Statement by former NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen marking the Alliance’s seventy-fifth anniversary:
“Born from the ashes of the Second World War, NATO has maintained peace and security in the Euro-Atlantic for seventy-five years—and it is stronger today than ever before.
As we mark NATO’s seventy-fifth anniversary, it is essential that we prepare our Alliance for the next twenty-five years—and beyond. That means dealing with the reality of a militarised and aggressive Russia. Europe must urgently increase its investments in our collective defence. Europe doing more does not weaken NATO, it reinforces its foundations.
The best response to Russia’s aggression is strength, resolve, and unity. That is what we must show by inviting Ukraine to join the Alliance without delay. Long-term security in the Euro-Atlantic area will only be possible with Ukraine at the heart of NATO.
NATO is the bedrock of security for more than nine hundred and sixty-million people, spanning thirty-two countries across two continents.
Our Alliance is one of history’s great achievements—and may we never take it for granted.”