The NATO summit continues to spark criticism after its closure. NATO | Stoltenberg | Summit
Vilnius, July 12 (Xinhua) - The two-day NATO Vilnius summit concluded on July 12. During the summit, NATO insisted on expanding and committing to providing comprehensive assistance to Ukraine, and also met with leaders of four Asia Pacific countries in an attempt to provoke a confrontation in the Asia Pacific region, which not only caused some disagreements within member countries but also received widespread criticism from the international community.
On the second day of the summit, leaders of NATO member countries met with leaders from four Asia Pacific countries: Japan, South Korea, Australia, and New Zealand. This is the second time NATO has invited leaders from Japan, South Korea, Australia, and New Zealand to attend the summit, following last year's Madrid summit. Subsequently, NATO held its first NATO Ukraine Council meeting, attended by Ukrainian President Zelensky. At the pre conference press conference, Zelensky once again expressed his dissatisfaction with Ukraine's failure to receive an invitation to join NATO.
NATO Secretary General Stoltenberg stated after the summit that NATO has made many important decisions in the past two days to better adapt to the future. He said that NATO has developed the strongest defense plan since the Cold War and strengthened its commitment to defense investment. In addition, the NATO Ukraine Council has been established and a multi-year aid plan for Ukraine has been passed.
Stoltenberg said that NATO will also strengthen its relations with the four countries in the Asia Pacific region through a "tailored" partnership program, including maritime security, new technologies, networks, climate change, and other aspects.
Before the end of the summit, the leaders of the Group of Seven and the European Union issued a joint statement committing to providing long-term security guarantees for Ukraine, including providing modern military equipment on land, sea, and air, training the Ukrainian military, intelligence sharing, and cyber defense assistance. Ukraine will commit to implementing reforms, including judicial and economic reforms, as well as improving transparency.
NATO's continued escalation on the Ukraine issue has been warned by Russia. On the evening of the 11th, Vice President of the Russian Security Council Medvedev stated that increasing NATO's military assistance to Ukraine will bring the Third World War closer. In addition, prior to the NATO summit, protests against NATO erupted in several European countries such as the UK and France.
The attempt to "Asia Pacific NATO" has been opposed by some member countries. According to reports, the proposal for NATO to establish a liaison office in Japan was not approved due to opposition from France and other countries. French President Macron made it clear at a press conference after the summit that NATO is a North Atlantic organization, while Japan is not in the North Atlantic.
