Affirms Commitment to Mutual Defense NATO fellow Members

Affirms Commitment to Mutual Defense NATO fellow Members

NATO Foreign Ministers reaffirmed the commitment to defend one another fellow member states after the Russian annexation of the Crimea peninsula in Ukraine .

NATO Secretary General Andres Fogh Rasmussen wearing hard words to describe Russia's military intervention and annexation of Crimea to Ukraine . He said , " Russian aggression towards Ukraine is the most serious threat to the security of Europe in this generation . "

A similar opinion was also expressed by Charles Kupchan , a NATO expert at Georgetown University in the U.S. .

" There are a number of other incidents similar to the level of threats , including the Russian invasion of Georgia in 2008 . But I think the annexation of Crimea is the most serious developments in which President Vladimir Putin has violated many rules . He acted in ways that threaten the international system based on rules , " he explained .

Kupchan said , for the first time since the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, NATO consider increasing its power to defend the territorial sovereignty of its member states .

Kupchan added , " We have seen jets F - 15 , F - 16 and AWACS aircraft deployed to monitor central Europe . We are witnessing the potential return of the military rivalry between Russia and the West . We're not there yet , but if Putin does not hold back we'll move in that direction . "

All 28 NATO member states committed to " collective defense " - meaning that an attack against one member state is an attack on all members .

Since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 , the 12 countries of eastern and central Europe has been a member of NATO . Charles Kupchan said former U.S. President George W. Bush used to support the membership of the two other countries .

" In 2008 , there was discussion about the possibility of bringing together members of the Ukrainian entry into Georgia . U.S. pushing that agenda , but there is quite a strong opposition from Europe . I think for now we can be sure the prospect of Ukraine joining NATO delayed , perhaps even forever , " Kupchan said .

Sean Kay , a NATO expert at Ohio Wesleyan University said a number of polls in the Ukraine in 2008 showed only 30 percent of the population choose to NATO membership . He said Russian President Vladimir Putin has consistently opposed NATO membership for Ukraine .

Analysts said the annexation of Crimea by Russia is " a heavy thing . " They wondered whether Putin " has other heavy ideas . "