Explained: NATO’s history and why Russia is irked by it

Paris: North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is the world’s biggest military alliance, bringing together 30 European and North American countries who commit to defend each other in the event of attack. The alliance was formed at the start of the Cold War to protect Western Europe against the threat of Soviet aggression but its remit and reach have expanded over time. Here is a brief history of the Brussels-based organisation: Countering Soviet threat NATO was founded on 4 April 1949, by 12 countries alarmed by the Soviet Union’s drive to install communist regimes across Eastern Europe. The original signatories of the founding Washington Treaty were Belgium, Britain, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal and the United States. Next to join were Greece and Turkey (1952), West Germany (1955) and Spain (1982). The treaty’s key Article 5 states that “an armed attack against one or more of them in Europe or North America shall be considered an attack against them all”. It requires other members to undertake “such action as it deems necessary, including the use of armed force”. Moscow’s response to NATO’s creation was to set up a rival club of 12 communist countries called the Warsaw Pact. Going to war After the Soviet Union fell apart in 1991, NATO set about developing links with former adversaries in Eastern Europe and helping end the Balkans wars. In 1994, the alliance conducted its first combat operation, sending fighter jets to Bosnia-Herzegovina to enforce a no-fly zone. US fighters shot down four Serbian aircraft, the first time NATO opened fire. A year later, the alliance put boots on the ground for the first time when it deployed peacekeepers to Bosnia. In 1999, it carried out a 78-day bombing campaign in Serbia over Belgrade’s bloody crackdown on the breakaway province of Kosovo. Serbian troops duly withdraw from Kosovo, which was placed under United Nations’ administration. The 1990s also saw NATO attempt to break the ice with Russia. In 1997, the alliance signed a political “founding act” with Moscow pledging to build a “stable, peaceful and undivided Europe” and stressing that they “do not consider each other as adversaries”. In 1999, the first ex-communist countries joined NATO: the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland. ‘War on terror’ NATO’s “one for all and all for one” pledge was invoked for the first time after the 9/11 attacks on the United States. NATO joined the US-led “war on terrorism” in 2003, taking the lead of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) deployed to Afghanistan to root out Al-Qaeda and other Islamist militants. As the European Union expanded, so did the alliance: Bulgaria, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia joined in 2004. The admission the same year of the three ex-Soviet states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania particularly annoyed Russia. Albania and Croatia followed in 2010 and Montenegro in 2017. Afghanistan and Libya In 2011, it was given a UN mandate to use “all necessary measures” to protect civilians from the fury of embattled dictator Moammer Gaddafi. NATO’s seven-month campaign of air strikes led to Gaddafi’s overthrow. The alliance also contributed to fighting piracy off the Horn of Africa, monitoring human trafficking in the Mediterranean and fighting cyberattacks. Its combat mission in Afghanistan largely ended in 2014. But NATO allies only withdrew fully seven years later, sparking a collapse of Western-trained Afghan forces and a takeover of Afghanistan by the Taliban. ‘Brain dead’ alliance Relations between NATO and Moscow suffered a severe setback in 2014 over Russia’s annexation of Crimea and support for a rebellion in eastern Ukraine. In 2016, NATO deployed four multinational battalions to Poland and the Baltic states, marking the biggest reinforcement of NATO’s collective defences since the Cold War. At the same time the alliance’s relevance was increasingly being questioned, with former United States president Donald Trump dismissing it as “obsolete” and French president Emmanuel Macron declaring it “brain dead”. In March 2020, North Macedonia becomes NATO’s 30th member. Russia invades Ukraine On 24 February, Russia invaded neighbouring Ukraine, a NATO partner country that had for years attempted to join the alliance. Then, NATO urged Russian president Vladimir Putin to end the “senseless war” but said it would not send troops to Ukraine. It rebuffed Kyiv’s demands to impose a no-fly zone over the country , fearing being drawn into a confrontation with nuclear-armed Moscow, but agreed to send weapons. On 15 March, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says his country should accept it will not become a member of NATO. Meanwhile, Finland and Sweden , which have been neutral for decades, say they are considering joining the club. With inputs from agencies Read all the Latest News , Trending News ,  Cricket News , Bollywood News , India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.