Norway's Nammo and RTX's Raytheon business unit agreed to partner to build rocket motors
NATO leaders met this week to celebrate the alliance's 75th anniversary under the cloud of deep political uncertainty in its most powerful member the United States. But even as questions swirled about President Joe Biden's future and the implications of a possible return to the White House by NATO sceptic Donald Trump, the 32 allies put a brave face on their strength and unity going forward, particularly in relation to Ukraine. Over three days in Washington, Ukraine, Russia, the threat posed by an increasingly aggressive China and NATO's future dominated the formal summit discussions, although all eyes were on Biden. He hoped to use the summit as a symbol of his strength as leader of the free world as he struggles to salvage his reelection campaign. Biden is facing growing calls to withdraw after a poor debate performance against Trump last month. Here are key takeaways from the summit: Biden gets some slack Biden stunned the audience at a meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Council on
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, in a press conference of his own, repeatedly avoided answering the question as to whether Biden was fit enough to run for the US presidency
China on Thursday hit out at NATO for terming it as a "decisive enabler" of Russia's war against Ukraine, lodging a diplomatic protest to the Western alliance for the "provocative" remarks and asking it not to bring the same "chaos" to Asia. The China-related paragraphs in the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation's Washington summit declaration are "biased, provocative and aimed at vilifying" Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian told a media briefing here. "We strongly deplore it and firmly oppose it and lodged a serious representation, (diplomatic protest) to NATO," Lin said. He also lashed out at the NATO Asia-Pacific push, saying the organisation is strengthening ties with China's neighbours and US allies trying to seek security at the expense of others and asked it not to bring the same "chaos" to Asia. NATO's Asia Pacific strategy has damaged China's interests, he said and urged it to stop interfering in its internal affairs. China will firmly safeguard its ...
Moreover, the Nato communique also strengthened past language on China, calling it a "decisive enabler" of Russia's war effort in Ukraine
From being a distant threat, Beijing takes centre stage
The 32-member NATO expressed concerns on Wednesday over the deepening relationship between Russia and China, and the latter's aggressive behaviour. "The People's Republic of China's (PRC) stated ambitions and coercive policies continue to challenge our interests, security and values. The deepening strategic partnership between Russia and the PRC and their mutually-reinforcing attempts to undercut and reshape the rules-based international order are a cause for profound concern," said the Washington Summit Declaration. "We are confronted by hybrid, cyber, space and other threats and malicious activities from state and non-state actors," said the declaration issued by the heads of state and government participating in the meeting of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) here during which it welcomed Sweden as its 32nd member country. The historic accession of Finland and Sweden makes them safer and the alliance stronger, including in the High North and the Baltic Sea, it ...
In their most serious rebuke against Beijing, NATO allies on Wednesday called China a "decisive enabler" of Russia's war against Ukraine and expressed concerns over China's nuclear arsenal and its capabilities in space. The sternly-worded final communiqu, approved by the 32 NATO members at their summit in Washington, makes clear that China is becoming a focus of the military alliance. The European and North American members and their partners in the Indo-Pacific increasingly see shared security concerns coming from Russia and its Asian supporters, especially China. Beijing has denied that it supports Russia's war efforts and insists that it conducts normal trade with its northern neighbour. In the communiqu, NATO member countries said China has become a war enabler through its "no-limits partnership" with Russia and its large-scale support for Russia's defence industrial base. "This increases the threat Russia poses to its neighbours and to Euro-Atlantic security. We call on the PR
Newly elected British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is making his maiden appearance on the international stage with a strong signal of support for Ukraine as he attends the NATO summit in Washington. After he and other European leaders met American lawmakers, Starmer sat down with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Wednesday. They embraced and leaned in close, smiling, before holding private talks. Afterward, he reaffirmed Britain's full-throated backing for Kyiv as it battles Russia's invasion. Starmer said he and his new Labour government would use our opportunity here with our allies to make sure that that support is agreed by NATO's members. As he arrived for the summit, Starmer added that it was also important for him to "reinforce, in a sense as a message to (Russian President Vladimir) Putin, the resolve of NATO bigger now than it's ever been, more united than it's ever been and absolutely clear-eyed about the threat of Russian aggression. Starmer will also meet one o
The move would have been banned under the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty signed by the US and the Soviet Union in 1987 but that collapsed in 2019
The alliance is also concerned by developments in China's space capabilities and activities and urges Beijing to engage in strategic risk reduction discussions, the draft said
US official noted that Russia's defence industry is on a wartime footing and with help from Iran, China, North Korea, and is attempting to undertake the most significant defence expansion
Nato invited 16 content creators from countries including the UK, Germany and France with followings on TikTok, Instagram and other social-media platforms to attend summit in Washington
The US and an array of other NATO allies will send Ukraine dozens of air-defence systems in the coming months, including at least four of the powerful Patriot systems that Kyiv has been desperately seeking to help fight off Russian advances in the war, according to a new joint agreement. President Joe Biden announced the broader commitment when he spoke on Tuesday at the opening of the NATO summit in Washington. According to the statement, the US, Germany and Romania will send Ukraine additional Patriot batteries, while the Netherlands and others will provide Patriot components to make up one more battery. Italy will provide a SAMP-T air-defence system. Other allies, including Canada, Norway, Spain and the United Kingdom, will provide a number of other systems that will help Ukraine expand its coverage. Those systems include NASAMS, HAWKs, IRIS T-SLM, IRIS T-SLS and Gepards. And other nations have agreed to provide munitions for those systems. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has proven to be an adept navigator of international relations in defense of his country, publicly cajoling and sometimes loudly complaining to get the military assistance his war-ravaged country needs to defend itself against Russia's invasion. But, as he attends this week's summit of NATO leaders in Washington, his most coveted prize membership in the military alliance remains elusive. The European and North American countries making up NATO are in no hurry to admit Ukraine, especially while it is engaged in active hostilities with Russia that could drag them into a broader war. Zelenskyy, who was feted as a champion of democracy in Washington in the aftermath of Russia's 2022 invasion but was forced to plead his case for aid to US lawmakers just last year, will find himself once again in the American capital as bridesmaid. At the NATO summit, he'll be trying to navigate a tumultuous American political landscape as President Joe Biden trie
NATO has signed a nearly $700 million contract to have member countries produce more Stinger missiles, one of many steps the alliance is pressing at its summit in Washington to get each country to boost its own weapons production capabilities. Outgoing NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg announced the contract Tuesday at a Chamber of Commerce industry day focused on increasing NATO member countries' defense manufacturing capabilities to deter future attacks. There is no way to provide strong defense without a strong defense industry," Stoltenberg said. The Stinger is a portable surface-to-air defense system that can be carried and fired by troops or mounted to a vehicle and used as short-range defense against aircraft. The Raytheon-produced system was one of the first weapons the US shipped to Ukraine following Russia's 2022 invasion. The NATO summit is occurring against a backdrop of uncertainty: US political divisions delayed weapons for Ukraine for months and the upcoming ..
"We are fighting for additional security guarantees for Ukraine - and these are weapons and finances, political support," he said in a video on the Telegram messaging app
In the third year of the war in Ukraine, NATO is set to deepen relations with its four Indo-Pacific partners, which, although not part of the military alliance, are gaining prominence as Russia and China forge closer ties to counter the United States and the two Koreas support opposing sides of the conflict in Europe. The leaders of New Zealand, Japan and South Korea for the third year in a row will attend the NATO summit, which starts Tuesday in Washington, DC, while Australia will send its deputy prime minister. China will be following the summit closely, worried by the alliance's growing interest beyond Europe and the Western Hemisphere. "Increasingly, partners in Europe see challenges halfway around the world in Asia as being relevant to them, just as partners in Asia see challenges halfway around the world in Europe as being relevant to them," Secretary of State Antony Blinken said last week at the Brookings Institution. America's top diplomat said the US has been working to ..
At a summit in Vilnius last year, Nato leaders agreed on the alliance's first major defence plans in more than three decades
Seoul would make a decision on weapons support for Ukraine based on how a new military pact between Moscow and Pyongyang plays out