IRIA News

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg arrived in Washington D.C. on June 1 to discuss the implications of the Russia-Ukraine war and preparations for the NATO summit in Madrid with senior officials of the United States.

On June 2, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg held meetings with U.S. President Joseph R. Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris to discuss the preparations for the June 29-30 NATO Summit in Madrid, Spain.

According to the White House statement, the leaders discussed “the implications of Russia’s war on Ukraine for Transatlantic security and the importance of strengthening NATO’s deterrence and defense, in addition to ensuring NATO is properly resourced to address a wide range of challenges, from cyber to climate change.”

The U.S. leaders and NATO secretary general also welcomed the applications by Finland and Sweden for NATO membership, and “President Biden conveyed his strong support for efforts by Secretary General Stoltenberg to facilitate a rapid accession process that addresses the security concerns of all Allies,” the statement added.

Soon after meeting with Stoltenberg, U.S. President Joe Biden posted on his Twitter: “The U.S. and our Allies will strengthen NATO’s deterrence and defense and tackle new challenges, from cyber to climate change.”

Stoltenberg also held separate meetings with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, and National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan.

During his meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Blinken, Stoltenberg stated that NATO and Allies’ strong support to Ukraine “helps ensure that President Putin’s aggression is not rewarded and that Ukraine prevails.”

NATO Secretary General Stoltenberg further added that “strong NATO deterrence is helping to remove any room for miscalculation in Moscow about NATO’s readiness to defend and protect all Allies. European Allies and Canada are also stepping up with more troops, higher readiness, and increased defense spending, Stoltenberg added.

According to the NATO press release, U.S. Secretary of State Blinken and NATO Secretary General Stoltenberg also discussed “the NATO Summit in Madrid, where Allied leaders will agree on NATO’s next Strategic Concept, strengthen the Alliance’s deterrence and defense, and prepare for an age of increased competition with authoritarian powers like Russia and China.”

The Secretary General said “We must continue to invest in our defense, and to invest in NATO, because North America and Europe, working together in a strong NATO, can keep our one billion people safe in a more dangerous world,” according to the statement.

During his visit, Stoltenberg also held a meeting with U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin to discuss the ongoing war in Ukraine and ways to strengthen the NATO alliance. U.S. Defense Secretary Austin said at the beginning of the Pentagon meeting, “I especially want to thank you for your firm and principled leadership of this indispensable alliance during this historic time. In the face of Russia’s unprovoked aggression against Ukraine, NATO has grown stronger, and more united.”

Austin told Stoltenberg that Russian President Vladimir Putin thought he would be able to break NATO and separate allies from one another, instead, he galvanized the world by his actions. Austin further emphasized that he has never seen the alliance “more energized, more united, and so it’s a special time for me having been around NATO for most of my adult life.”

NATO Secretary General Stoltenberg told the U.S. defense secretary that the alliance needs to ensure that “NATO continues to be the most successful Alliance in history, adapting and changing when the world is changing, and now we are faced with a more competitive world, a world where we see authoritarian powers like Russia and China also working very closely together, and of course this matters for our security.”

Austin told Stoltenberg that it is “important to increase the amount of common funding so that NATO has the resources that it needs to accomplish the tasks our leaders assigned us, and we fully support your efforts and applaud your efforts to ensure that NATO has the resources that it needs.”