Live news updates: The delay in getting Central govt's clearance for the semi high-speed rail project SilverLine may also be discussed in the meeting
Serbia on Monday placed its security troops on the border with Kosovo on "the full state of combat readiness", ignoring NATO's calls for calming down of tensions between the two wartime Balkan foes. Serbia's Interior Minister Bratislav Gasic said he "ordered the full combat readiness" of police and other security units and that they be placed under the command of the army chief of staff according to "their operational plan. He said in a statement that he acted on the orders of Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic so that "all measures be taken to protect the Serbian people in Kosovo". It was not immediately clear what this order meant on the ground as Serbian troops have been on alert for a while on the border with Kosovo. Officials claim alleged harassment of Kosovo Serbs by ethnic Albanians who are a majority in the breakaway province that declared its independence in 2008. Earlier Monday, NATO-led peacekeepers said they were investigating a shooting incident in a tense northern ..
The U.N. special envoy for Libya warned Friday that signs of partition are already evident in the troubled North African nation and urged influential nations to pressure Libya's rival leaders to urgently finalize the constitutional basis for elections. The first anniversary of the vote's postponement is coming up later in December, said Abdoulaye Bathily, who stressed that if there is no resolution, an alternative way should be found to hold elections. Oil-rich Libya plunged into chaos after a NATO-backed uprising toppled and killed longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi in 2011. In the chaos that followed, the county split into two rival administrations, each backed by different rogue militias and foreign governments. Bathily told the U.N. Security Council that the continuing disagreement between the two rivals specifically, the speaker of Libya's east-based parliament, Aguila Saleh, and Khaled al-Mashri, the president of the High Council of State based in the country's west, in the .
There is a lot at stake for Russia in the ongoing Ukraine war, and it could cause a great deal of pain for the world
The Biden administration on Tuesday approved a nearly USD 4 billion sale of advanced tanks, other combat vehicles and a large amount of assorted weaponry to NATO ally Poland at a time of heightened security concerns because of the war in neighbouring Ukraine. The State Department said it had given the OK for Poland to purchase 116 M1A1 Abrams Battle Tanks and other equipment, including tens of thousands of rounds of various ammunition, worth approximately USD 3.75 billion. At the same time, the department said it had also approved a USD 1.5 billion sale of Chinook helicopters to treaty ally South Korea. The department said both sales were in support of US national security interests and would not alter the basic military balance in either region, which are facing threats from Russia and North Korea. The Abrams tank purchase by Poland will support the foreign policy goals and national security objectives of the United States by improving the security of a NATO ally that is a force f
Finland must publicly declare that it's lifting an arms embargo on Turkey to win Ankara's approval for its membership to NATO, the Turkish foreign minister said Tuesday. Mevlut Cavusoglu made the comments ahead of visit by Finland's Defense Minister Antti Kaikkonen, who will be discussing his nation's bid to join the military alliance with his Turkish counterpart Hulusi Akar on Thursday. The Finnish defense minister's visit to Turkey is important because we have not yet heard a statement from Finland saying they've lifted their arms embargo against us, Cavusoglu told reporters. We're expecting such a statement from there. Sweden and Finland abandoned their longstanding policies of military nonalignment and applied for membership in the alliance after Russian forces invaded Ukraine in February, amid concerns that Russia might target them next. But NATO-member Turkey has been holding up Sweden and Finland's bids to join the military alliance, accusing the two Nordic countries of ...
"We have doubled the number of NATO battlegroups from four to eight, including one in Romania, led by France," he said
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg reaffirmed the military alliance's commitment to Ukraine on Tuesday, saying that the war-torn nation will one day become a member of the world's largest security organization. Stoltenberg's remarks came as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and his NATO counterparts gathered in Romania to drum up urgently needed support for Ukraine aimed at ensuring that Moscow fails to defeat Ukraine as it bombards energy infrastructure. NATO's door is open, Stoltenberg said. Russia does not have a veto on countries joining, he said in reference to the recent entry of North Macedonia and Montenegro into the security alliance. He said that Russian President Vladimir Putin will get Finland and Sweden as NATO members soon. The Nordic neighbours applied for membership in April, concerned that Russia might target them next. We stand by that, too, on membership for Ukraine," the former Norwegian prime minister said. "At the same time, the main focus now is on ..
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and his NATO counterparts are gathering in Romania on Tuesday to drum up urgently needed support for Ukraine, including deliveries of electrical components for the war-torn country's devastated power transmission network. Ukraine's grid has been battered countrywide since early October by targeted Russian strikes, in what U.S. officials call a Russian campaign to weaponise the coming winter cold. Ahead of the meeting, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg also said that Russian President Vladimir Putin is trying to use winter as a weapon of war against Ukraine and that NATO's allies and Ukraine need to be prepared for more attacks. The meeting in the capital Bucharest is likely to see NATO make fresh pledges of nonlethal support to Ukraine: fuel, generators, medical supplies, winter equipment and drone-jamming devices. Blinken will announce substantial U.S. aid for Ukraine's energy grid, U.S. officials said Individual allies are also likely to
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
The incident roiled financial markets early in the day amid fears that geopolitical tensions may flare up further
Wider October trade deficit, contraction in exports drag down rupee
Ambassadors from the 30 NATO nations gathered in Brussels Wednesday for emergency talks after Poland said that a Russian-made missile fell on its territory, killing two people, and US President Joe Biden and his allies promised support for the investigation into the incident. The blast came as Russia launched widespread aerial strikes across Ukraine and immediately raised concern and confusion about whether Russia might be broadening the war it launched against Ukraine in February, potentially dragging NATO into the conflict. But three US officials said preliminary assessments suggest the missile was fired by Ukrainian forces at an incoming Russian projectile, and Biden said it was unlikely that it was fired from Russia. NATO chief spokeswoman Oana Lungescu described the blast as a tragic incident. Poland said late on Tuesday that it was considering calling for emergency consultations under Article 4 of NATO's founding treaty, which provides for such talks if one of the 30 allies .
The leaders affirmed readiness to hold Russia accountable for its "brazen attacks" on the Ukrainian communities.
US President Joe Biden said on Wednesday that it was "unlikely" that a missile that killed two in NATO-ally Poland was fired from Russia, but pledged support for Poland's investigation into what it had called a "Russian-made" missile. Biden spoke after he convened an "emergency" meeting of the Group of Seven and NATO leaders in Indonesia on Wednesday morning for consultations on the attack that killed two people in the eastern part of Poland near the Ukraine border. "There is preliminary information that contests that," Biden told reporters when asked if the missile had been fired from Russia. "It is unlikely in the lines of the trajectory that it was fired from Russia, but we will see." The president, who was awakened overnight by staff with the news of the missile explosion while in Indonesia for the Group of 20 summit, called Polish President Andrzej Duda early on Wednesday to express his "deep condolences" for the loss of lives. Biden promised on Twitter "full US support for and
President Joe Biden called an "emergency" meeting of G7 and NATO leaders in Indonesia on Wednesday morning for consultations after NATO-ally Poland said a "Russian-made" missile killed two people in the eastern part of its country near the Ukraine border. Biden, who was awakened overnight by staff with the news of the missile explosion, called Polish President Andrzej Duda early on Wednesday to express his "deep condolences" for the loss of lives. The US president promised "full US support for and assistance with Poland's investigation", and "reaffirmed the United States' ironclad commitment to NATO". A statement from the Polish Foreign Ministry identified the missile as being made in Russia. But Poland's president, Duda, was more cautious about its origin, saying that officials did not know for sure who fired it or where it was made. He said it was "most probably" Russian-made, but that is being still verified. If confirmed, it would be the first time since the invasion of Ukraine .
Kristersson said Sweden has designated the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) as a terrorist organization and his government was willing to support Turkey in its fight against the group
The government says Finland's NATO membership could be approved by a simple majority in Parliament
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg urged Turkey on Thursday to set aside its reservations over Finland and Sweden's efforts to join the military alliance, insisting the Nordic neighbours have done enough to satisfy Ankara's concerns about their membership. Finland and Sweden applied for membership of the world's biggest security alliance in the months after Russian forces invaded Ukraine in February. In doing so, they abandoned longstanding policies of military nonalignment out of concern that Russian President Vladimir Putin might target them next. But Turkey, which joined NATO in 1952, is still not ready to endorse them after months of trilateral talks. The Turkish government wants them to crack down on individuals it considers terrorists, such as supporters of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party and people suspected of orchestrating a failed 2016 coup in Turkey. Finland and Sweden have delivered on their commitment to Turkey. They have become strong partners in our joint .
The two leaders agreed that their countries should join NATO in lockstep