NATO announces formal suspension of Cold War-era security treaty
09-11-2023
01:29 AM
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.
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 31st 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.
- Formed in 1949 with the signing of the Washington Treaty, NATO is a security alliance of 31 countries from North America and Europe.
- 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.
- Political
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