Page 4 - Nato

Nato to fully fund US weapons sent to Ukraine under new deal, says Trump

In recent days, Trump has expressed frustration with Russian President Putin over the lack of progress towards ending the war sparked by Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022

Appearance of Nato bases in Ukraine an immediate threat to Russia: Lavrov

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said Nato's efforts to turn Ukraine into a strategic military foothold left Moscow with no choice but to launch its 2022 military operation

'He could get offended': Putin halts forum to take Donald Trump's call

Vladimir Putin tells Donald Trump that Russia will not back down in Ukraine, open to talks; both leaders discuss Iran tensions, US weapons pause, and push for diplomatic solutions

Starmer faces down revolt over welfare reform after first year in office

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer marks a year in office this week, fighting a rebellion from his own party over welfare reform and reckoning with a sluggish economy and rock-bottom approval ratings. It's a long way from the landslide election victory he won on July 4, 2024, when Starmer's center-left Labour Party took 412 of the 650 seats in the House of Commons to end 14 years of Conservative government. In the last 12 months Starmer has navigated the rapids of a turbulent world, winning praise for rallying international support for Ukraine and persuading US President Donald Trump to sign a trade deal easing tariffs on UK goods. But at home his agenda has run onto the rocks as he struggles to convince British voters and his own party that his government is delivering the change that it promised. Inflation remains stubbornly high and economic growth low, frustrating efforts to ease the cost of living. Starmer's personal approval ratings are approaching those of Conservative Pr

Russia will no longer play 'one-sided' games with the West: Vladimir Putin

Putin's remarks came just days after the Nato summit in The Hague, where the alliance's members committed to increasing defence expenditure to 5 per cent of GDP by 2035

Nato's new higher spending pledge hinges on outcome of Ukraine-Russia war

Though Wednesday's agreement marks a substantial increase over the current goal of 2 per cent the method of measuring this expenditure offers a slightly altered reality

Zelenskyy meets Trump at Nato; discusses air defence, drone cooperation

Zelenskyy's meeting with Trump was their first meeting face-to-face since April, when they met at St Peter's Basilica during Pope Francis' funeral

Nato countries commit to raise defence spending to 5% of GDP by 2035

Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte acknowledged that it was not easy for European countries and Canada to find the extra money, but said it was vital to do so

Israel, Iran conflict could restart 'perhaps soon': Donald Trump at Nato

Speaking at the Nato summit in The Hague, Trump said both Israel and Iran seem fatigued but warned that renewed conflict remains a possibility amid regional volatility

Nato chief calls summit 'transformational' despite defence spending rift

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte was upbeat that the military organisation will agree on massive spending hikes at a transformational summit on Wednesday, as member state leaders including US President Donald Trump assembled in The Netherlands. Leaders of the 32-nation alliance are expected to agree a new defense spending target of 5 per cent of gross domestic product, as the United States NATO's biggest-spending member shifts its attention away from Europe to focus on security priorities elsewhere. So a transformational summit. Looking forward to it, Rutte told reporters in The Hague, before chairing the meeting's only working session, which was expected to last less than three hours. But ahead of the meeting, Spain announced that it would not be able to reach the target by the new 2035 deadline, calling it unreasonable. Belgium signalled that it would not get there either, and Slovakia said it reserves the right to decide its own defence spending. Rutte conceded that these ar

Nato leaders to meet for what could be historic summit or divided one

US President Donald Trump and his NATO counterparts will meet formally Wednesday for a summit that could unite the world's biggest security organisation around a new defense spending pledge or widen divisions among the allies. Just a week ago, things had seemed rosy. NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte was optimistic the European members and Canada would commit to invest at least as much of their economic growth on defense as the United States does for the first time. Then Spain rejected the new NATO target for each country to spend 5 per cent of its gross domestic product on defence, calling it unreasonable. Trump insists on that figure, but doesn't say it should apply to America. The alliance operates on a consensus that requires the backing of all 32 members. Trump has since lashed out at Prime Minister Pedro Snchez's government, saying: NATO is going to have to deal with Spain. Spain's been a very low payer." He also criticised Canada as a low payer. European allies and Canada a

Germany to raise defence spending to 3.5 per cent of GDP in 2029

Germany's finance minister on Tuesday vowed to lift the country's defense spending to 3.5 per cent of gross domestic product in 2029 as he presented the new government's spending plans. Chancellor Friedrich Merz's coalition pushed plans through parliament to enable higher defence spending by loosening strict rules on incurring debt even before it took office last month. It acted ahead of the NATO summit starting Tuesday that aims to raise allies' defence spending target from 2 per cent of GDP to 3.5 per cent, plus another 1.5 per cent for potentially defense-related infrastructure. Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil said Germany's defence spending will hit 2.4 per cent of GDP this year, and we will raise defence spending step by step so that we will reach a NATO quota of 3.5 per cent in 2029. Klingbeil, who is also the vice chancellor, said he will be very vigilant that the money is spent efficiently, for example by aiming for greater cooperation at European level on procurement, ...

Pro-Russian hackers target municipalities linked to Nato summit: Dutch govt

Pro-Russian hackers launched a series of denial-of-service attacks Monday on several municipalities and organisations linked to a NATO summit this week in the Netherlands, the Dutch government announced. The National Cybersecurity Center said in a statement that many of the attacks were claimed by a pro-Russian hackers' group known as NoName057(16) and appear to have a pro-Russian ideological motive. It did not elaborate. The cybersecurity centre said it was investigating the attacks that flood a site with data in order to overwhelm it and knock it offline, and was in contact with national and international partners. Raoul Rozestraten, a spokesman for the municipality in The Hague, the Dutch city hosting the summit Tuesday and Wednesday, said the attacks hit municipalities around the country. We noticed more traffic on the website of some of our service providers, he told The Associated Press. As of now, everything in The Hague is working normally." The government had launched a m

Nato chief warns Russia of 'devastating' response to any aggression

Nato Secretary-General Mark Rutte warns Russia against attacking any ally, calls Moscow the biggest threat, and unveils historic defence spending plans ahead of the 2025 summit

Nato leaders to meet for a summit that could be historic or with divisions

US President Donald Trump and his NATO counterparts are due to gather Tuesday for a summit that could unite the world's biggest security organisation around a new defence spending pledge or widen divisions among the 32 allies. Just a week ago, things had seemed rosy. NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte was optimistic the European members and Canada would commit to invest at least as much of their economic growth on defence as the United States does for the first time. Then Spain rejected the new NATO target for each country to spend 5% of its gross domestic product on defence needs, calling it unreasonable. Trump also insists on that figure. The alliance operates on a consensus that requires the backing of all 32 members. The following day, Trump said the US should not have to respect the goal. I don't think we should, but I think they should, he said. Trump lashed out at Prime Minister Pedro Snchez's government, saying: NATO is going to have to deal with Spain. Spain's been a very l

Hundreds protest in The Hague against Nato, days before it hosts summit

Hundreds of people have protested against NATO and military spending and against a possible conflict with Iran, two days before a summit of the alliance in The Hague that is seeking to increase allies' defense budgets. Let's invest in peace and sustainable energy, Belgian politician Jos d'Haese told the crowd at a park not far from the summit venue on Sunday. Although billed as a demonstration against NATO and the war in Gaza, protesters were joined by Iranians who held up banners saying No Iran War, the day after the United States launched attacks against three of Iran's nuclear sites. We are opposed to war. People want to live a peaceful life, said 74-year-old Hossein Hamadani, an Iranian who lives in the Netherlands. Look at the environment. Things are not good. So why do we spend money on war? he added. The Netherlands is hosting the annual meeting of the 32-nation alliance starting Tuesday, with leaders scheduled to meet Wednesday. The heads of government want to hammer out a

With Trump involved, wartime Nato summit may shift focus from Ukraine

At its first summits after Russia began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, NATO gave President Volodymyr Zelenskyy pride of place at its table. It won't be the same this time. Europe's biggest land conflict since World War II is now in its fourth year and still poses an existential threat to the continent. Ukraine continues to fight a war so that Europeans don't have to. Just last week, Russia launched one of the biggest drone attacks of the invasion on Kyiv. But things have changed. The Trump administration insists that it must preserve maneuvering space to entice Russian President Vladimir Putin to the negotiating table, so Ukraine must not be allowed steal the limelight. In Washington last year, the military alliance's weighty summit communique included a vow to supply long-term security assistance to Ukraine, and a commitment to back the country on its irreversible path" to NATO membership. The year before, a statement more than twice as long was published in the Lithuanian ..

Massive security operation for Nato summit turns The Hague into a fortress

Locals, art lovers and diplomats like to meet over a meal and a drink in the historic Gastrobar Berlage behind a landmark art museum in The Hague. But the usual stream of visitors turned into a trickle when fences started rising outside as part of super-tight security around a meeting of NATO leaders that is smothering the Dutch city in a massive military and police operation called Orange Shield. Parts of the usually laid-back city, where NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte used to ride his bicycle to work while munching on an apple when he was prime minister of the Netherlands, are turning into a military fortress. It's dead, Berlage owner Bianca Veenhof said as she looked at an almost empty terrace at the start of what should have been Wednesday's lunchtime rush. Parking spots have been blocked off by freshly installed security fencing, workers in nearby offices have been told to stay home and public transit lines near the grounds have been diverted. The city that markets itself

Indian diaspora hails PM Modi's visit as new beginning in Canada-India ties

"With the change of government and stance in Ottawa, and the current reality that Canada needs to diversify economically, this relationship will improve" says Nidhi Lodha, member of Indian diaspora

Denmark approves US military bases amid renewed interest in Greenland

Denmark's Parliament on Wednesday approved a bill to allow the United States to have military bases on Danish soil, a move that comes as US President Donald Trump seeks to take control of the kingdom's semi-autonomous territory of Greenland. Critics say the vote ceded Danish sovereignty to the US. The legislation widens a previous military agreement, made in 2023 with the Biden administration, where US troops had broad access to Danish airbases in the Scandinavian country. The new parameters follow Trump's coveting of the strategic, mineral-rich Arctic island even as the US and Denmark are NATO allies. The legislation now goes to Danish King Frederik X for his signature. Ninety-four lawmakers voted for it, while 11 voted against. Greenland's prime minister previously said US statements about the island have been disrespectful and it will never, ever be a piece of property that can be bought by just anyone.