The United States has extended invitations to the foreign ministers of Israel and several Arab countries to attend the NATO summit in Washington next month.
This move has stirred tensions regarding the ongoing conflict in Gaza, according to a report by the Financial Times.
The upcoming 75th-anniversary summit will offer President Joe Biden a platform to showcase his policy of strengthening Washington’s international partnerships and alliances.
However, it will also highlight what many diplomats see as contradictions in Washington’s stance on Ukraine and the conflict between Israel and Hamas.
Typically, NATO invites some of its partners to its annual meetings. As the host of this significant anniversary summit, the United States has invited foreign ministers from up to 31 nations with partnerships with NATO, including Japan, Australia, and South Korea, in an effort to mitigate potential tensions over Israel’s invitation.
According to the Financial Times, the Arab nations invited include the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Jordan, Qatar, Tunisia, and Bahrain.
While the foreign ministers of these partner nations will not participate in NATO’s formal meetings, they will attend events on the sidelines of the summit, such as the 75th-anniversary dinner.
A NATO official stated that Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has invited heads of state and government from all 32 NATO allies, as well as leaders from NATO’s Indo-Pacific partners (Australia, Japan, New Zealand, and South Korea).
The official added that ministerial-level meetings with representatives from other NATO partners are organized by US authorities.
Jonathan Lord, Director of the Middle East Security Program at the Center for a New American Security in Washington, noted that this vision of creating a version of an Arab NATO has been a long-term ambition for many US administrations.
He suggested that demonstrating the benefits and features of such a multilateral alliance could be the most significant message conveyed during the summit.
