Strong Biden's Speech At NATO Summit
- 10.07.2024, 10:01
The Alliance is better resourced than ever.
NATO includes 32 member states, and continues to ensure global security, said US President Joe Biden, speaking on July 9 in Washington at the celebrations dedicated to the 75th anniversary of NATO. His speech was published by the White House.
The President of the United States began his speech with a historical background – he recalled the moment of the founding of NATO in 1949, when, four years after the end of the Second World War, the leaders of 12 countries signed the Washington Treaty "and created the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the greatest and most effective defensive alliance in world history."
Now, according to Biden, NATO allies should look back with pride on all that they have achieved, "and with strength and determination to look to a common future." He noted that NATO countries together rebuilt Europe, survived decades of the Cold War, welcomed former adversaries into the Alliance, stopped ethnic cleansing in the Balkans and supported the United States after the September 11, 2001 attacks.
“Through all this history, when great changes occurred, people would ask, 'Can NATO adapt?' And every time, we proved we could adapt. And we did: evolving our strategies to stay ahead of threats, reaching out to new partners to increase our effectiveness... Today, NATO is more powerful than ever: 32 nations strong. And today, NATO is better resourced than ever,” the US president said.
He noted that in 2020, when he was elected president, only nine NATO countries spent 2% of their GDP on defence. This year, 23 countries will spend at least 2%, and some will spend more.
“My friends, it is good that we are stronger than ever because this moment in history requires our collective strength. The autocrats want to overthrow the global order that has persisted for almost 80 years. Terrorist groups continue to make evil plans to cause chaos and suffering,” Biden said.
Speaking about the war in Ukraine, he stressed that now is "a turning point for Europe, for the transatlantic community and for the whole world."
“Let's remember: the fact that NATO remains a stronghold of global security did not happen by chance. It wasn't inevitable. Time and again, at critical moments, we preferred unity to disunity, progress to retreat, freedom to tyranny, and hope to fear. Time and again, we have supported our shared vision of a peaceful and prosperous transatlantic community. Here at this summit, we are going to say that NATO is ready and able to implement this concept today and in the future,” Biden said.