NATO chief says upcoming Madrid summit will be 'transformative' for Euro-Atlantic security

North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has averred that the forthcoming summit in Madrid would be "transformative" for Euro-Atlantic security. The upcoming NATO summit is scheduled to be held later this month on June 19-30. According to the NATO chief, the Summit will be transformative for Euro-Atlantic security because it would improve the military alliance's long-term defence and deterrence posture in order to meet the challenges of a "more perilous world," Anadolu Agency reported. Stoltenberg made these remarks ahead of the second day of the NATO defence ministerial meeting in Brussels. 

Speaking further on the situation in Ukraine, Stoltenberg claimed that NATO defence ministers have already created the groundwork for providing considerable and unprecedented support to the war-torn country amid the ongoing Russian invasion. On Thursday, the alliance's defence ministers are also expected to discuss ways to modernise NATO and the need to raise the defence budget, as well as to deepen partnerships with Japan, South Korea, and New Zealand. In addition, the ministers will also discuss Sweden and Finland's NATO membership applications.

Madrid Summit not a deadline to approve Finland & Sweden's membership bids: NATO chief

Meanwhile, the NATO Secretary-General has made it clear that the military alliance does not see the upcoming Madrid Summit as a deadline to approve Finland and Sweden's membership bids as Turkey's concerns pertaining to the same are being reviewed.

The NATO chief made these remarks at a joint press conference with Finnish President Sauli Niinisto in Helsinki on June 12. It ispertinenet to mention here that Turkey has opposed Finland and Sweden's membership bid, accusing them of "hosting terrorist centres in their territories." 

About NATO

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization is a 30-member intergovernmental military alliance. The organisation was established in the aftermath of World War II to implement the North Atlantic Treaty, which was signed on 4 April 1949. The alliance is a collective security arrangement in which NATO's independent member states commit to defending each other in the event of an external attack. Since the end of the Cold War, the alliance has been involved in military operations in the Balkans, the Middle East, South Asia, and Africa, among other places.

(Image: AP)