NATO Summit Focuses on Russian Aggression, Defense Spending

At the NATO summit in Washington, concerns about Russia's aggressive actions and hybrid attacks against member countries have taken center stage. Lithuanian and Polish foreign ministers accused Russia of sponsoring terrorist attacks within NATO territories, urging for a coordinated response to deter further aggression. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg emphasized the necessity of integrating Ukraine into NATO to prevent future Russian hostilities, despite opposition from the US and Germany. The alliance plans to bolster its defense capabilities, with 23 member states meeting the 2% GDP defense spending benchmark. Additionally, NATO is preparing to counter hybrid threats from Russia and China's support for Russia's defense sector. The summit also highlighted the ongoing debate over increasing defense spending, with calls from the UK to raise it to 2.5% of GDP.