Jens Stoltenberg
Next week, the leaders of NATO’s 32 countries will meet in Washington, D.C., for the alliance’s 75th-anniversary summit. They will celebrate 75 years of unity between Europe and North America—unity that has protected transatlantic peace, democracy, and prosperity. But more than just a celebration, the summit will be an opportunity to make decisions that matter for the future of one billion people across Europe and North America.
Today, their security is at stake. When Russian President Vladimir Putin sent tanks into Ukraine in February 2022, he began the bloodiest conflict in Europe since World War II, shattering peace on the continent and creating turmoil on the global stage. Day after day, he is further escalating this war. Not only are Russian missiles continuously targeting Ukraine’s citizens, cities, and critical infrastructure but the Kremlin is also engaging in a coordinated campaign of hostile acts against NATO countries—including sabotage, cyberattacks, and disinformation. All the while, Moscow continues to rattle its nuclear saber.
Putin shows no intention of ending this war any time soon, and he is increasingly aligned with other authoritarian powers, including China, that wish to see the United States fail, Europe fracture, and NATO falter. This shows that in today’s world, security is not a regional matter but a global one. Europe’s security affects Asia, and Asia’s security affects Europe.
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