MADRID (Washington Insider Magazine) – As he ends up a series of talks with foreign leaders in which he aimed to portray an image of strength and unity among allies in the face of Russia’s incursion in Ukraine, President Joe Biden planned to attend a press conference here on Thursday.
There were minimal indications of conflict during the 3-day gathering, despite tensions among the 30 NATO countries on a variety of fronts. Before he arrived on Tuesday, Biden pushed to convince Turkey to approve Sweden’s and Finland’s petitions to join NATO, according to NBC NEWS. This helped to settle one contentious problem.
In a joint statement, the group identified Russia as “the most significant and direct threat to the security of allies and to the peace and stability in the Euro-Atlantic region.” Previously, it had referred to Russia as a “strategic partner.”
During the visit, Biden took many actions to demonstrate that the United States was stepping up both its defenses in Europe and its assistance for Ukraine. At the Group of Seven conference earlier this week in Germany, White House officials disclosed that the United States planned to give Ukraine a medium- to long-range surface-to-air missile system that would improve its ability to fend off Russian attacks from a greater distance, along with other military assistance.
At the NATO meeting, Biden said that the United Nations will increase additional regular deployments in the Baltic countries and send more troops to Romania. He added that the Trump administration had originally planned to have a permanent headquarters for the Army’s V Corps in Poland.
Additionally, the United States intends to deploy two F-35 squadrons to the U.k., ramp up air defense and other abilities in Germany and Italy, and expand naval operations in Spain by deploying six destroyers instead of the current four.
Prior to the NATO summit, Biden met with the G-7 leaders for 3 days in the Bavarian Alps. The primary topics of discussion at this time were how to strengthen solidarity for Ukraine and sanction Russia.
The group, which together controls half of the world’s economy, decided to impose fresh restrictions on Moscow’s military supply chain, ban the import of Russian gold, and continue developing a system to regulate the cost of Russian oil imports.
Just over a week will pass after Biden returns to Washington before he departs again for the Middle East, where he will make trips in Saudi Arabia and Israel.
