Browsing: NATO

The chief of NATO has criticised Donald Trump’s suggestion that the US wouldn’t protect NATO allies who don’t spend enough on defence, stating it undermines security and puts troops at risk.

Jens Stoltenberg emphasised that such remarks could endanger US and European troops.

Trump indicated he would “encourage” Russia to attack any NATO member not meeting the alliance’s 2% GDP defence spending target.

EXCLUSIVE: Russian opposition leader Ilya Ponomarev criticises Western allies for their cautious stance on the Ukraine conflict, singling out the United States and Germany, while Hungary’s delayed approval of Sweden’s NATO membership raises concerns among alliance partners.

Turkey’s parliament is widely expected to approve Sweden’s NATO membership bid on Tuesday, clearing the biggest remaining hurdle to expanding the Western military alliance after 20 months of delays.

Some 16,000 troops with tanks, artillery and helicopters will be deployed from the British Army across eastern Europe starting next month as part of the exercise.

The attack could see Nato member states dragged into the war.

The war in Ukraine has forced a major rethink in European security, with both Sweden and Finland abandoning their long-standing policy of non-alignment and applying for NATO membership last year. But while Finland was admitted into NATO this April, delays have persisted on Sweden’s entry, with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan linking a serious of unrelated issues to Ankara’s ratification of Sweden’s accession – the latest of which is a potential sale of US F-16 fighter jets to Turkey. We discuss what Sweden’s entry to NATO would actually mean with Sweden’s top diplomat, Foreign Minister Tobias Billström.

The United Nations on Monday expressed concern over the “atmosphere of mutual suspicion” in Kosovo, calling for “critical” de-escalatory measures between it and Serbia.

Poland votes on Sunday in parliamentary elections that could greatly affect future ties with the European Union and neighbouring Ukraine, as the ruling populists bid for a third consecutive term in power.

Today’s news summary – Paper Talk Various stories lead Wednesday’s front pages. Several of the papers mark the 75th anniversary…

A man tore up and burned a Koran outside Stockholm’s central mosque on Wednesday, an event that risks angering Turkey as Sweden bids to join NATO, after Swedish police granted permission for the protest to take place.