Context:
- NATO has formally suspended the Treaty of Conventional Armed Forces in Europe.
About Treaty of Conventional Armed Forces
- 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.
Response to Russia’s Withdrawal:
- 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.
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News Source: Indian Express
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