NATO announces formal suspension of Cold War-era security treaty

What’s in today’s article?

• Why in news?
• What is Treaty of Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE)?
• What is NATO?
• India – NATO engagement

Why in news?

• NATO announced the formal suspension of a Cold War-era security treaty in response to Russia’s withdrawal from the deal.
• Most of NATO’s 31 allies have signed the Treaty of Conventional Armed Forces in Europe in 1990.
• The alliance said its members who signed the treaty are now freezing their participation in the pact.

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Treaty of Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE)

• The Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE) was signed in Paris in November 1990.
• Signed after the fall of the Berlin Wall, the CFE set constraints on conventional arms and equipment.
• Its purpose was to stop Cold War rivals from building up forces that could be used in a swift assault.
  • Its main objective was to reduce the possibility of a surprise armed attack and the triggering of major offensive operations in Europe.
• The treaty:
  • Established comprehensive limits on key categories of conventional military equipment in Europe (from the Atlantic to the Urals)
  • Mandated the destruction of excess weaponry
  • Eliminated the Soviet Union’s overwhelming quantitative advantage in conventional weapons in Europe
  • Placed verifiable limits on categories of conventional military equipment that NATO and the then-Warsaw Pact could deploy
  • Set constraints on conventional arms and equipment
• The CFE treaty is often referred to as the “cornerstone of European security”.

NATO

• About
  • Formed in 1949 with the signing of the Washington Treaty, NATO is a security alliance of 31 countries from North America and Europe.
    • In April 2023, Finland joined the alliance as its 31^st member.
  • NATO’s fundamental goal is to safeguard the Allies’ freedom and security by political and military means.
  • It is a system of collective defence where independent member states agree for mutual defence in case of any attack by external party.
    • Article 5 of the Washington Treaty states that an attack against one Ally is an attack against all.
    • This article forms the core of the Alliance, a promise of collective defense.
  • Headquarter – Brussels, Belgium.
• Functions
  • Political
    • NATO promotes democratic values and enables members to consult and cooperate on defence and security-related issues to solve problems, build trust and, in the long run, prevent conflict.
  • Military
    • NATO is committed to the peaceful resolution of disputes.
    • If diplomatic efforts fail, it has the military power to undertake crisis-management operations.

India – NATO engagement

• In August 2022, the external affairs ministry acknowledged that India and NATO are in touch at different levels for quite some time now.
  • India held its first political dialogue with the organisation in Brussels on December 12, 2019.
  • The second round was to be held in New Delhi in 2020, which was delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
• This is part of India’s contacts with various stakeholders on various issues of mutual interests.

Q1) What are Urals?

The Ural Mountains or simply the Urals, is a mountain range in Eurasia that runs north-south mostly through Russia, from the coast of the Arctic Ocean to the river Ural and northwestern Kazakhstan.

Q2) What is article 5 of Washington Treaty?

Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty, also known as the Washington Treaty, states that if a NATO member is attacked, all other members will consider it an attack against all of them. Article 5 also states that other members will assist the attacked member, including with armed forces if necessary.

Source: NATO announces formal suspension of Cold War-era security treaty after Russia’s pullout | Aljazeera | The Hindu