Thank you, Chairs. The United Kingdom remains unequivocally committed to a just and lasting peace in Ukraine one that upholds Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. Our support for Ukraine is long-term, and we back every credible effort to bring this war to an end.
Chairs, this Forum has heard that Europe is ‘militarising’, and that NATO poses a threat to the Russian Federation. We should be clear about what this argument is, and what it is not. It is not an analysis. It is a deflection. The Russian Federation invites this Forum to treat cause and effect as though they were reversed. We should restore them to their proper order.
NATO Allies are indeed increasing their military capability and readiness. These are not the opening moves of an aggressor; they are defensive measures taken in response to a profoundly deteriorated security environment. Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine has shattered peace in Europe and created the gravest threat to Euro-Atlantic security in decades. In those circumstances, it is both reasonable and necessary for States to ensure that they can defend their territories, populations and democratic institutions.
Allies do not rebuild their armed forces in response to a State behaving peacefully and responsibly. They do so when confronted by demonstrated aggression and the forcible seizure of another State’s sovereign territory. Increased defence spending, higher readiness and stronger national capabilities are not evidence of hostile intent, but as a rational and proportionate answer to Russian actions.
NATO is a defensive alliance. Its essential purpose is to safeguard the freedom and security of its members through collective defence. Its three-core tasks are Deterrence and Defence; Crisis Prevention and Management; and Cooperative Security. Let me be completely clear NATO seeks no war with the Russian Federation, and it threatens none. What Russia presents as ‘encirclement’ is the predictable consequence of its own choices the invasion of sovereign neighbours and the seizure of territory by force.
There is a clear distinction between legitimate self-defence and coercive behaviour. This distinction must not be obscured. The Russian Federation has used military force to violate the sovereignty and territorial integrity of another participating State. The evidence remains before us every week. Russia continues its mass strikes against Ukrainian cities, sustaining casualties of tens of thousands each month for negligible gains, while refusing the full, immediate and unconditional ceasefire that Ukraine has repeatedly offered. Russia speaks of its concern for European security while being the author of Europe’s insecurity.
The OSCE Code of Conduct rests on the principles of responsible and cooperative behaviour; the peaceful conduct of relations between States; and that States maintain armed forces to defend their security and their citizens. It also reaffirms the continuing validity of the UN Charter, international law and the principles of the Helsinki Final Act. It does not allow States to coerce their neighbours or to redraw borders by force.
Chairs. If the Russian Federation is troubled by the scale of Europe’s investment in its own defence, there is a straightforward remedy available to it. Withdraw its forces from Ukraine’s internationally recognised territory, cease its attacks, and return to genuine diplomacy. Thank you, Chairs.