By Rick Larsen / For The Herald
Later this month, leaders from NATO allies will gather in Madrid, Spain, to adopt the NATO Strategic Concept, which reaffirms the alliance’s values and purpose and sets its overall direction for the next decade.
At this annual summit, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s unprovoked and unjustified war on Ukraine will be at the forefront. Russia’s invasion is not only an assault on the young democracy but on the entire free world, threatening the hard-won peace and rule-based, global security architecture that NATO has built and supported for 73 years.
If Putin is not stopped, if he does not face consequences for Russia’s continued assaults on Ukraine, and if he faces a divided NATO, there will be devastating consequences for Ukraine, Europe and the world.
All eyes are on NATO allies to stand united and continue to help Ukraine in their hour of need. NATO allies and partners must continue supporting Ukraine’s right to defend itself, continue providing humanitarian aid to the Ukrainian people, assist in war crime investigation, and increase the economic costs for Putin and his cronies.
I recently participated in a bipartisan Congressional delegation to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly (PA) spring session in Vilnius, Lithuania, where roughly 250 representatives from NATO and partner countries stood in support of an independent and sovereign Ukraine. As a member of the NATO PA Defence and Security Committee, I was invited to outline a draft report with policy recommendations on how NATO allies and partners can best support Ukraine’s fight for freedom and respond to Putin’s unprovoked war. These recommendations are:
• Step up emergency security aid to Ukraine;
• Ensure Ukraine has the resources needed to rebuild after the war;
• End dependence on Russian hydrocarbon resources;
• Hold Putin and his enablers accountable for their illegal actions;
• Strengthen the NATO alliance; and
• Address the regional and global ramifications of the war.
As I reaffirmed during the spring session, whether it takes two days, two weeks, two months or two years, the crisis in Ukraine is not over until Ukraine has its boundaries back and the continued freedom to choose its leaders and future. NATO allies and partners, including the United States, stand united with the Ukrainian people and for an independent and sovereign Ukraine.
Slava Ukraini!
U.S. Rep. Rick Larsen, D-Wash., is a member of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly where he serves on NATO PA’s Defence and Security Committee. He is also a senior member of the House Armed Services Committee. Larsen represents Washington’s Second Congressional District, which includes parts of Snohomish, Skagit and Whatcom counties and all of Island and San Juan counties.
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