NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg announced on 23 July the appointment of Spanish diplomat Javier Colomina (Madrid, 49 years old) as Special Representative for the Southern Neighbourhood, a newly created position with which the Atlantic Alliance wants to put on its agenda the wide arc of instability that goes from Iraq to the Sahel, whose endemic problems (Arab-Israeli conflict, jihadist terrorism, irregular immigration, arms and drug trafficking, climate change) have been relegated until now by the urgent needs of the Eastern flank.
Colomina, who has held a top position in the organisation since 2021 – Deputy Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs and Security Policy – believes that his election represents a unique opportunity for the Alliance to deal with the explosive situation on its southern flank, although he is cautious – “NATO cannot enter the region like an elephant in a china shop” – and avoids polemics with Giorgia Meloni’s Defence Minister, Guido Crosetto, who accused Stoltenberg of “betrayal” for choosing the Spanish diplomat over an Italian. The first interview he has given since his appointment was held last Tuesday in the vicinity of the Rota naval base (Cádiz), where the United States concentrates its most powerful fleet in the Mediterranean.
Ask.Italy says the failure to create a department for the south devalues the post.
Answer. In the negotiations it became clear that the countries wanted the post to be part of the current structure, a few for budgetary savings and the majority for efficiency. And this was reflected in the Action Plan approved in [la cumbre de] Washington. Corporately, I remain the same, but I am given a much more extensive area of influence. My team, which is made up of about 80 people, will adapt and be reinforced by a support unit that I am already creating. NATO is a complicated house and if you create a free atom, even if you provide it with the means, it will not work if it is not within the machinery.
P. Italy claims that the post was theirs…
R. I am not going to talk about Italian politics. The truth is that this has not been an improvisation. The process, in which Spain, Italy and Portugal play a major role, begins before the Vilnius summit. [julio de 2023]. There, it was decided to launch a reflection and this led the Secretary General to commission a report from a group of experts who, among other measures, proposed creating this position.
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P. What will change with your appointment?
R. The novelty is that I have a three-pronged Action Plan. The first is the strengthening of practical cooperation and political dialogue with the countries of the South. To do this, more means will be sought and those we already have will be used more effectively, such as the hubThe second is to incorporate the South into the Alliance’s priorities. The plan is expected to be reviewed annually and this review must be approved by the foreign ministers and submitted to the heads of state and government, so that it will be on the agenda of all summits. This seems like a bureaucratic thing but it is essential because until now there has been no permanent attention to the South, but only sporadic attention at certain times. Finally, my appointment means that there will be someone pushing for the process to move forward.
P. NATO continues to lean towards the East, especially with the entry of Sweden and Finland.
R. The East is the main priority and will continue to be so. Nothing competes with that. Russia is part of the DNA of the Alliance, it represents an imminent threat that requires a direct response. Not simple, but direct. On the other hand, terrorism is an asymmetric threat that requires a complex response and I am not even sure that NATO should lead it. It must contribute, together with other bodies, to a strategy that includes everything from development cooperation to socio-economic and also military measures. It is true that this is not the best time because the region is in a very complicated situation, but it is a real opportunity. We have the will and a plan. And we have never had that before.
P. Southern countries accuse NATO of double standards. At the Washington summit there was a lot of talk about Ukraine, but only [Pedro] Sanchez and [el presidente turco Recep Tayyip] Erdogan spoke about Gaza.
R. Some more.
P. But not NATO.
R. NATO as such does not. I understand the criticism of double standards. We are living in a particularly dramatic situation because we have two ongoing conflicts. We must remember the differences between the two. In Ukraine, one country decides to attack another without any justification. There is a guilty party and a victim, regardless of historical or cultural considerations. In Gaza, there is first a terrorist attack and a legitimate reaction recognised by the UN Charter and the international community. The problem is in the follow-up…
P. In proportionality…
R. NATO has said the response had to be proportionate, respectful of international law, human rights and with humanitarian assistance. [a la población civil]while we were talking about the release of the hostages and self-defense. It is true that in the way in which one thing and another have been defended there are times when it has been perceived by the countries [del sur] a double standard. I will have to explain to you how far we can go as long as we do not have an agreed political position. [sobre Oriente Próximo]it is impossible with the membership we have, with a country that does not consider Hamas a terrorist organization [Turquía] and others with a marked pro-Israeli accent in their foreign policy, which makes it impossible [el acuerdo] But at the same time, we must give credibility to the efforts we are making, which are many. We must show that we can continue working on issues of mutual interest, as we are doing with the upcoming opening in Jordan of the first NATO office in the south.
P. Iraq has asked for the withdrawal of the US-led international coalition, but not the NATO mission.
R. NATO’s mission is advisory, while the coalition against Daesh is combat. We have requested approval from its authorities every time the government in Baghdad has changed. It is a fairly successful mission that could serve as a model for other regions, such as the Sahel. NATO has the capacity to mount an operation of this type if there is political will on both sides. Will it happen in the short term? I don’t think so, but at least we will have a structure to think about how to work with these countries and one of the formulas is Iraq.
P. France, the EU and the US have withdrawn from the Sahel, leaving a vacuum that Russia is filling.
R. China too…
P. From an economic point of view.
R. China is more present in the region than is often said, and not only economically, but also in terms of security, although not with the visibility of Russia, which has thousands of soldiers.
P. Is the Sahel the second stage of the conflict with Russia?
R. It would be a subordinate scenario. The war in Ukraine is now a priority, but it will have an end, sooner or later. Hopefully it will be soon and under the conditions that we all wish for the Ukrainians! But the threat coming from the Sahel will continue to be there, it will be with us for a long time. That is why we must do something and we will see what that something is, because it is difficult to get 32 countries to agree, some of which think that NATO should limit itself to defence, deterrence and little else. But awareness has grown that there is a lot at stake in the Sahel.
P. Is this a new theatre of operations?
R. NATO does not yet see it as a theatre of operations and it is possible that it will never see it unless the situation changes significantly. One of the lessons we have learned in recent years is that we must work with the countries in the region, try to make them face these challenges and help them with advice and training. It is true that the first thing they ask for is military equipment and that is the only thing that NATO does not do. Coordinate the delivery [de armamento] to Ukraine, but it is the countries that give it bilaterally.
P. The EU does finance the purchase of weapons for kyiv…
R. There is a way to work together. NATO has a know-how In terms of security, the EU will never have it, but it does have financial muscle. Putting it all together and not being paternalistic, let the countries of the region lead the fight against these threats… although it is complicated when you have coup governments.
P.How to deal with these military juntas?
R. You have to find a balance between respect for democratic principles and human rights and the needs of the realpolitik and security. The answer cannot be to leave these countries out, we must work with them, but at the same time we must react to the military coups that have frustrated nascent democracies.
P. Where to start?
R. We can work from Mauritania, which is a NATO partner.
P. It is a peripheral country…
R. It is a very respected country. We will have to try to work from there. To what extent? What NATO can do at the moment is to help in specific fields that complement EU or bilateral action. We cannot enter like an elephant in a china shop, we have to go little by little, talking to everyone.
P. The French intervention in the Sahel failed…
R. The French effort was admirable in terms of economic investment or loss of life, regardless of whether it had its national priorities. You have to respect the fact that it kept 5,000 troops there for a long time, but it was a purely military response and it has become clear that it is neither sufficient nor adequate. We need to work with regional organisations, such as the African Union. We have a military liaison office in Addis Ababa. [sede de la UA] We are reinforcing it with civilian personnel and I have already contacted the person in charge of peace and security. I am convinced that NATO can do many things, but not everything. It must do what it knows how to do.
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