President Vladimir Putin has said that if Ukraine becomes part of NATO, it could threaten Russia’s survival. This was the factor that led Putin to embark on the largest confrontation Europe has ever seen since World War II.
One of the main reasons for the military confrontation between Ukraine and Russia is Ukraine’s interest in becoming part of the US – led military alliance NATO. President Vladimir Putin has said that if Ukraine becomes part of NATO, it could threaten Russia’s survival. This was the factor that led Putin to embark on the largest confrontation Europe has ever seen since World War II.
Collective resistance
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was formed in 1949. NATO was formed by the United States, Canada and several Western European countries to provide security against the Soviet Union. It was the first U.S. military alliance outside the western region. Currently, 30 countries are part of NATO. NATO is headquartered in Brussels, Belgium.
NATO members are committed to mutual defense in the event of any attack on any of the countries involved in NATO. The main idea of NATO is collective defense. The alliance is based on the principle of uniting members, committing to protect and establishing a spirit of solidarity within the alliance.
During the 1946-49 Greek Civil War, the United States and Britain worked to prevent Soviet-backed Communist occupation of Greece. The United States was committed to suppressing the communist uprisings in Turkey and Greece during 1947-48. In 1949, the Soviet Union besieged West Berlin. This forced the United States, Britain and France to relinquish post-war jurisdiction.
Origin and logic of NATO
European nations devastated by World War II began to rebuild their economies. The United States devised a new plan, believing that a strong Europe economically and militarily could prevent the expansion of the Communist Soviet Union. Decided to provide massive financial assistance, the ‘European Recovery Program’.
The European Recovery Program, also known as the Marshall Plan, was promoted by George C. Marshall, Secretary of State for President Harry S. Truman, who promoted the idea of cooperation between the United States and Europe. The Soviet Union refused to participate in the Marshall Plan and discouraged Eastern European countries under their influence from accepting US financial aid.
Expansion of NATO
Greece and Turkey joined NATO in 1952 and the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) in 1955. Ten years after the collapse of Spain in 1982 and 1999, the former Soviet bloc countries Hungary, Poland and the Czech Republic joined NATO.
Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia became part of NATO in 2004. Albania and Croatia became part of the alliance in 2009, Montenegro in 2017 and North Macedonia in 2020.
Tensions with Russia
NATO came into being because of its hostility to the Soviet Union. In 1955, the Soviet Union signed its own collective defense agreement, known as the Warsaw Pact, with seven Eastern European countries: Poland, Czechoslovakia, Albania, Bulgaria, East Germany, Hungary, and Romania.
By the end of the Cold War, the Warsaw Pact had collapsed, and in February 1991 it was officially declared dissolved. None of its signatories were the Soviet Union, Czechoslovakia or East Germany. The remaining five countries are part of NATO.
Putin’s post-Putin Russia has long viewed the West as a shadow of a doubt, shortly after the collapse of the Soviet Union. The three Baltic states that are now part of NATO share a border with Russia. Belarus and Ukraine are currently the only border countries outside NATO.
In the Kremlin’s view, maintaining neutral countries on the southern and western borders between NATO and Russia is critical to security. Russia could face several setbacks if Ukraine falls under NATO. Access via the Black Sea is also likely to be denied. Russia’s occupation of Crimea in 2014 was prompted by this situation.
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