Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has sparked a “fundamental change” in NATO’s defense approach, the NATO chief has said. As preparations for the summit began on Tuesday, the change was underlined when the military alliance announced that two new members would join: Finland and Sweden. Russia’s war with its closest neighbor has prompted Sweden and Finland to abandon their long-standing non-aligned regime and apply to join the military bloc. In addition to welcoming new members, NATO allies will also agree at the summit to increase the strength of their rapid reaction force by almost eight times, from 40,000 to 300,000 troops. The new forces will be based in their countries of origin, but will be dedicated to rapid development in specific countries on NATO’s east side with Russia, where the alliance also plans to build up stockpiles of equipment and ammunition. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said the summit on Wednesday and Thursday would set out a plan for the alliance “in a more dangerous and unpredictable world”. “In order to be able to defend ourselves in a more dangerous world, we need to invest more in our defense,” Stoltenberg said. At the top of the leaders’ agenda is strengthening defense against Russia and supporting Ukraine in its fight against Moscow, both of which require more financial commitment from NATO members. Only nine of NATO’s 30 members meet the organization’s target of spending 2 percent of GDP on defense. Spain, which hosts the summit, spends only half of it. With the Russia-Ukraine war as a backdrop, the three-day summit in Madrid will set the course for the alliance for years to come, including the new NATO Strategic Concept – a set of priorities and goals once a decade. “An important point of discussion will be how far we need to go to help Ukraine from NATO – with everyone here deeply aware of the real danger of allowing President Putin to portray this conflict between Russia and NATO.” , Jonah Hull of Al Jazeera. he said. Speaking from Madrid, Hull said there was already reinforcements of battle groups in the Baltic and four Eastern European countries since the start of the Russia-Ukraine war. “They will become brigade-sized battle groups as a further deterrent to President Putin’s further advance into NATO countries,” he said.
China: friend or foe?
Member States will also try to soften their division over how to deal with China, a formidable Russian ally. The alliance’s new Strategic Concept is expected to define NATO’s approach to issues ranging from cybersecurity to climate change – and China’s growing economic and military reach, as well as the growing importance and strength of the Indo-Pacific region and how it relates to NATO. For the first time, the leaders of Japan, Australia, South Korea and New Zealand are attending a NATO summit. Some European members are wary of the US tough line in Beijing and do not want China to be a NATO rival. Stoltenberg said last week that “we do not consider China an adversary,” but added that Beijing “poses some challenges to our values, our interests, our security.”
Turkey backs Swedish and Finnish bids
After initially blocking Finland and Sweden’s bids, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan signed a joint memorandum with Finnish and Swedish leaders on Tuesday “to extend their full support for his security”. The tripartite agreement “confirms that Turkey will support the invitation of Finland and Sweden to join NATO at this week’s Madrid Summit,” said Finnish President Sauli Niinisto. Erdogan had previously insisted that he would allow the Scandinavian couple to join NATO only if they changed their stance on the Kurdish rebels, whom Turkey considers terrorists. In a statement Tuesday, the Turkish president’s office said Turkey “got what it wanted” from Sweden and Finland. According to the Turkish Communications Directorate, the Scandinavians have agreed to take concrete measures to extradite wanted individuals, as well as to prevent “terrorist propaganda” against Turkey. In addition, Finland and Sweden have agreed not to impose an embargo on the Turkish defense industry and to increase co-operation.
“Wake up, children”
A Russian rocket attack on a shopping mall in the central Ukrainian city of Kremenchuk on Monday was a grim reminder of the horrors of war and some saw the timing of the attack – as G7 leaders met in Germany and shortly before NATO – as a direct message from Moscow. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who is scheduled to speak to NATO leaders on Wednesday, called the raid a “terrorist” act. Kiev Mayor Vitali Klitschko traveled to Madrid to urge the alliance to provide his country with “everything it needs” to stop Russia. “Wake up, children. This is happening now. “You will be the next, this will knock on your door in the blink of an eye,” Klitschko told reporters at the NATO summit. Russia’s state space agency, Roscosmos, marked the start of the summit with the release of satellite imagery and coordinates of the Madrid conference room, which is being held, along with coordinates from the White House, the Pentagon and government offices in Paris. Berlin. The Russian space agency said NATO was going to declare Russia an enemy at the summit, adding that it was publishing the exact coordinates of the meeting place “just in case”.
