Page 9 - Nato
Russia's Putin warns west, says conflict with Nato just one step from WW3
The Ukraine war has triggered the deepest crisis in Moscow's relations with the West since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis.
Polish prez pushes Nato to ramp up spending, calls on US to fund Ukraine
President Andrzej Duda used a joint White House visit with his political rival, Prime Minister Donald Tusk, on Tuesday to call on NATO allies to significantly increase defense spending and press a divided Washington to break its impasse over replenishing funds for Ukraine at a critical moment in the war in Europe. Duda wants members of the NATO alliance to raise their spending on defense to three per cent of their GDP as Russia puts its own economy on a war footing and pushes forward with its plans to conquer Ukraine. Poland already spends four per cent of its own economic output on defense, double the current target of two per cent for NATO nations. The Polish leader made the call as he and Tusk visited Washington to mark their country's 25th anniversary of joining the now 32-member transatlantic military alliance. It was a historic step into the West after breaking free from Moscow's sphere of influence after decades of communist rule. Russia's against Ukraine really demonstrated
Erdogan offers to host peace summit with Russia during Zelenskyy visit
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, whose NATO-member country has sought to balance its close relations with both Ukraine and Russia, offered during a visit Friday from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to host a peace summit between the two countries. Erdogan, who has repeatedly discussed brokering a peace deal, said at a news conference in Istanbul following his meeting with Zelenskyy that he hoped Russia would be on board with Turkey's offer. Since the beginning, we have contributed as much as we could toward ending the war through negotiations," Erdogan said. "We are also ready to host a peace summit in which Russia will also be included. Ukraine remains firm on not engaging directly with Russia on peace talks, and Zelenskyy has said multiple times the initiative in peace negotiations must belong to the country which has been invaded. Zelenskyy said any peace negotiations must align with a 10-point plan he has previously suggested, which includes food security, ...
Sweden officially joins Nato after completing its accession process
Sweden on Thursday formally joined NATO as the 32nd member of the transatlantic military alliance, ending decades of post-World War II neutrality as concerns about Russian aggression in Europe have spiked following Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson and Secretary of State Antony Blinken presided at a ceremony in which Sweden's instrument of accession to the alliance was officially deposited at the State Department. Later Thursday. Kristersson will visit the White House and then be a guest of honor at President Joe Biden's State of the Union address to Congress. The White House said that having Sweden as a NATO ally will make the United States and our allies even safer. "NATO is the most powerful defensive alliance in the history of the world, and it is as critical today to ensuring the security of our citizens as it was 75 years ago when our alliance was founded out of the wreckage of World War II, it said in a statement. Sweden, along with .
Europe's higher defence expenditure may hit exports
To find more resources to fund higher defence expenditure, Europe may have to raise taxes or cut government spending on welfare and other development activities
Sweden joins Nato bidding farewell to more than 2 centuries of neutrality
Sweden's last war ended in 1814, and when the rifles and cannons it aimed at Norway fell silent, the once-warring power would not take up arms again. For the next two centuries, Sweden embraced a policy of neutrality, refusing to take sides in wars or join any military alliance. It was a stance that kept peace at home and contributed to the country becoming a prosperous welfare state and humanitarian superpower. This remarkably long era of nonalignment is coming to a close as Sweden joins NATO. The ceremonial formalities are expected soon, after 18 months of delays while Turkey and Hungary held up ratification and sought concessions from other members of the alliance. Sweden is now leaving 200 years of neutrality and nonalignment behind us," Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said after Hungary's Parliament gave its approval Monday, overcoming the final hurdle. "It is a big step. We must take that seriously. But it is also a very natural step that we are taking. Sweden, like ..
Putin warns of nuclear war risk, says Moscow can strike Western targets
Visibly angry, Putin suggested Western politicians recall the fate of those like Nazi Germany's Adolf Hitler and France's Napoleon Bonaparte who had unsuccessfully invaded Russia in the past
Best of BS Opinion: The Nato conundrum, recalibrating spend, and more
Here is the best of Business Standard's opinion pieces for today
The Nato conundrum
A possible Trump presidency is bad news
Trump is at odds with Nato - and reality
Mr Trump's mishandling of Covid and election denial were uniquely Trumpian - the behaviour of a man who doesn't like to accept reality when it isn't what he wants it to be
Trump stands by remarks about not defending Nato members after backlash
Former President Donald Trump again said Wednesday that if he returns to the White House, he would not defend NATO members that don't meet defence spending targets, days after he set off alarms in Europe by suggesting he would tell Russia to attack NATO allies he considered delinquent. Speaking at a campaign rally in South Carolina, he retold the story of his alleged conversation with the head of a NATO member country that had not met its obligations. This time, though, he left out the line that drew the most outrage encouraging Russia to do whatever the hell they want. Look, if they're not going to pay, we're not going to protect. OK? he said Wednesday. Trump hewed closer than usual to his prepared remarks after a freewheeling event days earlier in which he also drew backlash for mocking his Republican rival Nikki Haley's husband for being missing from the campaign trail. He also revised his comments about Russian President Vladimir Putin, whom he has often praised as tough and ..
Nato ramps up defence spend, says Trump's remarks undermine security
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Wednesday that its European members and Canada have ramped up defence spending to record levels, as he warned that former US President Donald Trump was undermining their security by calling into question the US commitment to its allies. Stoltenberg said US partners in NATO have spent USD 600 billion more on their military budgets since 2014 when Russia's annexation of the Crimean Peninsula in Ukraine prompted them all to reverse the spending cuts they had made after the Cold War ended. Last year we saw an unprecedented rise of 11 per cent across European allies and Canada, Stoltenberg told reporters on the eve of a meeting of the organisation's defence ministers in Brussels. In 2014, NATO leaders committed to move toward spending 2 per cent of their gross domestic product on defence within a decade. It has mostly been slow going, but Russia's invasion of Ukraine two years ago focused minds. The 2 per cent figure is now considered a minimu
Austin discharged from hospital, ends second stay since cancer treatment
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was released from Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on Tuesday, ending his second stay since surgery to treat prostate cancer, and he has resumed his full duties, the Pentagon said. Austin (70) has had ongoing health issues since undergoing surgery in December. He was taken back to Walter Reed on Sunday for a bladder issue and admitted to intensive care for a second time. He underwent a non-surgical procedure under general anaesthesia on Monday. Austin's doctors said on Tuesday that his bladder issue was related to the surgery. "The bladder issue was not related to his cancer diagnosis and will have no effect on his excellent cancer prognosis," Dr John Maddox, trauma medical director, and Dr Gregory Chesnut, director of the Center for Prostate Disease Research at the Murtha Cancer Center, said in a statement. On their advice, Austin will work from home before returning to the Pentagon later this week. His home has "full access to the ...
Trump sowing doubts about US commitment to Nato is 'un-American': Biden
President Joe Biden on Tuesday said Donald Trump's comments calling into question the US commitment to defend its NATO allies from attack were "dangerous" and "un-American", seizing on the former president's comments that sowed fresh fears among US partners about its dependability on the global stage. Trump, the frontrunner in the US for the Republican Party's nomination this year, said on Saturday that he once warned that he would allow Russia to do whatever it wants to NATO member nations that are "delinquent" in devoting two per cent of their gross domestic product to defence. It was the latest instance in which the former president seemed to side with an authoritarian state over America's democratic allies. Speaking from the White House as he encouraged the House to take up a Senate-passed aid bill to fund Ukraine's efforts to hold off a two-year Russian invasion, Biden said Trump's comments about the mutual defence pact were "dangerous and shocking". "The whole world heard it a
Nato chief warns, says Trump puts safety of US troops, allies at risk
The head of the NATO military alliance warned on Sunday that Donald Trump was putting the safety of US troops and their allies at risk after the Republican presidential frontrunner said Russia should be able to do "whatever the hell they want" to NATO members who don't meet their defence spending targets. "Any suggestion that allies will not defend each other undermines all of our security, including that of the US, and puts American and European soldiers at increased risk," NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said in a statement. Speaking on Saturday at a rally in Conway, South Carolina, Trump recalled how as president he told an unidentified NATO member that he would "encourage" Russia to do as it wishes in cases of NATO allies who are "delinquent". "You didn't pay? You're delinquent?" Trump recounted saying. "No I would not protect you. In fact, I would encourage them to do whatever the hell they want. You gotta pay. You gotta pay your bills." Trump's remarks caused deep ...
Warned Nato allies to spend more on defence to counter Russia: Donald Trump
Republican front-runner Donald Trump said Saturday that, as president, he warned NATO allies that he would encourage Russia to do whatever the hell they want to countries that are delinquent as he ramped up his attacks on foreign aid and longstanding international alliances. Speaking at a rally in Conway, South Carolina, Trump recounted a story he has told before about an unidentified NATO member who confronted him over his threat not to defend members who fail to meet the trans-Atlantic alliance's defense spending targets. But this time, Trump went further, saying had told the member that he would, in fact, encourage Russia to do as it wishes in that case. You didn't pay? You're delinquent?' Trump recounted saying. No I would not protect you. In fact, I would encourage them to do whatever the hell they want. You gotta pay. You gotta pay your bills.' NATO allies agreed in 2014, after Russia annexed Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula, to halt the spending cuts they had made after the Cold
Serbia, Kosovo leaders spar at UN over latter's ban of Serbian dinar
The leaders of Serbia and Kosovo sparred at the United Nations over the latter's ban of the use of the Serbian currency in areas where minority Serbs live, the latest crisis between the two governments. Tensions escalated after the government of Kosovo, a former Serbian province, banned banks and other financial institutions in the Serb-populated areas from using the dinar in local transactions, starting Feb. 1, and imposed the euro. The dinar was widely used in ethnic Serbian-dominated areas, especially in Kosovo's north, to pay pensions and salaries to staff in Serbian parallel institutions, including schools and hospitals. Serbia said last week it would seek an emergency meeting at the U.N. Security Council over the issue. In 1999, a 78-day NATO bombing campaign ended a war between Serbian government forces and ethnic Albanian separatists in Kosovo. Serbian forces were pushed out but Belgrade never recognized Kosovo's independence and still considers it a Serbian province. At a
Tucker Carlson interviews Vladimir Putin: 5 key things Russian Prez said
Tucker Clarson interview: Vladimir Putin said that a deal to release the WSJ journalist Evan Gershkovich 'can be reached'
Putin to visit Turkey in first trip to Nato country since Ukraine War
Putin's trips abroad have been limited due to the risk of possible arrest on a warrant from the International Criminal Court for alleged war crimes
Nato signs key artillery ammunition contract to replenish allied supplies
NATO signed on Tuesday a USD 1.2-billion contract to make tens of thousands of artillery rounds to replenish the dwindling stocks of its member countries as they supply ammunition to Ukraine to help it defeat Russia's invasion. The contract will allow for the purchase of 220,000 rounds of 155-millimetre ammunition, the most widely sought after artillery shell, according to NATO's support and procurement agency. It will allow allies to backfill their arsenals and to provide Ukraine with more ammunition. This is important to defend our own territory, to build up our own stocks, but also to continue to support Ukraine, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told reporters. We cannot allow President (Vladimir) Putin to win in Ukraine," he added. "That would be a tragedy for the Ukrainians and dangerous for all of us. Ukraine was firing around 4,000 to 7,000 artillery shells each day last summer, while Russia was launching more than 20,000 shells daily in its neighbour's territory, ...
