COMMUNIST and workers’ parties have called for efforts to “strengthen the struggle against Nato and imperialist plans” following the war machine’s recent summit.

An open letter, with signatories including the Communist Party of Kurdistan Iraq, the Communist Party of Greece and the Communist Party of Ukraine, warned that Nato had outlined a strategy that constitutes an escalation of aggression and a preparation for war.

“New and old pretexts are being utilised, such as security, defence, climate change, cyberattacks and other asymmetric threats, in order to escalate their aggression against the peoples, causing a new unbridled arms race,” the letter says.

The signatories said that the Nato 2030 doctrine, promoted by the organisation as “a transatlantic agenda for the future,” includes the alarming announcement that the military alliance would consider a pre-emptive nuclear attack.

“The military encirclement of Russia, the targeting of China and Iran, the announcement about a nuclear first strike, and the giant Defender-Europe 21 exercise refute any bogus claims about ‘the peace and security of the peoples,’” the parties insisted.

The summit made it clear that Nato will play a leading role in the new cold war on China, with secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg insisting that Beijing presents a security risk.

The parties said that the rise in anti-Chinese and anti-communist propaganda represents a threat to all workers around the world and warned of Nato’s continued eastward expansion.

This has included the development of military bases surrounding China and Russia and support for fascist forces in Ukraine, along with the use of sanctions.

The signatories called for resistance against imperialism and for the deepening of the struggle against the Nato war machine.

“The workers and the other popular strata are not in need of a so-called ‘new cold war’ nor any imperialist plans, interventions, and wars in south-east Asia, Africa, Latin America, Central Asia, the Caucasus region, the Black Sea, the south-east Mediterranean, the Middle East, and elsewhere,” the letter states.

The parties invited other organisations to add their names to the open letter and insisted that people have the power to fight against the dangerous plans of Nato and to end inter-imperial competition and wars.