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Source: The post is based on the article “What are the takeaways from the NATO summit?” published in The Hindu on 20th July 2023
What is the News?
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) summit was held recently at Vilnius, Lithuania.
What is the North Atlantic Treaty Organization(NATO)?
What are the key takeaways from the recent NATO summit?
Firstly, NATO acknowledged that the Russian Federation is the most significant and direct threat to Allies’ security, peace, and stability in the Euro-Atlantic area. Their approach towards strengthening their defenses and deterrence against Russia remains the recurring theme of the Summit document.
Secondly, there was an expectation of a timeline for the Ukrainian membership of NATO. However, this did not happen but the leaders reiterated that NATO will be in a position to extend an invitation to Ukraine when allies agree and conditions are met.
– In this regard, the launch of the NATO-Ukraine Council as a forum for crisis consultations and decision-making indicated that NATO tried to assuage the feelings of Ukraine for not being included in the alliance by creating a mechanism for its wider engagement, support and future inclusion as a full member.
Thirdly, the inclusion of Finland and approval of Sweden as NATO members indicates a few things.
– It signals that NATO continues to practice Article 10 of the Washington Treaty signed in April 1949 which states that member countries can invite other European countries to become members of NATO.
– Turkey moving back from its long-standing opposition to Sweden’s inclusion in NATO is also a significant shift.
Fourthly, the summit minced no words on the challenges and threats emerging from China’s stated ambitions and coercive policies. It stated that NATO faces threats from China’s malicious hybrid cyber operations, as well as confrontational rhetoric and disinformation, which specifically aim at NATO allies and pose a threat to the security of the Alliance.
