All you need to know about NATO and Russia

Hyderabad: The purported reason behind Russia launching a military invasion of Ukraine was the eastward expansion of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO). The expansionism of NATO threatened at some undefined point in the future to allow Ukraine to join the grouping as a treaty ally and thus bring this transatlantic security coalition within striking […]

Hyderabad: The purported reason behind Russia launching a military invasion of Ukraine was the eastward expansion of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO). The expansionism of NATO threatened at some undefined point in the future to allow Ukraine to join the grouping as a treaty ally and thus bring this transatlantic security coalition within striking distance of Russia’s western borders. Read what is NATO and why is Russia against its expansion….

What is NATO?

---

North Atlantic Treaty Organisation is a military alliance established by the North Atlantic Treaty (also called the Washington Treaty) of April, 1949, by the United States, Canada, and several Western European nations to provide collective security against the Soviet Union. There are currently 30 member states, with North Macedonia becoming the latest member to join the alliance in 2020.

Member Countries

NATO’s 30 members are Albania, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Montenegro, the Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Turkey, United Kingdom, and the United States.

On December 1, 2015, NATO announced its first expansion since 2009, offering membership to Montenegro. Russia responded by calling the move a strategic threat to its national security. Russia is worried by the number of Balkan countries along its border that have joined NATO.

History and purpose

The founding members of NATO signed the North Atlantic Treaty on April 4, 1949. It worked in conjunction with the United Nations, the World Bank, and the International Monetary Fund. The organizations were created during the 1944 Bretton Woods Conference.

NATO’s primary purpose was to defend member nations from threats by communist countries. The United States also wanted to maintain a presence in Europe. It sought to prevent a resurgence of aggressive nationalism and to foster political union.

Protecting democratic freedom among its 30-member nations remains NATO’S core purpose. As a political and military alliance, the coalition’s value to global security continues to be paramount. NATO’s mission is to protect the freedom of its members. Its targets include weapons of mass destruction, terrorism, and cyber-attacks.

Alliances

NATO participates in three alliances that expand its influence beyond its 30 member countries. The first is the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council, which helps partners become NATO members. It includes 20 non-NATO countries that support NATO’s purpose. It began in 1991.

The Mediterranean Dialogue seeks to stabilize the Middle East. Its non-NATO members include Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Mauritania, Morocco, and Tunisia. It began in 1994.

The Istanbul Cooperation Initiative works for peace throughout the larger Middle East region. It includes four members of the Gulf Cooperation Council. They are Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates. It began in 2004.

Why is Russia Sensitive to NATO expansion?

In 2008, in the week leading up to NATO’s Bucharest Conference, NATO Allies welcomed Ukraine’s and Georgia’s Euro-Atlantic aspirations for membership and agreed that these countries will become members of NATO.
They went on to announce a period of intensive engagement with both countries at a high political level to address the questions still outstanding regarding their Membership Action Plan applications.

This set off alarm bells in Russia, because even the very concept of Ukraine, a nation considered to hold strong historic ties first to the Soviet Union, was against Russia’s belief.

This development prompted Russia to warn the US that no Russian leader could stand idly by in the face of steps toward NATO membership for Ukraine. That would be a hostile act toward Russia. This was only among the more recent of a long list of actions by NATO leaders that Russia considers a political betrayal.

---

Now you can get handpicked stories from Telangana Today on Telegram everyday. Click the link to subscribe.

Click to follow Telangana Today Facebook page and Twitter .

---