The NATO Summit, which took place on June 25-26 in the Hague, became an important milestone in the rethinking of the Alliance's strategic priorities. Despite pessimistic expectations, the West showed a clear political message - NATO not only retains unity, but also tuned to significantly strengthen in the conditions of long -term confrontation with Russia.
This was stated in his official comment by the adviser to the head of the Presidential Office of Ukraine Mykhailo Podolyak. He stressed that the results of the summit demonstrate the transformation of the Alliance in response to a new geopolitical reality.
"There are no eternal alliances, and every alliance needs to be strengthened. Despite the skepticism, the Summit in the Hague strengthened NATO. For the first time, the course is not on a conditional 2%, but for 5% of the defense budget. It is a clear signal to all opponents: the most powerful military union of the planet plans to intensify."
In his assessment, Podolyak emphasized that there is no more doubt within the Alliance that the Kremlin's expansionist policy is not limited to the territory of Ukraine. The participants of the summit unanimously acknowledged that the Russian Federation is a key source of security not only for Eastern Europe, but for the entire Euro -Atlantic space.
"Three basic things were recorded in the Hague. The first is the main risk. The second is to minimize this risk to rebuild the NATO structure and significantly increase defense budgets. And the third - restraint programs cannot be implemented without Ukraine," Podolyak emphasized.
One of the central elements of security discussion was the understanding that without close interaction with Ukraine it would be impossible to restrain Russian aggression. According to Podolyak, the formation of a new European security system will be unthinkable without the full participation of Ukraine.
In his opinion, Ukraine has already become an informal ally of the Alliance, assuming the function of the outpost of European security. This is recognized as an increasing number of NATO member states. At the same time, the institutional design of this partnership should be the key task in the near future.
Among the important results of the summit was the announcement of the viewing of basic indicators of defense financing. Earlier, the members of the Alliance declared the need to spend at least 2% of GDP on defense, now it is about the bar of 5%.
This step is dictated by the need to resist not only traditional challenges, but also new threats - in cyberspace, hybrid war and at the level of strategic weapons.
At the end of his comment, the adviser to the Presidential Office said that the current NATO summit testified that the Block is undergoing a stage of deep modernization and adaptation. And most importantly, this transformation is already in close coordination with Ukraine.
"We are talking about a new general architecture of European security - with Ukraine as an inseparable part. That is why all of them have won the results of this summit: the Alliance itself, its partners, and we are Ukrainians, who prove their ability to be a reliable participant in the European and global security system every day," Podolyak summarized.
