DAYTON — Friday was the first day of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly in Dayton.
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As reported on News Center 7 at 11, people from all over the world met in Dayton to discuss peace.
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Life long Dayton resident Jalisa Lewis says she hasn’t seen anything like the NATO Village in her entire life.
“It’s cool, but it’s weird because why are y’all here in Dayton,” Lewis said.
Ohio leaders, including Mike DeWine, made sure to open the NATO Assembly with the history of the Dayton Peace Accords.
“This meeting, of course, falls near the 30th anniversary of the Dayton Peace Accords, which were so important to NATO’s efforts to ensure global safety,” DeWine said.
The Dayton Peace Accords were signed at Wright Patterson Air Force Base and helped end the Bosnian War.
In his opening speech, Congressman Mike Turner said the NATO Summit will reflect on the past 30 years.
“We learned then how to end conflict and end a war as we look also to Ukraine,” Turner said.
The war between Russia and Ukraine was a focal point of conversations between delegates.
After the opening ceremonies, Serbian, Swedish, Bosnian and Croatian representatives formed a panel.
They talked about the lessons learned from the Dayton Peace Accords that could be applied to the Russian and Ukrainian conflict. The former Prime Minister of Sweden answered simply.
“Any lessons for Ukraine?” a person asked.
“None, none. Because this is a different type of conflict. This is Russia trying to expand its empire,” the former Prime Minister said.
The delegates boarded buses after the official NATO activities were over and they now have a chance to see Dayton before they come together again Saturday for day two of the summit.
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