PhD student on International relations and foreign policy

of the Academy of Public Administration under the

President of the Republic of Azerbaijan

At the summit held in Madrid in 2022, a new strategic concept of the organization was adopted, reflecting the action plan until 2030. The document states that NATO will continue to fulfill three main tasks: deterrence and defense; crisis prevention and management; and security of cooperation. These are complementary to ensure the collective defense and security of all allies. It is written that there is no peace in the Euro-Atlantic region, and the main reason for this is the Russian Federation. Thus, the Russian Federation has violated the norms and principles that maintain a stable and predictable European security order [3, s. 3].

The Russia-Ukraine war, which has been going on since last year, as a result of the disruption of peace in the region, massive human casualties, and the formation of an army of refugees, makes it reasonable to see Russia as a direct threat to collective security. On the other hand, NATO's expansion towards Russia's borders is eroding Russia's footholds in the region one by one, forcing it to take military action.

The issue of NATO expansion is reflected in Article 10 of the North Atlantic Treaty. This article allows the organization to accept new members. With the joint consent of the member countries, any European country can be invited to contribute to the security of the North Atlantic zone. After this invitation, the accession negotiations begin [1].

After the collapse of the USSR, Russia's attempts to expand its sphere of influence again created a competitive environment with the Alliance. During the existence of the USSR, the Warsaw Pact Organization tried to maintain the balance of power with NATO, after the collapse of the USSR, these efforts continue in the form of the Collective Security Treaty Organization.                         

The Tashkent agreement, which established the foundation of that organization, states: "If one of the member states is subjected to aggression (a military attack that threatens security, stability, territorial integrity and sovereignty), then this will be considered as aggression against all member states of the agreement" [4]. This paragraph in itself corresponds to Article 51 of the UN Charter on the implementation of the right to collective security [2].                        

According to Article 51 of the UN Charter, members of the organization have the right to individual or collective self-defense in the event of a military attack against them, until the Security Council takes the necessary measures for international peace and security. The measures taken while exercising this right must be immediately reported to the Security Council [2, p. 10-11].                        

At the Brussels summit held on January 10-11, 1994, NATO put forward the "Partnership for Peace" program. It was a program of cooperation with non-member states of the Alliance. Although it covered 24 states at the initial stage, the number of states that joined it increased regularly. According to the framework document of the program, each partner-state assumed a number of political obligations: to protect a democratic society, to comply with the principles of international law, to implement the obligations arising from the UN Charter, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Helsinki Final Act, and international agreements on arms control. to refrain from threats and use of force against other states, not to violate the borders of states, to resolve disputes peacefully.            

Russia did not have a positive attitude to the "Partnership for Peace" program due to the fact that Central and Eastern European countries could become members of the Alliance in the future. The former president of the Russian Federation, B. Yeltsin, said that "if Central and Eastern European countries are admitted to the Alliance, this will lead to the creation of a "cold peace" situation between Russia and NATO" [5, p. 3]. NATO-Ukraine relations. NATO's tendency to expand recently became one of the factors that accelerated the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Russia has always seen NATO's eastward expansion as a threat. Back in 2008, after the Bucharest summit, the head of the Russian General Staff Yuriy Baluevsky stated that "if Georgia and Ukraine join NATO, Russia will be forced to take military and other measures to secure its interests near the state borders" [6]. Vladimir Putin declared that if NATO military facilities ever appear in Ukraine, Moscow will target this country with its missiles.                                                                                        

In his address on February 21, 2022, President of the Russian Federation V. Putin spoke about the events in Ukraine and said that this country has unbreakable ties with Russia. Before that, the Russian Federation made a number of demands to NATO and the United States; Rejecting NATO's eastward expansion, guaranteeing that Georgia and Ukraine will not be admitted to NATO, withdrawing US military forces from Eastern Europe and refusing to deploy military forces in Europe. As a result of non-fulfilment of these demands, Russia realized its intention to attack Ukraine directly.                                  

Historically, making demands that the opposing side won't fulfill is just an excuse to start a war. Making such demands to NATO, which has set eastward expansion as an important task, is just one such example. As a result of recent enlargement, NATO has a direct border with Russia. 

The membership of Finland, which has a 1340 km border with Russia, strengthened the blockade against Russia and led to further straining of relations between Western countries and Russia.     

The following conclusions can be reached in the investigation of the topic:

• The North Atlantic Treaty Organization organizes the collective defense of member states. Since the organization has a great political and military potential to realize this goal, there have always been states that wanted to become members of it.

• Although the contours and participants of the Cold War confrontation have changed, it has remained essentially unchanged. The struggle for supremacy in Europe continues.

• NATO membership of the post-Soviet states calls into question Russia's leadership in the region, which leads to inadequate actions by it.

• Some NATO countries moderate bilateral relations with Russia.

• Russia-Ukraine war will continue as long as NATO's expansion policy continues and there is no compromise with Russia. The continuation of the war may lead to an increase in its direct and indirect participants.

• Finland's membership in NATO, which has maintained its neutrality for a long time, suggests that the region may be completely blocked in the near future.

1. NATO məlumat kitabı/ NATO, ictimai diplomatiya şöbəsi ; Azərb. Resp. Xar. 

İşlər Naz.; NATO Azərb. Beynəlxalq Məktəbi (NİSA) 2009. 388 s.

2. Charter of the United Nations and statue of the International Court of Justice.  

San Francisco 1945

3. NATO 2022 Strategic Concept. 11 p. 

https://www.nato.int/nato_static_fl2014/assets/pdf/2022/6/pdf/290622-strategic- concept.pdf  

4. Договор о Коллективной Безопасности от 15 мая 1992 года

https://odkbcsto.org/documents/documents/dogovor_o_kollektivnoy_bezopasno  sti/#loaded 

5. Завада А. А. «Расширение Североатлантического Альянса (НАТО) на Восток и политика Российской Федерации (90-е гг. ХХ века).

6. Russia army vows steps if Georgia and Ukraine join NATO

https://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSL1143027920080411 

 

PhD student on International relations and foreign policy

 of the Academy of Public Administration under the

President of the Republic of Azerbaijan

Abstract. This article is devoted to a very pressing problem today - the conflict at its height, observed in sharp confrontation not only in the region, but throughout the world.  The article explains the concept of collective security on the basis of the Collective Security Treaty, The United Nations Charter, and the Washington Treaty establishing NATO. 

Keywords: collective security, the international organizations, conflicts, confrontation, alliance

 

Парвин АЛАКБАРОВА (Азербайджан),
 докторант международных отношений и внешней политики 

Государственной Академии Управления при 

Президенте АР 

Резюме. Данная статья посвящается весьма актуальной проблеме на сегодняшний день – конфликту в своём разгаре, наблюдаемому резкой конфронтацией не только в регионе, но и во всём мире. В статье понятие коллективной безопасности объясняется на основах Договора Коллективной Безопасности, Хартии Организации Объединённых Наций, Вашингтонского Договора об основании НАТО.                                                                    

Ключевые слова: коллективная безопасность, международные организации, конфликты, конфронтация, альянс