CNN –
President Joe Biden and Alliance leaders enter the first day of Tuesday’s high-profile NATO summit with a renewed sense of unity, after clinching a major victory Monday night when Turkey agreed to Sweden’s bid to join the Alliance.
Leaders are meeting here in Vilnius, Lithuania, for a two-day summit that could become one of the most momentous meetings for the Alliance in modern history, coming about a month after Ukraine’s slow counter-offensive began and weeks after A failed mutiny in Russia to take place at a major summit could threaten the leadership of President Vladimir Putin.
While national security experts had warned that Sweden’s non-admission to NATO could portend fissures in the alliance, Monday night’s announcement — which came just hours after Biden landed in the Lithuanian capital — marks a surprise U-turn by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, which has been blocking the application for membership for more than a year.
Biden and other members have touted unprecedented unity within the alliance in the face of war with Russia, and the move also represents a clear show of power for leaders ahead of the summit.
The Swedes will not join the alliance immediately – it needs a parliamentary procedure in Turkey to officially approve their membership, and Hungary must also drop its objections, which it will do now that Erdoğan is on board.
Biden called for “swift ratification” in a statement following the news.
The US president is set to address other important issues in Vilnius this week, including his controversial decision to send cluster munitions to Ukraine — which are banned by more than 100 countries, including some key US allies. There are also questions for leaders about a path for Ukraine to eventually join NATO and the possibility of additional security assistance, with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy expected to be present in person on Wednesday and to hold a face-to-face meeting with Biden.
The meeting will be another sign of unity as Zelenskyy’s participation in the summit has been questioned. Russia’s war in Ukraine is among the top agenda items for NATO leaders, as is discussion of a future path for the war-torn country’s entry into the alliance, which has caused some division among leaders .
In a positive sign of Ukraine’s efforts to join NATO, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said the alliance had agreed to let Kiev bypass a detailed formal process in its bid to join the alliance. Kuleba said in a tweet Monday that “after intense talks, NATO allies have reached a consensus on the removal of MAP.” [Membership Action Plan] of Ukraine’s path to membership.”
But in an interview with CNN’s Fareed Zakaria last week, Biden said Ukraine was not yet ready to join NATO and said Russia’s war in Ukraine must end before the alliance could consider including Kiev in its ranks .
The summit also comes days after the US announced it would send cluster munitions to Ukraine for the first time. This move is aimed at strengthening Ukraine’s offensive capabilities, which has caused public dissent among allied countries. Biden described this step as a “difficult decision”. ‘ in his interview with Zakaria, but was necessary because Ukraine is running out of ammunition.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak told reporters over the weekend that the UK has “signed to a convention prohibiting the manufacture or use of cluster munitions and discouraging their use”.
But National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan tried to downplay any concerns that Biden’s decision to send cluster munitions would represent a “rupture” with allied countries opposed to using such equipment, and said the US has had no negative feedback from it since the announcement allies received.
“I don’t think there will be any ruptures, divisions or divisions as a result of this decision. Even if many allies agree with the signatories [the Oslo Convention] are in a situation where they themselves cannot say, “We are for cluster munitions.” But we haven’t heard from people saying that this cast doubt on our commitment, on the unity of the coalition, or on our belief that the United States playing an important and positive role as the leader of this coalition in Ukraine,” he said.
Earlier in the day, Biden will attend an official arrival ceremony and bilateral meeting with the summit’s host, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda. He will also attend an official welcome with Nausėda and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, who recently agreed to extend his term for another year. NATO leaders will participate in a family photo before the start of their first meeting. And later Tuesday, Biden will hold a bilateral meeting with Erdoğan on the sidelines of the summit, where the two are expected to discuss efforts to “(enhance) defense and deterrence in the Euro-Atlantic space,” Biden’s statement said.
Biden arrived on Monday night after meeting Sunak at 10 Downing Street and speaking to King Charles III. on climate change at Windsor Castle in Vilnius. This was the President’s first meeting with the monarch since his coronation.