Questions tagged [nato]
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was established by the United States and much of Europe after the Soviet Union (Russia) invaded parts of Eastern Europe after World War II. Use for questions about the organization and the politics surrounding it.
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Is NATO a purely defensive organisation, ruling out attacks from NATO?
In July 2024, German chancellor Olaf Scholz controversially approved stationing American cruise missiles in Germany. In an official statement issued by the German armed forces in October 2024, ...
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What are the article 5 implications of a war betwen Israel and Turkey? [duplicate]
It has recently been reported that Edrogan has threatened to send troops into Isreal in support of the Palestinians
“Just like we entered Karabakh, just like we entered Libya, we will do [something] ...
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A member of NATO falls into civil war, who do the rest of the members back?
It's often been portrayed in popular culture that the US falls into a civil war, in which it's treated as a purely internal matter and no other ally may intervene. In reality this would unlikely be ...
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Why has NATO ignored Russia moving Estonian buoys?
According to the Estonian Police and Border Guard, Russia has moved the buoys from Narva River
https://www.politsei.ee/en/news/border-guard-of-the-russian-federation-removed-light-buoys-from-narva-...
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Why does the USA ask NATO partners to donate Patriot missile systems to Ukraine and not donate them itself?
Why does the USA ask NATO partners to donate Patriot missile systems to Ukraine and not donate them itself?
The Pentagon says it will "rush" Patriot air defence missiles and artillery ...
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Does NATO have its own "terrorist organization" and "state sponsor of terrorism" designations
The question is motivated by the report about Hamas shifting its headquarters to Istanbul, Turkey. In the same time, Hamas is considered a terrorist organization by many NATO members, including the ...
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What prevents Russia from mimicking the Iranian attack against Israel? [closed]
A question that has been bugging me for a while is: why hasn't Russia tested NATO unity by carrying a relatively harmless or deniable attack against a NATO member? Though until recently I imagined ...
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How can a military exercise on the Black Sea happen with a closed Bosporus?
Romania holds a NATO naval military exercise on the Black Sea.
However, exactly the same war made also Turkey to close the Bosporus before military ships.
How can this exercise then happen? Afaik ...
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What are the perks and privileges enjoyed by the non-EU/UK/CA/AU/NATO allies of US?
I am from one of those countries that claims to be a US ally. I don't know whether there is or should be any military connotation linked to that. If there is, I wonder if there are any benefits of ...
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Have any Western analysts explained how the crimes for which the ICC recently indicted two Russian commanders, differ from the bombing of Serbia?
Personally I was a bit surprised that the ICC indicted two Russian commanders for the long-range missile attacks in Ukraine, rather than e.g. for the more clear war crimes in Bucha etc.
On Tuesday, ...
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Why don't NATO troops and untrained volunteers help Ukraine prepare fortified positions?
Recently, after the fall of Avdiivka, Russia made some relatively quick advances due to the lack of prepared defense lines. At this point, with Ukraine on the backfoot, its important for them to fight ...
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If a NATO country starts a war, does the other NATO countries also enter the war [duplicate]
Ok, so I know that if a NATO country is attacked then so is all of the other NATO countries. But if a NATO country decides to enter another war between two countries, aiding one side, Does the rest ...
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Why would Russia want to avoid a "disabling" arms race with the West?
This strategic reality will prompt the new Russian leadership, of
whatever composition and persuasion, to initiate a de-escalation of
tensions in its Nordic-Baltic neighborhood in order to avoid a
...
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Why was Russia against NATO enlargement?
Then lastly on Sweden. First of all, it is historic that now Finland
is member of the Alliance. And we have to remember the background. The
background was that President Putin declared in the autumn ...
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Has the public in the individual member countries of NATO been consulted when approving new members into NATO?
As we know, Finland has recently joined NATO, and Sweden is currently in the process of joining NATO. There were also episodes of NATO expansions in the past.
When a pending expansion is about to ...
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What was the last time a country blocked another country from joining NATO?
https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/after-finland-joins-nato-why-is-turkey-making-sweden-wait-2023-04-04/
STOCKHOLM, April 4 (Reuters) - Sweden's path to NATO membership
remains blocked by Turkey ...
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When it comes to procuring weapons, does NATO have specific guidelines and regulations that member countries must adhere to?
NATO members in Europe have signed a contract for up to 1,000 Patriot
missiles to bolster air defenses in the face of the threat from
Russia, the alliance said Wednesday.
The announcement of the ...
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How reasonable are fears of Russia attacking any NATO country in the foreseeable future?
Consider the facts that Article 5 is the cornerstone of NATO alliance, how the collective military strength of NATO massively dwarfs that of Russia, how Russia has fared in Ukraine, how depleted it is....
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Did NATO ever agree to send forces to secure a Palestinian state?
In 2014, "Abbas said he would accept a gradual Israeli withdrawal over three years, with NATO replacing the Israel Defense Forces in the West Bank" (source). I would like to know if this ...
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What is the political argument of former French president Nicolas Sarkozy that Ukraine should not join NATO or EU, and remain neutral?
This article in LeMonde - Sarkozy criticized for call to compromise with Russia - states that the former French president Nicolas Sarkozy is a strong advocate of Ukraine being neutral:
France's ...
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Have any NATO countries publicly raise objections as being spied upon (by the US) in "Operation Triangulation"?
According to a story sourced to the FSB
“The Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation, together with the Federal Security Service of Russia, uncovered a reconnaissance operation by American ...
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Why has Turkey attached the EU accession condition late?
Turkey could have attached the EU accession condition with Finish NATO membership.
Why has it given Finland a free pass?
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What are the reasons for the French opposition to opening a NATO bureau in Japan?
It has been reported in the news that France vetoed the opening up of a NATO bureau in Tokyo (here, here, here).
But it is not clear what all of the aspects of this situation are.
Was there any ...
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What changes in the formal status of Russia's Baltic Fleet once Sweden joins NATO?
Now that Sweden has been accepted into NATO, the Baltic Sea is internal to NATO because its entire coast consists of NATO countries.
Kremlin spokesman has been reported to say that the RF would "...
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What happens under NATO Article 5 if a state involved in a war (like Ukraine) joins NATO?
Why would Ukraine joining NATO at the present time not result in an immediate state of war between NATO members and Russia because of Article 5 obligations to defend a member state under attack? I ...
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Why do Poland and Lithuania push for NATO membership for Ukraine instead of sending troops to Ukraine directly?
Lithuanian and Polish presidents visit Kyiv, back Ukraine's path to NATO
Lithuania and Poland are in favor of Ukraine joining NATO. Presumably, this is because they view it as NATO's duty to protect ...
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How would a neutral observer compare the presence of US nukes in Europe to the presence of Russian nukes in Belarus?
USA in Germany
Germany has no nuclear weapons of its own, but it stores 20 or fewer U.S. B-61 nuclear gravity bombs at Büchel air base, and maintains a fleet of aging Tornado fighter bombers to ...
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Why does Russia see NATO as an aggressor when the Istanbul document signed by Russia grants each participant the right to chose its allies separately?
The Istanbul document was a declaration signed in 1999 by Russia and Ukraine. Its legal character is similar to that of the Declaration of Human rights.
It contains the following paragraph:
We ...
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What does Emmanuel Macron mean exactly when he said “We want allies, but we want to be able to choose them” in his recent speech in The Hague?
I can't find a transcript of the whole speech, so I can only rely on what I read in media. For example, the journalist Dave Keating says:
President Emmanuel Macron is right now delivering a landmark ...
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Why does NATO accession require a treaty protocol?
Joining NATO is governed by Article 10 of the North Atlantic Treaty, which states:
The Parties may, by unanimous agreement, invite any other European State in a position to further the principles of ...
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Will Finland have to ratify Sweden's NATO accession?
The original plan was for Finland and Sweden to join NATO at the same time. It has since become clear, however–due to opposition from Turkey and Hungary–that Sweden and Finland will not be joining at ...
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Which NATO countries sided with France in the 2020 Courbet frigate incident?
Back in 2020, according to French sources:
the relationship between Paris and Ankara was severely affected by a serious naval incident on June 10, in which a Turkish vessel threatened a French ...
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How does the military decide if an unidentified flying object can or should be shot down or not?
According to NY Times, the military shot down a few unidentified flying objects after being visually confirmed:
The U.S. and Canada are investigating three unidentified flying
objects shot down over ...
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If Turkish parliament wanted to ratify the Swedish and Finnish NATO applications, when, between now and July 1, would it be able to do so?
If Turkish parliament wanted to ratify the Swedish and Finnish NATO Accession Protocols then when, between now and July 1, would it be able to do so?
Considerations include the following:
Parliament ...
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What is responsible for the "missing consensus" on donating non-Bundeswehr Leopard 2s to Ukraine?
From Reuters, about Leopard 2s for Ukraine
German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said he could not say when there would be a decision on the tanks but Berlin was prepared to move quickly if there ...
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Once given, can a NATO member withdraw or cancel its ratification of an Accession Protocol for a candidate member?
The Accession Protocols to the Washington Treaty for Finland and Sweden have so far been signed by 28 of 30 NATO members. Once all NATO member countries have notified the Government of the United ...
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Why are European countries increasing their defense budgets if they are members of a nuclear-armed NATO?
Mirror question to Why would Russia care about NATO troops on its borders if it has nuclear weapons?
Naively one would think that Russia should not worry about NATO because they have nuclear weapons. ...
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Would it be possible for NATO to intercept russian cruise missiles over the Ukraine from NATO airspace, and avoid becoming a party of the war? [closed]
In media reports and discussions, the impossibility of a no-fly zone was discussed since the current (2022) war in Ukraine started.
Basically, a no-fly zone would entail NATO jets shooting down ...
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Why doesn't Turkey trigger NATO article 5 in response to the Istanbul bombings?
Turkey recently launched Operation Claw-Sword against Kurdish separatists that they say are responsible for the Istanbul bombing on 13 November. It is a solo operation however. Why doesn't Turkey ...
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Can the NATO Command sue for the nullification of the treaty of accession of Hungary for non-compliance on the 2% contribution requirement?
Mr. Orban, Hungary's political leader, seems to be trying to use Hungary's membership in NATO by threatening to vote to not approve Sweden’s and Finland’s accession to the alliance unless it gets ...
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Why didn't the US and allies supply Ukraine with air defense systems before the October strikes?
As was well covered in the media, the Russian war of aggression came into a new phase in October with strikes on the civilian energy infrastructure in Ukraine. I can understand why they're doing this ...
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Would Sweden and Turkey as members of the NATO be a sort of follow-up on the 1739 Swedish-Ottoman alliance against the Empire of Russia? [closed]
From Wikipedia, 1739 in Sweden
Sweden form an alliance with the Ottoman Empire against the Empire of Russia. This is the first alliance between the Ottoman Empire and a Christian nation.
(This last ...
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Has there been a judicial review of NATO's target selection in their bombing campaign against Serbia?
My question stems from the NATO campaign in Serbia in the 90s, a campaign that resulted in the bombing of marketplaces and hospitals, and in the destabilisation of the power grid.
I could not find any ...
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Russia re-integration into the West possible? [closed]
After the Russo-Ukrainian war ends, what is the probability for Russia, or territories from former Russia, to re-integrate with the West (e.g. pre-Russian Revolution) and what steps would be necessary ...
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Hungary — What’s the rationale behind voting about not voting about Sweden’s and Finland’s NATO accession? [closed]
Today, the quasi opposition motioned the formal legislation to vote on a formal bill introduced outlining the ratification of Hungary’s sister states in the EU, Finland and Sweden to NATO. (This bill ...
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Has NATO recently threatened to nuke Russia?
In his 2022-09-21 speech (archived copy with https here), Putin referred to
statements made by some high-ranking representatives of the leading NATO countries on the possibility and admissibility of ...
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Slovakia has been the first state to have not affirmed joining NATO of Sweden and Finland with magnitudinal majority — why?
There is still a chance (a substantial probability) that Turkey or Hungary would not even affirm it by supermajority or any majority at all given their pro-Russia stances, but so far, all other ...
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How do Ukraine aid levels compare to what was being spent on Afghanistan?
Seems like every other week we hear that Ukraine is getting some military aid. Or civilian aid.
The numbers are fairly consequent, often $1+ billion on the US side. Other NATO countries also chip in....
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Did the United States break a promise to Russia when NATO moved eastward?
Did the United States break a promise to Russia when NATO moved eastward with new members?
In 1990, President George H.W. Bush made a promise to Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev that NATO would &...
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Does any NATO country assume being under an "armed attack" if it suffers casualties due to a radiation leak?
As the title says, does any NATO country's defense doctrine identifies radiation leaks occurred elsewhere, but presumably causing casualties in such country, as an equivalent of armed attack against ...
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