Page 6 - Nato Alliance

Over 20 NATO allies likely to hit defence spending target amid Ukraine war

A record more than 20 NATO member nations are expected to hit the Western military alliance's defence spending target this year, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Monday, as the war in Ukraine drives worldwide concerns. The estimated figure, announced by Stoltenberg during a talk at the Wilson Centre in Washington, marks a nearly fourfold increase from 2021 in the ranks of the 32 NATO member nations meeting the alliance's defense spending guideline. Only six nations were meeting the goal that year, ahead of Russian President Vladimir Putin's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. NATO member countries agreed last year to spend at least 2 per cent of their gross domestic product on defence. The surge in spending reflects the worries of Western allies about the war in Ukraine. Some countries also are concerned about the possible reelection of former President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly characterised many NATO allies as freeloading on US military spending and said on the ...

Navigating a MAD world

Mutually assured destruction is the cornerstone of strategies to prevent nuclear war, but the leaders in charge of the codes hardly inspire confidence

Canada's may be on track to align with Nato's military spending guidelines

Canada looks on track to meet NATO's military spending guideline soon, Defence Minister Bill Blair said Friday, notably by boosting investment in the Arctic near its shared border with Russia as the region warms quickly due to climate change. After Russia annexed Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula in 2014, NATO allies agreed to halt budget cuts and move toward spending 2% of their gross domestic product on defense within a decade. Canada was barely spending 1% at the time. Last year, as it became clear that Russia's war with Ukraine would grind on, they decided that 2% should be a spending minimum. According to NATO figures, Canada was estimated to be spending 1.33% of GDP on its military budget in 2023. My defence spending budget will increase by 27% next year over this year, Blair said at a meeting with his NATO counterparts in Brussels. We've begun the important processes of acquiring the additional capabilities that we require (and) to meet NATO's requirements of us. He said that Cana

Security deal with US is 'bridge' to Ukraine's Nato membership: Zelenskyy

Zelenskyy made the remarks at a joint news conference with US President Joe Biden, which was held on the sidelines of the G7 Summit in Italy on Thursday

Russia could provide weapons to others to strike Western targets: Putin

Taking questions from international journalists for the first time since his inauguration last month to a fifth term, Putin also said nothing will change in terms of Russia-US relations

Ukraine using German weapons to strike Russia 'dangerous step' warns Putin

Russian President Vladimir Putin warned Germany on Wednesday that use of its weapons by Ukraine to strike targets in Russia would mark a dangerous step" and ruin relations between Berlin and Moscow. Germany joined the United States recently in authorizing Ukraine to hit some targets on Russian soil with the long-range weapons they are supplying. Putin said that the deliveries of German tanks to Ukraine came as a shock to many in Russia. Now if they use missiles to strike facilities on the Russian territory it will completely ruin Russian-German relations, he said.

US trying to build Asia-Pacific version of Nato, says Chinese official

The US is trying to build an Asia-Pacific version of NATO through its Indo-Pacific strategy to maintain its hegemony in the region, a Chinese defence official has said, stressing that Washington's attempt to serve its selfish" geopolitical interest is doomed to fail. The remarks by Lieutenant General Jing Jianfeng, deputy chief of staff of the Joint Staff Department of the Central Military Commission, came in response to US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin's speech during the Shangri La Dialogue on Saturday in which he spoke about strengthening alliances and partnerships across the region. Held annually in Singapore, the Shangri La Dialogue is Asia's premier defence summit. Lieutenant-General Jing warned that if regional countries were to sign up for the US' Indo-Pacific strategy, they would be bound to the US war chariot and be lured into taking bullets for the US. He termed Austin's remarks as rhetoric" that "sounds good but does no good, one that serves selfish US geopolitical

Russia proposes revising borders of territorial waters in Baltic Sea

Ministry proposed adjusting the border around Russian islands in the eastern part of the Gulf of Finland and around Kaliningrad

Putin's next target after Ukraine may be Nato's Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia

With the addition this year of Sweden and last spring of Finland to the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, the Baltic Sea has been dubbed a 'Nato lake' by some analysts

Biden hosts Prez of Romania at White House to celebrate Nato partnership

President Joe Biden hosted Klaus Iohannis, the president of Romania, on Tuesday at the White House, with the two leaders celebrating their joint cooperation on issues including international security, the economy and continued support for Ukraine. The meeting in the Oval Office was meant to mark Romania's two decades as a NATO member, according to the White House. At the start of the meeting, Biden joked he advocated for NATO accession for Romania when he was a senator 180 years ago and said the alliance was stronger for the country's inclusion. Biden noted that Romanian and American troops have fought and trained alongside one another and praised Romania for having stepped up to assist Ukraine in fending Russia's invasion. The United States is committed to standing with you, Biden told Iohannis. In turn, Iohannis thanked Biden for hosting him and called the transatlantic alliance a cornerstone of our democratic way of life. He said he intended to make progress toward a visa waiver

Russia will have to increase missile arsenal to deter West, says diplomat

Russia has ramped up weapons production and is now forecast by the United States to manufacture this year more artillery than all of Nato's 32 members combined

No conditions exist for talks between Russia, Ukraine at this time: Kremlin

He stated that Russian President Vladimir Putin's stance is "well known. 'Peskov further said, "The last time he mentioned it during a conversation with [Belarusian] President [Alexander] Lukashenko'

Argentina asks to join Nato as Prez Milei seeks to boost ties with the West

Argentina formally requested on Thursday to join NATO as a global partner, a status that would clear the way for greater political and security cooperation at a time when the right-wing government of President Javier Milei aims to boost ties with Western powers and attract investment. The request came as NATO's Deputy General Secretary Mircea Geoana held talks in Brussels on regional security challenges with visiting Argentine Defense Minister Luis Petri. Geoana said he welcomed Argentina's bid to become an accredited partner in the alliance a valued role short of ally for nations that are not in NATO's geographical area and not required to take part in collective military actions. NATO membership is currently limited to countries of Europe, Turkey, Canada and the United States. The designation could allow Argentina access to advanced technology, security systems and training not previously available to it, the Argentine presidency said. Argentina plays an important role in Latin

G7 foreign ministers seek urgent defence support for desperate Ukraine

G7 ministers kicked off a second day of talks on the Italian island of Capri by discussing the Middle East crisis and will turn their attention to Ukraine in the afternoon

India-US partnership has achieved new heights: US NSA Jake Sullivan

The partnership between India and the United States has reached a new height with collaboration on technology and other fields, the US National Security Advisor has said. "The partnership between the US and India, a country in BRICs, has gone to new heights with an engagement across technology and security and so many other dimensions," NSA Jake Sullivan told reporters at a White House news conference. Sullivan was responding to questions on the decline in American leadership in the world, in light of Iran, Egypt, UAE, and Ethiopia joining BRICS, and Saudi Arabia mulling over becoming part of it. "I think if you look at the US role and standing in its relationships across the key regions of the world, we feel very good about where we are," Sullivan said. "If you look at what's happened with NATO, we've made NATO larger than ever, if you look at what's just happening this week, a historic trilateral with the US, Japan, and the Philippines. If you look across the Indo-Pacific at how

Nato @ 75

The transatlantic alliance seeks a global role

Russia will not attack Nato, but F-16s will be shot down in Ukraine: Putin

The Kremlin, which accuses the U.S. of fighting against Russia by supporting Ukraine with money, weapons and intelligence, says relations with Washington have probably never been worse

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 ..

Biden to host Polish prez, prime minister on March 12, Nato anniversary

US President Joe Biden will host Poland's President Andrzej Duda and Prime Minister Donald Tusk for a meeting in Washington on March 12, the 25th anniversary of Poland's joining the NATO Alliance, the White House said Thursday. A statement from Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the leaders will reaffirm their unwavering support for Ukraine's defense against Russia's brutal war of conquest. The struggle is taking place across Poland's eastern border, on NATO's eastern flank. The declaration of support has special significant now, when political infighting in US Congress is stalling approval of a USD 60 billion aid package for Kyiv. The meeting will underscore that Washington and Warsaw share an ironclad commitment to the NATO Alliance, which makes us all safer, the statement said, adding that the three leaders will coordinate ahead of the NATO Summit in Washington in July. Poland last year spent some 4% of its GDP on defense and has earmarked some 3.1% of its 2024 GDP for the

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 ..