The first photos from the NATO Summit in Madrid

Photos were released on Tuesday before the official dinner of the King of Spain, Philip VI, in honor of the leaders participating in the NATO Summit in Madrid.

It is noted that in the Spanish capital finally came out “white smoke” regarding the veto of Ankara for the accession of Finland and Sweden to NATO, after a quadripartite meeting, in which the Secretary General participated. of the Jens Stoltenberg Alliance, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Finnish President Sauli Niinisto and Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Anderson.

Ankara lifted its veto on the two Nordic countries joining NATO, saying her requirements were met.

The strategic choices for the future of the Alliance

The summit will focus on particularly important strategic options for the future of the Alliance and the deployment of forces for the immediate protection of its member states in Eastern Europe, government sources said earlier, citing The following:

– At the Madrid Summit, the leaders will assess the latest developments in Ukraine and approve the latest version of NATO’s Strategic Concept. In addition to the founding treaty of the Alliance, the Strategic Concept is the most important document of the North Atlantic Treaty and is essentially the roadmap of the Alliance, which is reviewed and updated approximately every decade.

– The new version of the Strategic Concept is expected to update NATO’s objectives in terms of its long-term deterrent capabilities.

– It is expected that for the first time a specific reference to China and its activities will be included, while also for the first time the leaders of Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand have been invited to a NATO Summit. Other challenges arising from the war in Ukraine, such as problems with energy and food supplies, will also be addressed.

– The agenda of the Summit will also include the ratification of the establishment of a new NATO Innovation Fund, for investments in emerging technologies for political and military use, and the horizontal integration of a green policy in all Alliance actions, with the aim of reducing emissions. pollutants from NATO activities.

The mood

As for the deployment of forces, the Alliance’s secretary general said on Monday, Jens Stoltenbergthe leaders will discuss the over-doubling of the NATO Response Force (NRF), which in this case will rise from about 40,000 uniformed personnel 300,000. At the same time, the strengthening of collective defense capabilities in Eastern Europe is being studied, including the installation of heavy equipment, the storage of ammunition and the deployment of increased air defense and command capabilities.

The Alliance has already announced the creation of four new battlegroups in Southeastern Europe, following the four already serving in the three Baltic states and Poland.

Mr. Mitsotakis will be accompanied by Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias, National Defense Minister Nikos Panagiotopoulos, Deputy Prime Minister and Government Spokesman Giannis Oikonomou, Director of the Diplomatic Office of the Prime Minister Asfasos Ethnias-Ambassador Anv-Mar.

The program of the Prime Minister at the Summit on Wednesday and Thursday is as follows (Greek hours):

Wednesday, June 29, 2022

11:00 Leaders welcoming ceremony by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez
11:25 Family photo
11:30 Summit of leaders (speech by the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky at the beginning)
14:30 Leaders’ lunch
16:00 Summit of leaders (with the participation of Australia, Georgia, Japan, Korea, New Zealand, Sweden, Finland, Presidents of the European Council and the European Commission)
20:00 Informal dinner of leaders of NATO and European Union member states.

Thursday 30 June 2022

10:45 Commitment Letter Signing Ceremony for the NATO Innovation Fund
11:00 Leaders meeting
13:00 Leaders’ lunch
13:15 Statements by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg to the press.

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