OUR recent visit to NATO headquarters in Brussels could not have been better timed.
Accommodated in a massive glass structure, representatives from 30 countries work hand in glove to ensure a safer world.
I and other members of the Defence Committee were proud that those we met told us that the UK and our Prime Minister were held in the highest regard.
Clearly, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was the number one priority.
It’s clarified in the minds of every member the importance of collective defence.
Ironically, Putin’s unprovoked assault is doing the very thing he’s strained every sinew to prevent.
When Finland and Sweden join NATO which, despite Turkey’s veto, will succeed, there will be a virtually unbroken border in Eastern Europe, beyond which Russia may not venture without massive retaliation.
With the influx of weapons and equipment from the West, Ukraine appears to be holding ground and even retaking it.
However, a cornered rat is a dangerous animal and there are fears that Putin will be provoked into more extreme measures.
As you might imagine, every scenario is being carefully thought through at NATO headquarters.
One thing is for certain, and that’s NATO, rather than the EU, is confirmed as the foremost post-war guarantor of European peace.
The latter has a role to play, we heard in Brussels, but in manufacturing and R&D, rather than equipping an army.
The EU’s over-reliance on Russian oil and gas has exposed claims of unity as hollow and the only viable bulwark against Putin’s aggression is NATO.
The road ahead is very uncertain, but united against a common foe we must be if freedom and democracy are to mean anything at all.