NATO leaders defined Russia on Wednesday as the “most significant and direct threat” to their security and considered China for the first time as a “challenge”, in the new strategy for the next decade that seeks to prepare the Alliance for a “more dangerous” world.
(Also read: NATO: What did Turkey negotiate to lift its veto on Finland and Sweden?)
“We are facing a radical change in our security environment. And strategic competition is increasing all over the world”, the allied secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, summed up at a press conference during the Alliance summit in Madrid that takes place between this Wednesday and Thursday.
At the meeting, the allied leaders gave the green light to the “Madrid Strategic Concept”, the document on which they base their principles and which will guide their policies over the next decade.
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the new document
Russia’s war in Ukraine has “shattered” peace in Europe, the leaders point out in that text, in which they change the “strategic partner” approach that they maintained from Moscow since they approved their last concept in 2010, at a summit in Lisbon in which the former Russian president, Dimitri Medvédev, even participated.
In the document, NATO also mentions China for the first time. Beijing has positioned itself, aligning itself with Moscow, against the Alliance’s “open door” policyone more element that motivated the debate among the allies about whether they should consider China a threat or simply a “challenge”, in addition to the fact that it has skyrocketed its investment in defense and increased its nuclear capacity.
The new Strategic Concept has opted for the latter and warns that China “challenges our interests, security and values”, in addition to establishing a joint position of allies against terrorism and cyber and hybrid threats.
“China is not our adversary, but we must be aware of the serious challenges it represents,” Stoltenberg said.
boost to the balkans
NATO also promoted this Wednesday a reinforcement in the countries of Eastern Europe, where it promised to deploy more “robust” and “combat-ready” forces.
The current battalions deployed in eight countries on the eastern flank could be upgraded to brigade size with the support of prepositional heavy teams and forces pre-assigned to certain allies.
In addition, the Alliance decided to transform its Response Force and expand its rapidly deployable and alert force from 40,000 to more than 300,000.
We are facing a radical change in our security environment.
To meet greater challenges, Allied leaders recommitted to spend 2 percent of their GDP on defense.
The United States announced the increase of its military presence in Europe, specifically in six countries -Poland, Romania, Spain, Italy, the United Kingdom and Germany-, in addition to the “Baltic” region.
The allies held a working session dedicated to the war in Ukraine in which the president of that country, VolodImir Zelenski, participated by videoconference, praising his “leadership”.
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In Madrid, Alliance leaders gave the green light to a comprehensive package of assistance to kyiv that includes secure communications, fuel, medical supplies and body armor, as well as equipment to deal with mines and chemical and biological threats.
Stoltenberg made it clear that the NATO countries will support Ukraine “as long as necessary”, and predicted that the allies must be “prepared for the long term”, because wars are unpredictable. On the other hand, the allies decided to intensify their political and practical support to other partners “at risk of Russian aggression” such as Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia and Moldova.
Sweden and Finland, official guests
NATO leaders agreed at their Madrid summit to formally invite Finland and Sweden to become members of the Alliance, after Turkey lifted its veto on the two Nordic countries’ entry.
The Swedish Prime Minister, Magdalena Andersson, described what happened yesterday as a “historic day” for Sweden and for NATO, after the agreement reached with Recep Tayyip Erdogan to lift the arms embargo against Turkey and other measures so that the president would not prevent the accession.
The President of the European Council, Charles Michel, pointed out that the incorporation of both countries “strengthens the security of the entire European continent.”
For his part, the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, clarified that he does not see “problems” in the eventual accession.
“If Sweden and Finland wish, they can join. It’s their business. They can adhere to whatever they want,” she added. The entry protocol is expected to be signed before July 5.
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