Revitalizing NATO for a Changing World.

• Author: Ochoa, Bernardino
• Position: North Atlantic Treaty Organization

Revitalizing NATO for a Changing World

By Anders Fogh Rasmussen, NATO Secretary General

Text: http://www.brookings.edu/~/media/events/2014/3/19%20rasmussen%20nato/20140319_nato_transcript.pdf

According to NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen in a speech at the Brookings Institution, Russia's annexation of the Crimea serves as a wake up call for European NATO members to step up politically and militarily. NATO views Russia's use of force in Crimea as an illegal and illegitimate breach of its international commitments. Most significantly, NATO believes the events in the Ukraine followed a broader Russian strategy to promote instability along its border territories, including Transnistria, Abkhazia, South Ossetia, and Nagomo-Karabakh, as a means of attaining regional control. NATO's response to Russia includes an effort to match Putin's assertiveness. For example, the European Council has committed to increasing European investment in military capabilities for the first time since its founding.

While no one wants a complete break in cooperation with Russia, Putin may have stirred a sleeping giant in the European collective consciousness. NATO partners are now reconsidering whether Russia should be considered an...