2023 Vilnius summit
This article documents a current event. Information may change rapidly as the event progresses, and initial news reports may be unreliable. The latest updates to this article may not reflect the most current information. (July 2023) |
NATO Summit Vilnius 2023 2023 Vilnius Summit | |
---|---|
Host country | Lithuania |
Date | 11–12 July 2023 |
Venue(s) | LITEXPO |
Cities | Vilnius |
Follows | 2022 Madrid summit |
Precedes | 2024 Washington summit |
Website | www |
The 2023 Vilnius summit is an ongoing NATO summit taking place on 11–12 July 2023, in Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania. The summit was officially proposed during the 2022 Madrid summit and its dates were fixed on 9 November 2022.[1][2] In the summit, world leaders are set to discuss the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine as well as Ukraine and Sweden's prospective memberships in NATO.[3]
Background
The summit will be held in the context of an ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine. In his January 2023 address to the Lithuanian Parliament, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy described the summit as fateful.[4] Ukraine expressed the desire to be formally invited to NATO at the Vilnius summit.[5] By 8 July 2023, there were 24 member states that had formally declared their support for Ukraine's NATO membership.[6][7] Before the summit, on 4 July 2023, the former President of Lithuania Dalia Grybauskaitė has criticized the Western leaders who failed to prevent the Russian aggression and said that the refusal to invite Ukraine to NATO would be a mistake.[8]
Following the accession of Finland to NATO earlier in 2023, there has been an expectation among many NATO member states that Turkey and Hungary will complete the ratification process and allow the accession of Sweden before the summit.[9] However, due to Turkish objections, the likelihood of success remains unclear.[10]
Australia, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea will attend the summit to strengthen their ties with NATO due to increasing tensions with China and Russia.[11][12]
Preparations
Security
According to a representative of the Dignitary Protection Service of Lithuania, 40 heads of state and up to 150 other high-ranking officials will attend the summit and will require personal protection.[13] To ensure the safety and security, Lithuania committed around 1,500 police officers, including the anti-terrorist unit ARAS and the Criminal Police Bureau, as well as over 3,000 troops of the Lithuanian Armed Forces.[13] Additionally, police officers from Latvia and Poland will aid security and around 1,000 troops from NATO states will join too, including the Polish Special Forces contingent to aid the Lithuanian Special Operations Force.[13][14] Overall, up to 12,000 officers and soldiers will be present.[13] In addition to security personnel, Spain is reported to have temporarily moved its NASAMS air defense system from its long-term position in Latvia to Vilnius, in addition to Lithuania's own NASAMS systems.[13] Similarly, German Armed Forces have deployed their MIM-104 Patriot long-range air defense system, placing it in Vilnius International Airport.[15][16] NATO sent additional warships to the Baltic Sea.[17] CBRN task force was also deployed.[13]
The Lithuanian State Border Guard Service have announced that from July 7 to July 13, internal Schengen Area border control will be reinstated at Lithuania's border checkpoints with Latvia and Poland, as well as its airports and seaports.[18] For the duration of the event, as well as the days leading up to and after the event, many traffic restrictions were announced by the Vilnius City Municipality, including the closure of the entirety of the Vilnius Old Town and many parts of the city center for vehicles.[19] Additionally, from July 11 to 12, all flights over Vilnius and the surrounding airspace will be prohibited and scheduled flights from Vilnius Airport will be suspended.[20] According to a representative of Lithuanian Airports, the other two civilian airports in Lithuania — Kaunas Airport and Palanga Airport — will continue to work but may experience delays.[21]
Summit
US President Joe Biden and a number of other leaders began arriving in Vilnius on Monday, the eve of the summit.[22] In the evening, the Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg hosted a meeting between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson. Following multiple hours of negotiations, Stoltenberg announced that Erdoğan agreed to unblock Swedish accession to NATO and ensure the ratification as soon as possible.[23]
Stoltenberg stated that Ukraine will not become a NATO member while the Russo-Ukrainian War remains ongoing and that the summit was not meant to be a formal invitation for it to join NATO, although countries remain divided on whether Ukraine should be able to join after the war ends.[24] Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that he wanted NATO to allow Ukraine to join as soon as possible after the war ends. However, other nations feared that such quick admittance of Ukraine to NATO could potentially increase Russian aggression and drag out the war even farther.[25] Stoltenberg has also stated that he expects the summit to create a program of long-term aid over several years for Ukraine: "We have already pledged 500 million euros [US$548m] for critical needs, including fuel, medical supplies, de-mining equipment and pontoon bridges. We will also help build Ukraine's security and defence sector, including with military hospitals. And we will help Ukraine transition from Soviet-era to NATO equipment and standards."[3]
Participants
Non-NATO member |
See also
- 49th G7 summit
- Government and intergovernmental reactions to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Second Cold War
References
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- ^ "Ukraine wants NATO invite at Vilnius summit, urges 'courage,' Zelenskiy aide says". Reuters. 29 June 2023. Archived from the original on 4 July 2023. Retrieved 4 July 2023.
- ^ "Portugal supports Ukraine's membership in NATO when conditions allow". www.ukrinform.net. 8 July 2023. Archived from the original on 8 July 2023. Retrieved 8 July 2023.
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{{cite web}}
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