President Biden will welcome NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg to the White House on Monday.
The meeting is set “to discuss the upcoming NATO summit” in Vilnius, Lithuania in July, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters Wednesday.
“President Biden and Secretary General Stoltenberg will review preparations for the Summit, including the work to further strengthen Allied deterrence and defense,” Jean-Pierre further said in a statement. “They will also discuss Allies’ support for Ukraine in the face of Russia’s brutal war of aggression.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Tuesday that security guarantees for his country ahead of its NATO accession should be enshrined in writing, adding that he considered the summit in Vilnius to be a “good platform” for reaching agreements on those guarantees.
“Otherwise, why would we even attend if we can’t obtain guarantees or signals concerning our future membership in the Alliance? Why would we be invited to this summit at all?” Zelensky added.
Biden and Stoltenberg’s meeting Monday will occur the same day that “Air Defender 23” kicks off at Wunstorf Air Base in Germany. It will be the largest air deployment exercise in the history of NATO, involving 10,000 personnel and 250 aircraft from 25 mostly-NATO member nations along with Sweden and Japan.
On Tuesday, Biden hosted at the White House Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, who is widely viewed as a potential contender to replace Stoltenberg at NATO.
