Brussels, Jan 21 (EFE).- NATO’s top military officer said Wednesday that differences among alliance members do not undermine cohesion but instead strengthen the bloc, as the grouping confronts Russia’s war in Ukraine and mounting global security threats.
“I can testify to one main point: cohesion is the key quality of this group,” NATO’s Military Committee President Admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone said at the opening of a meeting of NATO defense chiefs.
“Yes, we do have differences, and that is normal in an alliance of democracies. But those differences can and do make us better,” he said amid fresh strains within the alliance.
The Italian admiral spoke amid tensions over US ambitions regarding Greenland, an autonomous territory that remains under the sovereignty of NATO ally Denmark.
Cavo Dragone noted that the security situation at the start of 2026 “continues to be extremely demanding, Russia’s war against Ukraine continues, instability and violence persist along NATO’s southern neighborhood.
“Tensions also affect trade routes, energy flows, and security far beyond Europe and North America.”
He added that “other malign actors continue to jeopardize global stability,” warning that “every day, we face cyber attacks, sabotage, coercion, and disinformation.”
At the same time, he said, “New technology can spread these hybrid threats faster, and make them harder to trace.”
Nonetheless, he highlighted efforts to achieve peace in Ukraine, led by the United States and the Coalition of Willing, with France and the United Kingdom playing leading roles.
“But we have seen new efforts to bring peace in Ukraine, including initiatives led by the United States.
“And also the efforts to enable that peace through the Coalition of the Willing framework, under the leadership of France and the United Kingdom, joined by many nations, looking ahead to what Ukraine may need in the future.”
He said NATO’s “support to Ukraine has grown stronger and more organized” in the last one year.
He also stressed that the alliance has stepped up surveillance and protective measures for its members, including the Baltic Guard and Eastern Guard initiatives on the eastern flank, and has expanded both the scale and frequency of its military exercises.
“From a military point of view, these efforts demonstrate a modern alliance that can defend and deter, from a 360-degree perspective,” he said.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte also addressed the allied chiefs of defense via video message, saying it is “imperative and urgent” that, ahead of the alliance summit in Ankara in July, “we all deliver on our commitments.”
“We need to clearly demonstrate increased investment in defense and ensure that European allies and Canada assume a greater share of the responsibility for conventional deterrence and defense,” said the former Dutch prime minister.
Rutte also called for NATO to boost its combat readiness, allocate sufficient resources to its defense plans, and continue updating its deterrence and defense posture. EFE
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