NATO faced criticism from Moscow and Beijing on Thursday after declaring Russia an “immediate threat” and saying China posed “serious challenges” to global stability. During a summit in Madrid, the Western military alliance described a world plunged into a dangerous phase of rivalry between great powers and facing myriad threats, from cyber attacks to climate change. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said as the summit concluded on Thursday that member states had agreed to a “fundamental change in our deterrence and defense” and sent a clear message to Moscow that the alliance had a firm line on its eastern border. “We live in a more dangerous world and in a more unpredictable world and we live in a world where we have a hot war going on in Europe,” Stoltenberg said. “At the same time, we know that this could be exacerbated by a full-scale war between Russia and NATO.” Stoltenberg continued: “We want to remove any room for miscalculation, misunderstanding in Moscow about our readiness to protect every inch of NATO territory. That is NATO’s primary responsibility.” During their three-day talks in Spain, NATO leaders formally called on Finland and Sweden to join the alliance after overcoming opposition from Turkey. If the Nordic countries’ accession is approved by the 30 member states, it will give NATO a new 800-mile (1,300-kilometer) border with Russia. Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned that he would respond the same way if the Scandinavian couple allowed NATO troops and military infrastructure on their territory. He said Russia should “create the same threats to the territory from which threats are made against us.” Estonian Prime Minister Kaya Callas said Putin’s threats were “nothing new”. “Of course, we should expect some kind of surprise from Putin, but I doubt he is attacking directly in Sweden or Finland,” Callas said as she arrived at the summit center. “We will definitely see cyber attacks. We will see hybrid attacks, an information war in progress. But not the conventional war.” China has accused the alliance of “maliciously attacking and tarnishing” the country. His mission to the European Union said NATO “claims that other countries pose challenges, but NATO is causing problems around the world”. NATO leaders turned south for a final summit on Thursday, focusing on the Sahel region of Africa and the Middle East, where political instability – exacerbated by climate change and food insecurity sparked by the war in Ukraine – leads large numbers of migrants to Europe. “It is in our interest to continue working with our close partners in the South to address common challenges together,” Stoltenberg said. But it was Russia that dominated the summit. Stoltenberg said Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine had “brought about the greatest reorganization of our collective defense since the end of the Cold War.” The invasion has destroyed Europe ‘s peace, and in response NATO has dropped troops and weapons into Eastern Europe on a scale not seen in decades. Member States have provided Ukraine with billions in military and political assistance to strengthen its resistance. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who spoke at the summit via video link, called for more. He urged NATO to send modern artillery and other weapons and warned leaders that they either had to provide Kyiv with the help it needed or “face a belated war between Russia and you.” “The question is who is next? Moldova? Β the Baltic? Πολ Poland? The answer is: all,” he said. At the summit, NATO leaders agreed to dramatically escalate military force along the east side of the alliance, where countries from Romania to the Baltic states are worried about Russia’s future plans. They announced plans to nearly increase the size of the alliance’s rapid reaction force from 40,000 to 300,000 troops by next year. The troops will be based in their home countries, but will be dedicated to specific countries in the east, where the alliance plans to build up stockpiles of equipment and ammunition. US President Joe Biden, whose country supplies most of NATO’s firepower, has announced a strong boost to the US military presence in Europe, including a permanent US base in Poland, two more US Navy-based destroyers Rota of Spain and two more F35 degrees in the United Kingdom The expansion will keep 100,000 troops in Europe for the immediate future, up from 80,000 before the start of the war in Ukraine. Biden said Putin believed NATO members would split after his invasion of Ukraine, but the Russian leader received the opposite response. “You will achieve the NATO integration of Europe,” Biden said. “And that is exactly what he did not want, but exactly what needs to be done to ensure security for Europe.” However, tensions between NATO allies have risen as the cost of energy and other basic goods skyrocketed, in part due to the war and harsh Western sanctions on Russia. There are also tensions over how the war will end and what, if any, concessions Ukraine should make. Money remains a sensitive issue – only nine of NATO’s 30 members currently meet the organization’s target of spending 2% of gross domestic product on defense. Britain, one of nine, announced an additional 1 1 billion ($ 1.21 billion) in military support to Ukraine on Thursday. In what Stoltenberg called a “transformational” summit, leaders announced NATO’s new Strategic Concept, a set of priorities and goals for a decade. The latest such document, in 2010, called Russia a “strategic partner.” NATO now accuses Russia of using “coercion, overthrow, aggression and annexation” to expand its reach. The 2010 document made no reference to China, but the news was about Beijing’s growing economic and military reach. “China is not our adversary, but we must be clear about the serious challenges it faces,” Stoltenberg said on Wednesday. NATO said China was “struggling to overthrow the rule-based international order, including in space, cyberspace and the sea,” and warned of its close ties with Moscow. The alliance said, however, that it remained “open to a constructive commitment” with Beijing. China responded that NATO was a source of instability and promised to defend its interests. “If NATO places China as a ‘systemic challenge’, we must be very careful and respond in a coordinated manner. When it comes to actions that undermine China’s interests, we will receive firm and strong responses,” he said.
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title: “Nato Summit Russia China Criticize Alliance " ShowToc: true date: “2022-11-01” author: “Robert Peterkin”
An unstable world could become even more dangerous if NATO does not remain strong and united, the alliance leader said on Thursday at the end of a summit where Western leaders described Russia as an “immediate threat” to the security of their nations. During their three-day meeting in Madrid, NATO members faced a geopolitical landscape marked by rivalry between major powers and myriad threats, from cyber attacks to climate change. Leaders looked around the world — scolding after accusing China of posing “serious challenges” to global stability. But Russia’s invasion of Ukraine dominated the summit. “We live in a more dangerous world and in a more unpredictable world, and we live in a world where we have a hot war going on in Europe,” said NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg. “At the same time, we know that this can get worse.” That is why the Western military alliance has a “primary responsibility” to prevent the war in Ukraine from spreading to other countries, making it clear to Moscow that it “will protect every inch of NATO territory,” Stoltenberg said. This area is going to be developed. At the summit, NATO leaders formally called on Finland and Sweden to join the alliance, after reaching an agreement to end the opposition from Turkey. However, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he could block the Nordic integration if the Scandinavian couple does not keep their promises. If the accession is approved by all 30 member states, it will give NATO a new 800-mile (1,300-kilometer) border with Russia. Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned that he would respond the same way if Sweden or Finland agreed to host NATO troops and military infrastructure. He said Russia should “create the same threats to the territory from which threats are made against us.” Estonian Prime Minister Kaya Callas said Putin’s threats were “nothing new”. “Of course, we should expect some kind of surprise from Putin, but I doubt he is attacking Sweden or Finland directly,” Callas said. NATO leaders turned south for a final summit on Thursday, focusing on the Sahel region of Africa and the Middle East, where political instability – exacerbated by climate change and food insecurity sparked by the war in Ukraine – leads large numbers of migrants to Europe. The US and other Western nations are also seeking to offset the growing influence of China and Russia in the developing world. Stoltenberg said “Moscow and Beijing are using economic leverage, coercion and hybrid approaches to advance their interests in the region.” The Beijing government has described the alliance as a “remnant of the Cold War” and accused it of “maliciously attacking and tarnishing” China, including it on NATO’s list of global challenges. However, Stoltenberg said it was Russia’s invasion of Ukraine that brought “the greatest reorganization of our collective defense since the end of the Cold War.” In response, NATO has dropped troops and weapons into Eastern Europe on a scale not seen for decades. NATO leaders agreed at the Madrid summit to dramatically increase military strength along the east side of the alliance, where countries from Romania to the Baltic states are worried about Russia’s future plans. NATO has announced plans to nearly increase the size of the alliance’s rapid reaction force from 40,000 to 300,000 troops by next year – although details of the troop commitments remain unclear. Most of the troops will be based in their countries of origin, but will be dedicated to specific countries in the east, where the alliance plans to build up stockpiles of equipment and ammunition. Member States have provided Ukraine with billions in military and political assistance to strengthen its resistance. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who spoke at the summit via video link, called for more. He urged NATO to send modern artillery and other weapons – otherwise “to face a belated war between Russia and you”. “The question is who is next? Moldova? Β the Baltic? Πολ Poland? The answer is: all,” he said. US President Joe Biden, whose country supplies most of NATO’s firepower, has announced a strong boost to the US military presence in Europe, including a permanent US base in Poland, two more Navy-based destroyers based in Spain and two more F35 degrees in the United Kingdom. “Before the war started, I told Putin that if he invaded Ukraine, NATO would not only become stronger, but more united,” Biden told reporters. “And we would see the democracies in the world rise up and oppose its aggression and defend the rule-based order. That is exactly what we are seeing today.” However, tensions between NATO allies have risen as the cost of energy and other basic goods skyrocketed, in part due to the war and harsh Western sanctions on Russia. There are also tensions over how the war will end and what, if any, concessions Ukraine should make. Money remains a sensitive issue – only nine of NATO’s 30 members currently meet the organization’s target of spending 2% of gross domestic product on defense. Britain, one of nine, announced an additional 1 1 billion ($ 1.21 billion) in military support to Ukraine on Thursday. Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said the United Kingdom will increase military spending to 2.5% of GDP by the end of the decade. The host country, Spain, one of the lowest spending in the alliance, aims to meet its 2% target by 2029, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has said. The summit also produced a new Strategic Concept, the set of NATO priorities and objectives once a decade. The latest such document, in 2010, called Russia a “strategic partner.” NATO now accuses Russia of using “coercion, overthrow, aggression and annexation” to expand its reach. The 2010 document made no reference to China, but the new one pointed to Beijing’s growing economic and military reach as a challenge for NATO members. NATO said China was “struggling to overthrow the rule-based international order, including in space, cyberspace and the sea,” and warned of its close ties with Moscow. China responded that NATO was “creating problems around the world.” “If NATO poses China as a ‘systemic challenge’, we must be very careful and respond in a coordinated manner. When it comes to actions that undermine China’s interests, we will receive firm and strong responses,” the Beijing delegation said in a statement. said the European Union. —— Associated Press writer Aritz Parra in Madrid contributed.
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