Page 18 - Nato

US urges Turkey to 'quickly' ratify Sweden's NATO membership after Finland

After Turkey approved the process of ratifying Finland's accession to the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, the US welcomed the decision of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan

Poland to be 1st NATO member to give Ukraine fighter jets to defend itself

Poland said Thursday it plans to give Ukraine about a dozen MiG-29 fighter jets, which would make it the first NATO member to fulfil Kyiv's increasingly urgent requests for warplanes to defend itself against the Russian invasion. Warsaw will hand over four of the Soviet-made warplanes "within the next few days," President Andrzej Duda said, and the rest needed servicing but would be supplied later. The Polish word he used to describe the total number can mean between 11 and 19. "They are in the last years of their functioning, but they are in good working condition," Duda said. He did not say whether other countries would follow suit, although Slovakia has said it would send its own disused MiGs to Ukraine. Poland also was the first NATO nation to provide Ukraine with German-made Leopard 2 tanks. On Wednesday, Polish government spokesman Piotr Mueller said some other countries also had pledged MiGs to Kyiv, but did not identify them. Both Poland and Slovakia had indicated they were

Prez Erdogan hints Turkey may ratify Finland's NATO membership

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan suggested Wednesday that his country could soon ratify Finland's application to join NATO, allowing for the possibility of the country joining the military alliance separately from Sweden. Alarmed by Russia's invasion of Ukraine a year ago, Finland and Sweden abandoned decades of nonalignment and applied to join the alliance. All 30 NATO members have approved their applications, and 28 have ratified their accession. Only Turkey and Hungary have failed to do so. Turkey's government accuses Sweden of being too soft on groups that it deems to be terror organizations and existential threats, including Kurdish groups. Ankara has said, however, that it has fewer problems with Finland's membership. Asked by reporters whether Turkey could ratify Finland's membership following a visit by Finnish President Sauli Niinisto later in the week, Erdogan responded: God willing, if it is for the best. Whatever the process is, the process will function. We will

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

Russia probably does not want military conflict with US, NATO: US intel

The US intelligence community believes that Russia probably does not want a direct military conflict with US and NATO forces, but there is potential for that to occur

Hungarian delegation supports Sweden's Nato membership application

A parliamentary delegation from Hungary said Tuesday that it supports Sweden's NATO membership bid after meeting the speaker of the Swedish parliament to iron out what Hungary's governing party has called political disputes. Some Hungarian lawmakers have raised doubts about whether to support the NATO membership applications by Sweden and Finland, citing what they call blatant lies from Stockholm and Helsinki on the state of Hungary's democracy. But the Hungarian delegation indicated Tuesday that the parliament in Budapest would ultimately ratify Sweden's NATO bid. We support Sweden's NATO membership, Hungary's deputy parliamentary speaker, Csaba Hende, told Swedish news agency TT. We made it clear that the Hungarian government, the Hungarian president, the prime minister and most of the Hungarian parliamentarians clearly support Swedish NATO membership, Hende said, according to TT. He added that it was necessary to improve bilateral relations between Budapest and Stockholm. Hunga

More India is strong, more calm things will be: Former US Defence Secy

He said that all NATO could do was remind Putin that it is a nuclear-armed alliance. Its message was that Russia should not even think about it

Hungary further delays vote on ratifying Sweden, Finland joining NATO

Hungary has further delayed a vote on ratifying Sweden and Finland's NATO accession bids, according to an updated schedule published on Thursday on the National Assembly's website, the latest in a series of postponements that have frustrated Western allies. The delay, which pushes the vote back by two weeks to the parliamentary session beginning March 20, comes as Hungary remains the only NATO member country besides Turkey that hasn't yet approved the two Nordic countries' bids to join the Western military alliance. Hungary's populist prime minister, Viktor Orban, has said that he is personally in favour of the two countries joining NATO, but alleged that the governments in Stockholm and Helsinki have spread blatant lies about Hungary which have raised questions among lawmakers in his party on whether to approve the bids. In a radio interview on February 24, Orban confirmed that Hungary would send a parliamentary delegation to Sweden and Finland to seek clarification on such issues

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.

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Will 'take into account' nuclear capability of US, NATO countries: Putin

Russian President Vladimir Putin said in an interview broadcast on Sunday that after Russia suspended its participation in the last arms control agreement with Washington, it would take into account the nuclear weapons capabilities not only of the United States but of other NATO countries such as France and Britain. Putin had said in a speech suspending Russia's role in the 2010 New START treaty earlier this week that France and Britain, not parties to the agreement, had joined the United States in targeting Russia with nuclear weapons. In an interview with Russian TV that was recorded on Wednesday and broadcast on Sunday, he said he took the action to "preserve our country, ensure security and strategic stability" and added: In today's conditions, when all the leading NATO countries have declared their main goal to inflict a strategic defeat on us, to make our people suffer ... how can we not take into account their nuclear capabilities? Moreover, they supply weapons to Ukraine wor

Russia cannot ignore NATO's nuclear capability: Putin on exiting New START

Russian President Vladimir Putin said in an interview broadcast Sunday that Russia has no choice but to take into account NATO's nuclear capabilities, in remarks justifying Russia's recent suspension of its participation in the New START treaty. As he has done repeatedly during the Ukraine war, Putin claimed that Russia faces an existential threat because, in his view, NATO members are seeking the country's strategic defeat. He said on Russian state TV that the suspension of New START stemmed from the need to ensure security, strategic stability for Russia. When all the leading NATO countries have declared their main goal as inflicting a strategic defeat on us (...) how can we ignore their nuclear capabilities in these conditions? Putin said. Putin's overarching goal in invading Ukraine a year ago was to reduce what he perceived as threats to Russia's security, and at times he has used that as justification for threats to use nuclear weapons in the conflict. Putin declared Tuesday

Need to relook at UNSC, support greater role for India: Liz Truss

Former UK Prime Minister Liz Truss Friday stressed the need for a relook at the UN Security Council and supported a greater role for India in the world body. Speaking at ABP Network's Ideas of India Summit here, Truss also there was a need to fast-track Ukraine's NATO membership. We need to be on the front foot about freedom and democracy. Our adversaries like China and Russia are very good at promoting their economic model. They use misinformation and technology to communicate in all kinds of ways to the world, she said. They also use the power of economic coercion to try and influence the way people think, Truss said. She said India's voice is going to be incredibly important being the world's largest democracy. Truss said she is a great supporter of trading more with allies like India. When I was trade secretary, I kicked off the free trade negotiations with India, she said. I also want to see us work together with like-minded countries to create what I describe as an economic

NATO chief sees 'some signs' China could back Russia's war against Ukraine

NATO's chief has said that the military alliance has seen some signs that China may be planning to support Russia in its war in Ukraine, and strongly urged Beijing to desist from what would be a violation of international law. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg also told The Associated Press in an interview on Wednesday that the alliance, while not a party to the war, will support Ukraine for as long as it takes. Asked whether NATO has any indication that China might be ready to provide arms or other support to Russia's war, Stoltenberg said: We have seen some signs that they may be planning for that and of course NATO allies, the United States, have been warning against it because this is something that should not happen. China should not support Russia's illegal war. Stoltenberg said potential Chinese assistance would amount to providing (direct) support to a blatant violation of international law, and of course (as) a member of the UN security council China should not in an

Biden in Poland: US, allies 'will never waver' in supporting Ukraine

President Joe Biden warned of 'hard and bitter days ahead" as Russia's invasion of Ukraine nears the one-year mark, but vowed that no matter what, the United States and allies "will not waver" in supporting the Ukrainians. A day after his surprise visit to Kyiv, Biden used a strongly worded address in neighboring Poland to praise allies in Europe for stepping up over the past year and to send a clear message to Russian President Vladimir Putin that "NATO will not be divided, and we will not tire. One year ago, the world was bracing for the fall of Kyiv, Biden said before a crowd of thousands outside Warsaw's Royal Castle. I can report: Kyiv stands strong. Kyiv stands proud. It stands tall and, most important, it stands free." With Russia and Ukraine each preparing spring offensives, Biden insisted there will be no backing down from what he's portrayed as a global struggle between democracy and autocracy though polling suggests American support for ongoing military assistance appear

EU, NATO, Ukraine to ramp up arms production, procurement: Officials

NATO will help Ukraine develop a procurement system that is effective, transparent and accountable, the NATO Secretary General added

Turkey rejects links between Sweden, Finland NATO accession and F-16 deal

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday called for Sweden and Finland to be accepted into NATO as quickly as possible, although his Turkish counterpart dismissed the possibility of any link between their accession and Turkiye's request for F-16 fighter jets. Turkiye has delayed the Nordic countries admission to the trans-Atlantic defense alliance, citing concerns over terrorism. Meanwhile, members of the U.S. Congress have tied approval of the F-16 deal to Ankara retracting its opposition to the NATO enlargement. We're confident that NATO will formally welcome them in soon, Blinken told a joint news conference with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu in Ankara. And when that happens, it will enhance the security of every NATO member, including the United States, including Turkiye." Cavusoglu repeated Turkiye's position that it would be willing to approve Finland joining NATO before Sweden. Turkiye has complained about what it sees as Stockholm's tolerance of support for

Finland's defence minister says his country could join NATO ahead of Sweden

Finland's defence minister said Saturday that his country will join NATO without waiting for Sweden if its Nordic neighbour's accession is held up by the Turkish government. Mikko Savola told The Associated Press on Saturday that Finland would prefer that the two countries join the alliance together, but it wouldn't hold up the process if Turkey decides to approve Finland, but not Sweden, as it has warned. No, no. Then we will join, Savola said in an interview on the sidelines of a security conference in Munich. Since they broke with decades of non-alignment in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine last year, Finland and Sweden have insisted they want to join NATO together. But Turkey's reluctance to accept Sweden unless it steps up pressure on Kurdish exile groups has made it more likely the two will have to join the alliance at different speeds. Sweden is our closest partner, Savola said. Almost every week our defence forces are practising together and so on. It's a very deep

NATO chief Stoltenberg eyes bigger defence budgets, hard spending target

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg on Wednesday urged the 30 member countries to commit to spending at least 2 per cent of their gross domestic product on defense by a set date, as Russia's war on Ukraine and other threats eat into military spending. NATO allies agreed in 2014, after Russia annexed Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula, to halt the spending cuts they had made after the Cold War and move toward spending 2 per cent of GDP on their defence budgets by 2024. That pledge expires next year, and NATO is working on a new target. What is obvious is that if it was right to commit to spend 2 per cent in 2014, it is even more right now because we live in a more dangerous world, Stoltenberg told reporters, after chairing a meeting of NATO defence ministers, where a first high-level discussion on the issue was held. There is a full-fledged war going on in in Ukraine, in Europe, and then we see the persistent threat of terrorism, and we see also the challenges that China is forcing to o

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