Thousands of people demonstrated against NATO in Madrid, Spain, where the NATO Summit takes on 28-30 June. At the demonstration in the capital, protesters chanted anti-NATO slogans, holding banners reading “No to war”, “No to NATO”, “NATO bases out” and “Build schools and hospitals instead of military spending”.

Concha Hoyos from Madrid, who participated in the protest, said that the increase in NATO’s defense expenditures in Europe is a threat to peace and said, “I am tired of armaments and killing people. The solution they propose is more weapons and war. We always pay the price for this.”

In his statement today, Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares said that the summit will also focus on the threat from Europe’s southern flank in Africa and that Russia poses a threat to Europe.