Biden warns: "NATO will respond if Russia uses chemical weapons"
Five years have passed since the US retreated from its position on the international chessboard under the Trump administration. Biden promised to return to the multilateral path, and has done so in recent months, especially since the beginning of the invasion. "NATO is as strong and united as it has ever been," said the US president, who said on his arrival in Brussels that Putin "was counting on dividing the Alliance". "He never thought that NATO would be fully united. And I can assure you: NATO has never been stronger or more united in its entire history than it is today, thanks in large part to Vladimir Putin," the Democrat insisted.
In his most forceful statement, Biden assured that the Atlantic Alliance "will respond" in the event that Russia uses chemical weapons in Ukraine. The degree of retaliation, however, will depend "on the nature of their use". The US president did not clarify whether such action would trigger NATO military intervention, but did not rule out such a scenario either: "We will decide when necessary". Biden issued the warning after meeting with G7 leaders to discuss new sanctions packages against Russia and its exclusion from the G20.
Five years have passed since Donald Trump's explicit threat to NATO. The former US president, absorbed in his America First doctrine, sowed discord within the Atlantic Alliance by calling it obsolete and even rejecting the mutual defence commitment. A scenario that led French President Emmanuel Macron to say in 2019: "NATO is in a state of brain death". The French leader's statements, 'a priori' premonitory of its end or, at least, of its imminent reform, were applauded by the Kremlin, but could not have been more wrong.
The 30 leaders of the Atlantic Alliance met urgently at the NATO complex in Brussels on Thursday in a new show of unity. Newly opened in 2017, the modern facilities hosted an extraordinary summit on the occasion of Russia's recent invasion of Ukraine, an aggression that has set off alarm bells in the West and has only strengthened the role that NATO, created in 1949 against the Soviet Union, has historically played. A result of which Vladimir Putin should not be proud.
After several hours of meeting behind closed doors, the highest representatives of each member state reached a series of common commitments to strengthen Ukraine's military defences and, above all, to reinforce the Atlantic Alliance's borders, making use of the declarations of US President Joe Biden, who said he was prepared to defend "every inch" of NATO space in a clear warning to Moscow. Attacking one partner would mean, by activating Article 5, attacking them all.
At the end of the meeting, the head of the organisation, Jens Stoltenberg, said that the allies would provide Kiev with detection, protection and medical support equipment and training for decontamination and crisis management in the event of any chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear attack by Russia. Logistical support was pledged on Wednesday as a result of "real threats" of Moscow using chemical weaponry in Ukraine in the face of a stalled invasion repelled by Ukrainian forces.
The Atlantic Alliance says it has activated all "chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear defence elements" as member states deploy additional chemical, biological and nuclear defences. All precaution is little, but it reveals the high degree of nervousness and concern in the organisation, which sees such an offensive as likely. In Stoltenberg's words, NATO is taking steps both to support Ukraine and to defend itself.
But that was not all. The re-elected Stoltenberg, who will extend his stay as NATO Secretary General until September 2023 despite being chosen in February as the next governor of Norway's Central Bank in the face of "the biggest security crisis in a generation", also confirmed the information announced on Wednesday: the Atlantic Alliance will increase the contingent deployed in Eastern Europe. Around 40,000 troops are currently deployed in the Baltic states, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria, double the number since the beginning of the invasion.
It is Warsaw that amasses the largest number of troops: 10,500 Allied soldiers, in addition to the 120,000 Polish troops. And the organisation is also expected to shield its eastern flank with the creation of up to four combat groups deployed in Bulgaria, Hungary, Slovakia and Romania. A strategy of deterrence that adds to the strong condemnation of Moscow's unilateral action, which has been warned of its actions: "We will work with the rest of the international community to hold accountable those responsible for violations of international and humanitarian law, including war crimes," NATO said in a communiqué.
Ukrainian President Volodymir Zelensky spoke by video conference at a summit where he warned that Russia does not intend to stop in Ukraine, but "wants to go further". With this argument he called on NATO members to intervene directly in the conflict, but this time he did not demand the establishment of a no-fly zone.
Americas Coordinator: José Antonio Sierra
