No to NATO Global Anti-Militarist Webinar - Final Declaration

We are living in a period in which the threat posed by imperialism to the peoples of the world and imperialist aggression in our region are intensifying. On April 4, the founding anniversary of NATO—the war organization of imperialism—representatives of leftist, socialist and revolutionary organizations from different countries, together with activists and intellectuals from social movements, came together in an online meeting. The ongoing wars and NATO’s role within them were discussed, as well as the fields of struggle against these wars. Participants also debated how to organize opposition to the NATO Summit planned to take place in Ankara on July 7–8, 2026, and emphasized the importance of international solidarity in this process. Within the meeting, common views were expressed on the following points.

U.S. imperialism and Israel are acting as rogue forces, targeting the peoples of Palestine, Lebanon, Iran, Yemen and other countries. The United States, which stands behind the Zionist Israeli regime, supports the genocide carried out in Palestine and bombs Iran in order to secure the interests of the Israeli regime. NATO, through its military and political role, stands at the center of these attacks. The EU and the main European imperialist powers are likewise complicit, supporting US-Israel aggression against the peoples of West Asia through both political and military means. From NATO bases in the region—especially those in Turkey—military intelligence and logistical support necessary for the United States and Israel are being provided. US bases in Greece and UK bases in Cyprus also play a crucial role in sustaining this aggression. We all say no to NATO and US military bases in West Asia.

Since its establishment, NATO has served as an instrument of destruction for the capitalist order, as demonstrated in numerous examples. While promising “peace” within the framework of the global stability of the capitalist system, NATO has supported counter-guerrilla structures in many countries and has intervened in the internal affairs of numerous states, violently suppressing the struggles and actions of the working class. Today we also witness the destructive consequences of the militarization and military bloc formation carried out through NATO, particularly along the Russia–Ukraine axis.

With Trump’s return to power for a second term, this counter-revolutionary process has become even more apparent. NATO is forcing all member states to increase military spending. The pressure to allocate 5% of member states’ budgets to military expenditures once again reveals NATO’s nature as an instrument of imperialist war. Allocating 5% of public budgets—resources created by working people—to militarization means cutting these resources from public assets and the social needs of the people. While the resources of workers are diverted to the arms industry, militarist policies also create fertile ground for the rise of the far right. Across much of the world, particularly in Europe, far-right parties rising through anti-immigrant, anti-women and anti-LGBTQI+ policies push the masses not to struggle against this system but to become part of it, thereby intensifying the counter-revolutionary process.

War not only causes death and destruction but also leads to mass migration. Due to attacks and ongoing wars, peoples in the region are being forced into large-scale displacement. In the places they migrate to, migrants generally form a low-wage labor force for the capitalist system, while facing racism and systematic violations of their rights. Among migrants, women, children and LGBTQI+ individuals are particularly the most severely affected by discrimination and poverty.

This global-scale barbarism also confronts humanity with ecological destruction and disaster. The targeting of thermal power plants in attacks against Iran and the threat of nuclear weapon use bring not only the region but the entire world to the brink of a massive ecological catastrophe.

Today it is more important than ever to strengthen and expand the struggle against NATO. At a time when the regime of capital accumulation has entered a new aggressive phase and imperialist aggression is accelerating, what must be done is clear. NATO must be dissolved and all wars driven by imperialist aggression must immediately come to an end. The necessary channels for this must be opened, and anti-NATO struggles must be shaped through international solidarity.

In order to strengthen this struggle, the summit planned to take place in Ankara this July constitutes an important moment. This summit—where the target of increasing military expenditures to 5% of GDP will be reviewed, where aggression in West Asia will be legitimized, and where the opening of a new military base in Turkey may also come onto the agenda—must be met with a strong response built through international solidarity.

Within the framework of the common views expressed, it has been decided to develop a shared will around the following points:

• A broad-based opposition and mobilization must be organized against the NATO summit planned to take place in Ankara on July 7–8.
• In order to make the voices of the peoples heard against the imperialist summit, an “International Anti-Imperialist Peace Summit” should be organized in Istanbul on July 4.
• Against a summit where the leaders of NATO member states will gather to put forward new plans of aggression, the voice of peace and international solidarity must be raised.
• In order to organize the International Anti-Imperialist Peace Summit, all left, revolutionary, socialist and anti-militarist organizations, movements and individuals must support and expand this call in solidarity.
• The International Anti-Imperialist Peace Summit should create a space where the peoples of different countries and their representatives can make their voices heard and discuss ways of struggling against imperialism.

Signatories:

• Abdullah Korkmazhan, Sol Hareket - Cyprus
• Agneta Norberg, Women for Peace, Sweden
• Alessio Arena, Fronte Popolare, Italy
• Alicia Cabezudo, World Beyond War, Argentina
• Alice Slater, World Beyond War, US
• Amir Kiyaei, DiEM25, France
• Andre Sheldon, Global Strategy of Nonviolence, US
• Andreu Coll, Anticapitalistas, Spanish State
• Anna Milli, International Communist League, Greece
• Annachiara Canetta, World Beyond War, Netherlands
• Antoine Larrache, Editor of Inprecor
• Aphrodite Maravelaki, GA/SAP, Belgium
• Arnau Piqué, Communists of Catalonia
• Asli Telli, University of Cologne, Germany
• Bastian Leitz, SDS, Germany
• Batur Kılıç, Hararet.org, Türkiye
• Bernard Rioux, Presse-toi à Gauche, Canada
• Blai Taberner, CUP, Catalonia
• Brian Mulhearn, Green-Rainbow Party, US
• CHRISTOS NOMIDIS, OKDE SPARTAKOS, Greece
• Coni Ledesma, International Women's Alliance, Netherlands
• Cyn Huang, DSA & Roses and bread, US
• David Dessers, Vrede vzw, Belgium
• Edgard Sánchez, Partido Revolucionario de las y los Trabajadores, México
• Elsa Collonges, NPA-A, France
• Enver Motala, Nelson Mandela University, South Africa
• Ercüment Akdeniz, Journalist - Writer, Türkiye
• Eric Toussaint, CADTM
• Erkan Baş, The Worker's Party of Turkey, Türkiye
• Ferat Koçak, Die Linke, Germany
• Hanna He, Science for the People, US
• Heidi Meinzolt, WILPF, Germany
• Jakub Visnak, Levice, Czechia
• James Deutsch, Science for Peace, Canada
• Jen Cornelio, Peoples' Alliance for Human Rights (AMKP), Philippines
• Juan Tortosa, solidaritéS, Suisse
• Karin Utas Carlsson, Swedish Peace Committee, Sweden
• Kay Mann, Solidarity National Committee (USA)
• Kemal Sinoplu, Socialist Alternative
• Köksal Kuzu, ISA international socialist alternative, Germany
• Laura Cadena, Science for the People, Colombia & Spain
• Litsa Frydas, Communist Liberation, Greece
• Liz Johnson, International Communist League, UK
• Manuel Rodríguez Banchs, Political commission of Democratia Socialista, Puerto Rico
• Maral Jefroudi, Co-Director IIRE, Netherlands
• Marcus Hesse, International Socialist Alternative
• Marina Campos, Centelhas - IV Internacional, Brasil
• Maurizio Coppola, International Peoples Assembly (IPA), Italy
• Max Ajl, People’s Academy, Tunis
• Nahid Azad, NA, Canada
• Narmin Rustamli, Labor Desk Confederation of Trade Unions, Azerbaijan
• Nicola Saafin, Union of Palestinian Organisations in EU, Palestine
• Nilüfer Mammedrzayeva, The Labor Desk Confederation of Trade Unions, Azerbaijan
• Nina Papenfuß, M21 / Die Linke, Germany
• Pat Elder, Military Poisons, US
• Pavlos Antonopoulos, Communist Liberation, Greece
• Penelope Duggan, IV. International - Executive Bureau member
• Pippa Bartolotti, GWUAN, US
• Sanny Bostelaar, RSP, Netherlands
• Sara Rahimova, The Labor Desk Confederation of Trade Unions, Azerbaijan
• Sean Conner, International Peace Bureau (IPB), US & Germany
• Shodja Eddin Ziaian, Academic and activist, Canada
• Sushovan Dhar, CADTM
• Susmita Baidawar, Climate Justice, Nepal
• Tamara Lorincz, Canadian Voice of Women for Peace, Canada
• Thomas Vegas, Lama Alpaca Militant Alliance, Aotearoa
• Thomas Gross, Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), US
• Ursula Cross, Bewegung für Neutralität, Switzerland
• Vehpi Şişman, Student Union, Türkiye
• Vera Zalka, ATTAC, Hungary
• Wael Abed, FHKC, Palestine
• Yiannis Chalas, OKDE Spartakos (Greek section of the Fourth International), Greece