SUMMARY of the Article “75 years of Nato,” by Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry, Dawn, July 21st, 2024

In commemorating NATO’s 75th anniversary at the Washington Summit, discussions were predominantly focused on the Russia-Ukraine war. The summit’s declaration strongly condemned Russia’s “brutal war of aggression” and its “irresponsible nuclear rhetoric.” NATO’s 32 members pledged enduring support to Ukraine, promising 40 billion euros for security assistance in the upcoming year. Furthermore, NATO has stationed over 500,000 combat-ready forces on its eastern flank and affirmed that “Ukraine’s future is in NATO,” committing to Ukraine’s full integration into the Euro-Atlantic community. The historical backdrop of NATO-Russia rivalry dates back to the Cold War, initiated by the North Atlantic Treaty signed on April 4, 1949, by 12 Western European and North American countries to counter the Soviet threat. The Soviet Union’s counteraction was the formation of the Warsaw Pact in 1955. The dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 marked the end of this rivalry, but NATO’s eastward expansion continued to irk Russia. Despite the formation of the NATO-Russia Permanent Joint Council in 1997 and Russia’s inclusion in the G8, Moscow remained concerned about NATO’s presence near its borders. NATO’s suspension of cooperation with Russia followed the annexation of Crimea in 2014, leading to the deployment of multinational battlegroups in Eastern Europe. The 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine heightened tensions, with NATO declaring Russia a direct threat to Euro-Atlantic security and supporting » Read More…