NATO marks 75th anniversary with flags, cake, message to U.S. on Ukraine

Reuters. NATO foreign ministers celebrated the 75th anniversary of their alliance on Thursday (April 4) with cake and marching bands, while its secretary general reminded the United States that it needed its allies more than ever as the Ukraine war enters its third year.

 

Meeting for a second day in Brussels, the ministers marked the signing in Washington on April 4, 1949, of the North Atlantic Treaty that established the transatlantic political and military alliance.

 

Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said NATO not only strengthens Europe's security, but also makes North America stronger through European allies' own militaries, intelligence gathering and diplomacy.

 

NATO began with 12 members from North America and Europe, founded in response to growing fears that the Soviet Union posed a military threat to European democracies.

 

At its heart is the concept of collective defence, the idea that an attack on one member is considered an attack on all, giving U.S. military protection to Western Europe.

 

Seventy-five years on, it has 32 members and has retaken a central role in world affairs after war started in Ukraine in February 2022, leading European governments to view Moscow once more as a major security threat.