NATO Suspends Key Cold War-Era Security Treaty

GS Paper II International Relations

Context:

NATO has formally suspended the Treaty of Conventional Armed Forces in Europe.

The treaty, signed in 1990 and aimed to prevent massing of forces near mutual borders.
Most of NATO’s 31 allies had signed this treaty, with the goal of fostering stability.
The treaty was one of several major Cold War-era treaties involving Russia and the United States that have ceased to be in force in recent years.
Russia suspended its participation in 2007, and in 2015 announced its intention to completely withdraw from the agreement.

NATO’s decision comes in response to Russia’s withdrawal from the treaty.
NATO states that an unsustainable situation arises when Russia does not comply with the treaty while its members do.

About NATO

The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, was set up in 1949 by the US, Canada, and several Western European nations to ensure their collective security against the Soviet Union.
- It was the US’s first peacetime military alliance outside the Western Hemisphere.
Decision making: A “NATO decision” is the expression of the collective will of all 31 member countries since all decisions are taken by consensus.
12 founding member countries: Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
Other members: Greece, Turkey, Germany, Spain, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Albania, Croatia, Montenegro, North Macedonia (2020) and Finland (2023).
Headquarters: Brussels, Belgium.