North Atlantic Treaty Organization

North Atlantic Treaty Organization

Part of: Prelims and GS-II International relations 

Context: Ukraine is no longer pressing for NATO membership.

• NATO has been a delicate issue that was one of Russia’s stated reasons for invading Ukraine which is pro-Western.

What is North Atlantic Treaty Organization?

• It 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.
• A key provision of the treaty is called Article 5.
• It states that if one member of the alliance is attacked in Europe or North America, it is to be considered an attack on all members. 
  • That effectively put Western Europe under the “nuclear umbrella” of the US.
• There are 30 independent member countries. 

News Source: TH