The President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, recalled this Monday before the NATO Parliamentary Assembly that many spoke of the "brain death" in which the Atlantic Alliance found itself before Russia invaded Ukraine at the end of February. However, the war that is being waged in eastern Europe has served —in the words of the Executive leader— to demonstrate “the need for its existence”. And not only that, the "quick, determined and cohesive" action taken by the allied countries has been essential to avoid "an escalation of consequences that nobody wants".
Spain has once again strengthened its role on the international stage with the NATO Parliamentary Assembly that has been held since Saturday in Madrid. During the closure of this event, which took place against the backdrop of the war in Ukraine, the "intelligent" role played by the Atlantic Alliance since the beginning of the conflict was valued.
At the national level, Sánchez has valued the role that Spain has gained by sending weapons for the legitimate defense of the Ukrainian people or offering to train Ukrainian soldiers in national territory. An aid that, according to the president, was from the beginning of the invasion and will not stop until Ukraine frees itself from "Putin's war."
For Sánchez, who has intervened before the parliamentarian after doing so by the president of Sanado, Ander Gil, and the president of the Congress of Deputies, Meritxell Batet, the Spanish contribution to the war has been based on criteria of "justice, memory and truth ”, for which he recalled that for a few weeks there has been a Spanish delegation on Ukrainian soil to try to find out if crimes against humanity have been committed.
The President of the Government, who after his speech left the auditorium to hold a meeting with the NATO Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg, also wanted to address the Russian President directly, whom he called on to "leave Ukraine alone". at the same time that he has asked him, once and for all, to respect his national sovereignty. "We will all continue united with Ukraine in its fight for freedom."
For his part, the Secretary General of NATO wanted to remind the representatives of the 30 allied countries that the commitment made to allocate 2% of GDP to the Defense budget is not the ceiling, but the threshold. Spain was one of the countries that promised to reach that number during the international event held in Madrid. The forecast is to reach 1.3% in 2023 and 2% in 2029, according to the President of the Government. For Stoltenberg, this will be one of the axes on which to see the NATO Summit to be held in Lithuania in 2023. The year in which a decade of the commitment made by the allies in Wales is completed.
Regarding the aid that the Atlantic Alliance is presenting to Ukraine, Stoltenberg has said that this is "priceless" for everyone, while at the same time he has urged to maintain the cohesion that the allied countries have shown up to now in order to avoid paying " a much higher price." After acknowledging that the citizens of NATO member countries are facing "a cost of living crisis" that is reflected in energy or food bills, the Secretary General recalled that Ukraine is paying that price "in blood".
