What does Otan stand for? Meaning of alternative name for Nato explained and the countries that use it – iNews

Ukraines desire to join Natois a central reason behind thecurrent conflict with Russia, with apossible invasion believed to be imminent.

Russian President Vladimir Putin seesUkraine joining Nato, as well as any further Nato expansion into Eastern Europe, as a threat to his countrys borders.

This has put Nato in the news frequently, with many people noticing that the Nato logo also contains the word Otan.

So why does Nato also appear to have its name backwards on its logo? Heres what you need to know.

Otan is not actually just Nato backwards, it is actually the French name for the organisation.

It stands for Organisation du Trait de lAtlantique Nord, which translates directly to the English name.

Nato stands for the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, and is also known as the North Atlantic Alliance.

Its headquarters are in Brussels in Belgium.

There are currently 30 countries in Nato; 27 in Europe, two in North America and one in Eurasia.

Here are the countries, along with the year they joined:

Nato says its membership is open to any other European state in a position to further the principles of its treaty and to contribute to the security of the North Atlantic area.

Nato was officially founded in April 1949 in Washington DC.

It was born from the Treaty of Dunkirk, which was signed by the UK and France in March 1947 as an alliance against any possible German or Soviet Union attack in the wake of the Second World War.

The following year the agreement was expanded to include Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg and became the Western Union, also known as the he Brussels Treaty Organisation.

The North Atlantic Treaty was then signed on 4 April 1949, which formed an alliance between the Western Union nations, the United States, Canada, Portugal, Italy, Norway, Denmark and Iceland.

Natos military structure was created in 1952, in response to the Korean War.

The organisation changed significantly in the early 1990s, with East Germany joining the Federal Republic of Germany and the Soviet Union dissolving, effectively removing Natos two main adversaries.

This resulted in reduced military spending and efforts being re-targeted towards political and humanitarian matters. In the 90s and 2000s several central and Eastern European nations joined, including Poland, Hungary and former Soviet states such as Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia.

Nato has only exercised Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty, which demands member states to come to the aid of any member state subject to an armed attack, after the 9/11 attacks on the US.

Natos stated purpose is to guarantee the freedom and security of its members through political and military means.

Politically, it aims to promote democratic values, and enables members to consult and co-operate on defence and security-related issues to solve problems, build trust and, in the long run, prevent conflict.

Regarding military action, Nato says it is committed to the peaceful resolution of disputes.

If diplomatic efforts fail, it has the military power to undertake crisis-management operations.

It uses a system of collective security, whereby its independent member states agree to mutual defence in response to an attack by any external party. It may also ally with external forces.

Ukraine has yet to be formally admitted to Nato, but is one of the bodys enhanced opportunity partners.

This status is afforded to non-member nations that have made significant contributions to Nato-led operations and missions, such as Australia and Sweden.

Russia vehemently opposes Natos expansion to include Ukraine, and has demanded a formal veto on it ever becoming a member.

President Putin has made clear that he sees the countrys aspirations to join the group as a threat to Russias borders and its sphere of influence.

Five Nato countries currently border Russia after former Soviet states Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania became members.

Following a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron over the Ukraine crisis, Mr Putin warned the West of a full-scale war if Ukraine joined Nato and the West did not roll back its forces from Eastern Europe.

Do you want France to fight with Russia? he said. Thats what will happen. And there will be no winners.

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What does Otan stand for? Meaning of alternative name for Nato explained and the countries that use it - iNews