U.S. Senators Jim Risch (R-Idaho), ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.), ranking member of the Subcommittee on Europe and Regional Security Cooperation, have issued a letter to President Biden. The senators are urging the president to prioritize addressing deficiencies in the NATO alliance at the upcoming summit in July in Washington, D.C.
The senators wrote, “As we approach NATO’s 75th anniversary summit this July, NATO members will undoubtedly look back upon NATO’s esteemed history, take stock of accomplishments, and discuss how to prepare the alliance for the future. While the alliance is finally making some necessary changes to adapt to growing instability in the world, there are still glaring deficiencies that must be frankly and openly addressed during the summit.”
The letter requests that President Biden lead the NATO alliance to face era-defining strategic challenges by encouraging allies to increase their defense contributions beyond minimum requirements; preparing an integrated air defense plan; assisting Ukraine in building up its armed forces; explicitly identifying strategic adversaries including China; and increasing NATO’s emphasis on deterrence, particularly nuclear deterrence.
The full text of the letter can be found here.
