The leaders of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), reassured by the desire of US President Joe Biden to "revitalize" alliances, decided to close ranks at their annual summit, Monday, June 14, to face "the new challenges" posed by Russia and China.

"China's stated ambitions and assertive behavior present systemic challenges for the rules-based international order and for areas that concern the security of the alliance," read the final statement, which will be released. at the end of the summit.

The leaders of the NATO countries also denounced the growing threat represented by the military reinforcement of Russia and called on Moscow to respect international law, during their annual summit in Brussels.

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"As long as Russia does not show that it respects international law and that it honors its international obligations and responsibilities, there can be no return to normal," they warned in the summit's conclusions.

"There is a growing awareness, over the past two years, that we have new challenges. We have Russia not acting in a way that we had hoped for. And also China," had underlined the American president before the opening of the summit, insisting on "the need for greater coordination" between allies.

"We are going to send an important message to Moscow: we remain united and Russia will not know how to divide us", warned for his part the Secretary General of NATO, the Norwegian Jens Stoltenberg.

Joe Biden is due to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday in Geneva, the last stop on a journey to Europe for a G7 summit in the United Kingdom, followed by the NATO summit and a summit with the presidents of the institutions of the United Kingdom. EU Tuesday in Brussels.

Healing open wounds by Donald Trump

"We note that Russia and China are cooperating more and more lately, both politically and militarily. This is a new dimension and a serious challenge for NATO," Jens explained. Stoltenberg in an interview with the German daily Die Welt before the summit.

Joe Biden hoped that "the security challenge posed by China appears in the statement," said the White House.

Some allies resented.

"The heart of NATO is the security of the Euro-Atlantic area. Now is not the time to dilute the effort," argued the French presidency.

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The summit also launched the review of the Alliance's strategic concept adopted in 2010 to prepare it to face new threats in space and cyberspace.

But NATO must also heal the wounds opened by former US President Donald Trump (2017-2021).

The American withdrawal from Afghanistan, decided without consultation with its allies, has undermined the credibility of the Alliance's external operations.

Europe has also become more vulnerable after the withdrawal of the United States from several treaties concluded with Moscow on the limitation of nuclear weapons.

"The Alliance must consult more and invest better"

Finally, Donald Trump's mistrust of Europeans has scalded the Old Continent.

And his refusal to remind Turkey of its obligations has exacerbated tensions with the EU.

Faced with this finding of weakening, French President Emmanuel Macron had judged the Alliance "in a state of brain death".

"NATO must build a rule of conduct between allies", he maintained on the eve of the summit.

The French president met face-to-face with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to "clarify" the many contentious issues between the two countries.

>> To see: NATO, an alliance still relevant for Europeans?

Joe Biden will meet with the Turkish president at the end of the summit.

The American president must spare Ankara's susceptibility, ready to assume the security of Kabul airport, essential to maintaining a Western presence in Afghanistan.

"The Alliance must consult more and invest better", pleads Jens Stoltenberg.

Europeans say they are ready.

But they want "full recognition" of their contribution to collective security and ask to be associated with negotiations on arms control, warns France.

The Americans still have to judge them "reliable": 21 EU countries are members of NATO, but only eight keep the commitment to devote 2% of their GDP to their military spending.

France is one of them, not Germany, nor Italy, nor Spain.

With AFP

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