President Joe Biden planned to hold a news conference on Thursday as he wraps up a series of meetings with world leaders in order to project unity and strength among allies amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
There were no signs of friction at the three-day meeting, despite tensions on a number of fronts among the 30 NATO members. Biden helped get one contentious issue off the table before he arrived in Tuesday, helping to urge Turkey to sign off on Finland and Sweden's requests to become NATO members.
The group released a joint declaration naming Russia the most significant and direct threat to allies security and peace and stability in the Euro-Atlantic area. It had previously considered Russia a strategic partner. Biden took several steps on the trip to show that the U.S. was ramping up its support for Ukraine and its defenses across Europe. White House officials said at the Group of Seven meeting in Germany earlier in the week that the U.S. was planning to provide a medium- to long-range surface-to-air missile system for Ukraine that would increase its ability to combat Russian strikes from farther away, along with other security assistance.
Biden stated during the NATO summit that the U.S. would deploy additional troops to Romania on a rotating basis and enhance other rotational deployments in the Baltic states. He said that the U.S. would maintain a permanent headquarters for the Army's V Corps in Poland, a move that was originally planned by the Trump administration.
The U.S. plans to send two F-35 squadrons to the United Kingdom, increase air defense and other capabilities in Germany and Italy, and increase naval operations in Spain, increasing the number of destroyers stationed there from four to six.
Biden spent three days meeting with the G-7 leaders in the Bavarian Alps ahead of the NATO summit, where he focused on ways to shore up support for Ukraine and punish Russia.
The group, which accounts for half of the world's economy, agreed to ban imports of Russian gold, enact new sanctions against Russia's military supply chain, and continue working on a mechanism to set a price cap on Russian oil imports.
Biden will return to Washington for just over a week before he heads back overseas for a trip to the Middle East, including stops in Israel and Saudi Arabia.