Page 8 - Nato Alliance

NATO tentatively agrees to ask Stoltenberg to remain head for another year

NATO members have reached a tentative agreement to ask Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg to remain head of the 31-member transatlantic alliance for another year, according to a US official familiar with the decision. The official, who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity, said the decision still needs to be finalized by alliance members. The much-anticipated decision to formally ask Stoltenberg to extend his tenure for another year is expected to happen relatively soon, the official said. NATO members are scheduled to hold their annual summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, on July 11-12. President Joe Biden conveyed to Stoltenberg during their recent meeting at the White House that it was evident there wasn't going to be consensus in the near term among NATO allies on picking a new permanent leader, the official said. Stoltenberg, a former Norwegian prime minister, has been NATO's top civilian official since 2014. His term was due to expire last year b

Finnish president: Joining NATO won't solve all our problems

Finland's President Sauli Niinist on Thursday warned that the country's new status as a NATO member doesn't solve every problem, and said Helsinki should not let down its guard on security issues. We still bear the main responsibility for our own security. Wherever we detect any gaps or vulnerabilities, they must be fixed, Niinist said, in a speech to lawmakers as they gathered for the first time since the April 2 elections. He added that Finland, which shares a 1,340 kilometer (832 mile) border with Russia, has been focused on regional security in the past year, after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. We must not let this level of alertness drop in the future, either, the president said as he formally opened the 200-member Eduskunta legislature. We should better understand how organically the dangers and tensions we are witnessing here are linked with the increasing geopolitical pressures." Finland's main conservative party came first in this month's elections, after a tight three-

Finland unlikely to get NATO battle group given its defence capabilities

NATO has established 8 multinational battle groups in Poland and the Baltic nations, and more recently in Hungary, Slovakia, Bulgaria and Romania, to serve as a "tripwire" in case of Russian attack

Ukraine to discuss NATO accession prospects in Brussels: FM Kuleba

The NATO-Ukraine Commission will also touch upon the issue of stable support for Ukraine from NATO member states, he said

Finland to join NATO military alliance this week, says chief Stoltenberg

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg says Finland will become the 31st member of the military alliance on Tuesday. From tomorrow, Finland will be a full member of the alliance, Stoltenberg told reporters in Brussels. Stoltenberg said that Turkey, the last country to have ratified Finland's membership, will hand its official texts to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday as NATO foreign ministers gather in Brussels. Stoltenberg said he would then invite Finland to do the same. A flag raising ceremony to add the Finnish flag to those of the other members will take place at NATO headquarters at on Tuesday afternoon.

As Finland plans to join Nato, a look at how countries join the alliance

Nato's membership has increased from 12 to 30 countries through eight rounds of enlargement. The Republic of North Macedonia became the latest country to join Nato on March 27, 2020

Hungarian parliament approves Finland's bid to join Western alliance Nato

Hungary's parliament on Monday approved Finland's bid to join NATO, ending months of delays and bringing the Nordic country one step closer to becoming a full member of the Western military alliance. Hungarian lawmakers voted 182 for and only six against with no abstentions. The vote came after Hungary's government frustrated allies in NATO and the European Union by repeatedly postponing the measure for months after nearly all other members of the alliance had ratified Finland's bid. With Hungary's approval, Turkey is now the only one of NATO's 30 members not to have ratified Finland's NATO accession. Admitting a new country requires unanimity among all member nations.

Sweden, Finland discuss NATO accession with Turkey, says military bloc

Representatives of Sweden, Finland and Turkey held talks in Brussels to discuss progress on fulfilling Turkey's conditions for agreeing to the Nordic countries' accession to NATO

Finnish Parliament approves legislation allowing accession to Nato

The Finnish parliament has approved legislation allowing the country to join the NATO. As many as 184 members of parliament voted in favour, with seven against and one abstention.

Ukraine seeks warplanes at NATO talks, allies fret over ammunition needs

Ukraine maintained its appeal for Western countries to provide it with fighter jets Tuesday, but the United States and its NATO allies and partners voiced more concern about Kyiv's needs for large amounts of ammunition as the war with Russia approached its one-year anniversary. Ahead of the meeting of the Ukraine contact group at NATO headquarters, Ukraine made its requirements clear. Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov, when asked what military aid his country is seeking now, showed reporters an image of a fighter jet. Questioned about where he hoped they might come from, Reznikov said only: From the sky. What NATO allies have on their mind, though, is how to keep up a steady supply of ammunition to Ukraine without depleting their own stockpiles. According to some estimates, Ukraine is firing up to 6,000-7,000 artillery shells each day, around a third of the daily amount that Russia is using. Moscow's forces have been pressing in the east of Ukraine while bolstering their defensive

European Union to impose fresh sanctions on Russia by February 24

By the anniversary of the start of the full-scale offensive, we aim to have the 10th package of sanctions: Von der Leyen

Nato chief calls for stronger ties with Japan to defend democracy

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, in Japan as part of his East Asia tour, said our security is closely interconnected and called for stronger ties with Japan as Russia's war on Ukraine raises global dangers and shows that democracies need stronger partnerships. Japan has been quick to join the US-led economic sanctions against Russia's war on Ukraine and provided humanitarian aid and non-combative defence equipment for the Ukrainians. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has sounded alarm that Russia's aggression in Europe could happen in Asia, where concerns are growing over already assertive China and its escalating tension near Taiwan. Japan also has significantly stepped up ties with NATO recently. The war in Ukraine also demonstrates that our security is closely interconnected, Stoltenberg said during his visit at the Iruma Air Base north of Tokyo, where he started his Japan visit Tuesday after arriving late Monday from South Korea. If President (Vladimir) Putin wins i

NATO membership process hasn't stopped, say Finnish, Swedish FMs

The foreign ministers of Sweden and Finland reiterated in separate interviews published Saturday that the process for the two Nordic nations to join NATO is continuing despite Turkey's president saying Sweden shouldn't expect his country to approve its membership. Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrm acknowledged in an interview with Swedish newspaper Expressen that Turkish anger over recent demonstrations and the burning of the Quran in front of the Turkish Embassy in Stockholm had complicated Sweden's NATO accession. To admit new countries, NATO requires unanimous approval from its existing members, of which Turkey is one. Despite this, the Swedish government is hopeful of joining NATO this summer, Billstrm said. It goes without saying that we're looking toward the (NATO) summit in Vilnius, Lithuania's capital, in July, Billstrm told Expressen when asked of the timetable for Sweden's possible accession. Hungary and Turkey are the only countries in the 30-member Western milita

Meaningless to hold meet with Sweden, Finland over NATO accession: Turkey

It is "meaningless" to hold a trilateral meeting with Sweden and Finland to discuss their NATO accession process after recent protests in Stockholm, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu has said

Time for Turkey to ratify Finland, Sweden's NATO applications: US

The State Department said Secretary of State Antony Blinken had affirmed resolute support for Finland and Sweden in phone calls with their foreign ministers

EU, NATO set up joint task force to protect critical infrastructure

The European Union (EU) and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) have agreed to set up a task force to better protect critical infrastructure and increase resilience

Nato chief fears Russian-Ukraine war could widen into a wider conflict

The head of NATO expressed worry that the fighting in Ukraine could spin out of control and become a war between Russia and NATO, according to an interview released Friday. If things go wrong, they can go horribly wrong, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said in remarks to Norwegian broadcaster NRK. It is a terrible war in Ukraine. It is also a war that can become a full-fledged war that spreads into a major war between NATO and Russia, he said. We are working on that every day to avoid that. Stoltenberg, a former prime minister of Norway, said in the interview that there is no doubt that a full-fledged war is a possibility, adding that it was important to avoid a conflict "that involves more countries in Europe and becomes a full-fledged war in Europe. The Kremlin has repeatedly accused NATO allies of effectively becoming a party to the conflict by providing Ukraine with weapons, training its troops and feeding military intelligence to attack Russian forces. Speaking Friday

India stands tall, proud and no one pushes it around: Ruchira Kamboj

"India is a bigger country. It stands tall and proud on its own," she said emphasising its multi-dimensional, independent policy

NATO vows to aid Ukraine against Russia 'for as long as it takes'

NATO is determined to help Ukraine defend itself against Russia for as long as it takes and will help the war-wrecked country transform its armed forces into a modern army up to Western standards, the alliance's Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg vowed on Friday. Speaking to reporters ahead of a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Romania next week, Stoltenberg urged countries that want to, either individually or in groups, to keep providing air defense systems and other weapons to Ukraine. NATO as an organisation does not supply weapons. NATO will continue to stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes. We will not back down, the former Norwegian prime minister said. Allies are providing unprecedented military support, and I expect foreign ministers will also agree to step up non-lethal support. Stoltenberg said that members of the 30-nation security organisation have been delivering fuel, generators, medical supplies, winter equipment and drone jamming devices, but that more will

Poland probably hit by Ukrainian missile: NATO Chief Jens Stoltenberg

His remark comes as investigations continue into the blast on Tuesday night on a farm in Przewodow, 6 km from Poland's border with Ukraine