Biden, Western allies open first of three summits to increase pressure on Russia

US President Joe Biden and Western allies opened the first of three summits yesterday. The summit aimed to increase pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin over his military operation in Ukraine.

 

The European diplomatic capital Brussels is hosting an emergency NATO summit as well as a gathering of the Group of Seven industrialized nations and a summit of the 27 members of the European Union. Biden will attend all three meetings and plans to hold a news conference at the end of the day.

Biden



arrived in Brussels, yesterday with the hopes of nudging allies to enact new sanctions on Russia, which has already seen its economy crippled by a steady stream of bans, boycotts, and penalties over the past four weeks.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg before chairing the security alliance's summit said that, they need to do more, and therefore, need to invest more. There is a new sense of urgency and NATO expects that the leaders will agree to accelerate the investments in defense.