The Russian invasion of Ukraine is not a local, regional or European issue. It is a priority of NATO, and it affects the whole world. At the summit of the Atlantic Pact with foreign ministers, Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg reiterated the importance of creating a common front against the infamous Kremlin offensive: a need that – he adds – will require expanding the Alliance’s commitment also beyond its current borders.
It is the project of a global NATO. In addition to the 30 members of the Pact, in fact, eight other “allies” participated in the Brussels summit: four Europeans, three of which bordering Russia (Sweden, Finland, Georgia and Ukraine) and four from Asia-Pacific (Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand), indicated with the initials “AP4”.
The two-day event in Brussels, in fact, anticipates the content of the New Strategic Concept that the heads of state and government of the member countries of the Alliance will approve at the next summit in Madrid (29 and 30 June). The document will be NATO’s roadmap for the years to come.
The Strategic Concept, explained Stoltenberg, indicates the guidelines for facing a more dangerous world, for continuing to protect and defend all allies and gear up in the face of the changing balance in global power. To this will be added the principles that will define the NATO strategy on other issues, such as cybersecurity and terrorism, up to the consequences of climate change.
But not only. The eighth strategic concept comes more than ten years after the previous version, issued in Lisbon in 2010, in a geopolitical and global security context very different from the previous one: the annexation of Crimea by Russia still had to arrive, the crisis in Syria and ISIS terrorism in three continents. Most importantly, the previous version of the Strategic Concept did not include China: the elephant in the room that could no longer be ignored.
The presence of Beijing in the document radically changes NATO’s perspectives. Faced with China that made its choice by siding with Russia in the Ukrainian conflict – its media now say that the war was unleashed by the United States – NATO needs to go global. “We will also face the security consequences of a much stronger China: we will have to take into account China’s growing influence and coercive policies on the global stage which represent a systematic challenge to our security and our democracies. Moscow and Beijing are questioning our international order based on democratic rules and values, ”Stoltenberg said.
The new global projection of NATO had already been talked about last October. During a summit in which China was not on the agenda – in a meeting of NATO defense ministers – Stoltenberg had anticipated that “the military alliance must respond to the challenges presented by the rise of China”.
The idea is that Beijing is now a power capable of influencing politics, economy, culture and security in every corner of the world. An ascent that Xi Jinping is also exploiting to modernize his country’s military capabilities, including advanced nuclear systems and long-range missile systems. “We see China dangerously approaching us – said Stoltenberg – not least in cyberspace”.
Of course, the immediate priority is the conflict in Ukraine. “The summit focused on how to help Kiev and what kind of response to give to the Kremlin,” added the NATO secretary general. While the Ukrainian Foreign Minister, Dmytro Kuleba, invited to the Brussels summit, commented, reiterating his request to NATO: «Only three things: weapons, weapons, weapons. The sooner they arrive, the more human lives are saved and the fewer villages will be destroyed ».
Yesterday, the Republic reported that on the first day of the summit there was a request – especially urged by the allies of Eastern Europe – to terminate the agreement signed with Moscow in 1997, the one that established the “Joint NATO-Russia Permanent Council “. An agreement signed 25 years ago which also provided for a ban on the installation of nuclear weapons in the territories of the former Soviet bloc. It won’t be wiped off with a swipe in a few days. But the fact that we talk about it is already a sign of the changing wind within the Alliance.
In fact, while NATO is not an active party in the conflict, it is determined to provide further support to Ukraine. Allies will dispatch anti-tank weapons, air defense systems and other equipment as soon as possible, and will step up humanitarian assistance and financial aid.
Stoltenberg also expressed his hope that the Alliance can “do more for other NATO partners who are vulnerable to Russian threats and interference, such as Georgia and Bosnia and Herzegovina: we must increase our political and practical support, we can help our partners to strengthen their resistance, and prevent any future aggression ».
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