NATO and the European Union have expressed on Tuesday their commitment to maintain long-term military support to Ukraine in the face of Russian aggression and their intention to cooperate to replenish its ammunition and weapons stockpiles, with a view to increasing its defense industrial production.
This is stated in the new declaration of cooperation between NATO and the EU signed on Tuesday at the headquarters of the alliance and marked by the military aggression launched by Russian President Vladimir Putin almost a year ago. In the text that will guide relations in the coming years, both organizations condemn the attack and point out that Moscow must stop the offensive and withdraw from Ukrainian territory, leaving in writing its commitment to continue supporting Kiev in the context of the war.
At a press conference, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has advocated further strengthening the transatlantic link through NATO. «We must continue to strengthen the partnership between NATO and the European Union and we must further strengthen our support for Ukraine,» he said.
The former Norwegian prime minister underlined Putin’s «failure» in seizing Ukraine and in his intention to divide European and American partners. In any case, he pointed out that the declaration sealed on Tuesday makes it clear that NATO is «the basis of collective defense» and is «essential» for Euro-Atlantic security, insisting on the idea of taking cooperation «to a new level».
For her part, the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, has affirmed that the EU «will continue to do everything in its power» to support Kiev in the face of Russia’s «imperialist war» and has advanced that the bloc will maintain pressure against Moscow and will redouble sanctions against Belarus and Iran for their military backing of Russian aggression.
Likewise, he defended increasing the relationship with NATO in areas such as cyber threats, special cooperation, the climate crisis and the protection of infrastructure networks in the face of attacks such as the one experienced in the Nord Stream gas pipeline last October.
«Strong allies make strong alliances,» said the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, who pointed out that the Russian aggression against Ukraine has strengthened European defense capabilities, with unprecedented decisions such as sending arms to a country at war, and has brought NATO and the EU even closer together.
The war in the East of Europe has generated a new step in the European enlargement policy, with the candidate status for Ukraine and Moldova, emphasized Michel, to conclude that «Putin has managed to have more NATO and will have more EU».
DECLARATION MARKED BY THE RUSSIAN AGGRESSION The third declaration of cooperation between the EU and NATO is marked by the security situation in Eastern Europe following the Russian aggression in Ukraine, which will be a year old next month. Thus, the text reflects support for Kiev and «We express our full solidarity with Ukraine and reiterate our unwavering and continued support for its independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders,» the joint statement reads.
«We fully support Ukraine’s inherent right to self-defense and to choose its own destiny,» reads the text, which notes that «authoritarian actors» threaten democratic principles through political, economic, technological and military means, a reference not only to Russia but also to China.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
