The war declaration made by the US-NATO and its close allies around the world against Russia from Switzerland foreshadows the intensification of the conflict in Ukraine and makes the risk of a generalized conflagration even more apparent.

The alleged peace summit was a mixture of threats against anyone who questions Euro-Atlantic "security" and "stability", together with US-NATO commitment to increasing support for Ukraine with money and weapons.

The fact that Russia was not invited, China was absent and more than 10 countries refused to sign the final declaration (Saudi Arabia, India, South Africa, Thailand, Indonesia, Mexico, United Arab Emirates, Brazil -which attended as an observer- etc.) shows the deep polarization caused by the intensification of imperialist rivalries, against the background of the US-China confrontation for primacy in the world imperialist system.

This Summit in Switzerland was a prelude to the NATO Summit in Washington early next month, where the 32 member countries are expected to decide on the next steps of the escalation in the confrontation between NATO on the one hand and Russia and China on the other.

The NATO summit will be a milestone for the war in Ukraine, as the agenda includes increasing funding for the Zelenskiy regime with contributions from member states on a regular basis, reinforcing the Ukrainian army with new modern weapons, extending agreements to use "Western" weapons against targets on Russian territory, sending more "trainers" to the war fronts and equipping Ukraine with warplanes.

Already, war preparation has gone to another level: More than 20 NATO members are expected to meet the imperialist alliance's target this year for arms spending of more than 2% of their GDP, double the figure of five years ago.

This is largely due to the dramatic increase of the EU's war budget, which reached an all-time high of €240 billion last year, with an upward trend, while confirming that Europe has already transitioned to a "war economy". It goes without saying that our country is among the champions in contributions to NATO, consistently spending more than 2% of its GDP on armaments needed by NATO.

From the war fronts of Ukraine and the Middle East, and as the tensions escalate in all corners of the globe, with the regions of the Balkans, the Pacific, the Caucasus, Africa, etc. standing out, the clouds of a generalized imperialist conflict are amassing over the peoples.

NATO's criminal policy, on the ground of fierce rivalries with the other imperialist camps, is a factor of instability and war, threatening billions of people all over the world, while fragile compromises are increasingly challenged.

The escalation of NATO threats against China also points out how volatile the situation is. NATO's Secretary General has directly accused China of supporting Russia in the war in Ukraine, as well as of "fuelling the biggest armed conflict in Europe since World War II". He even threatened China with economic sanctions, while China responded by telling NATO not to "add fuel to the fire".

That is the big picture, taking into consideration the developments of the last week alone. It is through this prism that the people must examine the dangers of the deep involvement of our country in US-NATO planning, where it plays a leading role, which further turns our people into a target for retaliation.

Therefore, the workers' - people's movement has the responsibility to step up and intensify its efforts.

Opposing the imperialist war means first and foremost fighting for the disengagement  of our country from the criminal NATO plans, targeting the government and all the warmongering parties, as well as the bourgeoisie and its international allies. It means showing solidarity to the peoples who are fighting in their own country. It means fighting to pluck out the heart of the beast, this decaying system that gives rise to wars, antagonisms and exploitation.

"Rizospastis", organ of the CC of the KKE (19/06/2024)