and other nuclear areas to reduce tension and instability in that aspect of their relationship,” Sullivan said. 
He added: “And second, being able to look President Putin in the eye and say, ‘This is what America’s expectations are. This is what America stands for. This is what America’s all about.’ This we believe is an essential aspect of US- Russian diplomacy because President Putin is a singular kind of personalized leader and having the opportunity to come together at a summit will allow us to manage this relationship and stand up and defend American values most effectively.”

Sullivan also defended the timing of the summit, when Biden has yet to meet with so many other leaders, telling reporters last Monday, “It’s hard from our perspective to find a better context for a meeting with the Russian President then after time spent with the world’s leading market economies.”

Read more about the Biden-Putin meeting here.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said last week that he had a “very good conversation” with President Biden at the White House. The NATO chief said the two leaders discussed a range of issues including Russia, China, global terrorism, cyber threats and climate change.

“I thank the President for his powerful commitment to the transatlantic bond, to Article 5 and his personal leadership on all these issues,” Stoltenberg said, speaking to reporters after the Oval Office meeting last week.
“We agreed that in a more competitive world we need to strengthen NATO and that we face security challenges which no ally can face alone, so therefore, we need to stand together in NATO.”

Stoltenberg said the countries at the NATO summit will agree to the group’s 2030 agenda, which is focused on strengthening their collective defenses, strengthening resilience, sharpening their technological edges and working with likeminded partners - something he said will require increased investment.

“A strong NATO is good for Europe, but it’s also good for the United States. No other major power has so many friends and allies, as the United States has in NATO. So I look forward to welcoming President Biden to Brussels,” Stoltenberg said.

Stoltenberg said both he and Biden agree on taking a dual track approach to Russia, with deterrence and defense but also dialogue.

“Dialogue with Russia is not a sign of weakness. We are strong, we are united, and then we can talk to Russia, and we need to talk to Russia, partly to strive for a better relationship, but even if we don’t believe in a better relationship with Russia, we need to manage a difficult relationship with Russia,” the Secretary General said.

Stoltenberg said he is glad Biden is meeting with the NATO allies before his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin is set to take place Wednesday.

He also said that while NATO allies need to try to engage with China on issues like trade and climate change, the country does not share the values of NATO countries.

“We see that in the way they crack down on democratic protests in Hong Kong, how they deal with minorities, the Uyghurs, and how they coerce neighbors, and how they threaten Taiwan,” Stoltenberg said. 

The NATO chief said the biggest challenge facing the group was that the world is much more unpredictable. He pointed to the increase in cyberattacks as an example of the unpredictable security environment.

US President Joe Biden says he doesn’t view NATO as a “protection racket,” seeking to draw a sharp line between his views of the defense alliance and his predecessor’s.

“We believe that NATO is vital to our ability to maintain American security for the next, remainder of the century,” Biden said at a news conference Sunday in England at the culmination of the G7 summit before traveling to Brussels for the NATO summit.

Biden also reiterated the American commitment to collective defense.

“I want them to know, whether they doubted, that we believe NATO in Section Five is a sacred obligation,” he said.

Former US President Trump was frequently critical of NATO, saying countries weren’t paying enough for American protection.

The White House on Sunday laid out its expectations for the NATO summit on Monday in a fact sheet. 

Among the items the US says the members will announce is a new “strategic concept” that would guide the alliance’s approach going forward as the strategic environment changes, including threats from China and Russia. They expect it to be adopted at next year’s NATO summit.

They also preview heightened attention to cyber issues, climate change, and supply chain issues.

The White House is also highlighting increased defense spending among member states, citing a pledge adopted by the Obama administration in 2014. However, Trump has taken credit for the rise in defense spending, claiming it was his attention on the issue that drove other countries to spend more.

Here are “Key Summit Outcomes” the White House is highlighting: