The following 13 countries have been invited to NATO’s upcoming summit in Chicago to attend “an unprecedented meeting to discuss ways to further broaden and deepen NATO’s cooperation with partner nations.”

1. Australia
2. Austria
3. Finland
4. Georgia
5. Japan
6. Jordan
7. Republic of Korea
8. Morocco
9. New Zealand
10. Qatar
11. Sweden
12. Switzerland
13. United Arab Emirates

Russia has also been invited attend the Chicago summit, but to participate in a separate ISAF meeting on Afghanistan. Russia is not a member of ISAF and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrovhas complained that this is a one time only invitation, whereas Russia would like to participate regularly in ISAF meetings. Russian President Vladimir Putin will not attend the Chicago summit, so there will be no meeting of the NATO-Russia Council. Putin will also not attend the G8 meeting in Camp David, but will instead send Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev in his place. Medvedev will not represent Russia at the NATO meeting in Chicago. Moscow will send a lower level diplomat as a sign of its displeasure.  (graphic: NATO)

From the White House:  President Obama called President-elect Francois Hollande of France to congratulate him after the results of the French election were announced today.  President Obama indicated that he looks forward to working closely with Mr. Hollande and his government on a range of shared economic and security challenges.  President Obama noted that he will welcome President-elect Hollande to Camp David for the G-8 Summit and to Chicago for the NATO Summit later this month, and proposed that they meet beforehand at the White House.  President Obama and President-elect Hollande each reaffirmed the important and enduring alliance between the people of the United States and France.

Statement by the Press Secretary on the President’s Call to President-elect Hollande of France, May 6, 2012

From Nicholas Vinocur, Reuters:  The trip to Washington will follow shortly after Hollande’s inauguration and his first trip abroad, to Berlin, where he will meet German ChancellorAngela Merkel.  (photo: Getty)

From Hillary Clinton, the Department of State:  Assad will have to go, and the Syrian people must be given the chance to chart their own future.

Given the Assad regime’s record of broken promises, we are proceeding, understandably, with caution. The ministers agreed to remain in close contact in the hours and days ahead. As we speak, our representatives in New York are consulting on a potential UN monitoring mission that would go to Syria under the right authorities, circumstances, and conditions. The United States supports sending an advance team immediately to begin this work. And both will need complete freedom of movement, unimpeded communications, and access throughout the country and to all Syrians, as well as firm security guarantees from all parties… .

[O]ur teams are working in New York on a UN Security Council resolution that calls for Assad to fully comply with all points in the Annan plan and that supports Kofi Annan’s request to send a UN advance team to Syria immediately to prepare the way for a full, robust international monitoring mission. And let me be as clear as I can: That monitoring mission will only be a force for peace and security if it enjoys the full freedom of action within Syria. That means freedom of movement, secure communications, a large enough ground presence to bear witness to the enforcement of the six-point plan in every part of Syria.

QUESTION [Scott Stearns, VOA]: [C]ould you tell us whether you support NATO protecting the border between Turkey and Syria? …

SECRETARY CLINTON: Well, with respect to your first question, there is nothing of that nature pending and I’m not going to comment on hypotheticals.

Excerpts from remarks by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at the conclusion of the G8 Ministerial.  (photo: Getty)

From Slobodan Lekic, the AP:  Russian President Vladimir Putin is unlikely to attend NATO’s summit in Chicago due to his busy schedule at home, the alliance’s top official said Wednesday.

Relations between NATO and Moscow have become increasingly strained over U.S. plans for amissile shield in Europe, putting Putin’s attendance in doubt.

NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said that he had spoken to Putin, who is scheduled to be inaugurated as Russian president shortly before the May 20-21 meeting, and that they “agreed that the timing is difficult because Russia has a very busy domestic political calendar.”

However, Putin will meet with U.S. President Barack Obama at a Group of Eight meeting of leading industrialized nations summit at Camp David, Maryland, just before the NATO summit.

Fogh Rasmussen told reporters that a bilateral meeting would be held as soon as possible after Putin’s inauguration on May 7, and that Russia would attend a meeting of NATO’s foreign ministers in Brussels on April 18.

“That shows that we are all committed to dialogue and to practical cooperation, and this will continue until Chicago and it will continue after Chicago, because our relationship with Russia isn’t just about one day or one meeting, it’s about the long term,” he said.  (photo: AP)

From Lynn Sweet, the Chicago Sun-Times:  Obama said the summit was moved because he wanted to use the Camp David retreat to huddle informally with foreign leaders, and the idea to do so did not occur to anyone until after Chicago was booked.

“I have to say this was an idea that was brought to me after the initial organizing of the NATO summit. Somebody pointed out that I hadn’t had any of my counterparts, who I’ve worked with now for three years, up to Camp David.”

“G-8 tends to be a more informal setting in which we talk about a wide range of issues in a — in a pretty intimate way.”

Obama added that Camp David will give him a chance “to spend time” with Vladimir Putin, the new Russian president elected Sunday.  (photo: Reuters)

From the White House:  In May, the United States looks forward to hosting the G-8 and NATO Summits. To facilitate a free-flowing discussion with our close G-8 partners, the President is inviting his fellow G-8 leaders to Camp David on May 18-19 for the G-8 Summit, which will address a broad range of economic, political and security issues. The President will then welcome NATO allies and partners to his hometown of Chicago for the NATO Summit on May 20-21, which will be the premier opportunity this year for the President to continue his efforts to strengthen NATO in order to ensure that the Atlantic Alliance remains the most successful  alliance in history, while charting the way forward in Afghanistan.  (photo: AP)

From Christi Parsons, the Chicago Tribune:  The G-8 economic summit will be held at Camp David, not in Chicago as had been scheduled.

The White House announced the surprise change in the following statement:

“In May, the United States looks forward to hosting the G-8 and NATO Summits. To facilitate a free-flowing discussion with our close G-8 partners, the president is inviting his fellow G-8 leaders to Camp David on May 18-19 for the G-8 Summit, which will address a broad range of economic, political and security issues.

“The president will then welcome NATO allies and partners to his hometown of Chicago for the NATO Summit on May 20-21, which will be the premier opportunity this year for the president to continue his efforts to strengthen NATO in order to ensure that the Atlantic Alliance remains the most successful  alliance in history, while charting the way forward in Afghanistan.” 

Mayor Rahm Emanuel had personally lobbied his old boss, President Barack Obama, to host both summits. It would have been the first time since 1977 in London that the two organizations held meetings in the same city at the same time.

Emanuel’s office put out a statement this afternoon saying he wished “President Obama and the other leaders well at the G8 meeting at Camp David and look forward to hosting the NATO Summit in Chicago.

“Hosting the NATO Summit is a tremendous opportunity to showcase Chicago to the world and the world to Chicago and we are proud to host the 50 heads of state, foreign and defense ministers from the NATO and ISAF countries in our great city May 19-21.”

Chicago police estimated that 2,000 to 10,000 demonstrators were expected to show up for the overlapping G-8 and NATO summits.  At least two major demonstrations were already planned for downtown during the summit, and organizers said they wanted to send crowds of marchers down Michigan Avenue in the middle of the day… .

The head of a Chicago anti-war organization says the decision by the White House to move the G-8 summit is a major victory for protesters.

Joe Iosbaker is with the United National Antiwar Committee in Chicago and was helping to coordinate dozens of groups that planned to protest the twin NATO and G-8 summits in May.  He said the G-8 summit was moved because it had become a major source of controversy.

Iosbaker said the protests will go on during the NATO summit “because the agendas are the same: war and poverty.”

Some people involved in the planning of the summits in Chicago were stunned by the news and said they had no advanced warning of the change in plans.

Rick Jasculca, whose public relations firm has been advising World Business Chicago, the group Emanuel selected to lead the summit effort, said he learned of the change from breaking news announcements.   (photo: Reuters)