The four-month Russian occupation has awakened and reunited NATO leaders. At a historic meeting in Madrid, the heads of the North Atlantic Alliance showed unity to fight Russian advances. This Wednesday (29), NATO assured that it will continue to support Ukraine as the US expands its military presence on the European continent.
The four-month Russian occupation has awakened and reunited NATO leaders. At a historic meeting in Madrid, the heads of the North Atlantic Alliance showed unity to fight Russian advances. This Wednesday (29), NATO assured that it will continue to support Ukraine as the US expands its military presence on the European continent.
with incoming information Romain Lemaresquiersent from RFI to Madrid.
After a two-day summit in Spain, NATO members reaffirmed the alliance’s support for Ukraine “for as long as it takes” to resist the Russian invasion. They also announce the start of the accession process for Finland and Sweden.
In the concluding declaration of the meeting, 30 member states pointed to Moscow’s “full responsibility” for the “humanitarian disaster” in Ukraine and condemned the “cruelty” of the Russian occupation.
In the afternoon, US President Joe Biden announced that the US military presence in the European continent has increased in the face of the threat from Moscow. Biden referred to sending troops to Spain, Poland, Romania, the Baltic states, the United Kingdom, Germany and Italy.
The president said Wednesday, without specifying the number of troops involved, that the purpose of this deployment would be to strengthen NATO troops “to respond to threats”. “If Vladimir Putin expects NATO to weaken by attacking Ukraine, the opposite effect is happening. “There will be more NATO, not less,” Biden said.
Europe gets stronger with NATO
NATO leaders also formally initiated the process of joining the alliance, Finland and Sweden, two countries that have decided to renounce their traditional military neutrality in the face of the Russian invasion.
Finland’s accession and the 1,300km land border with Russia would make NATO more than double the territorial boundaries with that country.
Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, welcomed the expansion of the alliance. “The participation of Finland and Sweden makes NATO bigger, more European and stronger. Putin wanted to divide us. What he achieved was stronger cohesion between the European Union and NATO. This is a good day for the NATO alliance. North Atlantic, because for the European Union, Finland and Sweden”.
Russia responded to the ads with criticism of what it called the “aggression” of the Alliance countries. Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov described NATO enlargement as “highly destabilizing”.
But the Moscow representative said that the announcement of the country’s increase in US troops on the European continent did not intimidate the country. “Those who propose such decisions have the illusion that Russia can be intimidated, restrained in some way: they will not succeed,” Ryabkov said.
(with information from AFP)
source: Noticias
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