NATO London Summit Day One
Highlights: Trump-Macron Row, S-400, Syria, Avoiding Cold War With Russia
07:01 04.12.2019
Get short URL
The two-day NATO summit of
heads of state and government titled "NATO Engages: Innovating the
Alliance", kicked off on Tuesday in London. US President Donald Trump, who
has previously slammed European bloc members for not spending enough on weapons
for the alliance, arrived in the United Kingdom on Monday night.
The arrival of the US
president was accompanied by anti-NATO rallies that engulfed the central part
of London beginning early Tuesday. Protesters also chanted anti-Trump slogans.
A local resident, who took to the streets of London with hundreds of
demonstrators, told journalists that Trump's "racist policies" have
lead to barriers and entry restrictions into the US for people from seven
countries.
Anti-Trump protests were
also held in London during the US president's first and second visits to the
UK, in 2018 and 2019.
Some protesters also opposed UK
Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who, in their opinion, has been serving the
interests of the US and not Great Britain.
The protests have not
spoiled the planned schedule of the NATO summit.
Trump-Macron Row
The summit began with a
meeting between Trump and NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg. After the
official introduction and exchanges of commandments about the progress done
within the bloc, reporters pounded the US president with questions. One
much-anticipated comment was Trump's reaction to the recent controversial
statement by French President Emmanuel Macron, who had described
NATO as "brain dead".
"I heard
that President Macron said NATO is “brain dead”, I think that’s very insulting
to a lot of different forces, including the man that does a very good job in
running NATO", Trump said before changing the subject to criticize France
and its domestic policies.
"France is not doing
well, economically, at all. They’re starting to tax other people’s products, so
therefore, we go and tax them. That’s just taking place right now, on
technology, and we’re doing their wines and everything else. And it’s - it’s a
very tough statement to make when you have such difficulty in France. You look
at what’s happened with the yellow vests, or you look at what’s going on during
certain parts of their season. They’ve had a very rough year. And you just
can’t go around making statements like that about NATO", Trump said.
Stoltenberg was more
diplomatic in answering the question.
"NATO is
active. NATO is agile. NATO is adapting. And we have just implemented the
largest reinforcement of collective defense since the end of the Cold War, with
high readiness of troops", he said, adding that "For the first time
in our history, we have combat-ready troops in the eastern part of the
Alliance".
At a joint news conference
with Macron later on Tuesday, Trump seemed less combative, saying that the two
countries had "done a lot of good things together". Macron and Trump
then clashed over foreign Daesh fighters captured in Syria.
Trump jokingly offered them
to France, saying "Would you like some nice [Daesh] fighters? You can take
everyone you want". Macron replied that "let's be serious" and
that ISIS [Daesh] fighters from Europe were "a tiny minority", and
that the "number one priority" was to get rid of the terrorist group.
Trump objected
to Macron's answer, by making it personal, saying, "This is why [Macron]
is a great politician because that was one of the greater non-answers I have
ever heard, and that's OK", adding criticism that NATO countries were
paying less than the bloc's guidelines of at least 2 percent of GDP towards the
alliance and warning of possible new trade measures.
"Maybe I'll deal with
them from a trade standpoint", Trump said.
Macron, however, said that
France - which currently
spends 1.84 percent of its GDP on its military - would reach the minimum, and
acknowledged that the US had "overinvested" in NATO for several
decades.
Russia's S-400 Missiles
One of the burning issues
raised by reporters on Tuesday during the meeting of Stoltenberg and Trump was
Turkey’s recent acquisition of the Russian-made S-400 air defence missiles,
which has put Ankara at odds with its NATO allies.
Trump hinted at imposing
possible measures against Turkey over the deal with Moscow but did not make a
direct answer.
"We are looking at it
now and we are talking about it now", Trump said when asked if Washington
would issue sanctions on Turkey over the S-400 deal with Russia.
Stoltenberg also, dodged a
direct response, and in his answer only referred again to the unity of the
military alliance.
"... The
strength of NATO is that, despite these differences, we have proven again and
again able to unite around our core task to protect and defend each other. And
that’s exactly what they’re doing now. We are doing more together, North
America and Europe, than have done for many decades. So the paradox is that,
despite so much, as I say, some political differences, we are always able to
agree and unite around our core task to stay together", Stoltenberg said.
Only Macron appeared to be
less unequivocal in his answer regarding Ankara's purchase of the S-400
systems, saying Tuesday during his clash with Trump in a separate news
conference that "How is it possible to be a member of the alliance [...]
and buy things from Russia?"
Turkish President Recep
Tayyip Erdogan earlier stated that while the "security umbrella"
provided by NATO is very important, Turkey’s geographical location necessitates
a multifaceted foreign policy approach, adding that Turkey’s cooperation with
Russia and China, while important, are not an alternative to its relationship
with NATO and should instead be seen as an addition to Ankara's foreign policy.
Turkey-Syrian Issue
Not only Turkey’s recent
acquisition of the S-400 has stirred the NATO allies, but also Ankara's recent
military invasion, dubbed "Operation Peace Spring" to eradicate
Kurdish forces caused global anger. The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces
(SDF) have been key allies of the US-led coalition against Daesh in northern
Syria and have prompted most NATO members to impose arms embargoes on Turkey,
leaving it in the most isolated state within the alliance since its accession
in 1952.
On Tuesday
night, a four-party meeting dedicated primarily to the situation in Syria, was
held ahead of Wednesday’s NATO leader's summit. Macron and Erdogan met in
Downing Street with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and host, UK Prime Minister
Boris Johnson.
The chancellor noted after
the closed-door session that the leaders of the four countries
unilaterally agreed that
the fight against Daesh terrorists should be continued and completed.
"We will
continue contacts on how this will be done. Secondly, we support all the
efforts of UN special envoy Geir Pedersen on the political process, I mean the
discussion of the constitution, and we will actively do it", Merkel
stressed, adding that the voluntary return of Syrian refugees to the areas
where Turkey and Russia provided security could only happen with the
participation of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for
Refugees.
According to Merkel, this
issue will be the topic of further discussions in February.
The idea of a quartet
meeting between the four leaders was suggested by Johnson several weeks ago,
following tensions between European capitals and Ankara over Turkey’s military
invasion in northern Syria.
NATO allies, including
France and Germany, criticized Erdogan's 'Operation Peace Spring', noting the
potential for a massive humanitarian crisis and wider instability in the
region.
Ankara expressed its
determination to clear northern Syria both of Daesh and the YPG/PKK groups -
designated by Ankara as terrorist cabals - to create a safe zone along the
border for the voluntary resettlement of Syrian refugees. Turkey claims that it
is currently hosting some 3.6 million Syrian refugees.
Turkey and NATO,
specifically the United States, have different positions on the current
situation in Syria, given that the US continues to support the PYD and other
Kurdish organizations. The differences have resulted in a strained relationship
between Turkey and the bloc.
"If our friends at NATO
do not recognize as terrorist organizations those we consider terrorist
organizations... we will stand against any step that will be taken there",
Erdogan said before departing for London.
Avoiding 'New Cold War'
During a joint news
conference with Trump, the NATO secretary-general also touched
upon another pressing issue - relations with the bloc's biggest neighbor, Russia, and the US
withdrawal from the hallmark 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty
(INF) treaty. Stoltenberg stressed that the bloc "will strive for a better
relationship with Russia".
"...I
strongly also, as the president [Trump], believe in the importance of having
dialogue with Russia. Russia is our biggest neighbor and Russia is here to
stay, and we will strive for a better relationship with Russia [...] We need to
avoid a new arms race. We need to avoid a new Cold War", Stoltenberg said,
echoing earlier allegations made by Washington that Moscow violated the INF
treaty.
"...And therefore, we
also very much [believe] that Russia has violated the INF Treaty, which banned
all of the intermediate-range missiles in Europe. The good thing is that NATO
was able to respond in a unified way. We all agreed that Russia was in
violation. We all supported the US decision, because a treaty will not work if
it’s only respected by one side", Stoltenberg said.
The INF accord was
terminated on 2 August at the initiative of the Trump administration, after
Washington formally suspended its INF obligations six months earlier. Both
countries have repeatedly accused each other of violating the deal which banned
any ground-launched ballistic and cruise missiles with ranges of 500 to 5,500
kilometers (310 to 3,417 miles).
In September, Russian
President Vladimir Putin sent a proposal to leaders of several countries,
including NATO members, to introduce a moratorium on deploying missiles banned
by the INF Treaty to Europe and other regions. Later, NATO confirmed that it
had received the letter but did not consider the proposal credible.
Stoltenberg said Tuesday
that one way to resume talks
on the restoration of
the INF is finding "ways to include China", a proposal that has been
repeatedly denied by Beijing.
"Arms
control is something I know that the president [Trump] is very focused on. I
really would like to see progress on arms control with Russia. But also, in one
way, we will have to find ways to include China. Because, in the future, China
has to be part of the arms control efforts", Stoltenberg said.
*Daesh (IS, ISIS, ISIL,
Islamic State) is a terrorist group banned in Russia and many other states.
Read more:
/https://www.niagarafallsreview.ca/content/dam/thestar/news/canada/2021/09/25/huawei-executive-meng-wanzhou-receives-warm-welcome-upon-return-to-china/_1_meng_wanzhou_2.jpg)
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.