Why is NATO Still Hostile to Russia, and Does the Middle East Have a Role in it?

By Elijah J. Magnier:

Russia has suspended its relationship with NATO, recalled its mission staff in Brussels, Belgium, and ordered NATO officers in Moscow to leave and close the NATO Information Office. However, this step came in response to NATO’s decision to expel eight Russian officers and reduce the size of the NATO mission by half. Nonetheless, Russia and the 30 countries that make up NATO still have diplomatic missions, and embassies in Moscow and Russia has embassies in all these countries. The Russia-NATO cooperation was suspended initially for years at the time of the Ukrainian crisis in 2014. What is the reason for NATO’s current hostility to Russia? Is it justified? Does the Middle East have a role in it?

When NATO was established in 1949, just after World War II and during the Cold War between the US and the former Soviet Union, Washington had overall control of several European countries. The US deployed tens of thousands of military personnel across the European continent because it considered itself the saviour of Europe from Hitler’s Germany.

The US established a large number of military bases in Europe to “counter the communist threat.” Under this pretext, the US founded 119 bases in Germany alone, 44 in Italy, 25 in Britain, 21 in Portugal and 11 in Belgium (France asked the US forces to leave, and the final withdrawal was achieved in 1967). The US considered that the European continent represents the advanced front in a nuclear strike, which is supposed to be launched by many countries in response to an imagined hypothetical Russian multiple front and atomic attacks against US territory.

Thus, the US created an enemy, Russia, and Europe accompanied it to declare its hostility to Moscow, even though the European continent enjoys good relations with Russia. The volume of trade exchange between Russia and Europe in 2020 amounted to 174.3 billion dollars.

French President Emmanuel Macron said that “Europe can no longer count on America to defend NATO allies because what it is witnessing is the brain death of NATO. Europe needs to wake up … and needs to start thinking about strategy as a geopolitical power.”

Proofread by: Maurice Brasher