LOOK BACK ON THE WASHINGTON SUMMIT


Atlantic Council at the NATO Summit in Washington

Live commentary, authoritative analysis, and high-level events covering NATO’s Washington summit, courtesy of our experts.

Essays on the Alliance’s future

NATO’s seventy-fifth anniversary is a milestone in a remarkable story of reinvention, adaptation, and unity. However, as the Alliance seeks to secure its future for the next seventy-five years, it faces revanchist old rivals, escalating strategic competition, and uncertainties over the future of the rules-based international order. 

With partners and allies turning attention from celebrations to challenges, the Atlantic Council’s Transatlantic Security Initiative invited contributors to engage with the most pressing concerns ahead of the historic Washington summit and chart a path for the Alliance’s future. This series features seven essays focused on concrete issues that NATO must address at the Washington summit and five essays that examine longer-term challenges the Alliance must confront to ensure transatlantic security. 

Related program

The Transatlantic Security Initiative, in the Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security, shapes and influences the debate on the greatest security challenges facing the North Atlantic Alliance and its key partners.

Content

Defense ministers of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland, Dec. 12, 2014

NATOSource

Dec 12, 2014

Baltic and Polish Defense Ministers Agree on Joint Response to Deter Russia

By Latvian Ministry of Defense

On 11–12 December the Baltic and Polish Defence Ministers at a meeting in in Cesis (Latvia) agreed on joint response to deter Russia in the region.

NATO Northern Europe
Polish soldiers in Ghazni, April 29, 2011

NATOSource

Dec 11, 2014

How the mission in Afghanistan changed the Polish Army

By Jacek Mutszak, Defence Global

Afghanistan is a challenge that NATO has struggled with for over twelve years. Poland was one of the member countries that sent its army there. It was the biggest test for the Polish Army since the end of World War II.

Afghanistan International Security Assistance Force

New Atlanticist

Dec 11, 2014

Estonia’s Prime Minister: NATO Presence Key to Counter Russia’s Provocations

By Ashish Kumar Sen

US forces should remain in Estonia for “as long as needed,” since tensions between Russia and the West show no sign of abating, Estonia’s Prime Minister Taavi Rõivas told the Atlantic Council.

NATO Northern Europe
Polish Defense Minister Tomasz Siemoniak with members of the Warsaw Armored Brigade, Oct. 10, 2014

NATOSource

Dec 11, 2014

Polish Defense Minister Concerned About ‘Unprecedented’ Level of Russian Military Activity This Week

By BBC

Poland says the level of Russian naval and air force activity in the Baltic Sea region has been “unprecedented” this week.

NATO Poland
Russian Su-34s intercepted by NATO F-16s, Dec. 8, 2014

NATOSource

Dec 11, 2014

Video: Dutch F-16s Intercept Russian Su-34 Jets Over Baltic Sea

By Latvian Public Broadcasting

The Dutch Ministry of Defense on Wednesday released footage taken on Monday by its F-16 planes participating in the NATO Air Policing Mission over Baltic skies, showing Russian Sukhoi SU-34 fighter-bombers flying in formation over the Baltic Sea.

NATO Poland

New Atlanticist

Dec 10, 2014

Coalition Troops Officially End Combat Mission in Afghanistan Amid Growing Security Concerns

By Ashish Kumar Sen

As US and NATO troops depart Afghanistan, they are taking with them their expertise, hardware, dollars, and jobs – and also leaving behind many questions about the fate of that country’s security and economy.

Afghanistan NATO
Nimrod maritime patrol aircraft, July 18, 2009

NATOSource

Dec 9, 2014

Britain Forced to Ask NATO to Help Track ‘Russian Submarine’ in Scottish Waters

By Ben Farmer, Telegraph

Britain called in Nato sea patrol planes to hunt for a suspected Russian submarine off Scotland last month, after the Government scrapped its own similar aircraft in defence cuts, it has been disclosed.

France NATO
Russian Akula class submarine, June 3, 2008

NATOSource

Dec 9, 2014

Russia Targets US Navy and Allies

By David Larter, Navy Times

Russia’s military has taken on an aggressive swagger. Highly provocative run-ins are now common with neighbors and NATO nations alike.

NATO Russia
Lithuanian soldiers participating in Iron Wolf 2002 miltiary exercise

NATOSource

Dec 9, 2014

Lithuania Puts Military Units on Alert Due to Russian Activities in Kaliningrad

By Lithuania Tribune

“Since the end of the last week, since Saturday, we have observed a rise in the activity of the Russian Federation’s forces in the Kaliningrad region as well as in the western part of the Russian Federation.

NATO Northern Europe
Canadian soldiers in Exercise MAPLE ARCH in Poland, Sept. 9, 2014

NATOSource

Dec 9, 2014

Canada is First NATO Member to Publicly Send Soldiers to Help Train Ukraine’s Military

By Steven Chase, Globe and Mail

Canada is operating independently of NATO to provide additional military assistance that will help Ukraine defend itself from Russia.

NATO Russia

Experts

Events