NATO members reaffirm collective defense
NATO members have reaffirmed their commitment to collective defense at a summit seeking to smooth over cracks in the trans-Atlantic military alliance.
After meeting near London, leaders of the 29 nations affirmed in a declaration that “our solemn commitment as enshrined in Article 5 of the Washington Treaty that an attack against one Ally shall be considered an attack against us all.”
NATO member Turkey had threatened not to endorse a plan to bolster the defense of the Baltic states neighboring Russia and Poland after other NATO members criticized Ankara's military operation in Syria.
But NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Wednesday that “we stand together, all for one and one for all. Our commitment to article 5, the collective defense clause of our alliance, is ironclad.” [AP]