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NATO Summit ends, Stoltenberg clarifies discussions and decisions

NATO Summit ends, Stoltenberg clarifies discussions and decisions

At the end of the NATO Summit in Madrid, the Secretary General of the Military Alliance, Jens Stoltenberg held a press conference. He says "broad" decisions were made during the meeting of NATO leaders, with agreements to invite Finland and Sweden to join the alliance.

The impact of the war-induced food crisis around the world is "severe", he says, with many countries dependent on Ukraine for wheat imports. Russia continues to seek political, military and economic benefits, he added.

Finland and Sweden will formally sign their accession protocols to join NATO on Tuesday, Stoltenberg said. But he stresses that the decision on their membership in the 30-nation military alliance has already been made.

The accession protocol must then be ratified by all 30 parliaments to allow both countries to join NATO.

Asked if the alliance will fight to maintain unity with so many different members, he says: "You will always find differences and to me this is not a weakness ... we are democratic nations."

And he says it is important for members to "unite around core issues".

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg states that NATO allies spent time during the Madrid summit to discuss efforts to mitigate the growing food crisis caused by the war in Ukraine.

He says the alliance is working on "getting grain from Ukraine by land and sea". Stoltenberg warns that Moscow and Beijing are using economic leverage and austerity to destabilize.

He said NATO was facing the challenge resolutely, to "maintain peace". Stoltenberg adds that Putin must withdraw his forces and stop attacking a democratic state.

Source: BBC

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