MADRID – The Russian invasion of Ukraine has made it clear that NATO’s mission to protect territorial integrity, human rights and international law is not merely empty rhetoric, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis underlined while addressing the NATO Summit in Madrid on Wednesday, noting also that the sanctions decided on must be implemented by all NATO member states.

According to government sources, Mitsotakis focused on the issues included in the Summit’s agenda and highlighted the importance of the Alliance’s unity, speed and determination in opposing the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

He reiterated that Greece stood on Ukraine’s side and welcomed the invitation to Finland and Sweden to join the alliance, expressing satisfaction that the difficulties have been overcome.

Earlier, Mitsotakis expressed his satisfaction that the new strategic concept that will shortly be adopted by NATO includes the protection of sovereignty and territorial integrity, international law and human rights, in a statement as he arrived for the NATO summit. He also welcomed the fact that NATO intends to invite Finland and Sweden to join the Alliance.

Mitsotakis repeated that Greece is a pillar of stability in NATO’s southeastern wing, stressing that the alliance must be focused on the front in Ukraine and does not need another source of instability from within.

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The prime minister’s statement was as follows:

“We are meeting today at the NATO summit in the shadow of a war. The Russian invasion of Ukraine is a break in geopolitical time. It gives new meaning to the Euroatlantic alliance and obliges us to move faster in order to strengthen NATO structures.

Today we are faced with new and major geopolitical challenges. And I want to express my satisfaction because the new strategic concept, which we shall shortly adopt, in its introduction includes the protection of sovereignty, territorial integrity, international law and human rights as the framework of values on which our Alliance is based.

I also want to express my satisfaction over the fact that the Alliance will today extend invitations to Finland and Sweden to become the 31st and 32nd members of the Alliance. Common sense and the good of the Alliance have finally prevailed and the various opportunist and utilitarian behaviours have been overcome.

Greece has been a member of NATO since 1952. We are an important pillar of stability in the southeastern Mediterranean, we are a country that has systematically invested over 2 pct of its GDP on defence spending, in this way enhancing not just our own defensive deterrent capability but also the structures of the Alliance.

As a pillar of stability, therefore, on the southeastern wing of NATO we have every reason to believe that, at this time, the Alliance must concentrate on the challenge that it faces on the Ukrainian front. We do not need another source of instability within the Alliance and I believe this is something that all our partners are aware of.”

(ANA/ N. Roubos)