NATO Is Violating All Its Own Rules

All rules have been broken in the Ukrainian conflict, former Italian Air Force Chief Gen. Leonardo Tricarico said at the Schiller Institute webinar May 26, not only by the Russian side but also by NATO. The general’s allegiance to the Atlantic Alliance cannot be questioned: he was the deputy commander in the 1999 Operation Allied Force that bombed Serbia, which he continues to defend. But he cannot remain silent in front of the violations of the NATO rules committed especially by its “main shareholder”, the United States.

“The first Article in NATO says that member countries commit to solve in a peaceful way any controversy that might involve them. I repeat, member countries commit to solve in a peaceful manner any controversy that involves them, Tricarico said. But instead of respecting this “fundamental rule”, there has been “a push to solve this controversy strong-handedly, and at all costs.”

Then, there is Article #4, General Tricarico said, which says that whenever a member-country thinks that there may be a danger for its own or the alliance’s security, it can request a consultation among allied countries. But contrary to consultation, “the U.S. Secretary of Defense pulled together 40 countries in Ramstein, not to advise about an attack by an enemy country like Russia, but to plan strong defense to the last drop of blood. U.S. Secretary of Defense Austin spoke about weakening Russia until Russia represents no danger for anybody.”

Moreover, Article 10 says that member-countries can invite other countries to join NATO — by a unanimous vote — if it increases security in the North Atlantic area. Although the joining of Sweden and Finland will lead to “greater destabilization” of the situation, it is being accelerated.

“The United States threw the mask off, and they abused, recklessly, their majority position inside NATO by giving orders to everybody, and using for this a megaphone called Jens Stoltenberg. And that, contrary to the direction of what the NATO principles, which they, being the main shareholders, should respect.

“Common sense should prevail again”, Tricarico concluded. Instead of “pouring gasoline on the fire, like everybody’s doing, in a warmongering hype, we should find wisdom again to promote negotiations which is the only way out of this situation.”