NATO - INTERNATIONAL
News: NATO chief urges Turkey to endorse Finland, Sweden accession
What is in the news?
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Recently, NATO
Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg urged Turkey to endorse Finland and Sweden's
requests to join the military alliance, saying the two Nordic countries had
fulfilled their security commitments to Ankara.
Key takeaways from the news:
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Finland and Sweden
applied for NATO membership in the months after Russia invaded Ukraine,
abandoning their long standing policies of military nonalignment.
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Turkey, which already
belongs to the Western alliance, has threatened to block the process unless the
Nordic neighbors meet its demands.
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The Turkish government
particularly wants them to crack down on individuals it considers terrorists,
such as supporters of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party and people suspected of
orchestrating a failed 2016 coup in Turkey.
North Atlantic Treaty Organization:
About:
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North Atlantic Treaty
Organization (NATO) is a military alliance established by the North Atlantic
Treaty (also called the Washington
Treaty) of April, 1949, by the
United States, Canada, and several Western European nations to provide
collective security against the Soviet Union.
Members:
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It has 31 members; Finland is the latest
member to join NATO.
Objective:
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To promote mutual defense
and collective security among its members.
Headquarters:
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Brussels, Belgium.
Special Article 5 provision:
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Article 5 of the NATO
treaty is a key provision that states that an attack on one member is an attack
on all members.
NATO Plus cooperation:
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NATO Plus is a coalition
consisting of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and five countries,
namely Australia, New Zealand, Japan,
Israel, and South Korea.
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The primary objective of
this group is to enhance global defense cooperation.