NATO. The course of the war in Ukraine and the international reactions to Vladimir Putin’s attack have revived questions about the role and functioning of NATO, an organization decried by the Russian president. What is NATO, what role does France play in it and what are the rules in the event of an attack on one of its members? The answer in seven key points.
[Mis à jour le 28 février 2022 à 13h06] What can NATO do about the situation in Ukraine? While Vladimir Putin is flexing his muscles and above all pointing out the nuclear threat, the strategic organization seems to be on a thread, between caution and military and strategic aid granted to Ukraine. “The use of this nuclear rhetoric is really unwelcome but should not make us lose our temper,” commented Camille Grand, Deputy Secretary General of NATO interviewed on Monday February 28, 2022 by FranceInfo.
What would happen if the conflict widened? Joe Biden delivered an important message in his speech on February 24, 2022, the evening of the Russian offensive and the start of the war in Ukraine. “The United States will defend every inch of NATO territory,” assured the American president, reinforcing a little more questions about NATO, this military organization whose expansion Vladimir Putin has hated for several years.
The Russian president is above all opposed to Ukraine joining NATO, which he perceives as a provocation and a threat to its borders. How does NATO work, what are the rules for assistance between its members, is France part of it and would it be obliged to react in the event of an attack on one of the NATO members? Here are some answers to see it more clearly.
What is NATO?
As its name suggests, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is a political, strategic and military organization created in 1949 by 12 signatory countries of the treaty, including France. In the context of the birth of the Cold War, NATO aimed to create an alliance to strengthen security and collective defense between signatory countries. The objective was thus to counter Soviet expansion in Europe after the Second World War by opposing it with a collective military force, but at the time largely dominated by the American army. Over time, NATO has expanded with new member countries including West Germany, the FRG, from 1955 and then countries from the former Eastern bloc after the disappearance of the USSR, such as Poland, the Baltic countries or Hungary at the end of the 1990s and the beginning of the 21st century.
Is Ukraine a member of NATO?
No, this is one of the points of tension and one of the origins of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. Since the Orange and 2013 revolutions, Ukraine has been seeking to get closer to the Western bloc and wants to join NATO, a desire reaffirmed in recent months by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, a membership deemed unacceptable by Vladimir Putin who sees it as a threat to its borders. NATO is therefore not at war with Russia. “She sought to avoid the crisis by offering Russia a dialogue. She is at the side of Ukraine. NATO must also seek to ensure the security of the allies and that is what is happening at the moment”, specifies Camille Grand, Deputy Secretary General of NATO, interviewed by FranceInfo on February 28, 2022.
What are the member countries of NATO?
30 countries are part of NATO in 2022, compared to 12 when it was created in 1949. Here is the list of current NATO members in alphabetical order:
- Albania, Germany, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Denmark, Spain, Estonia, USA, France, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Norway, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Czech Republic, United Kingdom, Slovakia, Slovenia, Turkey.
- Three countries have recently applied to join the NATO alliance, without the talks leading to the moment: Georgia, Ukraine and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
What are the last countries to join NATO?
Since the fall of the USSR and the Eastern bloc, NATO has clearly expanded towards Eastern Europe. Hungary, Poland and the Czech Republic were the first to join NATO in 1999, followed by Bulgaria, the three Baltic countries (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania), Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia in 2004 and then by Albania and Croatia in 2009, Montenegro in 2017. The latest country to join NATO is North Macedonia in 2020.
What role does France play in NATO?
France joined NATO in 1949 but its history with the alliance is mixed. If France actively contributed to the creation of the Atlantic Alliance, the return of General de Gaulle to power in 1958 and the conduct of his policy of independence led to an opposition symbolized by the decision to withdraw from the integrated command of the NATO in 1965. France then remained a member of NATO but no longer made its forces available to the alliance. NATO headquarters, then located in Paris, left France for Brussels. A long rapprochement is made from the end of the 90s by Jacques Chirac. France is gradually returning to command, a decision finally ratified under the presidency of Nicolas Sarkozy by Parliament in March 2009 and then at the NATO summit of 3 and 4 April 2009. France has since participated in the integrated command of NATO but maintains its nuclear independence by not participating in meetings of NATO’s “Nuclear Planning Group”.
What does Rule 4 of the Washington Treaty governing NATO say?
Invoked several times since the creation of NATO, article 4 of the founding treaty of NATO consists of a consultation of its members. A member country can then bring to the attention of the North Atlantic Council any matter concerning in particular the security of a member country. “The parties will consult each other whenever, in the opinion of one of them, the territorial integrity, political independence or security of one of the parties will be threatened”, specifies the text present on thee NATO website. On February 24, 2022, Article 4 was thus invoked by Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, the Czech Republic, Romania and Slovakia after Russia invaded Ukraine. .
What does Rule 5 of the Washington Treaty governing NATO say? What mutual assistance?
As indicated on its website, NATO includes among its flagship rules that of mutual assistance and collective defence. “NATO adheres to the principle that an attack on one or more of its members is considered an attack on all. This is the principle of collective defence, which is enshrined in Article 5 of the Treaty of the North Atlantic,” says NATO. A member country of NATO which would be attacked would benefit de facto from the military aid of the other members. Questioned on Monday February 28 by FranceInfo, the Deputy Secretary General of NATO, Camille Grand, clarified this rule: “(The answer) would be automatic, NATO’s allies are covered by what is called Article 5 of the Washington Treaty which is a collective security clause. It’s one for all, all for one if a NATO ally is attacked.” This rule has only been applied once in the entire history of the body: it was the day after the attacks of September 11, 2001 in the United States, NATO having taken part in operations in Afghanistan, leading from 2003 the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), under UN mandate.