NATO's 60th Anniversary Summit
Abstract
On April 3 and 4, 2009, the heads of state and government of the 26 members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) met in Strasbourg, France, and Kehl, Germany for a summit marking the 60th anniversary of the alliance. The summit was one of three stops on President Obama's first official visit to Europe as President. Alliance leaders used the anniversary summit to pay tribute to NATO's past achievements and to reaffirm their commitment to the alliance as the preeminent transatlantic security framework. They also completed a new round of NATO enlargement, sought common positions on the range of challenges currently facing the alliance, and began to set the parameters for NATO's future direction. The key issue facing the alliance is the ongoing mission in Afghanistan, where allied governments are struggling to reach a strategic consensus on how to stabilize the country. The deteriorating security situation in the country has caused many to question the ability of NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) to achieve its objectives and has exposed rifts within the alliance as to ISAF's mission and the appropriate means to accomplish it. NATO's strained relations with Russia are a second key issue. The allies announced the resumption of formal ties with Russia after having suspended relations in the NATO-Russia Council following Russia's August 2008 invasion of Georgia. However, alliance members continue to disagree on how to manage relations with Russia and their other eastern neighbors in the future. NATO enlargement was a third issue on the summit agenda.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Apr 14, 2009
- Accession Number
- ADA500996
Entities
People
- Carl Ek
- Derek E. Mix
- Lisa Mages
- Paul Belkin
Organizations
- Library of Congress