Press release on the results of the NATO summit in Vilnius, July 11-12, 2023
https://mid.ru/en/foreign_policy/news/1896645/
On July 11-12, Vilnius hosted a summit of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation. Its results show that NATO has once again returned to the Cold War schemes, this time to protect “their one billion” from the other part of humanity based on the ideology of dividing the world into “democracies and autocracies.” Led by the United States, the collective West refuses to accept the rise of a multipolar world and intends to use every instrument at its disposal, including military methods, to defend its hegemony. NATO’s attempts to use the UN Charter to camouflage its aggressive aspirations and actions are not credible. The bloc and the global organisation have nothing in common. The Western “rules-based order” is a misappropriated prerogative to violate international law. The results of NATO’s actions are well known; they include the proliferation of instability, the destruction of states, the rise of terrorism, war crimes committed with impunity, the death of civilians, including children, and an endless wave of refugees.
We have seen again that the alliance is unable to adapt to the new global geopolitical reality and to real security requirements. While magnifying the alleged threat in the East, the United States and its vassals intend to use NATO as the main instrument of their global hegemony and the containment of the centres of the developing multipolar world. This policy of searching for external enemies is targeted against Russia.
The summit documents again defined Russia as “the most significant and direct threat to the Allies’ security.” Turning facts upside down, they have hypocritically accused Moscow of undermining global energy and food security. Washington and its allies, who are dreaming of delivering a strategic defeat to Russia, are increasing their military presence near the Russian border, deploying strike weapons and holding regular exercises focused on training in offensive operations. They are improving and strengthening their command staff chains, establishing new weapons depots and other infrastructure for the operational deployment of reinforcements. NATO has increased its rapid reaction forces to 300,000 troops and will create an integrated air and ballistic missile defence system. Brussels no longer mentions its past assurances that this system will not be targeted against Russia.
NATO’s new regional defence plans are designed to strengthen the aggressive coalition capabilities on land, at sea and in the air, in the space and cyber domains. NATO has declared readiness to involve Article 5 of the Washington Treaty, which stipulates a conventional response, including by collective forces, to malicious “hybrid operations” in cyberspace and also in the event of damage to its critical infrastructure. NATO is gradually lowering the threshold for the use of force and strengthening the nuclear component of its military planning.
The NATO countries account for over half of global military spending. But they are not satisfied, and in Vilnius they have pledged to invest at least 2 percent of their annual GDP on “defence.” The American defence corporations are happy: the allies will have to pay through the nose for US-made weapons to replace their arms supplies that have been burned in Ukraine.
NATO, which is whipping up militarisation and aggravating military-political tension to ensure its superiority, continues with its provocative expansion policy. The focus of its aspirations is Ukraine’s further integration with NATO. They decided to establish the NATO-Ukraine Council, where the allies and Ukraine will “sit as equal members.” They reaffirmed the commitment they made at the 2008 Summit in Bucharest that Ukraine will become a member of NATO, although they have not set the date. They sweetened the pill by saying that Ukraine’s path to full integration has moved beyond the need for the Membership Action Plan. At the same time, Ukraine will be the main expendable element in the hybrid war NATO has launched against Russia. Resolved to escalate the conflict, the bloc has promised Kiev that it will supply more modern and more long-range weapons, so that this conflict of attrition lasts as long as possible.
The bloc has not abandoned efforts to catch Georgia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as Moldova in its nets. NATO’s expansionist aspirations are not limited to the Euro-Atlantic region. Having swallowed Finland and (almost swallowed) Sweden without any public discussions or referendums, NATO is trying to bring military confrontation to the Arctic. It is also actively infiltrating the post-Soviet space. The Middle East and Africa have been declared a zone of their strategic interests. Washington and its allies are trying to bring their rules there and are using the tried and tested neocolonial methods to pump their resources. NATO is spreading its tentacles to the Indo-Pacific region under the far-fetched pretext that developments there “can directly affect Euro-Atlantic security.” Blinded by their global aspirations, the NATO countries stated in Vilnius that the deepening strategic partnership between China and Russia runs counter to their values and interests.
The majority of states are seriously concerned about these events. NATO’s policy, activities and military development directly contradict the objective goals of building a new fair world without artificial dividing lines or the division of states into “us” and “them,” a world where the legitimate interests of states to choose their development paths and social systems will be respected.
Security can only be indivisible, and it cannot be strengthened through disregard for the security of others. However far the geopolitical aspirations of Washington and Brussels may go, the world will not be turned into a “NATO globe.”
We will scrutinise the results of the Vilnius summit. Taking into account the threats and challenges to Russia’s security and interests, we will use all the means and methods available to provide a prompt and appropriate response to them. In addition to the decisions taken, we will continue to strengthen our military structure and the country’s defence system.
Russian Defence Ministry.