BRUSSELS, June 14 (KUNA) -- The leaders of NATO’s 30 member countries began their summit meeting at NATO Headquarters in Brussels Monday.
"We meet at a pivotal moment for our alliance and today we will open a new chapter in our transatlantic relations," NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said in his opening remarks at the summit.
"A time of growing geopolitical competition. Regional instability. Terrorism. Cyber-attacks. And climate change. No nation and no continent can deal with these challenges alone," he said.
"Today we will open a new chapter in transatlantic relations. By agreeing NATO 2030. A transatlantic agenda for the future," said Stoltenberg.
Earlier, US President Jos Biden met Stoltenberg and in a brief statement said "NATO is critically important for U.S. interests in and of itself. If there werenآ’t one, weآ’d have to invent one." "I just want all of Europe to know that the United States is there," said Biden, who is on first overseas trip as US president.
Meanwhile, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met on the sidelines of the NATO summit to discuss the state of EU-Turkey relations. Biden is also expected to meet Erdogan later today. (end) nk.rk