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News:U.S. President will host NATO Chief to discuss military spending as the U.S continues his effort to press alliance members to pay more toward their own defense.
Facts:
About NATO:
- North Atlantic Treaty Organization also called North Atlantic Alliance is an intergovernmental military alliance.
- It was formed in 1949 with the signing of the Washington Treaty.It consists of 29 countries from North America and Europe.It is headquartered at Brussels,Belgium.
- Nato was originally set up in the post-World War II atmosphere of anxiety largely to block Soviet expansion into Europe.
- The goal of NATO is to safeguard the Allies freedom and security by political and military means.
Objectives:
- It aims to promote democratic values and enables members to consult and cooperate on defence and security-related issues to solve problems, build trust and in the long run prevent conflict.
- It is committed to the peaceful resolution of disputes.If diplomatic efforts fail, it has the military power to undertake crisis management operations under Article 5 of the treaty.
- Article 5 of the treaty states that if one member of the alliance is attacked in Europe or North America,it is to be considered an attack on all members.
What has US demanded?
- The US President has demanded that other NATO countries should also contribute an amount equal to at least two percent of GDP to defence spending In 2018.
- However,only seven of NATO’s 29 member states hit the two-percent target.
