| NATO Summit London 1990 1990 London Summit | |
|---|---|
| Host country | United Kingdom |
| Date | 5–6 July 1990 |
| Cities | London |
The1990 London summit was the 11thNATO summit since 1949.[1] The ones before had been in November 1985, March 1988 and May 1989.
It was held in London on 5–6 July 1990. The principal outcome of the summit was theLondon Declaration on a Transformed North Atlantic Alliance.[1]
The declaration, shaped in the midst of a changing Europe (→Revolutions of 1989), called for substantial changes in the organisation to ensure it could adapt to a rapidly evolvingpolitical landscape.[2] Additionally, the declaration called for reductions in short-range nuclear capabilities, and re-focusing its long-term strategic plans with associated changes to the structure and quantity of its military.
The declaration reinforced a message given days earlier stating that NATO no longer saw theWarsaw Pact countries as enemies,[3] and opening up channels for communication and aid with the formereastern bloc states.[4] NATO extended a "hand of friendship" to eastern European nations.[5]
One year later, on 20 December 1991, NATO and former members of the Warsaw Pact formed theNorth Atlantic Cooperation Council (NACC), now called theEuro-Atlantic Partnership Council.
TheParis Charter was adopted by a summit meeting of most European governments in addition to those of Canada, the United States and theSoviet Union, in Paris from 19 to 21 November 1990. The charter was established on the foundation of theHelsinki Accords, and was further amended in the 1999Charter for European Security. Together, these documents form the agreed basis for the OSCE (Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe).
On 1 July 1991, the Warsaw Pact was officially dissolved at a meeting in Prague. At a summit later that same month, USSR PresidentMikhail Gorbachev and US PresidentGeorge H. W. Bush declared a US–Soviet strategic partnership, decisively marking the end of theCold War.