President Joe Biden will consult with U.S. allies on Russia's "aggressive policies" as well as issues surrounding China as North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) leaders are set to discuss revising its strategic concept.
Biden hopes to use the summit being held in Brussels on Monday to underscore the nation's "ironclad commitment" to Article 5 in NATO's Strategic Concept, which states that "an attack on one is an attack on all and will be met with a collective response."
As NATO leaders seek to revise the document for the first time in years, Biden will argue that new framework is needed to deal with the world's "evolving strategic environment," including Russia's "aggressive policies and actions; challenges posed by the People's Republic of China to our collective security, prosperity, and values."
On Sunday, the White House said that NATO allies will commit to new military concepts and strategies to 30-nation alliance deterrence and defense posture to "meet threats from Russia and elsewhere" while also monitoring Russian deployments in and around Ukraine.
NATO leaders are also expected to agree to update its strategic concept to include threats posed by cybersecurity and attacks as well as climate change.
Biden's targeting of action against Russia comes as President Vladimir Putin said that relations between Russia and the United States are at an all-time low while praising Biden's predecessor Donald Trump.
Speaking to NBC, Putin described Trump as an "extraordinary individual, talented individual" whereas Biden is "radically different" because he has spent "virtually his entire adulthood" in politics.
Biden has frequently clashed with Putin over the years, including referring to him as a "killer" during an interview with ABC in March and claiming that his Russian counterpart would "pay the price" for allegedly interfering in the 2020 election.
Biden is set to meet with Putin in Geneva on Wednesday following his meeting with NATO leaders in the Belgium capital.
The president is also due to talk with NATO secretary Jens Stoltenberg in Brussels. Speaking to reporters on Friday, Stoltenberg highlighted the need to update NATO's strategic concept, which has not been revised since 2010.
"For instance, in the current strategic concept, China is not mentioned with a single word. And climate change is hardly mentioned at all. And of course, our relationship with Russia was at a very different place at that time compared to where we are today," Stoltenberg said, via VOA.
"Today, we are at the low point since the Cold War in our relationship with Russia, and more sophisticated cyberattacks and many of the challenges have evolved over these years."
Stoltenberg said it is possible to talk with China on issues such as climate change and arms control, but that NATO is concerned about the country's "significant military buildup" and "coercive behavior."
He added: "We're not entering a new Cold War and China is not our adversary, not our enemy.
"But we need to address together, as an alliance, the challenges that the rise of China poses to our security."
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Ewan Palmer is a Newsweek News Reporter based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on US politics, domestic policy ... Read more
