The fall of the Berlin Wall is recognized to be the end of the Cold War and ushered in a new period for Europe and NATO enlargement. The prospect of a rearmed Germany was understandably greeted with widespread unease and hesitancy in western Europe, but the country's strength had long been recognized as necessary to protect . The first additions were Greece and Turkey in 1952. [154][155] Sweden has been an active participant in NATO-led missions in Bosnia (IFOR and SFOR), Kosovo (KFOR), Afghanistan (ISAF), and Libya (Operation Unified Protector). [192], Ukraine's present and future relationship with NATO has been politically divisive, and is part of a larger debate between Ukraine's political and cultural ties to both the European Union and Russia. [98], As NATO Secretary General Willy Claes noted, the 1995 study did not specify the "who or when,"[99] though it discussed how the then newly formed Partnership for Peace and North Atlantic Cooperation Council could assist in the enlargement process,[100] and noted that on-going territorial disputes could be an issue for whether a country was invited. [58], Russia was particularly upset with the addition of the three Baltic states, the first countries that were part of the Soviet Union to join NATO. The 1995 NATO bombing of Bosnia and Herzegovina targeted the Bosnian Serb Army and together with international pressure led to the resolution of the Bosnian War and the signing of the Dayton Agreement in 1995. [19], During the mid-1980s the strength and cohesion of the Warsaw Pact, which had served as the main institution rivaling NATO, began to deteriorate. Austria, Ireland, Switzerland and Malta have maintained their Cold War era neutrality. The move had doubled the length of the border that the North Atlantic Treaty Organization shares with Russia.[93][94]. The Warsaw Pact was put in place as a consequence of the rearming of West Germany inside NATO.Soviet leaders, like many European leaders on both sides of . By: History . The treaty's Article 10 describes how non-member states may join NATO: The Parties may, by unanimous agreement, invite any other European State in a position to further the principles of this Treaty and to contribute to the security of the North Atlantic area to accede to this Treaty. All Nato members have agreed Ukraine will eventually join, says [153] These ideological divides were visible in November 2006 when Sweden could either buy two new transport planes or join NATO's plane pool, and in December 2006, when Sweden was invited to join the NATO Response Force. Gorbachev Says "No", "Moscow's account of Nato expansion is a case of false memory syndrome", "NATO Eastward Expansion and Russian Security", "Chechnya Summons Uneasy Memories in Former East Bloc", "Poland, Hungary and the Czechs Join NATO", "Why Nato-Russia relations soured before Ukraine", "Slovenia Votes for Membership in European Union and NATO", "Intermarium: The Case for Security Pact of the Countries between the Baltic and Black Seas", "The Breakaways: A Retrospective on the Baltic Road to NATO", "Tensions With Russia Propel Baltic States Toward NATO", "No Smoking Law, Alcohol Limit-Yes, Referendum-No", "Slovenia Border Spat Imperils Croatia's NATO Bid", "Slovenia Ratifies Croatia's Accession in NATO", "Montenegro Hands over Application for NATO's MAP", "Montenegro Joins NATO Membership Action Plan", "Development of relations between Montenegro and NATO key dates", "NATO invites Montenegro to join alliance, defying Russia", "NATO formally invites Montenegro as 29th member", "Montenegro becomes NATO's 29th member amid bitter opposition from Moscow", "NATO invites Macedonia to begin membership talks, says it can join once name issue is resolved", "Formal Accession Talks with Skopje begin at NATO Headquarters", "Macedonia signs Nato accession agreement", "NATO door open to North Macedonia after Spain's approval", "North Macedonia Parliament Backs NATO Accession", "North Macedonia joins NATO as 30th Ally", "North Macedonia Joins the NATO Alliance", "Finnish President: Putin's mask comes off, showing "cold face of war", "Yle poll: Support for Nato membership hits record high", "PM Marin: Finland's Nato membership decision needs more time", "Finnish president confirms country will apply to join NATO", "Sweden and Finland formally apply to join Nato", "Finland becomes a Member of NATO on Tuesday 4 April", "Finland joins NATO in historic shift, Russia threatens 'counter-measures'", "NATO: What Is A Membership Action Plan?
