Page 18 - Nato

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

NATO must not be part of Russia-Ukraine conflict, says German Chancellor

Despite providing military assistance to Ukraine, the NATO must not become a party to the country's conflict with Russia, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said

Russia-Ukraine war: US to send Kyiv longer-range bombs in latest turnaround

After months of agonizing, the U.S has agreed to send longer-range bombs to Ukraine as it prepares to launch a spring offensive to retake territory Russia captured last year, U.S. officials said Thursday, confirming that the new weapons will have roughly double the range of any other offensive weapon provided by America. The U.S. will provide ground-launched small diameter bombs as part of a $2.17 billion aid package it is expected to announce Friday, several U.S. officials said. The package also for the first time includes equipment to connect all the different air defense systems Western allies have rushed to the battlefield and integrate them into Kviv's own air defenses, to help them better defend against Russia's continued missile attacks. For months, U.S. officials have hesitated to send longer-range systems to Ukraine out of concern that they would be used to target inside Russia, escalating the conflict and drawing the U.S. deeper in. The longer-range bombs are the latest ...

Russia planning offensive on Feb 24, says Ukraine's defence minister

The Defence Minister further said that Ukraine's commanders would seek to 'stabilise the front and prepare for a counter-offensive'

Sweden can't join NATO if Quran-burning is allowed: Turkey Prez Erdogan

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan reaffirmed Wednesday that Turkey won't allow Sweden to join the NATO military alliance as long as the Scandinavian country permits protests desecrating Islam's holy book to take place. Turkey, which had already been holding off approving Sweden and Finland's membership in the Western military alliance, has been infuriated by a series of separate demonstrations in Stockholm. In one case a solitary anti-Islam activist burned the Quran outside the Turkish Embassy, while in an unconnected protest an effigy of Erdogan was hanged. Even before that, Ankara had been pressing Sweden and Finland to crack down on exiled members of Kurdish and other groups it sees as terrorists, and to allow arms sales to Turkey. Turkey has indefinitely postponed a key meeting in Brussels that would have discussed the two Nordic countries' NATO entry. Sweden, don't even bother! As long as you allow my holy book, the Quran, to be burned and torn, and you do so together with

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

N Korea slams Nato chief's Seoul visit as 'prelude' to war in Asia-Pacific

North Korea on Monday denounced a visit to Seoul by Jens Stoltenberg, the NATO Secretary General, as a "prelude" to war, saying the move could bring a "new Cold War" to the Asia-Pacific region

May respond differently to Finland's Nato bid: Turkish President Erdogan

'We may respond differently to Finland if necessary. Sweden would be shocked when we respond differently to Finland. But Finland should not make the same mistake'

Former NATO general Petr Pavel becomes new President of Czech Republic

A former military general, Pavel got more than 58% of the vote, according to the Czech Statistics Office

Russia has shifted war focus to 'NATO and the West', says EU official

A senior EU official said Friday that Russia has taken its war against Ukraine to a a different stage by making indiscriminate attacks on civilians and non-military targets, while criticising Moscow for triggering recent moves by Germany and the United States to send advanced tanks to Ukraine. Stefano Sannino, Secretary General of the European Union's European External Action Service, defended German and US provisions of the military equipment to Ukraine, and criticised Russian President Vladimir Putin for waging a war on NATO and the West. Sannino, speaking at a news conference in Tokyo as part of an Asia-Pacific tour, said Putin had moved from a concept of special operation to a concept now of a war against NATO and the West. He said German and US tank provisions are meant to help Ukrainians defend themselves in the war, rather than making them attackers. I think that this latest development in terms of armed supply is just an evolution of the situation and of the way Russia star

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

US will send 31 Abrams tanks to Ukraine, says President Joe Biden

President Joe Biden has announced that the US will send 31 state-of-the-art Abrams battle tanks to Ukraine to help its troops push back Russian forces that remain entrenched in the country's east for almost a year since Moscow's invasion. President Biden's announcement on Wednesday came after he held talks with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on aiding Ukraine. Today, I'm announcing that the United States will be sending 31 Abrams tanks to Ukraine, the equivalent of one Ukrainian battalion. Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin has recommended this step because it will enhance Ukraine's capacity to defend its territory and achieve its strategic objectives, Biden said. The Abrams tanks are the most capable tanks in the world, Biden said, adding that they are also extremely complex to operate and maintain. The US will also provide training programme to maintain and operate these tanks, as well as eight M88 recovery vehic

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Sweden braces for anti-Turkey demonstrations amid NATO accession bid

Sweden is bracing for demonstrations Saturday that could complicate its efforts to persuade Turkey to approve its NATO accession, which has already drawn Turkey's ire

Bill introduced in US to terminate Pak's designation as major non-NATO ally

A US lawmaker has introduced a legislation in the US House of Representatives that seeks to terminate Pakistan's designation as a major non-NATO ally

NATO plans to deploy surveillance planes to Romania to eye Russian activity

Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February, NATO has bolstered its presence on Europe's eastern flank, including by sending additional battlegroups to Romania, Bulgaria, and Slovakia