NATO PA decides on proposals for NATO‘s Madrid Summit

Press release, 30 May 2022

Photo by Olga Posaškova, Office of the Seimas

At the end of the Spring Session, the members of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly (NATO PA) adopted a declaration ‘Confronting Russia’s Threat’.

According to the President of the NATO PA, Gerald E. Connolly from the United States, this document is based on four key statements: 1) Russia’s renewed invasion of Ukraine has created a new strategic reality; 2) Russia’s ultimate goal is to undermine democracies, to upend the European security order and to destroy the international rules-based order; 3) Russia’s aggressive actions constitute the most immediate and principal threat to Euro-Atlantic security; 4) although we must maintain open channels of cooperation, there cannot be a meaningful dialogue with Russia in the current circumstances, given that Russia is currently killing peaceful Ukrainian citizens, bombing villages and cities.

The adopted document contains proposals for NATO’s Madrid Summit in June.

Mr Connolly identified the most important aspects proposed in the Declaration: 1) to place shared democratic values at the heart of NATO’s response to Russia’s threats, including through the establishment, within NATO, of a Democratic Resilience Centre, which has been supported since 2019; 2) to reaffirm the commitment to Article 5 of the Washington Treaty and collective defence, making clear that the Allies will take all necessary measures to deter and defend every inch of NATO territory; 3) to continue to significantly strengthen and adapt the Alliance’s deterrence and defence posture, including ‘forward defence‘ in NATO’s Eastern flank; 4) to assess and address the implications of Russia-China cooperation; 5) to strengthen NATO’s ability to deter and defend countries below the Article 5 threshold; 6) to meet the 2014 Wales Defence Investment Pledge in its entirety and to enshrine the 2%; 7) to continue to support Ukraine; to further strengthen our support to NATO aspirants; to reaffirm the right of choice of all peoples and make it clear that we will never recognise Russia’s illegal and forced annexation or occupation of Ukraine, Georgia and the Republic of Moldova. He also welcomed the submission by Finland and Sweden of their application to join the Alliance.

The Declaration also urges to support each other in bolstering transatlantic energy security and independence by diversifying energy sources, considering new routes and phasing out coal, gas, oil and uranium imports from Russia, to step up efforts to decisively and forcefully tackle Russia’s cyber threats and their consequences, including disinformation, to keep channels for diplomacy, de-confliction, de-escalation and arms control, open with Russia to avoid unintended escalation, misunderstanding or miscalculation.

Photos by Viktorija Chorna, Office of the Seimas

Photos are published on the Seimas Flickr account. They are free for use provided they bear the following indication of the source: Photo by Olga Posaškova or Džoja Gunda Barysaitė, Office of the Seimas.

This year, the Spring Session of the NATO PA was scheduled to be held in Kyiv, Ukraine, but was moved to Vilnius as a matter of urgency due to Russia’s war against Ukraine.

The NATO PA is an interparliamentary organisation in which parliamentarians of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation and their partners outside the Alliance discuss key political, security and defence issues in the Euro-Atlantic region together with partners outside the Alliance. The Assembly is governed by the Standing Committee consisting of the head of each delegation, the President, the Vice-Presidents, the Treasurer and the Secretary-General of the Assembly.

In Lithuania, the Spring Session of the NATO PA was last held in 2014, on the occasion of the country’s 10th anniversary of the membership of the Organisation. Prior to that, Lithuania hosted a NATO PA Session in 2001.

Saulė Eglė Trembo, Chief Specialist, Press Office, Information and Communication Department, tel. +370 5 239 6203, e-mail: [email protected]