On 4 July 2026, speakers from all over the world came together in an online meeting organized by the Christian Rakovsky International Socialist Center and the RedMed Web Network. This meeting, which gave voice to international forces determined to wage an unequivocal and uncompromising struggle against imperialism, Zionism and NATO, convened days before the leaders of NATO’s imperialist war alliance gathered at the NATO summit in Ankara. The list of speakers includes many veteran communists, militants, revolutionaries and intellectuals, from Brazil to Finland, and from India to Palestine. Below are links to some of the speeches. The full playlist is available here.
The opening speech was delivered by veteran Russian communist Iosif G. Abramson, who was introduced by the panel moderator, comrade Armagan. In his speech, Abramson outlined his perspective on the development of international anti-imperialist working-class movements, their challenges and contemporary tasks.
Savas Mikhail-Matsas, General Secretary of the Workers’ Revolutionary Party (EEK) of Greece, focused on how the economic crisis is sharpening U.S. imperialism’s drive toward war. The main target of this war drive is China, but Mikhail-Matsas argued that it also targets the peoples of West Asia through the Zionist regime in occupied Palestine and Russia through the fascist regime in Ukraine. He stressed that the defeat of this war drive must not simply lead to the replacement of one hegemon by another, but must open the road to world socialist revolution.
Levent Dölek, the deputy chairman of the Revolutionary Workers’ Party (DIP) of Turkey, spoke on behalf of DIP. He noted that the struggle against NATO and imperialism, both of which lie at the epicenter of terror and war in the world, is one of the most urgent tasks of our time. This struggle involves exposing the hypocrisy of the official NATO doctrine and showing the reality of repression, wars, fascist alliances, and coups. He also stressed that the struggle against NATO must be rooted in the organized working class.
Vijay Prashad, the Executive Director of the Tricontinental Institute for Social Research and one of the keynote speakers, examined the forces behind the crazy period we are living through. He focused on the shift of productive investments to Asia and the financialization of Western economies. He finished his talk by emphasizing the importance of precisely and critically assessing political developments outside the control of U.S. imperialism while defending the countries and peoples concerned against imperialist attacks.
Michael Roberts, a prominent Marxist economist, author of several books, and editor of the popular blog The Next Recession, also gave a speech at the conference. He characterized the period after COVID-19 as one of slow growth and stagnation, and discussed what may come next: a longer period of stagnation, economic recovery driven by AI and other technologies, or war, with the third being the most likely outcome.
Haitham Abdo, representing the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), a historic revolutionary organization of Palestinian resistance, also took the floor at the conference. He clearly laid out the relationship between NATO and Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza. From this assessment, he concluded that the fight against Zionism is inseparable from the struggle against imperialism.
Kutlu Dâne, representing the Friends of Palestine Against Imperialism and Zionism platform in Turkey, took the floor after Haitham Abdo. He introduced his organization, outlining its role in the fight against the NATO-centered “Epstein coalition”. His talk exposed the false professions of support for Palestine by imperialist-aligned governments, including those of Turkey’s pro-NATO government and president Erdogan. Finally, he discussed the importance of the fight against Zionism in uniting working people against imperialism.
A Lebanese communist also contributed to the conference with a talk about the history of the Lebanese state and the Palestinian resistance to Zionism. This perspective also exposed the collaborationist policies of the Lebanese government.
Vlad, a member of the Romanian activist group “ELBIT Out!” from Romania, explained the goals of their organization. He connected the struggle against this individual military company to the wider struggle against Israel’s arms industry and the militarization and increasing integration of Eastern Europe into NATO’s imperialist structures.
Burak Saygan, a member of DIP, made a speech in the session titled “NATO and Europe in the age of fascism and militarism”. He presented a brief history of Turkey’s integration into NATO and its consequences for Turkey and the international working class. He also remarked on the responsibility of communists in NATO member states to fight for the destruction of the alliance.
Osvaldo Coggiola, Professor of History at the University of São Paulo, gave the keynote speech for the session titled “Defending Cuba and Venezuela against US aggression, fighting for socialism”. He gave an overview of the latest wave of US imperialist aggression in Latin America and also discussed the limitations of reformist center-left governments and bourgeois nationalism.
In the closing session, Savas Mikhail-Matsas spoke on behalf of the Christian Rakovsky International Socialist Centre and EEK. He stressed that we are at an inflection point in history, and that, to live up to the challenge, we must continue this work.
The conference’s concluding address was delivered by Sungur Savran, chairman of DIP, on behalf of the RedMed Web Network and DIP. He expressed his gratitude to all participants, emphasizing that such work is vital at a time of ever-expanding war. He also linked the deepening economic depression to the rise of fascism and the threat of a Third World War. An important aspect of this conference was its ability to bring together a wide span of traditions in a common struggle against imperialism, Zionism and NATO.
The International Anti-NATO Conference constituted a crucial step toward building international platforms for anti-imperialist struggle, and it is high time to raise the banner of that struggle ever higher!