North Atlantic Treaty
Organization
“NATO's Approach to
Russian Borders”
MUNIMM 2017
By Mariana Brenes Sorcia
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MUNIMM 2017
Which are the previous experiences?
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization was founded on April 4th,
1949 with three main purposes: deterring Soviet expansionism,
forbidding the revival of nationalist militarism in Europe through a
strong
North
American
presence
on
the
continent,
and
encouraging European political integration. In the Treaty’s
renowned Article 5, the new Allies agreed “an armed attack against
one or more of them… shall be considered an attack against them
all” and that following such an attack, each Ally would take “such
action as it deems necessary, including the use of armed force” in
response. Furthermore the signed treaty recognizes the Security
Council of the United Nations as the principal entity in charge of
maintaining international peace.
In the beginning, there were 12 founding members of the Alliance:
Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg,
the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, the United Kingdom and the
United States. Over the years more countries have joined this
international organization and nowadays NATO counts with 28
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MUNIMM 2017
members. All countries participate actively but a decision-making
body heads NATO’s interventions. One of the most important
Allies is the United States of America.
The conflict started during the World War II, where although the
United States and the Soviet Union fought together as allies
against the Axis powers, the relationship was a tense one.
Americans were worried about Soviet communism and Stalin’s
government. At the same time the Soviets resented the Americans’
decades-long refusal to treat the USSR as a legitimate part of the
international community as well as their delayed entry into World
War II, which resulted in the deaths of tens of millions of Russians.
For decades the containment strategy to Russian expansionism
leaded by NATO also provided the rationale for an unprecedented
arms buildup in the United States and the Soviet Union. Which
encouraged the development of nuclear weapons in both countries,
the warning was clear; if any threat was committed against one of
them, the situation would end up in a nuclear confrontation.
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MUNIMM 2017
What is the current situation?
The alliance led by the United States is rapidly increasing its
power on land, on water and in the air near the Russian borders. In
such circumstances, Moscow sends planes to inspect the American
warship, located not far from a military base in Kaliningrad.
NATO members look distrustfully Russian’s mobilization, and at
the same time the Russian President declared that Russia has no
intentions of invading other countries, but that Russia would
respond to any threat against it.
A Croatian General pointed out that the new NATO force in the
Baltic is planned to be commanded from the Polish division
headquarters with US Army Gen. Curtis Scaparrotti overseeing
any deployment of the new NATO force.
Last month, in a joint interview with the Times of London, Trump
accused the organization, of being "obsolete”, and also criticized
NATO members that aren’t spending at least 2% of GDP on
defense.
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MUNIMM 2017
The actual NATO members are: Belgium, Canada, Denmark,
France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway,
Portugal, the United Kingdom, United States, Greece, Turkey,
Germany, Spain, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Bulgaria,
Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Albania
and Croatia.
The countries that share a border with Russia are: Norway,
Finland, Estonia and Latvia, Lithuania and Poland (bordering
Kaliningrad
enclave),
Belarus
and
Ukraine,
Georgia
and
Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Mongolia, North Korea and China.
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Which are the main countries involved?
 Russia: The country mobilized its troops in response to the
closeness of NATO.
 United States: one of the most important members of NATO
and the most important geopolitical opponent of Russia.
 Ukraine: In 2014, Russia made several military incursions
into Ukrainian territory.
 Poland: US troops have begun arriving in Poland under a
planned NATO operation to reassure the alliance’s Eastern
European allies in the face of mounting Russian aggression.
 Belgium: This country is hosting the headquarters of the
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in its capital,
Brussels, and NATO's operational headquarters, Supreme
Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) in Mons.
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MUNIMM 2017
Points to discuss:
 Possible withdrawal of troops
 Possible negotiations
 Ukraine conflict
 Tensions between NATO and Russia
 Kaliningrad situation
 Possible cases of border infraction
Fundamental knowledge:

Previous resolution of NATO

Treaty signed in Washington

Ukraine and Crimean Conflict
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