Estonia considers itself a front-line state, a Nato member where its border guards stare across the Narva River at the Russian fortress of Ivangorod.

This tiny Baltic state, once a part of the Soviet Union, is convinced that once the fighting stops in Ukraine, President Vladimir Putin will turn his attention to the Baltics, looking to bring countries like Estonia back under Moscow’s control.

To help stave off that possibility, Estonia’s government has poured money and weapons into Ukraine’s war effort, donating more than 1% of its GDP to Kyiv.

  • cygnus@lemmy.caEnglish
    11·
    6 months ago

    Well, we can also look at precedent. Article 5 was applied only once in NATO’s history, despite multiple other occasions where NATO could have done so. I do think that a deliberate Russian attack on a NATO member would trigger a response, but history shows it clearly isn’t mandatory.

      • cygnus@lemmy.caEnglish
        11·
        6 months ago

        You tell me, you’re the one who says Article 5 is a guarantee. It has been used only once (9/11)

          • cygnus@lemmy.caEnglish
            11·
            6 months ago

            You’re the one that says we should turn to precedent, and said there have been multiple occasions NATO could have triggered Article 5 but wasn’t. When were these other times? You made the statement, now provide evidence.

            I’m sure I’m missing some, but:

            • Soviet blockade of Berlin
            • Argentine attack on the Falklands
            • Iraqi attacks on Turkey
            • Syrian attacks on Turkey
            • Russian missile landing in Poland last year
              • cygnus@lemmy.caEnglish
                11·
                6 months ago

                … and was Article 5 triggered any of those times?

                No, which is my point. Allow myself to quote… myself:

                Well, we can also look at precedent. Article 5 was applied only once in NATO’s history, despite multiple other occasions where NATO could have done so.

                As for your other line of thought:

                in the scope of the treaty (which, yes, must actually be triggered), a response from all member states is mandatory.

                This is also demonstrably incorrect. If we look at the single time Article 5 was triggered, 9/11, the response was not all-in. The largest-scale combined effort I think was patrols in the Mediterranean.

                  • cygnus@lemmy.caEnglish
                    11·
                    6 months ago

                    You perhaps missed the second part of my reply about the post-9/11 response. If I understand what you’ve been trying to say here, you’re implying that all NATO members must participate after Article 5 is invoked, which is not the case.