By Olivia Reed
All thirty-two allies gathered in the 2024 NATO Summit in Washington DC on July 9, in honour and to commemorate the seventy-fifth anniversary of the Transatlantic Alliance.
The summit had the key objective of demonstrating unity and strength, something that was made all the more significant following the bombing of the biggest Ukrainian children’s hospital, Okhmatdyt, in Kyiv on July 8. The attack was heavily criticised by U.S. President, and host of the summit, Joe Biden, who stated that the bombings were a ‘horrific reminder of Russia’s brutality.’
The underlying focus on the security and defence of Ukraine was highlighted by the second meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Council, attended by leaders of the allied nations. The focus of the council is on Ukraine’s role within NATO, whether it moves closer to a membership status that poses a threat to Russia, or if it remains an informally allied nation.
Despite the challenging discussions that shaped the agenda within the summit, there was a slight focus on the celebration of Finland and Sweden officially becoming NATO members. This is a significant milestone due to the most recent member state prior to this being Montenegro in 2017, however, the focus will be centred on whether Ukraine will gain membership and become the third member state in two years.
Just four days after Labour’s historic landslide victory, Prime Minister Keir Starmer jetted off to the summit in Washington. His first appearance on an international stage was marked with a clear message of “enduring and unwavering commitment to the NATO alliance and Ukraine.”
He reflected on the involvement of the Labour Party, under Clement Attlee, in establishing NATO and pledged to carry on the work of his predecessors. Starmer outlined key threats to the West’s security, including Russia and its links between North Korea and Iran, conflicts in the Middle East and North Africa, as well as the “challenge of China.” Starmer openly criticised Putin, highlighting the “awful crimes that Russia has committed” with reference to the most recent bombings in Kyiv.
He then promised “£3 billion worth of support to Ukraine each year… for as long as it takes” as well as promising to speed up the delivery of military aid, and, together with NATO allies, pledging “€40 billion of support to Ukraine every year.” This is a significant step in the UK’s support for Ukraine, marking one of Starmer’s first appearances on the world stage.
During the summit, Starmer and Foreign Secretary David Lammy met with over 31 allied states within NATO, including ideologically aligned leaders such as German President Olaf Scholz and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as well as more controversial figures within Europe, such as Hungarian Prime Minister Victor Orbán and Italian President Georgia Meloni. Particular importance was placed upon Orbán due to his recent controversial meetings held with Russian President Putin and former US President Trump. The importance of reaffirming a stronger relationship with such politically opposed allies was high on the summit's agenda.
The series of controversial meetings held by Orbán with Putin and President Xi Jinping has led to a vast amount of speculation surrounding Hungary’s loyalty to NATO. The controversial meetings, referred to as a “peace tour”, concluded with a private meeting between Orbán and former President Trump. It is no secret that Orbán represents an ideological divergence from the vast majority of NATO allies. To highlight the rejection of such ideology, Finnish President Alexander Stubb openly stated that despite Orbán being in the minority of the divide on ideology, the discussions with “authoritarian regimes that are violating international law” were also pointless.
The divide created by Orbán has caused a further spark in debate due to many reports within the summit suggesting that Hungarian officials have not hidden their preference for Republicans and Donald Trump. Orbán’s foreign minister openly expressed that “We see a chance for peace if President Trump is winning” essentially endorsing Trump with the promise of it leading to favourable US-Hungary relationships.
It has been widely speculated that Orbán is attempting to assume a mediator role in the conflict in Ukraine, directly contradicting the consensus within NATO. President Stubb also commented that the process of NATO membership for Ukraine is pending, and therefore Orbán has nothing to negotiate with, on behalf of Putin. In addition, Orbán’s support for negotiations with Russia was met with fierce criticism from Lithuania’s foreign minister, Gabrielius Landsbergis, who stated Orbán is “representing neither my country nor the European Union” in his role as President of the European Council. What is clear is that Orbán’s rhetoric is successfully destabilising the alliance and casting doubt on Hungary’s commitment to NATO.
With the upcoming US Presidential election in November, a significant amount of emphasis was placed upon Biden’s leadership of the summit and his competency to perform as President. The most significant incident regarding Biden’s competency was present in his referral of Ukrainian President Zelenskyy as Russian President Putin, and his own Vice-President Kamala Harris, as former President Trump. This significant mistake fuelled a further escalation in calls for Biden to forfeit his candidacy and clear the way for a younger candidate to run as the democratic nominee.
Despite the rather embarrassing mistake, most NATO leaders defended him when presented with the chance. President Macron suggested that it was a ‘simple slip of the tongue’ and that it had happened to him on numerous other occasions. Likewise, Starmer successfully dodged questions attacking Biden’s age and competency instead highlighting the successes of the President during the NATO summit. This suggests that despite the turmoil within domestic American politics over the debate on Joe Biden’s mental fitness to run the country, on an international scale Joe Biden is still largely respected by most of the world leaders within NATO.
The summit concluded by stating that Ukraine was on an ‘irreversible path’ to NATO membership but did not outright offer it to President Zelenskyy. It was also decided that NATO allies would contribute approximately $43 billion to supporting Ukraine against Russian invasion, as well as commitments from allied states to air defence support and individual security deals. The key drawing point of this summit is whether President Putin will be satisfied with the non-commital approach to Ukrainian membership.
Image: Flickr
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