WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Thom Tillis (R-NC), co-chairs of the Senate NATO Observer Group, released a statement following their meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and U.S. Ambassador to NATO, Matthew Whitaker.
“We appreciated the opportunity to meet with NATO Secretary General Rutte to discuss the future of the transatlantic Alliance at a pivotal moment for European and global security. The United States and our NATO Allies share a common interest in deterring aggression, strengthening collective defense and ensuring the Alliance remains prepared to meet evolving threats.
“We welcome NATO Allies' historic commitment to invest 5 percent of GDP in defense and encourage continued progress toward translating those commitments into the military capabilities, industrial capacity and readiness needed to strengthen deterrence. A stronger, more capable and more balanced Alliance benefits every member, including the United States.
“We also reaffirmed our bipartisan support for NATO and underscored the importance of sustained support for Ukraine as it continues to defend its sovereignty against Russia's unprovoked aggression. Ukraine is now a net security provider to the Alliance, and we hope that the upcoming NATO Summit will include concrete deliverables which will allow for NATO allies to fully benefit from Ukraine’s pioneering defense technologies. A secure Europe remains firmly in America's national security interest, and Congress will continue to play an important role in strengthening the transatlantic partnership and demonstrating that support for NATO remains durable and bipartisan.”
###