NATO’s solidarity will be put to the test at the July 11-12 NATO summit in Lithuania’s capital Vilnius amid the Russia-Ukraine war. The biggest challenge facing the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) will be Ukraine’s membership, which was assured last year.
The issue of Ukraine’s membership could also become a cause of rift among NATO members. Some members believe that Ukraine should be given NATO membership. It is also necessary to prevent Russian aggression in Eastern Europe. However, some members are apprehensive that this could lead to a wider war.
US President Biden’s National Security Advisor Jack Sullivan says that the conference should try to get member countries to pay more attention to the inclusion of Ukraine in NATO. NATO, the world’s largest security alliance, is also struggling to reach an agreement on adding Sweden as its 32nd member.
According to Douglas Lute, who was the US ambassador to NATO during the tenure of former President Barack Obama, Russian President Vladimir Putin will stand to gain if there is a rift in the solidarity of the organization members. He said Putin was thinking that the Russia-Ukraine war would disintegrate NATO, but the opposite happened. This war has further strengthened NATO.
In the conference, once again people’s eyes will be on Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who is against Sweden’s membership. Turkey believes that Sweden and Finland give shelter to Kurdistan Workers’ Party and Gelen agitators.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant should also be discussed at the NATO summit. He accused Ukraine of systematically attacking the nuclear plant.
