Category Archives: NATO

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu shakes hands with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg after a news conference in Istanbul, Turkey, October 11, 2019. REUTERS/Huseyin Aldemir

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkey has reiterated to NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg that it expects the alliance to show strong solidarity with Ankara against threats to Turkish security, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Friday.

Speaking alongside Cavusoglu at a news conference in Istanbul, Stoltenberg said he expected Turkey to act with restraint in its push into Syria, adding that the international community must find a sustainable solution for Islamic State prisoners held by Kurdish forces in Syria.

As Ankara pressed on with an offensive against Kurdish militants in northeastern Syria, Stoltenberg said Turkey must ensure that progress in pushing back Islamic State in Syria was not jeopardized.

(This story corrects second paragraph to say international community, not NATO)

Reporting by Can Sezer; Writing by Tuvan Gumrukcu; Editing by Kevin Liffey

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Turkey says it expects solidarity from NATO against threats - Reuters

It's been one week since President Trump ordered US forces out of northern Syria which critics say is effectively abandoning America's allies on the battlefield.

Thousands of people have been displaced and many Kurds have been killed.

The fast-deteriorating situation was set in motion last week when Trump ordered US troops in northern Syria to step aside. Turkey quickly stepped into the void and began attacking the Kurdish people who live there.

Mass atrocities are being committed against the Kurdish people at the hands of Turkish-backed militias, including some ex- al Qaeda fighters.

It's a move that's leaving a trail of displacement, destruction, and death.

The United Nations estimates at least 130,000 people have been displaced by the fighting and hundreds more have been killed.

Syria's Kurds say Syrian government forces have agreed to help them fend off Turkey's invasion, which marks a major shift in alliances.

The shift could lead to clashes between Turkey and Syria and raises the chances of an ISIS resurgence in the region.

With Turkey quickly advancing, Trump has ordered all remaining US forces out of northern Syria. Defense Secretary Mark Esper said Sunday that Trump had directed US troops in northern Syria to begin pulling out "as safely and quickly as possible." He did not say Trump ordered troops to leave Syria, but that seemed like the next step in a combat zone growing more unstable by the hour.

Esper said the US withdrawal would be done carefully to protect the troops and to ensure that no US equipment was left behind. He declined to say how long that might take.

Many on both sides of the political aisle at home and abroad call the president's actions a betrayal of an ally.

"Leaving an ally behind is abandoning people that we frankly told we are going to be with, is disheartening, depressing and frankly it is weak," Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) told CBS's "Face The Nation" on Sunday.

US Pastor Andrew Brunson prayed for President Trump to have God's wisdom during the Values Voter Summit in Washington, DC Saturday night. Trump helped free the pastor who had been falsely imprisoned in Turkey where he was a missionary for 24 years.

"Father God, I ask now for an impartation of your Holy Spirit," Brunson prayed. "May the fullness of the spirit of Jesus rest upon President Trump that he be anointed with wisdom and understanding, with your counsel and might, with knowledge and fear of the Lord. And accordingly, may President Trump not judge by what he sees with his eyes or decide by what he hears with his ears or lean on his own understanding but may he recognize your prompting and move according to your guidance."

Meanwhile, the Trump administration has threatened Turkey with economic penalties for its invasion.

"Big sanctions on Turkey coming!" Trump tweeted on Monday, and US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said that while no final decision on sanctions had been made, the president's national security team was meeting again to consider a way ahead.

The fast-moving events of the past week have revealed an extraordinary breakdown in relations between the United States and Turkey, which have been NATO allies for decades. Turkish troops have often fought alongside American troops, including in the Korean War and in Afghanistan. Some believe Turkey is becoming, even more, friendlier to Russia and should be thrown out of NATO.

The chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Rep. Eliot Engel (D-NY) said the US and its NATO partners should consider expelling Turkey from the alliance. "How do you have a NATO ally who's in cahoots with the Russians, when the Russians are the adversaries of NATO?"

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Fast-Moving Developments in Syria Highlight US-Turkey Breakdown as NATO Allies - CBN News

The Danish HDMS Thetis, docked at the Old City Harbour in Tallinn, while several other vessels will stay at the Estonian Naval Base, ERR reported.

The ships will remain in port from Oct. 11 to 14, and thenthe group will carry out an operation to clear historic explosives in Estonian waters.

Thousands of mines were dropped into the Baltic Sea during and after the Second World War which still need to be found and destroyed.

The Estonian Navy has been participating in the NATO Mine Action Group for over ten years, contributing to the unit with one warship each semester.

From June 2016 until June 2017, NATO's 1st Permanent Mine Rescue Team (SNMCMG1) was commanded for the first time in history by Lieutenant Johan-Elias Seljamaa, an Estonian naval officer.

In the first half of 2017, members of the NATO Headquarters were also members of the Estonian Navy.

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Gallery: NATO ships arrive in Tallinn ahead of mine-clearing operation - ERR News

LONDON

Turkey on Saturday briefed about the countrys ongoing Operation Peace Spring in northern Syria at NATO Parliamentary Assembly (NATO PA) in London.

"We told the parties that Turkey launched the operation as part of the Article 51 of the UN Convention to protect our rights at the border, to prevent the persecution of the terrorists in the region and to prevent the attacks," said Osman Askin Bak, the head of Turkish delegation of the NATO PA.

Speaking at the 65th annual session in the U.K.'s capital London, Bak stressed that Operation Peace Spring was launched to bring peace to the region as it was done before with Operation Euphrates Shield and Operation Olive Branch.

Bak also mentioned that the Turkish delegation expressed their views on the issues of terrorism and refugees at the committees of the NATO PA and Turkish side highlighted that, up to 2 million refugees can live in the safe zones that will be established by the Operation Peace Spring.

"Our European allies and friends do not support us [on refugee issue]. They follow two-faced policies. But we will decisively complete this operation," he added.

Relations with Russia, Iran's nuclear program and situation in Afghanistan will be issued on Monday at the session which NATOs General Secretary Jens Stoltenberg will also be attending.

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Turkish operation to bring peace in region, NATO PA told - Anadolu Agency

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has threatened the European Union his government would open the gates to millions of refugees to head to Europe if they criticised Turkeys military offensive in Syria.

The President has warned he will send 3.6 million Syrian refugees to Europe in retaliation for the worldwide criticism of his military operation.

At least 24 people have been killed, including 16 Kurdish fighters and eight civilians, while dozens more have been injured.

Lashing out at theEuropean Union, the United States, NATO, and others that joined the condemnation,President Recep Tayyip Erdoganwarned he would open the gates if anyone called his offensive an invasion.

Hey EU, pull yourself together. I say it again. If you try to frame our operation as an invasion, our task is simple: we will open the doors and send 3.6 million migrants to you, Erdogan said in a speech to parliament.

Turkey launched an operation into Syrian territory on Wednesday, aimed at combating Kurdish militants.

Erdogan claims 109 terrorists had been killed so far in the operation.

Greeces Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Thursday called on NATO to increase naval patrols in the Aegean after the threat by Turkey to allow more migrants to cross into Greece was made.

I asked the secretary-general and the alliance, and member states to strengthen their presence in the Aegean Sea with more ships, Mitsotakis said after talks with NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg.

We ask for the mission to be expanded to the south Aegean so we can cover the full scope of our countrys maritime borders, Mitsotakis announced, adding that he would raise the issue at a NATO summit in December.

There are officially some 70,000 migrants and refugees in Greece and over 800 continue to arrive daily, placing pressure on already overcrowded camps on the Greek islands.

NATO currently has six ships on patrol in the northern Aegean that track the movement of incoming migrant boats and alert the coastguards of Greece and Turkey, in addition to EU border force Frontex.

Stoltenberg said he has already called on allies to provide more ships, but that any additional commitment requires a consensus between NATO members.

*Watch the video here-

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Greece calls on NATO as Erdogan threatens to flood Europe with millions of migrants (VIDEO) - Greek City Times

Researchers from NATO member and partner nations discussed how advanced technologies can drive modernisation and innovation at a workshop organised by NATOs Science for Peace and Security (SPS) Programme in Belgium on 17-18 September 2019.

Over 50 researchers involved in SPS activities gathered at the event hosted by the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven and exchanged know-how and results from over 25 ongoing and completed projects where advanced technologies are key to identifying adequate preventive measures and responses. Advanced technologies are a topic that bridges NATO's past, present, and future, said NATO Assistant Secretary General for Emerging Security Challenges Dr Antonio Missiroli at the launch of the Cluster Workshop on Advanced Technologies.

Identifying future trends

Disruptive technological advancements were the spark that started NATOs involvement in science, and are still at the core of the Alliances commitment to promoting scientific cooperation, explained Dr Deniz Beten, Senior NATO SPS and Partnership Cooperation Advisor. The event also offered a platform to brainstorm ideas and highlight future trends in four specific advanced technologies research areas: communication systems; innovative and advanced materials; sensors and detectors; and unmanned and autonomous systems.

Common trends highlighted efforts towards safer, reliable and secure communication and information networks, also using novel concepts such as quantum technology and the Internet of Things, and the development of more fit-for-purpose, durable and less expensive materials.

Researchers presented their achievements in creating more sensitive sensing and detection systems using state-of-the-art techniques. Discussions also focused on developments in the field of automation, in the integration of artificial intelligence and the design of unmanned vehicles capable of operating in multiple domains. Technological convergence the integration of multiple research fields in the identification of the solution to a technological challenge was seen as a growing need that SPS already helps to address.

Detecting threats to the electromagnetic space

Demonstrating our project at the workshop was a great opportunity to discuss our achievements with other outstanding scientists working on SPS activities, stated Sofie Pollin, project co-director and Professor at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven.

To conclude the event, Dr Claudio Palestini, SPS Advisor, stated, SPS helps to push the boundaries of security-relevant advanced technologies for civilian use. The impact on security of our scientists research ranges from enhanced prevention of cyber attacks, faster response times in emergencies and better protection of critical infrastructure in urban and maritime contexts, to more efficient detection of potential threats using sensors, radars, or unmanned and autonomous systems.

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NATO focuses on future of advanced technologies - NATO HQ

Speaking in the Black Sea city of Batumi after a meeting with Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili on Friday (4 October), NATO Deputy Secretary General Rose Gottemoeller thanked the President for hosting the North Atlantic Council. She said that the Substantial NATO-Georgia Package has been a success story in the five years since it was created, strengthening Georgias interoperability with the Alliance and making Georgian armed forces more capable. Allies have now decided to conduct a refresh as we call it or a strengthening of the package by 2020, updating and improving our cooperation, she said.

Ms. Gottemoeller highlighted that NATO and Georgia are also developing dialogue and cooperation on the Black Sea region. She welcomed Georgias offer to continue providing logistical support to NATO and Allies, and said that NATO is working with Georgia to strengthen interoperability, including with the ongoing training of the Coast Guard boarding teams. Georgia is demonstrating that it is an exporter of security. A net security provider. Your country remains the largest non-NATO troop contributor to our mission in Afghanistan. We welcome the reforms that you have put in place. Strengthening your democratic institutions and the rule of law, and modernising your armed forces. We will work with you as you continue on this path, she said.The Deputy Secretary General reaffirmed that NATO fully supports Georgias independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity, within its internationally recognised borders and that the Alliance calls on Russia to reverse its recognition of the Georgian regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, noting that These territories are part of Georgia and we will never recognize them as anything else.

Ms. Gottemoeller recalled that at the NATO Summit in Brussels in July 2018 NATO leaders reconfirmed the Bucharest decisions from 2008, that Georgia will become a member of NATO. That decision has not changed. And we are committed to continuing to work closely together to prepare your country for NATO membership, she said.

Earlier in the day, Deputy Secretary General Gottemoeller met with Minister of Foreign Affairs David Zalkaliani and Minister of Defence Irakli Garibashvili. She also visited the Georgian Coast Guard vessels Dioskuria and Ochamchire and met with Minister of Interior Vakhtang Gomelauri. While in Batumi, the Deputy Secretary General also had a meeting with the Chairman of the Georgian Parliament Archil Talakvadze. Ms. Gottemoeller also received the Order of the Golden Fleece Award and thanked President Zourabichvili for this very special honour.

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NATO Deputy Secretary General in Batumi: Georgia has demonstrated that it is an exporter of security - NATO HQ

The top U.S. military commander in Europe says the U.S. military will have a more productive role in NATO as a means of protecting Europe against two basic threats: Russia's "malign influence"and international terrorism.

Air Force Gen. Tod D. Wolters, NATO's supreme allied commander for Europe and commander of U.S. European Command, told Pentagon reporters yesterday that continuing to support NATO by promoting democratic values is the key to defending Europe and deterring aggression.

"And as we support NATO with that number one priority, we are promoting those value systems. And it's very, very important that we stay tied to that,"he said.

As for deterring aggression in Europe, Wolters said that means countering Russian malign influence. "And, as you talk about countering Russian malign influence, you go back to the value system that we promote."

To counter Russia, the U.S. is a big advocate of building military relationships with NATO nations there are 29 and other nation partners through personal relationships and readiness exercises, he said.

One of the good news stories is that NATO now has its own military strategy, he said, something they didn't have for the last 50-plus years. "We did not have a document that the military arm that represents NATO could follow in order to apply a strategy,"he said.

That strategy, which was endorsed by the North Atlantic Council, allows the U.S. military to have a more productive role within NATO and identifies two basic threats: Russia's status as a near-peer competitor and international terrorism, he said.

NATO has also implemented a "command structure adaptation,"which means forces are placed in Europe wherever they are needed to better deter potential conflict, wherever that might be anticipated.

Although Europe is the primary focus, Wolters also said he is in consults regularly with his counterparts in other combatant commands to ensure the right balance of forces in the places they're needed most.

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NATO's New Strategy Will Better Protect Europe, Top Commander Says - Department of Defense

Fifteen years ago, NATO opened its doors to the Baltic states. In the United States this momentous historical decision is commonly framed either as one of the greatest U.S. foreign policy achievements or an ill-advised move that diluted the alliance by taking on indefensible nations. Meanwhile, Russian contemporary discourse on this matter revolves around broken Western promises not to expand the alliance towards its borders. Either way, the story of Baltic NATO membership is almost exclusively told through the lens of major powers, leaving the impression that Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia were mere spectators caught in a geopolitical tussle between the United States and Russia.

To be clear, great power relations have shaped and constrained the realm of possibilities for Eastern Europeans. For good reason, scholars have meticulously detailed interactions between Bill and Boris and how these conditioned Europes security arrangements. But to assume that the fate of Baltic nations hinged only upon developments in Washington or Moscow is to unduly ignore the role played by the Baltic peoples themselves. As one commentator cautions in his War on the Rocks essay, Americans tend to forget other actors (even the smallest states) have agency.

The Baltic countries played their hand expertly in first binding themselves closer to NATO and then seizing on the opportunity given to them. Daniel Fried, a U.S. diplomat for four decades, noted in a speech in 2017 that the real credit for getting the Baltics into NATO belongs to the governments of the Baltic states. He stressed:

Dont thank us, us Americans who were involved in the policy. Because if the Baltic states had failed in their democratic free market transition, I wouldnt accept the blame The Baltic states did what they had to do. And in doing so, they generated the political capital for themselves, which then their friends in the West would use.

Indeed, their commitment to reforms, relentless insistence to join the alliance, attempts to cajole, pressure and at times even stalk international political figures is part and parcel of the anatomy of this event. The following tells the story of just that.

Havent These Peoples Always Belonged to Russia Anyway?

Today it may seem like a foregone conclusion that the Baltics were destined to become full-fledged members of the worlds strongest military bloc. In reality, this was never a preordained outcome. Before the turn of the century, the idea that NATO would absorb small nations located at significant geopolitical crossroads appeared unlikely. While the Clinton administration did commit to keep the membership door open for the Baltics, speculation on the subject remained cautious and reserved. In 1996, internal policy documents recognized that getting the necessary votes in the Senate for Baltic NATO membership would be no cakewalk. Robert Nurick, someone who is credited to have spearheaded public debate on this topic by putting out an influential RAND Corporation paper, recalls that among the policy-making establishment in Washington, potential Baltic accession to NATO was treated as a very strange idea.

Former Secretary of Defense William Perry and grand strategist George Kennan had made their case against Baltic entrance into NATO, the latter by underlining that historically these nations had been part of Russia longer than they were part of anything else. Sharp objections were also raised on the Senate floor. In 1997, Sen. Bernie Sanders intimated that wrapping the American security blanket around these countries was categorically unjustifiable. He went on to quote former Secretary of State Lawrence Eagleburger, who once said that if we ever think of bringing the Baltic countries into NATO we ought to have our heads examined.

Europeans also harbored deep reservations. Lithuanias Minister of Defense reconstructed past conversations among fellow Europeans as follows: You are nice, your freedom fight is also very impressive, but you will never be a member of NATO. When a high ranking Scandinavian diplomat had raised the prospect of Baltic membership with another distinguished NATO foreign minister, the minister dismissed it immediately, adding, Havent these peoples always belonged to Russia anyway? Needless to say, the Russian Federation categorically opposed the idea from the beginning. Arguably though, in the mental geography of most Russians, the Baltics were always more European or Western and somewhat easier to let go than countries like Ukraine, which Russia viewed as an extension of itself. However, given the realities of the time, Kremlin ideologue Sergey Karaganov had prognosticated that the likelihood of Baltics ever reaching NATO was less than zero. In sum, the above evidence bears out the fact that initially the odds were against them.

Time Will Not Wait for Small Nations

What set the breakaway Baltics apart from other former Soviet republics is that, shortly after regaining independence, they were clear-eyed regarding their geopolitical predicament. They accurately assessed that the 1990s constituted a rare historical irregularity, a window of opportunity that would not last forever. An internal Estonian foreign ministry memo in 1993 crystallized the strategic mindset of the newly independent republic: the most important lesson is simple: time is short and time will not wait for small nations. Former Latvian President Vaira Vike-Freiberga, who shepherded Latvia through the membership process, likewise attests that one of the principal lessons for small nations is that they always ought to stay vigilant and, when cracks in the march of history occur, immediately try to seize such moments. Baltic leaders recognized that because of the relative weakness of Russia and the high-water mark moment of American power, they were granted an unusual degree of political maneuvering. They acted without hesitation, before Moscow clawed its way back into a stronger position.

As they began elbowing their way through international politics, formidable hurdles lay ahead. In the summer of 1992, when the United States sent its first military advisory contact team to Latvia, an unconventional scene could be observed in the art nouveau streets of Riga: uniformed Americans and Russians passed each other daily. In the early 1990s, all three Baltic republics still hosted thousands of former Red Army troops, together with various Soviet-era military installations ranging from a nuclear submarine training facility in Estonia to a massive anti-ballistic missile radar in Latvia. This Soviet-era carcass was the key issue hanging over the newly-freed Baltics. Moscow wanted to hold on to its strategic bases until 2002. The Baltics vehemently objected.

Severely lacking in diplomatic representation abroad, Baltic policymakers would use every opportunity to argue their case internationally. When in 1992 world leaders gathered in Rio de Janeiro to discuss environmental politics and sign the Kyoto Protocol, Baltic representatives used the venue to hunt down European heads of state in order to sway them on the importance of getting the Soviet troops out. The Clinton administration played an instrumental role in mediating and accelerating this official divorce. In retrospect, this was a crucial inflection point which, if unresolved, could have taken the Baltics in a different strategic direction. According to long-time Estonian diplomat Jri Luik, keeping Russian troops on Baltic soil was Moscows strongest card to play if it were to destabilize this region. Even a minimal Russian presence for a longer time, in his view, would have ended Baltic dreams of a transatlantic alliance.

NATO as the ultimate strategic objective had been weighing on the minds of Baltic statesman as soon as independence was achieved. Officially, however, the desire to move towards this goal was played down in order not to jeopardize ongoing Russian troop withdrawal. In 1995, with the Russian army finally gone, it was now also on their lips. Already, the Lithuanian President had unconventionally applied for alliance membership via an open letter. It became clear, however, that the Baltic states movement towards the transatlantic alliance would not be possible through individual efforts. As a former Latvian ambassador to the United States explained, It was very clear to us in Washington that if one country pursued something and wanted to get Congress to approve it, they wouldnt get it unless all three agreed. In pursuit of the principal geopolitical goal, the Baltics banded together.

But at the time, it was palpable that these nations were not yet ready to assume full member status. Early on there were a number of stumbles, diplomatic embarrassments, and instances of mistrust in the U.S.-Baltic relationship. In one such mishap, the Latvian Defense Minister had shocked the U.S. side with his desire to acquire from the United States thousands of F-16 fighter jets. It later turned out that what he had in mind was M-16 rifles.

According to Strobe Talbott, a key figure in the Clinton administration, when it was clear that the Baltics were not going to be among the first wave of NATO invitees, the Estonian president started to show up in various cities where the negotiations were taking place and stalked Talbott just to make sure he understood that there would be consequences if his country were to be sold out as during the 1945 Yalta Conference. A senior Estonian representative summarizes those years as full of ups and downs of false expectations, false perceptions, and political nightmares.

Yet, despite initial setbacks, the Baltics plunged into the membership process enthusiastically and with an ironclad conviction regarding their Western orientation. In 1997, when Russian President Boris Yeltsin dangled unilateral Russian security guarantees in exchange for giving up on the Baltics NATO hopes, the offer was promptly rejected. Gravitating back into the Russian sphere of influence was deemed intolerable. Instead, the Baltic consensus was to be fully cemented into the Euro-Atlantic security architecture. Simply put, NATO was viewed as an existential necessity. As much as Russia has attempted to rewrite history and portray the eastward enlargement as primarily driven by Washingtons willingness to expand its hegemonic reach, in reality the process was pushed by organic and democratic demands growing out of the Baltic states.

The West is Not Catholic but Lutheran

A recurrent criticism leveled against NATOs decision to take on the Baltics is that it was done somewhat casually or even emotionally without judicious processes in place. Others have maintained that it was a feeling of collective historical guilt that drove the West to rewrite the geopolitical landscape in favor of the Central and Eastern European countries. While one can indeed find language of moral obligation steeped into speeches of U.S. officials, past tragedies were not the reason why these countries were let into NATO. Above all, they were judged by their ability to implement sound policy reforms and shoulder international military burdens. In short, this was a performance-based process. According to a senior Estonian diplomat, the Baltics quickly realized that the argument you owe this to us did not take them far. They learned that the West was not Catholic but Lutheran. God helps those who help themselves and confession does not really make things better, but behaving differently does.

The Baltics needed to reinvent themselves, and fast. The state of their armed forces was grim. A retired U.S. military officer noted that at first these nations were at 1 on a 110 scale of military capabilities. Initially, the West had even refused to sell them arms; the United States only lifted the ban in 1994. In order to inject Western-style thinking and doctrine into their military forces, Estonia and Lithuania deliberately appointed retired U.S. Army colonels of Baltic descent to serve as commanders of their defense forces. The Baltics were also eager to send their troops on U.N. missions as well as contribute to costly NATO operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. Estonia, for instance, participated in the Afghanistan mission without any national caveats, suffering one of the highest ratios of deaths-per-capita of any of the allied countries. Involvement in American-led interventions was seen as an effective way to edge closer to NATO membership.

Throughout the membership process, U.S. officials continuously monitored and assessed candidate states internal governance: health of democratic institutions, transition to market economies, treatment of minorities, and corruption laws. Heather Conley, who served as Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs, recalls visiting the region countless times in one year. She describes the process as highly intrusive, with U.S. officials trying to determine if these democracies are worth a U.S. soldiers life. Defying the odds, the Baltics nurtured their democracies from the ashes in an impressively short time. A former U.S. ambassador to NATO, Kurt Volker, admits that these nations turned out to be the best democratic and economic reformers, the ones most committed to build fresh new militaries, and the ones willing to support the U.S. in other fora. It would take years, but the reform seeds planted would eventually bear fruit.

9-11 and the Muted No

Admittedly, unforeseen sudden events also had an effect on the Baltic membership process. In fact, some believe that it was the terrorist attacks of 9/11 that tipped the scales in favor of bringing the Baltics under the NATO security umbrella. Upon closer inspection, however, it is apparent that the process was well in motion prior to that. A major clue that the Baltics were on the membership path was George Bushs address in Poland in the summer of 2001, during which he had declared that all of Europes democracies, from the Baltic to the Black Sea ought to have the same opportunity to join NATO. Robert Kagan reacted to the speech by suggesting that champagne corks were popping in Riga, Tallinn and Vilnius. Soon after, influential U.S. lawmakers John McCain and Richard Lugar pledged their support. Arch-realist Henry Kissinger, in an August 2001 op-ed in the Washington Post, concurred by pointing out that it had become impossible to ignore or postpone the appeals of the Baltic democracies.

Behind the scenes, even Moscow had apparently accepted the inevitability of the alliances enlargement. In an exclusive interview with Latvian journalists, diplomat Ron Asmus, who played a major role in enlargement discussions, revealed that on Sept. 10, 2001 he held a dinner with the Russian ambassador to the United States. During the meeting, the ambassador informed Asmus that the Kremlin had accepted the fact that NATO would expand to the Baltic states and the only question left on the table was what Russia would get in return for accepting it. This supports the idea that the process of admitting the Baltics into NATO had already matured prior to 9/11.

Today, Russia assertively claims that NATOs second wave enlargement violated its red lines. It is important to recall, however, that at the time Moscow reacted in a measured way, tempering its criticism vis--vis NATO enlargement. In 2001, during a radio interview with National Public Radio, when asked if he opposed the admission of the three Baltic Republics into NATO Russian President Vladimir Putin responded that the issue could not be summed up in a yes or a no. He later added that we cannot forbid people to make certain choices if they want to increase the security of their nations in a particular way. In another appearance, Putin declared that Baltic membership was no tragedy for Russia. These statements clearly were not a ringing endorsement. However, by historical standards, this was the least public resistance put up by the head of the Russian state. Alexander Vershbow, U.S. Ambassador to Moscow at a time of NATO enlargement, insists that he heard few complaints from the Russian side when the Baltics formally joined the alliance.

Previously reluctant European leaders, such as French President Jacques Chirac, German Chancellor Gerhard Schrder and Italian Prime Minister Giuliano Amato, in a remarkable shift from their earlier positions, also pledged their support. According to Robert Nurick, in a short period of time reaction to Baltic NATO accession had changed from are you kidding to well, of course.' In April 2004, Baltic flags went up at the NATO headquarters in Brussels.

A Geopolitical Breakthrough

A number of things had to go right in order for the Baltic states to join NATO. Deep structural forces worked in their favor. In the post-Cold War era, the global distribution of power had shifted away from Russia, putting Moscow in too weak a position to challenge the enlargement process in a meaningful way. The Clinton and later Bush administrations were sympathetic towards the plight of Baltic nations and kept the membership door open. Regionally, the Baltics benefited immensely from their Nordic neighbors who were keen to invest in modernization of Baltic armed forces, transfer knowledge, and lobby on the Baltics behalf internationally. But that alone did not guarantee the outcome we have today. Events on the ground in Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia, namely local actors persistence in pushing to join the Euro-Atlantic community, their diligent efforts, and their dedication to reforms, is what finally got them over the alliances doorstep. For the Baltics, reaching NATO membership was nothing short of a geopolitical breakthrough.

Andris Banka is a postdoctoral researcher at the Interdisciplinary Centre for Baltic Sea Region Research (IFZO) in Greifswald, Germany. He earned his doctorate at the University of Birmingham, U.K.

Image: NATO

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The Breakaways: A Retrospective on the Baltic Road to NATO - War on the Rocks

Visiting the Black Sea city of Batumi on Thursday (3 October 2019) the NATO Deputy Secretary General Rose Gottemoeller met with the Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia and thanked him for welcoming the North Atlantic Council.

The North Atlantic Council travelled to Georgia on Thursday, 3 October for a two-day visit including a meeting of the NATO-Georgia Commission.

During the meeting, Ms Gottemoeller said that NATO deeply appreciates the contributions Georgia makes to Euro-Atlantic security and that Georgia is one of NATOs closest operational partners. She said that the visit of the North Atlantic Council was an occasion to celebrate five years of the Substantial NATO-Georgia package the cornerstone of our support to the reform of Georgias security and defence sectors, and to Georgias preparations for NATO membership.

Speaking after the meeting of the NATO-Georgia Commission in Batumi, Ms Gottemoeller said that the Substantial NATO-Georgia Package is bolstering Georgias defences, including through a Joint Training and Evaluation Centre, a Defence Institution Building school, and joint exercises. This afternoon, we agreed to refresh and improve the package, she said. Allies committed to provide further resources. Ms. Gottemoeller praised Georgia for strengthening defence institutions, modernizing the armed forces and making clear progress on defence spending. We encourage you to continue on this path, and to push ahead with necessary reforms beyond the area of defence. It is equally important to strengthen the rule of law and to implement further judiciary reform. We will continue to work with you on reforms that move Georgia closer to NATO, she said. Ms. Gottemoeller highlighted that at the Brussels Summit in July 2018 Allied leaders reaffirmed that NATO will accept Georgia as a member of the Alliance and that NATOs door remains open. Today, Allies restated their full support for Georgias sovereignty, security and territorial integrity. We call on Russia to end its recognition of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. And to withdraw its forces from these regions of Georgia. We are also concerned by Russias military build-up in the Black Sea region. That is why we are strengthening the cooperation between Georgias and NATOs naval forces, she said.

Ms. Gottemoeller also delivered a speech for students at the Batumi Rustaveli State University. In her address, the Deputy Secretary General said that Georgias partnership with NATO contains all the political and practical tools necessary to enable membership when the conditions are right.

Georgia must continue to pursue the necessary reforms, so that when NATO Allies are ready to take the next step in the political process, Georgia is also ready, she said.

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Georgia Commission meets in the Georgian city of Batumi - NATO HQ