It starts today, Tuesday in Washington the NATO summit75 years after its founding, during which member countries are set to reaffirm their support for Ukraine, although the climate of political uncertainty in the US is expected to cast its shadow.

Four months before the presidential election, the 81-year-old American president Joe Biden he is obliged every day to prove not only that he can defeat his opponent Donald Trump, but also that he can govern the country with the greatest military power in the world.

Calls are growing, even within the Democratic party, for him to withdraw from the race, especially after the disastrous debate in late June, in which Biden appeared tired and confused.

In addition to American voters, the Democrat must reassure the leaders of the 32 NATO member countries, who will be in Washington for three days. A spokesman for the White House assured yesterday, Monday, that he “detected no signs” of concern from members of the Alliance regarding Biden’s condition.

“Our allies they expect the US to have a leadership role” and “who could replace me? I expanded NATO, I made it stronger,” the American president said yesterday while speaking on the MSNBC television network.

Finland and Sweden joined NATO in 2023 and this year, respectively, due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

“Stronger Response”

Meanwhile, Russia launched a massive missile attack on Ukrainian cities yesterday, killing at least 36 people.

From Warsaw, where he was visiting, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky asked the West for a “stronger response” to Russia.

Today the Zelensky is expected in Washington to participate in the events marking the 75th anniversary of the founding of NATO in April 1949 in response to the Soviet threat.

Kiev is mainly asking for more air defense systems, including Patriot arrays, surface-to-air missiles that are highly effective against ballistic missiles. Russian strikes have caused dozens of deaths and destroyed half of Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.

The Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba it called for seven such arrays in April to protect cities and infrastructure.

Only Germany and Romania have so far responded to this request, committing to offer a Patriot system each. The Netherlands, for its part, is trying to assemble various components to make a whole array for the benefit of Ukraine. The US has hinted that it will offer one more.

Without elaborating, Biden promised yesterday to announce, with US NATO allies, “new measures to strengthen Ukraine’s air defenses to help protect its cities and civilians from Russian strikes.” .

Kiev is also under no illusions that it will advance its bid to join NATO in Washington, following the disappointment of a lack of progress on the issue at a summit held a year ago in Vilnius. Ukraine wants to receive a formal invitation to join NATO, but many countries, including the US, are against it.

However, it is expected to receive assurances that the pledge to join would be “irreversible”, according to a diplomat, who said some conditions would be added.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg assured for his part that the set of measures in favor of Ukraine, which will be announced at the summit, will be elements that will favor its inclusion in the Alliance.

This is a “very serious effort to put Ukraine in a position where it will be ready to assume its role and responsibilities within the Alliance from day one” of its membership, a US official said.