Claudio Bisogniero, NATO’s Deputy Secretary-General, takes advantage of the precise language in the Washington Treaty to limit the pool of potential new members. Fortunately, Article 10 includes Canada and the United States as signatories, because it appears they could not join now.

From Gulfnews: “Do you think that an Arab country could one day become member of Nato?
Theoretically, many countries would like to be members of Nato. Discussions on how far Nato membership should extend are discussed in academic circles. But it must be considered, however, that Article 10 of the Nato Treaty [which describes admission procedures for other nations] clearly states that membership is open to only to European countries that share the same values and the same approach and are willing to contribute to the Organisation . . .

What about the rumour that Israel will join Nato?
As I mentioned to you, Article 10 of Nato Treaty is very clear. It contemplates the offer for membership to European countries and to the best of my knowledge, Israel is not a European country.”