MADRID, Jun 29, 2022 (AFP) – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will speak at the NATO summit in Madrid this Wednesday, an event dominated by the Russian invasion of his country and where the Alliance will emerge with two new members. , Finland and Sweden.
“If Russian President Vladimir Putin was expecting to have less NATO on the eastern flank as a result of his illegal and unjust invasion of Ukraine, he was completely wrong: he will have more NATO,” said British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
The inclusion of Finland and the 1,300 km land border with Russia would make the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) more than double the land borders with that country.
In this way, Russia will have borders with six members of the Alliance: Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland – the last two by the Kaliningrad enclave – and Norway.
The participation of Finland and Sweden in the organization will be possible after Turkey withdraws its veto – the new members are unanimously decided to join.
The Turkish government was against participation, accusing Sweden and Finland of harboring members of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), an organization considered “terrorist” by Ankara.
A day after lifting its veto, Turkey announced on Wednesday that it will ask Finland and Sweden to extradite 33 people suspected of “terrorism”.
“According to the new agreement, we will ask Finland to extradite six PKK members and six Fetö members, and Sweden to extradite 10 Fetö members and 11 PKK members,” Turkish Minister of Justice Bekir Bozdağ said. said.
Fetö is an acronym for the movement founded by preacher Fethullah Gülen, who lives in the United States and is seen by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan as the instigator of the July 2016 coup attempt.
Also Wednesday, US President Joe Biden announced that his country would strengthen NATO’s contingent in Europe “by land, air and sea”.
Biden said the US military presence will be expanded in Spain, Poland, Romania, the Baltic States, the United Kingdom, Germany and Italy.
“Together with our allies, we will ensure that NATO is prepared to face threats from all directions, in all areas,” Biden said. said.
The moment Putin disrupts the peace in Europe and attacks the principles of rule-based order, the United States and its allies will strengthen their position.”
We are proving that NATO is needed and more important than ever before,” he added.
– “Transformative” meeting – Norwegian NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg announced that the summit in Madrid will be “historic and transformative”, marked by Russia’s challenge.
“We came together in the midst of the most serious security crisis we have faced since the Second World War,” Stoltenberg said.
Formed in 1949, the Alliance will embark on the largest overhaul of its defense and deterrence capacity since the end of the Cold War, strengthen its troops in Eastern Europe and greatly increase its high-availability troops in Russia’s immediate vicinity.
Zelensky will speak via videoconference and must insist on requesting more military assistance with modern equipment to confront Russia two days after the bombing of a shopping mall in Kremenchuk city that killed 18 people, injured dozens and left many missing. According to Kiev.
Russia denied the attack on a trade center and said the war would only end with the unconditional surrender of Ukraine.
According to the balance sheet of the last 24-hour war published by the Ukrainian authorities, seven people were killed and 14 injured in three attacks.
– More aid to Ukraine – NATO members, who have already sent billions of dollars in aid to Stoltenberg to Kiev, are expected to announce in Madrid a “complete aid program to help Ukraine defend the country’s right to self-defense”.
Additionally, Norway announced on Wednesday the shipment of three MLRS long-range rocket launcher batteries. On Tuesday, the Dutch and German defense ministers announced the delivery of six additional howitzers.
In addition, the organization will, for the first time, turn its gaze on the challenge posed by China’s power in updating its Strategic Concept, action guide and priorities.
“China is not an enemy,” Stoltenberg said.
But when we see that China is investing too much in modern military force, long-range missiles or nuclear weapons, and also trying to control strategic infrastructures like 5G, we must of course reckon with the implications for our security,” he said regarding the state-of-the-art telephone network.
Reflecting the evolution of NATO, South Korea and Japan are attending a meeting of the organization for the first time.
bur-al/du/mis/fp
source: Noticias
[author_name]
