NATO - Current Affairs Questions and Answers

ANSWER: Montenegro

Explanation:
The US Senate on 28 March 2017 voted to approve Montenegro as the 29^th member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

The accession treaty for the small Balkan nation to join the transatlantic alliance was passed through a 97-2 vote. Republicans Rand Paul and Mike Lee voted against the measure.

The move to add Montenegro as the 29th member was backed by President Trump.

As of now, 25 other NATO members have ratified Montenegro’s accession. The Netherlands and Spain have yet to do so.

However, Russia opposes Montenegro’s accession, calling it a provocation that would reinforce the pro-Western military alliance’s presence in the Balkans.

NATO: Know More

• NATO is an intergovernmental military alliance. It is based on the North Atlantic Treaty, which was signed on 4 April 1949.
• The organization constitutes a system of collective defence whereby its member states agree to mutual defence in response to an attack by any external party.
• Three NATO members (the United States, France and the United Kingdom) are permanent members of the United Nations Security Council with the power to veto.
• The organization’s headquarters are located in Haren, Brussels, Belgium.

Montenegro: Know More


• Montenegro is a sovereign state in Southeastern Europe.
• It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea to the south-west and is bordered by Croatia to the west, Bosnia and Herzegovina to the northwest, Serbia to the northeast, Kosovo to the east, and Albania to the south-east. The country’s capital is Podgorica.
• The World Bank classifies it as an upper middle-income country.
• It is a member of the United Nations, the World Trade Organization, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, the Council of Europe and others.
• On 2 December 2015, the country received an official invite to join NATO.

ANSWER: Russia

Explanation:
Moscow is aiming to create “zone of influence” through military means according to NATO Chief Jens Stoltenberg

• There has been large scale militarisation at NATO borders in Arctic, Baltic from the Black Sea to the Mediterraenean
• Large scale manœuvres are in place on the Russian side, NATO said
• Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea and its support for Ukraine separatists has been viewed as an offensive by NATO

ANSWER: NATO

Explanation:
The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) members and partners on 6 June 2016 launched Anaconda-16 Exercise, the biggest ever joint military exercise in Poland.

• The drill is part of NATO's exercise program and is being held just weeks before NATO's summit in Warsaw that is expected to decide that significant numbers of NATO troops and equipment will be based in Poland and in the Baltic states.
• The exercise was launched at the crucial time when central and eastern European nations are seeking strong security guarantees amid concerns about Russia.
• The exercise is organised and coordinated by Poland's military Operational Command.

ANSWER: EU

Explanation:
NATO and the European Union have signed an agreement for improving cooperation in cyberdefence. Technical agreement was signed in NATO HQ and both NATO and EU having 22 member countries in common will enhance cooperation in the area of defence related fields. In a statement, the EU said the new agreement will facilitate information-sharing to improve cyber incident prevention, detection and response at both the EU and NATO. EU has also been participating in Cyber defence exercises of NATO with objectives of progress in the EU Cyber Defence Policy Framework, which has set cooperation with NATO as one of its five priorities.

ANSWER: Lieutenant General John Nicholson

Explanation:
Army Lieutenant General John Nicholson has been appointed as NATO commander for Afghanistan. The strong Senate Armed Services Committee has confirmed the nomination of Nicholson. He was US army commander of NATO land forces prior to this. He also served as chief of staff operations of the ISAF and US Forces-Afghanistan. NATO is an intergovernmental military alliance based on North Atlantic Treaty signed on April 4, 1949.