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President Joe Biden was cracking jokes as he met Nato leaders at a key summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, on Tuesday.
Speaking to Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda, he joked that Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin “alone” can protect Nato.
“We have the Secretary of Defence with us today. We can send him alone – he’s enough,” he said, before adding on a more serious note that “we’re all in a war together”.
The president also said that he is “looking forward” to welcoming Sweden into the membership after Turkey announced its support for the move.
But, while the meetings were off to a positive start for Mr Biden, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was less impressed.
In a tweet on Tuesday morning, he slammed Nato leaders for not extending membership to Ukraine, calling the inaction “absurd” ahead of a meeting between him and Mr Biden Wednesday.
Last week, Mr Biden approved sending controversial cluster munitions to Ukraine – but also said he thinks Ukraine is “not ready” for membership.
On route to Vilnius on Monday, Mr Biden stopped off in the UK where he appeared to breach royal protocol by touching King Charles III on the back.
Biden thanks Erdogan for his ‘diplomacy and courage'
President Joe thanks President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for his “diplomacy and courage” in allowing for Sweden’s accession while the Turkish leader wishes Mr Biden “the best of luck” in his re-election.
Mr Biden laughed: “Well thank you very much. Look forward to meeting you in the next five years.”
Nato says concerned over Iran’s ‘malicious activities' on its territory
Nato allies said on Tuesday they were seriously concerned by Iran’s “malicious activities” within allied territory and called Tehran to stop its military support to Russia, including the supply of drones.
“We call upon Iran to cease its military support to Russia, in particular its transfer of Uncrewed Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) which have been used to attack critical infrastructure, causing widespread civilian casualties,” the 31-member alliance said in a final declaration at a summit in Lithuania.
“We express our serious concern over Iran’s malicious activities within Allied territory.”
Stoltenberg: Nato invite to Ukraine when 'allies agree and conditions are met'
Nato secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, said Ukraine will be issued with an invitation to join the alliance “when allies agree and conditions are met”.
He said the process to the country’s membership would move from a two-step to a one-step pathway.
“Ukraine’s future is in Nato”, says declaration, but membership timetable not agreed
Nato leaders have agreed at a summit in Vilnius that Ukraine’s future lies within the alliance but stopped short of handing Kyiv the invitation or timetable for accession that the country has been seeking.
At the same time, Nato dropped the requirement for Ukraine to fulfil a so-called Membership Action Plan (MAP), effectively removing a hurdle on Kyiv’s way into the alliance.
“Ukraine’s future is in Nato,” a declaration agreed by the leaders on Tuesday said, adding Kyiv’s Euro-Atlantic integration had moved beyond the need for a Membership Action Plan.
“We will be in a position to extend an invitation to Ukraine to join the alliance when allies agree and conditions are met,” the declaration said.
While leaders did not specify the conditions Ukraine needs to meet, they said the alliance would help Kyiv to make progress on military interoperability as well as on additional democratic and security sector reforms.
Press gathering for Biden-Erdoğan bilateral meeting
President Joe Biden and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan will soon meet for bilateral talks on the sidelines of the Nato meeting in Vilnius.
The White House sent out the following background information ahead of the meeting:
On Monday, after arriving in Vilnius Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan met with Nato secretary general Jens Stoltenberg and Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, clearing the way for Sweden to join NATO. Erdoğan also spoke with President Charles Michele of the European Council. The meeting was closed press but Michel said on Twitter that they explored opportunities to reenergize EU-Turkey cooperation and bring it back to the forefront.
President Joe Biden, who welcomed Erdogan’s commitment to Sweden’s Nato membership, is scheduled to meet with the President of Turkey at 6:00 PM at the Lithuanian Exhibition and Conference Center. This will be the fourth meeting between President Biden and President Erdoğan. They met on the sidelines of the Nato summit in Brussels in June 2021, during the summit in Madrid in June 2022, and had a pull-aside during G20 summit in Bali, Indonesia.
Before today’s meeting with Biden, Erdoğan held separate meetings with the Prime Minister of the UK Rishi Sunak, President Emmanuel Macron of France, and Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeau.
Nato members agree declaration language for Ukraine membership
Nato leaders have reached agreement over how to define their future relationship with Ukraine, including its membership bid, four diplomats said on Tuesday.
One of the diplomats said the final wording on the declaration regarding Ukraine’s future membership read that Nato “will be in a position to extend an invitation to join the Alliance when Allies agree and conditions are met.
Sullivan: No caveats on F-16s to Türkiye
President Joe Biden’s National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told a press conference in Vilnius today that there are no caveats on the transfer of F-16s to Türkiye.
“President Biden has been clear & unequivocal for months that he’s supported the transfer of F-16s to Türkiye, that this is in our national interests. It’s in the interests of NATO that Türkiye get that capability. He has placed no caveats or conditions on that in his public and private comments over the past few months. And he intends to move forward with that transfer in consultation with Congress.”
Dutch PM praises UK’s response to war in Ukraine
The Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte has praised Rishi Sunak and the UK’s leadership in responding to Russia’s aggression in Ukraine.
In a warm meeting between the two leaders, Mr Sunak said he would “miss” working with the outgoing leader after Mr Rutte announced his plans to leave politics following the collapse of his coalition government.
Addressing his counterpart during a bilateral at the Nato Vilnius summit, the British Prime Minister said: “Mark, we were very sad to hear your news and thank you for your incredible service.”
Mr Rutte responded saying: “I’m not done yet. You are stuck with me at least until the election. Hopefully there will be a new government soon, in the Netherlands it takes a little while.”
Mr Sunak said: “You’ve been a great friend to the UK, so we will miss you. I look forward to continuing our work together particularly as we have stood together, you and I, as have other, to defend and support Ukraine.”
Mr Rutte replied: “And your leadership there, you personally and the UK as a whole, working with you has been incredible.” He said the joint work on the fighter jet coalition to provide Kyiv with war plane capabilities was “fantastic”.
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2023-07-11 16:15:04Z
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