Biden to Make His First NATO Visit

President Joe Biden is all set to take part in his very first in-person North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) summit since taking office and reaffirm the U.S.’ commitment toward the military alliance. 

This summit comes at a time when President Biden is looking to reassert American leadership on the world stage and improve global partnerships. 

On Sunday, President Joe Biden told reporters at Cornwall, “We do not view NATO as a sort of a protection racket. We believe that NATO is vital to our ability to keep American security for the next … remainder of the century.”

Biden is expected to take a significantly different approach to his predecessor, former President Trump, who often rallied against NATO and questioned the need for the existence of the organization. Trump also argued that the United States was contributing more than what was fair toward the organization. 

During the NATO summit, leaders in attendance are likely to discuss how to go about managing future threats and ways to “ensure effective burden sharing,” as per Jen Psaki, the White House press secretary. 

The White House also said in a recent release that during the NATO summit, members will be announcing a new concept that is expected to guide the approach of the alliance going forward as the strategic environment changes – this includes threats from Russia and China. 

Biden will also be meeting with Recep Tayyip Erdogoan, the Turking President, while in Brussels. Experts have indicated that the meeting could be tense at points, given that Biden officially went on to recognize the Ottoman Empire’s massacre of Armenians as a genocide.