NATO PA urges more support for Ukraine, calls for strategic approach to counter Russian hostility

MONTREAL – Lawmakers from across the NATO Alliance delivered a resounding message of continued support for Ukraine on Sunday, and urged Alliance governments to quickly develop a strategic approach to counter Russia’s wider threat to the West. 

“Russia remains the most significant and direct threat to Allied security … this threat will persist into the long term,” said a resolution debated at the NATO Parliamentary Assembly’s annual session in Montreal. 

Faced with that threat, NATO, must in the coming months, develop “a common strategic approach to Russia, focusing on fully preparing the Alliance to contain and counter Russia’s hostile actions across the board, whether conventional, hybrid or nuclear,” said the resolution drafted by Slovak member Tomas Valasek. 

At the same time, NATO should “sustain and increase military, financial, and humanitarian support for Ukraine, ensuring the timely delivery of munitions and advanced weapon systems, including air-defence systems, long-range precision weapons, and multi-role fighter aircraft.”  

Such aid for Ukraine should be maintained “for as long as it faces the Russian aggression or the threat thereof.” NATO governments should also recognise Ukraine’s “right to strike legitimate military objects” on Russian territory in line with UN self-defence principles.  

 A draft of the resolution was approved by the NATO PA’s Political Committee and was set for adoption at by the whole Assembly on Monday. Lawmakers called on Allies to “demonstrate their ironclad commitment to NATO’s collective defence,” bolstering deterrence, including by strengthening forward defences on NATO’s eastern flank. They deplored China’s role as an enabler of Russia’s war against Ukraine and the “growing collusion between autocratic regimes in Russia, China, Iran, North Korea and Belarus.” 

The resolution urged NATO leaders to advance Ukraine’s membership of the Alliance “as soon as possible.” Through a report presented by Ukrainian legislator Yehor Cherniev, the Assembly heard how Ukraine is making solid progress towards its goal of NATO membership.  

“Ukraine continues its Euro-Atlantic integration path as a civilisational choice of the Ukrainian people, who have sacrificed their lives for the right to be part of the free and democratic world,” Cherniev said. 

Support for Ukraine also came from Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, National Leader of Belarus. In an address to the Assembly, she insisted Ukraine’s fight was vital for freedom and democracy across Europe and beyond. “Without Ukraine’s victory, Belarus cannot be free,” Tsikhanouskaya said. “Let’s help Ukraine to win because this is not just their war, it is our own war for freedom.” 

Governments were once again pressed to increase defence spending, to at least the NATO target of 2% of GDP. While most Allies have reached this target, the Assembly  appealed to governments that have not yet done so to intensify their efforts and ensure  the strengthening of collective defence. 

A separate resolution, adopted by the Defence and Security Committee (DSC), focused on the imperative of upgrading NATO missile defences in response to an increasingly complex air and missile threat environment. Air strikes featuring advanced missile systems combined with increasingly capable drones have been seen with unsettling frequency across conflicts in the Alliance’s near neighbourhood.  

“The growing military cooperation among autocratic regimes in Moscow, Beijing, Tehran, and Pyongyang … is particularly focused on the exchange of missile and drone capabilities and knowhow,” said the resolution drafted by Turkish legislator Utku Cakirozer. “This cooperation is extending to non-state actors, further escalating existing conflicts and conventional and nuclear risks across the globe.” 

The resolution tasked NATO governments to “adapt the Alliance’s missile-defence architecture to the state and non-state threats it faces, particularly to the clear and present challenge of Russia.” 

“Integrated Air and Missile Defence is fundamental to the Alliance’s core tasks of deterrence and defence, but since the end of the Cold War, we have neglected this crucial pilar of collective security,” Cakirozer told the DSC. “We are, in effect, shields down as the international security environment evolves rapidly around us. 

The NATO PA also warned about Russia’s growing efforts to spread its influence in Africa and the Middle East – in conjunction with Iran – with the aim of undermining Western influence and unwinding the international order.  

Governments were advised to strengthen support for partners in the Western Balkans and Black Sea region – notably Moldova, Georgia and Bosnia and Herzegovina – at the forefront of Russian destabilisation efforts; and to counter rising Russian and Chinese influence though greater outreach to countries in the global south. 

---

[email protected]
Photos