Ecuadorian Minister of Defense María Fernanda Espinosa and her Brazilian counterpart, Celso Amorim, expressed their “concern” over Colombia’s ongoing discussions with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) during a press conference yesterday in Quito, Ecuador.
The defense ministers’ reaction came in response to a series of statements by the Colombian government over the past week regarding the country’s intention to pursue a closer relationship with NATO, which originally began with President Juan Manuel Santos saying last weekend that Colombia was “to start a process of rapprochement and cooperation” with NATO. Juan Carlos Pinzón, Colombia’s defense minister, later clarified that although the country would extend its “cooperation” with NATO, he ruled out the possibility of membership in the alliance. Instead, he explained that the government’s goal is to cooperate as a partner similar to the relationship that Australia, New Zealand, Japan, and other countries have with NATO. Those countries’ efforts are centered on areas such as terrorism, military training, conflict management, disaster relief, and intelligence.
A NATO official also clarified that Colombia does not meet the geographic qualifications for NATO membership since the alliance is only “open to states in the North Atlantic area.”
Still, the flurry of statements has provoked strong opposition from Venezuela, Bolivia and Nicaragua. Bolivian President Evo Morales asked that Alí Rodríguez, secretary general of the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR), convene an emergency meeting. Colombia is a member of UNASUR.
