NATO statement full of belligerent rhetoric and lies

According to Reuters, the NATO summit in Washington's planned statement is full of "belligerent rhetoric" and the China-related content has provocations and lies, a spokesperson for the Chinese mission to the European Union said.

The draft communique said China has become a decisive enabler of Russia's war effort in Ukraine and Beijing continues to pose systemic challenges to Europe and to security.

"As we all know, China is not the creator of the crisis in Ukraine," the spokesperson said, according to a statement released by the Chinese Mission to the EU on Thursday.

"The declaration of the NATO summit in Washington is full of Cold War mentality and belligerent rhetoric, and China-related content is full of provocations, lies, incitement and smears," the spokesperson said.

Leaders of NATO countries stressed a membership pledge for Ukraine, took a stronger stance on China's support for Russia, and the declaration strengthened past NATO language on China.

"China's core position on the Ukraine issue is to promote peace talks and political settlement, which has been widely recognized and appreciated by the international community," said the spokesperson.

Beijing put forward a 12-point paper more than a year ago that set out general principles for ending the war, but did not get into specifics. It received a lukewarm reception at the time in both Russia and Ukraine.

For its part, China has repeatedly lashed out at NATO criticisms and has warned against its expansion into the Asia-Pacific region.

Leaders of Japan, South Korea, New Zealand and Australia, in attendance at NATO, have forged stronger ties with the security alliance amid rising concerns over China's aggressions in the South China Sea.

On Wednesday, a spokesperson for China's foreign ministry said, "We firmly oppose NATO acting beyond its characterization as a regional defensive alliance, inserting itself into the Asia-Pacific to incite confrontation and rivalry, and disrupting the prosperity and stability in this region."

 

 

 

 

NATO summit under Biden’s uncertain future

When dozens of world leaders convene in Washington, DC, for the NATO 75th anniversary summit next week, they won’t only be looking to underscore the unity of the alliance — they will also be carefully watching US President Joe Biden after his poor debate performance last week.

Biden’s showing at the CNN presidential debate was met with shock and concern by diplomats around the world. Now, the president will be under immense pressure to perform well at the high-stakes gathering and show that he is still a viable competitor to former President Donald Trump, multiple diplomats told CNN.

The concern is compounded because many believe Trump poses a threat to the future of NATO. He publicly railed against the alliance during his first term in office and did so again recently on the campaign trail, even going as far as suggesting Russia “do whatever the hell they want” to members who don’t meet defense spending targets.

Questions about Biden and his political future inject further uncertainty into a summit where key allies are also dealing with major political changes.

The Labour Party took power in the United Kingdom overnight for the first time in more than a decade, putting a new prime minister — Keir Starmer — in place just days before the start of the summit on Tuesday.

On Sunday, the second round of French parliamentary elections is taking place, which could potentially lead to a far-right prime minister taking office in a massive defeat to President Emmanuel Macron’s coalition.

However, as one former senior US diplomat said, there will “certainly be a spotlight” on Biden at the NATO summit.

“How does he look? And how does he sound? And how does he move? Does he look fit? And I suppose he and his team (will) be trying to focus on making him look spry and more with it,” said the former diplomat, who is a veteran of several of NATO summits.

Biden will undoubtedly be feeling the pressure to perform well, the former diplomat said.

The three-day summit is highly choreographed, and typically little is left to chance. It is preceded by months and months of prep work, discussion and negotiations among the 32 member countries.

During the summit, there will be numerous opportunities for counterparts to interact with Biden — the North Atlantic Council meeting, formal bilateral meetings, a leader’s dinner.

The president will be supported and accompanied to key meetings by Blinken, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and other key national security officials. Officials such as Blinken and Austin may have one-on-one meetings with their counterparts as well.

Diplomats say the chances of Biden making a major blunder at the NATO summit are limited, but one European diplomat said, that even if Biden does well, “This will still leave doubt,” given how poorly he performed at the debate.

“If there is another clear failure, this will feed into the ‘crisis mood,’” this diplomat said.

The allies are not expected to raise Biden’s debate performance with him directly, but it is expected that they will discuss the debate and their observations next week among themselves.

Another European diplomat said they believe the debate will be used, “even subconsciously, as a benchmark in all kinds of contexts” between now and Election Day.

CNN has reached out to the White House for comment. One US official said they were not aware of concerns that Biden’s debate performance would overshadow the NATO summit, saying that the leaders have spent a good deal of time with the US president, including last month at the G7 summit in Italy.

However, some diplomats were already concerned about Biden’s endurance that summit.

Another source told CNN that British officials who spoke with Biden during the G7 in June assessed he was fine and with it when it came to topics discussed during meetings, but that there was a lot of concern after the debate performance that he did not perform like the same person they interacted with in the meetings.

Adding to the pressure is the increased significance of this year’s NATO summit. The alliance will mark its 75th anniversary and seek to shore up consensus on issues such as support to Ukraine, particularly ahead of a potential change in leadership in the United States.

Trump’s stance on the campaign trail that his adherence to the alliance would be conditional has stirred concerns in the international community. Some question whether Trump will seize the opportunity to again denounce NATO next week. The former US diplomat remarked that “it’s hard to imagine him staying out of it.”

One NATO diplomat told CNN that the attention on Biden next week is a double-edged sword — while they appreciate the immense attention on the summit, there is concern that the actual substance will be lost as all eyes are on the US president.

Meanwhile, the Biden administration has sought to focus attention on the content of the summit and away from Biden’s debate performance.

“Next week, in Washington, DC, as you know, the historic summit is to mark the 75th anniversary of NATO’s founding,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Tuesday.

“For 75 years, NATO has kept us and the world safer. And under the president’s leadership, this president’s leadership, our Alliance is stronger, it’s larger, it’s more united than ever.”

 

Pakistan Succumbing to US Pressure

And finally Pakistan has opened Nato supply route, without demanding any transit fee on simple sorry by Hillary Clinton, US Secretary of State.

In return Pakistan is likely to get US$1.1 billion due under Coalition Support Fund, which has been subject of wrangling between the two countries.

Pakistan’s claims often rejected and smaller sums approved by Washington for reimbursement. It is not a favor because the amount had been approved and already gone through the process and pertains to services rendered before closure of the supply route.

The announcement coming from the two governments suggest that the suspension of Nato supplies was not in the interest of Pakistan, which seem incorrect. In fact Nato had to incur almost three times the expense in using alternate routes. On top of all opening of route was necessary for withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan, expected to commence in 2014.

Most offending is one of the editorials published in The New York Times alleging that the military of the 'crippled and chaotic' state continues to play a double game of accepting aid from America while enabling the Afghan Taliban. It also said that Pakistan's political system is growing ‘ever more dysfunctional’.

Pakistanis fail to understand because on one hand says the US administration says it needs Pakistan’s help in reopening a critical supply route to Afghanistan and in urging the Taliban to engage in peace talks so that combat troops can be withdrawn from Afghanistan by the end of 2014 and on the other hand Defense Secretary Leon Panetta says “reaching the limits of our patience.”

According to the editorial the US President, Barak Obama declined to hold an official meeting with President of Pakistan, Asif Zardari at the NATO summit meeting in Chicago in May. It also said The United States has little choice but to continue drone attacks on militants in Pakistan. It has urged India to become more involved in Afghanistan. Surprising was the phrase ‘Pakistan is paranoid about India’, which it sees as a mortal adversary.

Equally disturbing for Pakistan and United States should be the threats from Pakistani Taliban to attack Nato supply trucks and kill its drivers if they tried to resume supplies to troops in Afghanistan. Prior to the closure they have carried out dozens of attacks; disrupting supplies destined for Afghanistan, and have repeatedly warned of more if Pakistan reopened supply route.

Opening up of Nato route is likely to get fierce response from religious groups and politicians who have been demanding Pakistan should pull itself out of proxy US war in Afghanistan. Opponents of the present regime enjoy street power and if these demonstrations turn violent containing these would be difficult.