VIDEO King Charles, historic speech in the US Congress. From global business challenges to the 'collapse of critical natural systems'
“America's words carry weight and significance, as they have done since independence,” King Charles III told the US Congress on Tuesday in a speech in which he called for multilateralism on the global stage and joint action against climate change, according to The Guardian and the BBC.
Addressing the American legislature, the British sovereign evoked the period following the terrorist attacks in the United States on September 9, 2001, when Article 5 of the NATO Treaty was triggered, which stipulates that an attack on a member state is considered an attack on the entire alliance.
“We answered the call together – as our peoples have done for more than a century, shoulder to shoulder, through two world wars, the Cold War, Afghanistan and the defining moments of our shared security,” King Charles said.
The same “unwavering resolve,” he stressed, is needed now to “ensure a truly just and lasting peace” in Ukraine, as well as to combat the “disastrous melting of the Arctic ice sheets.”
“The commitment and expertise of the Armed Forces of the United States and its allies are the foundation of NATO, dedicated to mutual defense, protecting our citizens and interests, protecting North Americans and Europeans from our common adversaries,” added the British monarch.
“The challenges we face are too great for one nation to handle alone”
The sovereign quoted American President Donald Trump, who had described the connection between the two countries as “irreplaceable and unbreakable”, but also British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who had said that this bilateral partnership is “indispensable”.
“The challenges we face are too great for one nation to take on alone,” King Charles said. “But in this unpredictable environment, our alliance cannot rest on past achievements or assume that fundamental principles simply endure,” he warned.
King Charles III said he prayed that the US-UK alliance “will continue to defend our shared values, alongside our partners in Europe and the Commonwealth and around the world”.
The British sovereign sounded the alarm about the “collapse of critical natural systems”.
“We ignore at our peril the fact that these natural systems — in other words, the economy of nature itself — provide the foundation for our prosperity and national security,” added Charles, widely recognized as a longtime environmental advocate and trailblazer.
