The new NATO Strategic Concept, expected to be adopted at Madrid Summit in June, will no longer name Russia as the bloc's strategic partner, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Thursday
ATHENS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 26th May, 2022) The new NATO Strategic Concept, expected to be adopted at Madrid Summit in June, will no longer name Russia as the bloc's strategic partner, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Thursday.
NATO's Strategic Concept is the bloc's key document, in which member countries reaffirm NATO's values and purpose, provide a collective assessment of the security environment, define security challenges and measures to tackle them, and outline guidelines for the alliance's future political and military development.
"The Strategic Concept is NATO's most important document, after our founding treaty, the Washington Treaty. The previous Strategic Concept was adopted in 2010. The world has changed radically since. This should be reflected in the new Strategic Concept. For example, we call Russia a strategic partner in the actual Strategic Concept," Stoltenberg told the Greek news portal Capital.gr.
NATO chief noted that the Strategic Concept will focus on "a more aggressive Russia;" however, it will also reflect other threats, including terrorism, issues in areas of cyberspace, climate change, and technologies.
"We must adapt since NATO's success depends on its ability to change in the changing world," Stoltenberg added.
China is yet to be included in the document as a threat, Stoltenberg added. At the same time, it is important to continue working with China on issues of arms control, climate change, and many others, as Beijing's rise has implications for both North America and Europe, according to the NATO chief.
Moscow has repeatedly stated that NATO is an alliance aimed at confrontation. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in early April that further expansion of the alliance eastward is aggressive in nature and will not make Europe more secure.
