NATO Foreign Ministers convened on Thursday to commemorate the Alliance’s 75th anniversary while also deliberating plans for improved military aid coordination with Ukraine. Gathering in Brussels for a two-day meeting, they reflected on the historic signing of the North Atlantic Treaty on April 4, 1949, which laid the foundation for the transatlantic political and military partnership.
In light of contemporary geopolitical challenges, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg underscored the enduring significance of the bond between Europe and North America, particularly amidst an increasingly perilous global landscape.
“As we face a more dangerous world, the bond between Europe and North America has never been more important,” he said on Wednesday.
NATO began with 12 members from North America and Europe, founded in response to growing fears that the Soviet Union posed a military threat to European democracies.
At its heart is the concept of collective defense, the idea that an attack on one member is considered an attack on all, giving U.S. military protection to Western Europe.
Seventy-five years later, NATO has 32 members and has retaken a central role in world affairs after Russia’s war in Ukraine prompted European governments to view Moscow once more as a major security threat.
The recent inclusion of Finland and Sweden as NATO’s newest members, directly in response to Russia’s war in Ukraine in 2022, further emphasizes the evolving dynamics within the alliance.
“We will continue to strengthen our alliance,” Stoltenberg told reporters. “And we will continue to work with our partners across the globe for peace and security.”
“As we face a more dangerous world, the bond between Europe and North America has never been more important,” he said on Wednesday.
NATO began with 12 members from North America and Europe, founded in response to growing fears that the Soviet Union posed a military threat to European democracies.
At its heart is the concept of collective defense, the idea that an attack on one member is considered an attack on all, giving U.S. military protection to Western Europe.
Seventy-five years later, NATO has 32 members and has retaken a central role in world affairs after Russia’s war in Ukraine prompted European governments to view Moscow once more as a major security threat.
The recent inclusion of Finland and Sweden as NATO’s newest members, directly in response to Russia’s war in Ukraine in 2022, further emphasizes the evolving dynamics within the alliance.
“We will continue to strengthen our alliance,” Stoltenberg told reporters. “And we will continue to work with our partners across the globe for peace and security.”
Russia said on Wednesday that NATO had returned to a Cold War mindset. Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told reporters that the Alliance had no place in the “multipolar world” Moscow says it seeks to build to end U.S. dominance.
Despite such criticisms, NATO ministers reached an agreement to explore an expanded role in coordinating security assistance and training for Ukraine, including potentially taking over responsibilities from the U.S.-led ad hoc coalition known as the Ramstein Group.
Stoltenberg has also proposed a fund of EUR 100 billion to support Ukraine’s military over five years, according to diplomats.
It is not clear whether that figure will be accepted by NATO, which makes decisions by consensus.
Ukraine’s need for air defense
On Thursday, the ministers will also meet with Ukrainian FM Dmytro Kuleba. He said that he would press them to provide more Patriot air defense systems to protect against frequent Russian ballistic missile attacks.
“Partners did provide us with their different (air defense) systems; we appreciate that, but it’s just simply insufficient, given the scale of the war,” Kuleba said.
NATO countries could spare more Patriots if they had the political will to do so, he said.
Despite such criticisms, NATO ministers reached an agreement to explore an expanded role in coordinating security assistance and training for Ukraine, including potentially taking over responsibilities from the U.S.-led ad hoc coalition known as the Ramstein Group.
Stoltenberg has also proposed a fund of EUR 100 billion to support Ukraine’s military over five years, according to diplomats.
It is not clear whether that figure will be accepted by NATO, which makes decisions by consensus.
Ukraine’s need for air defense
On Thursday, the ministers will also meet with Ukrainian FM Dmytro Kuleba. He said that he would press them to provide more Patriot air defense systems to protect against frequent Russian ballistic missile attacks.
“Partners did provide us with their different (air defense) systems; we appreciate that, but it’s just simply insufficient, given the scale of the war,” Kuleba said.
NATO countries could spare more Patriots if they had the political will to do so, he said.
Source: Reuters, TVP World
More In Politics MORE...
