Category Archives: NATO

A number of navy ships are currently off the coast of Devon - and they're heading to Cornwall. According to VesselFinder, the warships include vessels from Germany, Canada and France and they're here as part of the Royal Navy's 'Exercise Joint Warrior' which has been dubbed the biggest military exercise in the UK.

According to Dorset Live, the exercise started in late-September and has seen naval forces from across NATO grapple with attacks from above, on and below the waves during Britains long-standing test of it and international military by land, sea and air. The exercise will see 'more than 11,000 sailors, soldiers and aircrew wage a 12-day war around the British Isles.'

More than 20 ships and a handful of submarines, led by seven Royal Navy warships, including destroyer HMS Diamond and three frigates (Kent, Northumberland and Somerset), plus a couple of Royal Fleet Auxiliary tankers are participating. They are joined by vessels from the US, Poland, Denmark, Norway, Germany, Netherlands, Canada, France and Latvia.

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According to the Royal Navy's website, Commanding Officer of the Portsmouth-based frigate, Commander Jez Brettell said: "Exercise Joint Warrior is a fantastic opportunity to fully demonstrate HMS Kents wide-ranging capabilities in close consort with other Royal Navy units, ground units, air assets and multinational forces.

"Having recently proven ourselves at Operational Sea Training, the exercise is ideally timed to consolidate our training at the very start of our deployment so that we are ready for anything that may follow."

More than 30 aircraft, including RAF Typhoon fighters and long-range maritime patrol aircraft will be committed, as well as drone technology and exercise planners intend to use virtual aerial assets alongside live ones to test the response of participants. Anti-submarine ships, aircraft and helicopters will hunt down live submarines, while land forces dealing with foes will include the gunners of 29 Commando Royal and elements of the US Marine Corps.

Joint Warrior is typically run from Clyde Naval Base, with the action mostly focused in north-west Scotland and adjacent waters.

This latest exercise, however, casts its net across the British Isles. Naval task groups will face each other down in both the North Sea off the coast of Scotland and the north-east coast of England, then again in the western Channel off Cornwall and Devon.

As a result, the exercise which is due to end on October 12 will be directed from RAF St Mawgan, near Newquay in Cornwall.

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Royal Navy ships heading towards Cornwall in NATO training operation - Cornwall Live

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg convened an extraordinary meeting of the Conference of National Armaments Directors (CNAD) on Tuesday (27 September 2022) at NATO Headquarters. The meeting focused on the implications of Russias war against Ukraine, including on Allies capabilities and munitions stockpiles.

The Secretary General urged Allies to continue replenishing stocks as rapidly as possible. Enhancing NATO stockpiles will ensure we can keep supporting Ukraine, he said. We need to keep working together as NATO Allies and with industry to replenish our munitions stocks and provide Ukraine with the support it needs, for as long as Ukraine needs it, he added. The meeting addressed ways in which Allies can better understand any gaps in stockpiles, and address such gaps together.

The CNADs mission is to enable cooperation in the delivery of interoperable military capabilities. It ensures that NATO forces have state-of-the-art capabilities readily available at all times.

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NATO Secretary General convenes top Alliance procurement officials - NATO HQ

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg met the group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament, led by their President Iratxe Garca Prez on Tuesday (27 September 2022).

Mr Stoltenberg stated that Russias invasion of Ukraine had unleashed the biggest conflict in Europe since World War Two, and challenged fundamental rules and values. He strongly condemned Russias sham referendums organised in parts of Ukraine, as well as the partial mobilisation and nuclear sabre-rattling as escalations of the conflict.

The Secretary General said that NATO is not party to the conflict, even though Moscow is now trying to portray it as a war between Russia and NATO. In fact, the Secretary General made clear, this is Russias war of aggression against Ukraine, and we are supporting Ukraine defend itself. He stressed that the right to self-defence is enshrined in the UN Charter, and Europe and North America must hold the course, despite the energy crisis triggered by Russia.

Mr Stoltenberg said that NATO is monitoring the situation in the Baltic Sea closely, Allies are looking into the gas leaks from both Nord Stream pipelines, and also exchanging information with Finland and Sweden.

The discussion with the Socialists and Democrats group is part of the Secretary Generals regular engagements with EU lawmakers, in the framework of NATOs strategic partnership with the EU.

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NATO Secretary General at EU Parliament: stay the course on Ukraine - NATO HQ

The North Atlantic Council agreed on Monday (26 September 2022) to accept the request of the Republic of Korea to designate its Embassy to Belgium as the countrys Mission to NATO. This is an important step in NATOs strong partnership with the Republic of Korea.

In NATO's new Strategic Concept, Allies agreed to "strengthen dialogue and cooperation with new and existing partners in the Indo-Pacific to tackle cross-regional challenges and shared security interests."

The Republic of Korea is an active NATO partner. Since 2005, the Alliance and Seoul have developed a strong partnership, based on shared values. Political dialogue and practical cooperation are being developed across areas including non-proliferation, cyber defence, counter-terrorism, security-related civil science projects, interoperability, chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) defence, as well as civil preparedness, resilience and disaster relief.

Allies agreed to invite all NATO partners to establish Missions to NATO in 2011.

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Alliance agrees the Republic of Korea's Mission to NATO - NATO HQ

The NATO Invitees associate themselves with this Statement.

1. We condemn in the strongest possible terms the plan to hold so-called referenda on joining the Russian Federation in the Ukrainian regions partly controlled by the Russian military. As the UN General Assembly reaffirmed in its resolution Aggression against Ukraine adopted on 2 March 2022, no territorial acquisition resulting from the threat or use of force shall be recognized as legal. Allies do not and will never recognize Russias illegal and illegitimate annexation of Crimea. Sham referenda in the Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson regions of Ukraine have no legitimacy and will be a blatant violation of the UN Charter. NATO Allies will not recognize their illegal and illegitimate annexation. These lands are Ukraine. We call on all states to reject Russias blatant attempts at territorial conquest.

2. These Russian decisions, including on a partial military mobilisation, are a further escalation in Russias illegal war against Ukraine. We continue to reject Russias irresponsible nuclear rhetoric. Russia bears full responsibility for the war, the immense suffering its aggression is bringing upon the Ukrainian people, as well as the cost of its war including for the Russian people now being mobilised. Russia has it in its hands to end the conflict. Russia must immediately stop this war and withdraw from Ukraine.

3. We reaffirm our unwavering support for Ukraines independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders, and for Ukraines inherent right to self-defence. NATO Allies remain resolute in providing political and practical support to Ukraine as it continues to defend itself against Russias aggression.

4. NATO is a defensive Alliance and will continue to strive for peace, security, and stability in the whole of the Euro-Atlantic area. We stand united to defend and protect every inch of Allied territory.

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Statement by the North Atlantic Council on the so-called referenda in parts of Ukraine - NATO HQ

September 26, 2022

As co-Chairs of the Senate NATO Observer Group, Shaheen and Tillis have led action in the U.S. Senate to support NATO enlargement and ensure continued U.S. support for Ukraine.

(Washington, DC) Today, U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), a senior member of the Senate Foreign Relations and Armed Services Committees, and U.S. Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC) joined the Atlantic Council to discuss the transatlantic alliance and continued U.S. support for Ukraine amidst Putins unprovoked war.

Shaheen spoke about NATOs crucial role in advancing U.S. national security priorities, especially in responding to Russias unprovoked invasion of Ukraine. The Senators, who are Co-chairs of the Senate NATO Observer Group, applauded the Senates recent overwhelming vote in support of Finland and Swedens accession into NATO, which will further strengthen NATO and its collective response to Putins aggression. Shaheen also discussed the need to ensure Ukraines continued success in Putins war, noting that his ambitions threaten the sovereignty of other nations. Working with our allies and partners will remain a critical priority and enhance the transatlantic alliances strategic deterrence, ensure peace in the Indo-Pacific and bolster new collaboration on security and democracy initiatives in responding to the emerging threats of the 21st century.

Americans understand the importance of our support for Ukraine the Ukrainian people are not only defending their land and freedom; they are fighting for the preservation of liberal democracies around the world, said Shaheen. What is happening in Ukraine matters not only to the Ukrainian people; it matters to Eastern Europe; it matters to the U.S. and it matters to the world. Putin is violating international norms to fulfill a delusional fantasy of re-building a Russian empire his focus today is Ukraine, but we all know his gaze goes much farther. NATO and the United States must keep all options on the table to remind Putin that we are committed to do all we can to help Ukraine win.

Watch the full discussion here.

Senator Shaheen and Senator Tillis co-led a bipartisan delegation in June to the NATO Summit in Madrid, in addition to stops in Sweden and Finland to affirm strong bipartisan Senate support for their NATO membership aspirations. Also a member of the Senate Ukraine Caucus, Senator Shaheen has led action in the Senate in support of Ukraine in response to Putins belligerence. Last month, Shaheenreleased a statementahead of the anniversary of Ukraines independence and the six-month mark of Russias further invasion of Ukraine. In July, Senator Shaheen and Senator Mitt Romney (R-UT) introduced legislation that would require an interagency strategy toward the Black Sea region, which includes Ukraine. In March,the Senate passed bipartisan legislation Shaheen cosponsored that would ensure the U.S. undertakes coordinated efforts to collect and maintain evidence of war crimes and atrocities committed by Russia amid its invasion of Ukraine. In February, Shaheen led a successful bipartisan effort with Senator Rob Portman (R-OH) to pass a resolution that conveys a renewed and overwhelmingly bipartisan message from the U.S. Senate in fierce support of Ukraine. Earlier this year, Shaheen and Portman led a bipartisan delegation to Ukraine, where they met with President Zelenskyy and members of his administration. Before the Shaheen-Portman congressional delegation visit to Ukraine in January, Shaheen led a bipartisan group of lawmakers to Eastern Europe, including Ukraine, last June.

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Shaheen, Tillis Join the Atlantic Council to Discuss U.S., NATO Efforts to Support Ukraine Amidst Putins War | U.S - Senator Jeanne Shaheen

On Wednesday (21 September 2022), NATO hosted civil and military aviation experts as they addressed air safety following Russias invasion of Ukraine. The Civil-Military Airspace Safety Team (CMAST) workshop at NATO Headquarters Brussels brought together leading figures in aviation to discuss how civilian flights can continue to operate safely during Russias war against Ukraine.

The CMAST is part of NATOs engagement with the international aviation community to create shared awareness, enhance civil-military cooperation and promote safety of air operations. Todays workshop was an important opportunity to allow the sharing of information and best practice.

Russias further invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 resulted in the closure of Ukraines airspace to civilian flights and the unavailability of Russias airspace to European carriers causing cancellations and rerouting of civilian flights. NATO air activity has also increased in eastern Europe to keep the skies safe. Therefore, at a time where both civilian and military aircraft are present in close volumes of airspace, coordination among countries and institutions is of paramount importance.

NATO Assistant Secretary General for Defence Investment Camille Grand said: The Civil-Military Airspace Safety Team event reflects on NATOs enduring commitment to promote transparency of our defensive air activities in response to Russias invasion of Ukraine, building reassurance with civilian air navigation service providers along NATOs eastern flank and to maintain safety.

Allied and partner countries took part in the event, along with support from international aviation organisations including EUROCONTROL, the International Air Transport Association, the Civil Air Navigation Services Organisation and the European Aviation Safety Agency. NATOs military leadership were also part of the discussions, including NATO Air Command and STRIKFORNATO, along with the United States Air Forces in Europe (USAFE).

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NATO brings together aviation experts to address air safety after Russia's invasion of Ukraine - NATO HQ

Demonstrators gathered on Wednesday in Prague to ask Prime Minister Petr Fialas administration to resign in the wake of rising energy costs and called for the relationship with the EU, NATO, the UN and the WHO to be reconsidered.

The demonstration came in reaction to the energy crisis and soaring living costs- despite a new energy price cap- but the European Union and NATO, which it joined in 2004 and 1999, respectively, were also targets.

We are here because the situation in the last two, three years has started to be very difficult, one demonstrator, Michela Marikova, told EURACTIV. We would like to have a good relationship with Russia for the gas, she said, explaining that while she does not support the war in Ukraine, she supports the maintenance of business with Putins government.

Another protestor, who asked not to be identified, told EURACTIV that she feels the EU disregards the priorities of little countries like the Czech Republic.

The organisers of the rally, Czech Republic First!, are calling for the Czech government to secure gas contracts with Russia and achieve military neutrality.

The protest comes in the wake of another large demonstration organised by the same group held earlier the month, at which an estimated 70,000 gathered in Pragues Wenceslas Square.

In response to the earlier protest, Fiala told CTK news service that the event was organised by forces that are pro-Russian, are close to extreme positions and are against the interests of the Czech Republic.

(Nathalie Weatherald and Teresa Di Mauro | EURACTIV.com)

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Tens of thousands protest Czech NATO and EU membership - EURACTIV

On May 8, 1945, the guns in Europe fell silent. Nazi Germany unconditionally surrendered to the victorious allies the United Kingdom, France, the United States and the Soviet Union.

For the moment, there was peace. World War II caused millions of deaths in Europe military and civilian. This included Nazi Germanys systematic effort to effect the Final Solution and kill Jews and others they considered inferior.

The war was over in Europe, but it continued in the Pacific, and the U.S. Army the largest and best-equipped force in the world at the time was sending combat divisions to the war on Japan.

A New Worry

The atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki meant the end of World War II, but it also signalled the start of a new era and a new worry for the world.

In Europe, the Soviets and the Americans confronted each other from their occupation zones. Germany was divided into four zones, as was Berlin, the German capital that was squarely in the Soviet zone.

The Soviets wanted Germany to be the communist centerpiece of Europe. With Germany a Soviet satellite, dictator Josef Stalin could see western Europe falling under the domination of the USSR.

Former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill was among the first to warn of the Soviet danger. On March 5, 1946, in Fulton, Missouri, Churchill sounded the warning. From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic, an iron curtain has descended across the Continent, he said. Behind that line lie all the capitals of the ancient states of Central and Eastern Europe. Warsaw, Berlin, Prague, Vienna, Budapest, Belgrade, Bucharest and Sofia, all these famous cities and the populations around them lie in what I must call the Soviet sphere, and all are subject in one form or another, not only to Soviet influence but to a very high and, in many cases, increasing measure of control from Moscow.

Some dismissed the British statesman. Others heeded him. The Soviet Unions own actions left little doubt of their intentions. The Soviet Union launched a coup in Czechoslovakia in 1948, placed a communist government in power in Poland and extended its sway to every Eastern European country it occupied since 1945.

In June 1948, the Soviet imposed a land blockade of Berlin in hopes of starving the Western allies out of Berlin.

A Search for Peace

In response, the allies launched the Berlin Airlift a nonviolent strike back at an aggressor. No country had ever tried to resupply a city by air before, but the Western allies the U.S., the U.K and France succeeded.

This was the backdrop as talks proceeded on the North Atlantic Treaty in early 1949. The clear Soviet provocations created the urgency for collective defense of Western Europe.

The European nations were still clawing their way out of the destruction of WWII, and to be credible, any collective defense agreement had to include the U.S. and Canada. Belgium, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal and the U.K. joined their transatlantic allies in signing the treaty, April 4, 1949, in Washington.

From the beginning, the treaty was a defensive alliance. "By this treaty, we are not only seeking to establish freedom from aggression and from the use of force in the North Atlantic community, but we are also actively striving to promote and preserve peace throughout the world," U.S. President Harry S. Truman said about the North Atlantic Treaty.

The goal was to defend the North Atlantic region. The nations sought to block Soviet expansion into Western Europe. The key to the treaty was and is Article 5. That article states The parties agree that an armed attack against one or more of them in Europe or North America shall be considered an attack against them all.

Deterrence

The treaty put teeth in deterrence in Europe. An attack on West Germany or France would be met by an alliance backed with the tremendous power of the United States military. This served the nations in good stead. The only time the alliance invoked Article 5 was in response to the terror attacks on the United States on Sept. 11, 2001.

The headquarters for the alliance was in France, and the first secretary general was Britains Lord Ismay. General of the Army Dwight D. Eisenhower was NATOs first supreme commander in Europe.

The Soviet Union gathered its subject states in Central and Eastern Europe and formed the Warsaw Pact in response to NATO.

Public support for the alliance has ebbed and flowed throughout its history, but internally, the nations were as one in their decisions. In 1952, Greece and Turkey joined the alliance. In 1955, West Germany joined. In 1982, Spain formally joined the alliance.

Testing the Alliance

The Soviets tested NATO in a number of ways. In 1956, the Soviets brutally put down the Hungarian revolution. Thousands of people escaped to the West as Soviet tanks confronted demonstrators in Budapest.

East Germany was bleeding people throughout the 1950s as there was no hard border in the occupied city of Berlin. East Germans could simply walk into West Berlin and freedom. In 1961, the Soviet-backed East German government built the Berlin Wall. It was a time of rising tensions between the superpowers, and Berlin could have been a flashpoint. The wall stopped most of the exodus, but never really sealed off the West from those wishing to escape communist rule.

The Prague Spring of 1968 in Czechoslovakia looked promising. The communist government of the nation looked to give people basic human rights. The Soviets rolled into the city and crushed the nascent renaissance.

In the 1980s, Polish workers looked for more rights and freedoms and those in Gdansk demonstrated against Soviet control.

Through all this, the alliance remained strong. It was more than a military pact; it became a symbol of freedom to the people of Europe and the cornerstone of Americas commitment to freedom on the Continent.

Looking for Freedom

And it worked. On June 12, 1987, President Ronald Reagan gave a speech at the Berlin Wall. He called on Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev to tear down this wall. The economic foundations of the Soviet Union and the military ties among the Warsaw Pact nations were already crumbling when Reagan made the speech, and a little more than two years later, the Berlin Wall did come down breached by joyous Germans both East and West. It was followed by the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991.

Many people assumed that, with the fall of the Soviet Union, that the NATO alliance would itself dissolve.

But the alliance adapted. Leaders on the continent saw the need of the organization to maintain peace and to act collectively.

The first case was in the Balkans. When Yugoslavia broke apart, NATO peacekeepers stepped in to maintain peace in an unstable part of the world. Russia provided troops to the NATO effort and worked alongside American forces to keep the peace. There are still NATO peacekeepers in Kosovo today.

And nations that were once under the Soviet boot now sought to join NATO. In March 1999, Poland, the Czech Republic and Hungary joined NATO the first former Warsaw Pact nations to do so. They were followed in 2004 by Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Bulgaria, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia.

In 2009, Albania and Croatia joined, and then Montenegro in 2017. North Macedonia is well on its way to completing the accession process and should join later this year.

Invoking Article 5

In 2001, NATO invoked Article 5 of its founding treaty for the first time. Member nations responded together to the 9/11 attacks in the United States.

The alliance reached out to North African and Middle East nations to strengthen their institutions and help them build conditions where young men would not be driven to extremism.

Today, the NATO nations work together in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria. The lessons the forces have learned in 70 years of the alliance also serve when nations work together individually in other areas of the world.

In August 2008, Russia invaded Georgia and occupied two provinces in the small country. NATO protested the illegal occupation.

In 2014, Russia illegally annexed Crimea from Ukraine and continues to provide fighters in Eastern Ukraine, and NATO has met Russian aggression with resolve.

The alliance members still dream of a Europe whole and free as President George H.W. Bush said in 1989.

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A Short History of NATO - U.S. Department of Defense

NATO stands for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, which was formed in 1949 in the aftermath of World War II and at the outset of the Cold War.

After the defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945, Germany was occupied by the victorious Allied powers, inclduing the U.S., U.K., France and the Soviet Union. When the Soviet Union blocked Allied access to parts of Berlin in 1948, Germany was split into two separate nations: the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic. The U.S., Canada and ten European nations responded by signing the North Atlantic Treaty, in response to the perceived threat from the Soviet Union.

Article 5 of the treaty states that NATO members will respond collectively to an attack against any other member. "The Parties agree that an armed attack against one or more of them in Europe or North America shall be considered an attack against them all," it reads, according to the official NATO website. Participating countries are not obligated to respond with military force, but can choose to support other members with political, economic or other forms of aid.

"NATO's essential purpose is to safeguard the freedom and security of its members through political and military means," the Brussels-based group's website states.

But the group's embrace of military action is unambiguous: "If diplomatic efforts fail, it has the military capacity needed to undertake crisis-management operations."

NATO has also expressed a commitment to "democratic values" and the sharing of resources that will enhance the defense and security of member nations by preventing conflict, according to the U.S. Mission to NATO.

There are currently 30 member states in NATO. The 12 original members from 1949 are Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, the United Kingdom and the United States.

According to the organization's website, any European state is able to join the group, providing it further the "principles of this Treaty and to contribute to the security of the North Atlantic area.

In 2004, one year after NATO took command of the coalition of nations fighting in Afghanistan, another set of countries joined: Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia. In 2009, Albania and Croatia gained membership.

Besides its member nations, NATO has strategic partnerships with other countries through its "Membership Action Plan," which offers assistance and advice to nations seeking membership in NATO. Four countries are currently trying to join NATO through those plans: Georgia, Bosnia/Herzegovina, Montenegro and the Macedonian Republic.

The 30 member states are (with the year they joined).

In 2006 it was agreed that each member state commit 2 per cent of their GDP to defense spending, in order to uphold their treaty obligations towards one another in the event one is attacked. However, very few member states have met this spending level, while the U.S. spends as much as 3.6 per cent on defence, according to Time Magazine (opens in new tab).

The member nations of NATO are represented by a delegation, each with one presiding "permanent representative" who is generally a seasoned diplomat or military officer. These representatives form the North Atlantic Council, the primary administrative body within NATO.

The chair of the North Atlantic Council and the overall director of NATO is the Secretary General, who is appointed by consensus of NATO members. The Secretary General usually serves a term of four years, though that term may be extended.

The leader of NATO's military operations is the Supreme Allied Commander Europe, who has typically been an American military leader (the Secretary General has typically been a European).

The current NATO Secretary General is Jens Stoltenberg, the former prime minister of Norway and UN Special Envoy, according to the official NATO website.

In the years following the 1991 breakup of the Soviet Union, NATO's mission has shifted somewhat in response.

In the Balkan conflicts that occurred in the former Yugoslavia during the 1990s, NATO troops performed their first wartime actions, which included shooting down Bosnian aircraft, bombing campaigns and other airstrikes. NATO forces still maintain a presence of around 3,500 troops in Kosovo.

There was also a NATO response to the Iraqi invasion of neighboring Kuwait in 1991, which triggered the first Gulf War. However this mission, named Operation Anchor Guard, was largely to observe and help support any offensive against member state Turkey.

Following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in the United States, NATO troops were called into action to fulfill the group's charter. In 2003, NATO assumed control of military operations in the anti-terrorist occupation of Afghanistan, leading the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) until Jan 1, 2015.

NATO forces have also been active in anti-piracy efforts off the east coast of Africa, and in the 2011 civil war in Libya.

After the annexation of the Ukrainian region of Crimea by Russia, NATO played a role in managing the diplomatic crisis. Alhough neither Russia nor Ukraine are members of NATO, Russia's president Vladimir Putin did express an interest in joining the alliance, the Guardian reported (opens in new tab). The prospect of Ukraine joining the alliance is strongly opposed by Russia, has been cited as a major cause of the crisis in February 2022, which threatened to begin a war between the two nations, according to the New York Times (opens in new tab).

The U.S. Office of the Historian (opens in new tab) has a thorough history of NATO, while the non-profit institution Brookings has a in-depth article (opens in new tab) on NATO's role in the Bosnian conflict, written by Ivo H. Daalder, a former U.S. Ambassador to NATO.

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What is NATO? | Organization, mission and members | Live Science