EPA Ukraine’s President Zelensky met the US envoy to Ukraine and Russia in Kyiv on Thursday European leaders have been left stunned by the open rapprochement between US President Donald Trump and Russia’s Vladimir Putin – and not-so-subtle hints that the US may abandon its obligation to defend European allies. After World War Two, West … Read moreCan Europe still count on the US coming to its defence?
NATO chief Mark Rutte says the US-led military alliance will launch a new mission to protect undersea cables in the Baltic Sea region. Rutte made the announcement at a meeting attended by the leaders of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Sweden in the Finnish capital, Helsinki, on Tuesday. “It will involve a … Read moreNATO launches new Baltic Sea mission to protect undersea cables
Russia has trashed a plan pitched by US President-elect Donald Trump’s team to end the Russia-Ukraine war by deferring Kyiv’s NATO membership in exchange for a ceasefire, according to Russian state-owned media. Trump’s win in the November presidential election, his repeated criticism of Ukraine and United States funding for Kyiv, and his promise to end the … Read moreWhy has Russia rejected Trump’s Ukraine truce plan?
One year ago, Finland abandoned its longstanding tradition of neutrality and became NATO’s 31st member. This entry into the transatlantic military alliance marked a turning point in Finland’s approach to foreign and security policy. It effectively saw Helsinki walking away from its post-WWII approach to Moscow, through which the Nordic country had always sought to … Read moreA year of living less dangerously? Finland’s first 12 months in NATO
NATO’s secretary-general has said there are no plans to send troops to Ukraine, as Russia claimed it was ready to enter a direct conflict with the Western military alliance should it put boots on the ground. Responding to remarks made by French President Emmanuel Macron the previous day, Jens Stoltenberg on Tuesday denied that NATO … Read moreNATO denies plans to send troops to Ukraine
Former United States President Donald Trump has stirred strong reactions in Europe after saying Washington might not protect NATO allies from potential attack from Russia if he wins the November election unless some members of the alliance step up their military spending. Speaking at a campaign rally on Saturday in South Carolina, the Republican Party’s … Read moreTrump’s Russia threat against NATO: What US allies are spending on defence
Finland, Europe’s easternmost liberal democracy and a new NATO member, is bracing for an important presidential election. The Nordic nation controls the European Union’s longest border with Russia and is one of a handful of EU members to have fought a war with Russia. Its position on Ukraine has been outspokenly and consistently against Russia’s … Read moreNew NATO member Finland set to pick president after 12 years of Niinisto
The Turkish parliament’s foreign affairs commission has approved Sweden’s NATO membership bid. The decision, taken on Tuesday, is a key step towards enlarging the military alliance after 19 months of delays in which Ankara demanded security-related concessions from Stockholm. The commission, controlled by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party), voted … Read moreTurkish parliament’s foreign affairs commission approves Sweden’s NATO bid
The head of the NATO alliance says it is up to Ukraine to decide on when and under what conditions to begin any negotiations on ending the war with Russia after comments by a senior colleague on the subject resulted in a backlash. Speaking at a conference in the Norwegian town of Arendal, Jens Stoltenberg … Read moreAfter backlash, NATO chief says only Ukraine can decide on talks to end war
NATO allies located along the alliance’s eastern front are growing increasingly worried about the presence of Russia-linked Wagner Group mercenaries in Belarus, where some have been deployed since a short-lived mutiny in Russia in June. Poland, Lithuania and Latvia – members of NATO and the European Union which border Belarus – had already been on … Read moreNATO allies beef up security due to Wagner troops’ presence in Belarus