The acting Minister of Defense, Margarita Robles, attended the meeting of NATO defense ministers that was held on June 26 and 27 in Brussels, with the main objective of continuing to advance in the modernization of the Alliance and address the main security challenges that allies face.

In his appearance before the media, Robles has reviewed the issues that have been discussed throughout the ministerial and the position of our country before the different issues discussed.

In relation to the implications for the Alliance of the possible disappearance of the Treaty of Intermediate Nuclear Weapons, after its denunciation by the US, the Minister of Defense has emphasized the position of Spain: "control of armament, non-proliferation of weapons and to bet on a call to dialogue ".

The escalation of tension in the Persian Gulf, is an issue that must be addressed from "an appeal to prudence, dialogue and that there is no escalation of actions that may endanger maritime traffic or that may involve attacks on the life of the people ", underlined Margarita Robles.

NATO Ministerial

The Ministers of Defense of the Alliance, have discussed on this occasion on various issues, including innovation and disruptive technologies, Artificial Intelligence or Autonomous Systems, because it is technological advances that allow to maintain the necessary advantage strategy on possible adversaries, without forgetting in any case the ethical implications of this matter.

Referring to this point, Margarita Robles has stressed that all this technology "may in the future benefit the lives of citizens, but may also cause problems, such as the automatic lethal weapon system", and in reference to the disruptive technologies, Robles has valued the commitment of Spain but putting in value that "ethical values ​​are important and are taken into account."

In relation to burden-sharing, it has once again been emphasized that the commitment of the allies should not be measured exclusively by the financial aspects, but should also take into account the military capabilities contributed and the participation in operations. Robles took the opportunity to remember that Spain has always made available to NATO modern military capabilities and high technological level, in addition to participating in all operational scenarios currently active, which has earned him the recognition of the rest of Allies

In addition to these valuable contributions, Spain remains committed to following the path of increasing the defense budget in order to share in solidarity the effort required from each of the NATO members.

One of the last issues dealt with has been the mission "Resolute Support" in Afghanistan, where the situation remains unstable. In this matter, Spain supports the current peace process led by the ambassador, with the conviction that only with the effort of the Afghans themselves will it be possible to reach a definitive solution in the country.

In this regard, the Acting Minister of Defense has confirmed to the rest of the allies the intention of Spain to maintain its contribution to the training of the Afghan security forces, in compliance with the Alliance's motto for this mission and that the minister herself has recalled. : "We come together and we will go together".

Another highlight on the agenda has been the review of the progress made in the commitments that 25 of the member states signed within the framework of Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO, for its acronym in English) to give a boost to the Common Security and Defense Policy.

Spain is one of the main promoters of the initiative and has advocated for greater cooperation in the defense industry, as well as an operational commitment that allows the Union to reach the level of ambition that corresponds to it.



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