The three-day North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) summit will start Tuesday in Washington, D.C., USA. Ahead of the highly anticipated summit, Reuters listed the leaders to watch, including US President Joe Biden, newly appointed UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, President Emmanuel Macron of France, and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol.
Biden, who is facing risks of potential replacement, is expected to draw the most attention. Despite mounting calls for his resignation from the Democratic Party following a debate fiasco last month, he is determined to remain in the race. During the NATO summit, Biden is scheduled to meet with Starmer and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
In addition to seeking weapons support for the ongoing war with Russia, Zelenskyy is expected to give all to gain NATO membership. At last year’s NATO summit in Lithuania, the leaders released a joint statement, pledging to open the door to NATO for Ukraine on the condition that all member states agree and the conditions for membership are met. This essentially promised conditional (rapid) membership for Ukraine. Zelenskyy is expected to ramp up his bid to join NATO with the rising possibility of former President Donald Trump’s return.
This NATO summit marks the first global summit for Starmer, who helmed the Labour Party to a landslide victory in last week’s UK general election. Starmer has promised continued support for Ukraine in its fight against Russia.
Meanwhile, Macron, facing a crisis after the early general election in France, is also expected to draw attention. Foreign media are interested in whether Macron can maintain a strong voice on the international stage.
Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban, known for his pro-Russian stance, will discuss a peace agreement for Ukraine at NATO after a surprise visit to China the day before. Since Hungary took over the European Union’s rotating presidency in July, Orban has continuously visited Ukraine, Russia, and China. His visit to Russia sparked outrage among European leaders.
Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, whose country joined NATO in March this year, will attend the summit. Reuters also named Yoon a leader to watch. Yoon plans to discuss the threat to Europe posed by North Korea’s close ties with Russia with the leaders.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is expected to face demands for increased defense spending from NATO members. In 2014, NATO member countries agreed to spend 2% of their Gross Domestic Product (GDP) on defense. The Canadian government plans to raise its defense spending from the current 1.4% of GDP to 1.76% by 2030, but this has been criticized as insufficient.
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