Russia's troop buildup near Ukraine is galvanising NATO defences in Europe that President Vladimir Putin wants to dismantle, giving the alliance a sense of renewal after failures in Afghanistan.
Instead, Western officials, diplomats and former officials say NATO - created in 1949 to deter the Soviet threat - is obliged to consider reinforcements that go against Putin's demand that the alliance must not expand further eastwards.Neutral countries Finland and Sweden, which have deepened collaboration with the Western alliance, have restarted a debate about joining the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation.
"One of the things that's so striking to me about this is that ... Russia's actions have precipitated exactly what President Putin says he wants to prevent," U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters this week before leaving for Ukraine, where he said support for NATO membership had grown.
Russia rejects U.S. accusations that it is preparing to invade Ukraine and says it is free to train its troops anywhere on its territory. Moscow accuses NATO of threatening the stability of Europe with its policy of offering membership to Ukraine and Georgia, which Russia considers its backyard. Former NATO officials see a clear link between Russian aggression and allied unity in an often-fractious organisation of 30 member states with different perspectives and priorities.
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