Page 15 - Nato

Biden to embark on Europe trip from July 9-13 to bolster Nato alliance

During his trip from July 9-13, President Biden will first travel to London, United Kingdom for engagements with King Charles III and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to further strengthen relationship

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

Explained: Why Turkey has not yet approved Sweden's bid of joining Nato

Despite Sweden implementing new anti-terror legislation in June, Turkey still claims Sweden has not taken sufficient "concrete steps"

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Nato warns against underestimating Russian forces, increases preparedness

NATO's chief has said that the power of Russia's military shouldn't be underestimated following the weekend mutiny against it by Wagner Group mercenaries, and said the alliance has increased its readiness to confront Russia in recent days. Jens Stoltenberg said the alliance may decide to further boost its strength and readiness to face Russia and its ally Belarus when NATO leaders meet in the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius on July 11-12. So, no misunderstanding and no room for misunderstanding in Moscow or Minsk about our ability to defend our allies against any potential threat," Stoltenberg said Tuesday. At a meeting in The Hague of eight NATO leaders, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda said that neighbouring countries would face a heightened danger if the Wagner Group deploys its "serial killers" in Belarus. Stoltenberg said it was still early to draw any conclusions about what Wagner leader Yevgeny Prigozhin and some of his forces might do or whether they all might end up in .

Biden denies US, Nato's role in Russia mutiny, calls it struggle in system

President Joe Biden declared Monday that the United States and NATO played no part in the Wagner mercenary group's short-lived insurrection in Russia, calling the uprising and the longer-term challenges it poses for President Vladimir Putin's power a struggle within the Russian system. Biden and U.S. allies supporting Ukraine in its fight against Russia's invasion emphasized their intent to be seen as staying out of the mercenaries' stunning insurgency, the biggest threat to Putin in his two decades leading Russia. They are concerned that Putin could use accusations of Western involvement to rally Russians to his defense. Biden and administration officials declined an immediate assessment of what the 22-hour uprising by the Wagner Group might mean for Russia's war in Ukraine, for mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin or for Russia itself. We're going to keep assessing the fallout of this weekend's events and the implications from Russia and Ukraine, Biden said. But it's still too early

NATO chief makes last-ditch bid to bring Sweden into fold before summit

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Monday that he will call an urgent meeting in the coming days to try to overcome Turkish objections to Sweden joining the military organisation. It's a last-ditch effort to have the Nordic country standing alongside the allies at a major summit next month. NATO requires the unanimous approval of all members to expand. Turkiye accuses Sweden of being too lenient toward groups that Ankara says pose a security threat, including militant Kurdish groups and people associated with a 2016 coup attempt. Stoltenberg said he has held fresh talks on Sweden's candidacy with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as well as senior officials from Sweden and neighbouring Finland, which became the 31st member of the world's biggest security organization in April. We agreed to convene a high-level meeting in Brussels before the summit in the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius beginning July 11, Stoltenberg told reporters. The aim is to make progress in ...

Denmark to start training of Ukrainian pilots on F-16s amid war with Russia

Denmark's government said Monday that the training of Ukrainian pilots on F-16 jets has started and the retirement of Scandinavian country's fleet of aging US fighters has been moved up two years. The replacement fighters, F-35s, will be operative by 2025, acting Defence Minister Troels Lund Poulsen said. Initially, the switch was planned for 2027. Lund Poulsen said that NATO-member Denmark has taken the step of starting a training and further education effort for the Ukrainian pilots." We will also consider whether we should make a concrete donation to Ukraine of the Danish F-16 fighters, and how many there should be," he said. Ukrainian pilots must spend six to eight months of training before a possible donation of Danish F-16 aircraft can become a reality, Lund Poulsen told Danish broadcaster DR. This does not mean that you cannot make a decision beforehand. But (the F-16 planes) will be in Denmark until 2024, Lund Poulsen said. Denmark has ordered 27 F-35A fighter jets, which

NATO moves to protect undersea pipelines amid Russian sabotage threat

NATO launched a new center Friday for protecting undersea pipelines and cables following the still-unsolved apparent attack on the Nord Stream pipelines and amid concern Russia is mapping vital Western infrastructure for energy and the internet in waters around Europe. The threat is developing, Lt. Gen. Hans-Werner Wiermann, who heads a special cell focused on the challenge, said after NATO defense ministers gave the greenlight for the new center, located in Northwood, northwest London. Russian ships have actively mapped our critical undersea infrastructure. There are heightened concerns that Russia may target undersea cables and other critical infrastructure in an effort to disrupt Western life, he told reporters at NATO headquarters in Brussels. NATO was spurred into action after an apparent attack on two Baltic Sea gas pipelines in September. The suspected attacks on the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 pipelines, which were built to carry Russian natural gas to Germany, are stil

NATO to protect undersea pipelines, cables amid Russian sabotage threat

NATO launched a new centre Friday for protecting undersea pipelines and cables following the still-unsolved apparent attack on the Nord Stream pipelines and amid concern Russia is mapping vital Western infrastructure for energy and the internet in waters around Europe. The threat is developing, Lt. Gen. Hans-Werner Wiermann, who heads a special cell focused on the challenge, said after NATO defence ministers gave the greenlight for the new centre, located in Northwood, northwest London. Russian ships have actively mapped our critical undersea infrastructure.There are heightened concerns that Russia may target undersea cables and other critical infrastructure in an effort to disrupt Western life, he told reporters at NATO headquarters in Brussels. NATO was spurred into action after an apparent attack on two Baltic Sea gas pipelines in September. The suspected attacks on the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 pipelines, which were built to carry Russian natural gas to Germany, are still

NATO sees no change in Russia's nuclear posture despite Belarus' claims

NATO sees no sign that Russia has changed its nuclear posture, the head of the military alliance said Thursday, after President Alexander Lukashenko claimed that Belarus has already received some tactical nuclear weapons from Moscow. In an interview on state television on Tuesday, Lukashenko brashly warned that he wouldn't hesitate to order their use if Belarus faced an act of aggression. Russian President Vladimir Putin has said the weapons will be deployed to Belarus next month and will remain under Moscow's exclusive control. We are, of course, closely monitoring what Russia is doing. So far, we haven't seen any changes in the nuclear posture that requires any changes in our posture, Stoltenberg told reporters before chairing a meeting of NATO defence ministers at the alliance's headquarters in Brussels. NATO's secretive nuclear defence planning group is set to meet on Friday. The meeting has long been planned and is not a reaction to recent developments, but the alliance is ...

Nato debates ways to boost ties with Ukraine as war against invasion drags

NATO defence ministers gathered Thursday to discuss future relations with Ukraine as Russia's war on the country thwarts its hopes of joining the world's biggest security alliance soon. The ministers were also due to take part in a separate meeting at NATO headquarters of the US-led Ukraine Contact Group the forum Ukraine's supporters routinely join to try to drum up weapons and ammunition to help Kyiv fight the Russian invasion. The NATO meeting comes just under a month before US President Joe Biden and his counterparts gather for a summit in Lithuania in a symbolic show of support for Ukraine. They are expected to underscore their determination to act should Russian President Vladimir Putin try to expand the war westward. NATO agreed in 2008 that Ukraine would join the organisation one day, but did not set a date for it to start membership talks. As the war ground on, Ukraine applied for accelerated accession to NATO on September 30. With its Crimean Peninsula annexed, and Russi

Turkey, Sweden agree to hold more talks on NATO bid ahead of summit

Sweden and Finland applied to join NATO last year but faced objections from Turkey on the grounds that the two countries harbour members of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party and the Gulen movement

Nato set to boost troops on high alert and increase ammunition production

NATO is set to boost the number of troops on high alert and increase ammunition production, its Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said

Ukraine making progress, advancing against Russian forces: NATO leader

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told President Joe Biden at an Oval Office meeting on Tuesday that Ukrainians are "making progress with their counteroffensive, which could bolster their position when there's an opportunity to reach a diplomatic end to the war with Russia. The support that we are providing together for Ukraine is now making a difference on the battlefield as we speak, Stoltenberg said. Because the offensive has launched, and the Ukrainians are making progress, making advances." He added, It's still early days, but what we do know is that the more land that Ukrainians are able to liberate, the stronger hand they will have at the negotiating table. Biden said NATO has grown more unified during the Ukraine war and we're going to be building on that momentum when the alliance holds its annual summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, on July 11 and 12. The White House meeting, the fourth between the two leaders, occurred at a moment of particular peril and uncertainty for

NATO begins biggest ever air exercise amid fears of flight delays

Some 10,000 soldiers and 250 aircraft, including 70 from Germany and more than 100 from the US, take part in the maneouver until June 23

Biden to host Nato's Stoltenberg as competition to replace him heats up

President Joe Biden is welcoming outgoing NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg to the White House for talks on Monday as the competition to find his successor to lead the military alliance heats up. Stoltenberg, who has led the NATO since 2014 and has had his tenure extended three times, said earlier this year he would move on when his current time expires at the end of September. The jockeying to replace him is intensifying as leaders of the 31-member military alliance are set to meet next month for their annual summit in Vilnius, Lithuania. Last week, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak made the case for U.K. Defense Minister Ben Wallace directly to Biden. The U.S. president also met with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, another potential contender. Asked about the NATO job at a news conference with Sunak by his side, Biden called Wallace very qualified but noted that the conversation among NATO leaders to find a consensus pick to replace Stoltenberg was ongoing. Biden's

Sweden to join NATO soon, says Biden despite objections by Turkey, Hungary

US President Joe Biden has said he is certain that Sweden will join NATO "as soon as possible," in spite of Turkey and Hungary continuing to obstruct the Scandinavian nation's entry into the alliance

NATO presses Turkey to drop objections to Sweden's membership as meet nears

NATO on Thursday ramped up pressure on its member Turkiye to drop its objections to Sweden's membership as the military organisation seeks to deal with the issue by the time US President Joe Biden and his counterparts meet next month. Fearing that they might be targeted after Russia invaded Ukraine last year, Sweden and Finland abandoned their traditional positions of military nonalignment to seek protection under NATO's security umbrella. Finland became NATO's 31st member country in April. NATO must agree unanimously for countries to join. Turkiye's government accuses Sweden of being too lenient on terrorist organisations and security threats, including militant Kurdish groups and people associated with a 2016 coup attempt. Hungary has also delayed its approval, but the reasons why have not been made publicly clear. It's time for Sweden to join now, Norwegian Foreign Minister Anniken Huitfeldt told reporters in Oslo, where she was hosting a meeting with her counterparts to prepar

Russia's upper house supports denunciation of armed forces treaty with NATO

The upper house of the parliament of Russia announced on social media that its senators approved a bill on the denunciation of the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE)