Russia remains the most important and direct threat to the security of the alliesthey warn
▲ Joe Biden’s speech at the Atlantic Alliance summit in Washington.Photo Ap
AFP, Sputnik and Reuters
The newspaper La Jornada
Thursday, July 11, 2024, p. 24
Washington. The countries of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) yesterday reinforced their support for Ukraine by sending aircraft F-16anti-aircraft defense batteries and recognizing that it is in a irreversible path to become a member of the alliance, during a summit in Washington.
Russia remains the most important and direct threat to the security of the alliesreads the final communiqué. At this summit We took new steps to strengthen our deterrence and defense, reinforce our long-term support for Ukraine so it can win in the war against Russia, the text adds.
But the leaders are concerned about the position of China, which “has become a decisive facilitator of Russia’s war against Ukraine through its so-called ‘no-holds-barred’ partnership and its large-scale support for Russia’s defense industrial base,” they charged.
Before the official opening of the summit, several NATO countries announced that they have begun sending fighter jets F-16 to Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who is in the US capital, said that these aircraft bring the country closer to a just and lasting peace.
Irreversible path
The F-16from Denmark and the Netherlands, will fly in the Ukrainian sky this summerdeclared the head of US diplomacy, Antony Blinken.
The White House said Belgium and Norway have promised to provide more aircraft.
Ukraine would like to receive a formal invitation to join NATO, but will still have to wait due to opposition from several countries, including the United States. It will have to settle for the recognition that it is in a irreversible path towards NATO membership, the statement said.
According to German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, the decisions taken by NATO offer Ukraine the clarity it needs.
After celebrating the 75th anniversary of the Western military alliance with great fanfare, the leaders met at the North Atlantic Council on Tuesday.
US President Joe Biden confirmed on Tuesday that allies will provide Ukraine with a total of five air defense systems, including four Patriot-type batteries, surface-to-air missiles particularly effective at intercepting Russian ballistic missiles.
Germany, the Netherlands, Romania and Italy will also contribute.
Russia has recently stepped up its missile attacks on Ukraine, killing 43 people and devastating the country’s largest children’s hospital in kyiv this week. Moscow has claimed that the hit on the hospital was caused by Ukraine’s defence system.
Russian missiles have also destroyed half of the country’s energy capacity.
Military spending, 2% of GDP
More than two years after Russia invaded Ukraine, NATO’s allies will also commit to developing their defence industry, outgoing NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said yesterday.
This new commitment sends an unequivocal message to the worldBiden stressed, pleased that 23 of the 32 countries that make up the alliance will henceforth allocate 2 percent of their gross domestic product (GDP) to military spending.
The leaders also decided that their military aid to Ukraine will be at least 40 billion euros (about 770 billion pesos). in the next year.
New air defense base in Poland
In that context, a new US air defence base in northern Poland, designed to detect and intercept ballistic missile attacks as part of a broader NATO anti-missile shield, is ready to receive the mission, Stoltenberg announced yesterday in remarks on the sidelines of the summit. The system, called Aegis Ashore, is based in the town of Redzikowo in northern Poland and is capable of intercepting short- to intermediate-range ballistic missiles.
Meanwhile, the leader of the United States European Command, Christopher Cavoli, acknowledged that Russian forces are skillfully adapting to the challenges they face in Ukraine, so the alliance decided to declare Russia as long-term threat.
Speaking at a conference in the United States broadcast on the NATO website, the commander also noted that the member countries of the alliance are very actively studying what is happening in Ukraine and developing new technologies. He recalled that a special centre for exchanging relevant information and experience with the Ukrainian army has been opened in Poland.