Context: 

Turkey Parliament supports Sweden’s NATO membership.

NATO Signs $1.2B Artillery Shell Deal

• NATO recently signed a USD 1.2-billion contract for  artillery ammunition rounds to replenish the dwindling stocks of its member countries
• The contract sought to purchase 220,000 rounds of 155-millimetre artillery shell  ammunition to allow its allies to replenish their arsenals and to provide Ukraine with more ammunition.

Sweden’s Shift to NATO Membership

• Russian invasion of Ukraine: Sweden shares a Maritime border with Russia and wants to safeguard its territorial sovereignty in the face of growing Russian Revisionism.
• Significance:
  • Baltic states:  All of the Baltic Sea coastline, except that in Russia’s control, will become NATO territory as Norway and Finland are already member States.
  • Strategic advantage:  This will provide the alliance strategic bases close to Russia, make supply lines more streamlined, and make it easier to defend assets in the sea.
  • NATO capacity enhancement: Sweden’s military, though numerically small, is modern and experienced and also has advanced aircraft and submarine capabilities.

North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)

• It is an Intergovernmental Military alliance of the North American and European countries founded in 1949 through the North Atlantic Treaty signed in Washington DC USA
  • Article 5:  The new Allies agreed to defend one another in the face of an attack with the principle of “an armed attack against one or more of them, shall be considered an attack against them all”
• NATO Members: It has 31 member states with 29 European states and 2 North American.
  • Albania, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Montenegro, Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Türkiye, United Kingdom, United States Of America). 

• • Finland is the 31st country to join NATO in 2023 and it currently recognizes Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, and Ukraine as aspiring members.
• Headquarters: Brussels, Belgium. 
• Purposes: To deter Soviet expansionism, forbid the revival of nationalist militarism in Europe through a strong North American presence on the continent, and encourage European political integration.
• NATO membership:  Article 10 of the North Atlantic Treaty states that membership is open to any “European State in a position to further the principles of this Treaty and to contribute to the security of the North Atlantic area”.
  • North Atlantic Council: It is  NATO’s principal political decision-making body, and any decision to invite a country to join the Alliance is made by them based on consensus among all Allies.

• NATO Plus:

• • NATO Plus includes five more member nations considered allies of the US – namely: Australia, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand and Israel.  

News Source: The Indian Express

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