NATO celebrates 75th anniversary of biggest military alliance in history

April 4 (UPI) -- NATO marked the 75th anniversary of the North Atlantic Treaty Thursday as foreign ministers from member nations gathered in Brussels.

Throughout the city, monuments marked the anniversary as Brussels hosted public discussions, musical performances and illuminated buildings in NATO blue.

"This is the greatest military alliance in the history of the world," President Joe Biden said in a statement. "But it didn't happen by accident, nor was it inevitable. Generation after generation, the United States and our fellow allies have chosen to come together to stand up for freedom and push back against aggression -- knowing we are stronger, and the world is safer, when we do."

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, noting that the founding treaty usually kept in Washington, D.C. was on display at NATO headquarters for the first time, said in a statement, "NATO is bigger, stronger, and more united than ever."

The alliance consists of 32 nations and one billion people on both sides of the Atlantic united in the common purpose of mutual self-defense.

"We must remember that the sacred commitment we make to our allies -- to defend every inch of NATO territory -- makes us safer, too, and gives the United States a bulwark of security unrivaled by any other nation in the world," Biden said.

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin celebrated NATO in a statement, declaring, "Putin's reckless and lawless invasion of Ukraine has brought war back to Europe on a scale that NATO's founders had hoped to consign to history. Today, the world needs NATO as much as ever."

He added that when NATO leaders meet in Washington for the 75th anniversary summit, "We will strengthen our resilience, accelerate the development of advanced technologies, advance the implementation of NATO's most robust defense plans since the Cold War, and strengthen our collective deterrence and defense."

NATO's Admiral Rob Bauer, chair of the NATO Military Committee, said in a statement the 3.5 million men and women in uniform in the alliance in Europe and the United States "are protecting much more than physical safety. We are collectively defending freedom and democracy."

On April 4, 1949, representatives from 12 nations gathered in Washington, D.C., to sign the North Atlantic Treaty, founding NATO.

Sweden and Finland, the newest nations to join NATO, joined the alliance after the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Ukraine has also expressed a strong desire to join NATO.

In July, the United States will host a summit that President Biden described as "bringing our allies together to modernize our defense and deterrence."

He urged Americans to act as prior generations had, to "choose to protect this progress and build on it."