Turkish parliament ratifies Finland’s NATO accession as Sweden kept waiting
Turkey’s parliament approved a bill on Thursday to allow Finland to join NATO, clearing the way for the country to become part of the Western defence alliance as war ...
NATO slams Putin rhetoric on tactical nukes in Belarus; Russia pounds Avdiivka
NATO slammed Vladimir Putin for “dangerous” nuclear rhetoric after the Russian president announced plans to station tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, while Russian forces intensified shelling of the frontline Ukrainian ...
Turkish parliamentary commission approves Finland’s NATO bid
The Turkish parliament’s foreign affairs commission approved a bill ratifying Finland’s bid to join NATO, state broadcaster TRT Haber reported on Thursday, effectively taking Helsinki another step toward ...
Finland’s NATO accession bid most likely to be ratified by Turkish parliament in April
Turkey’s parliament will “highly likely” ratify Finland’s NATO accession bid before it closes in mid-April, two Turkish officials told Reuters on Wednesday, a day before Finnish President Sauli ...
Likelihood Finland joins NATO before Sweden has increased, Swedish PM says
Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said on Tuesday that the likelihood that Finland joins the NATO military alliance before Sweden had increased, though Swedish membership was only a matter of ...
Ukraine war is blurring the lines between Nato and the EU on defence policy
By Baris Celik
The EU and the Nato have proved crucial in bringing together their member states around a coordinated response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Recognising the continued ...
Hungary signals fresh delay in Finland, Sweden NATO approval
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s chief of staff signalled on Saturday a possible further delay in Budapest’s ratification of Finland and Sweden joining NATO, saying a vote may ...
Ukraine defends front line, Putin talks up nuclear arsenal – Update
Ukraine said its forces had repelled Russian assaults along the length of the front line on Thursday on the eve of the war’s anniversary, as President Vladimir Putin, empty-handed ...
Blinken, in Turkey, urges speedy Nordics accession to NATO
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Monday Washington strongly supports Sweden and Finland’s quick NATO accession given steps they have already taken, even as his Turkish ...
Russia reports battlefield advances as Ukraine urges faster military aid
Russia said on Wednesday its troops had broken through two fortified lines of Ukrainian defences on the eastern front, as Kyiv demanded faster supplies of military aid from its allies ...
NATO allies weigh more arms for Ukraine (wrapup)
Russian forces bombarded front-line Ukrainian troops and towns in the eastern Donetsk region on Tuesday in what appeared to be early salvoes of a new offensive, as Western allies met ...
Russian forces bombard Ukraine’s Bakhmut as defenders brace for assault
The city of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine endured heavy Russian artillery fire on Monday in an apparent prelude to a major new offensive as the first anniversary of the war ...
US Congress warns Turkey that F-16 sale depends on NATO approval
The U.S. Congress cannot support the $20 billion sale of F-16 fighter jets to Turkey until Ankara ratifies the NATO memberships of Sweden and Finland, a bipartisan group of senators ...
Finland to stick with Sweden in NATO bid, hopes for green light by July
Finland is sticking to its plan to join NATO at the same time as Nordic neighbour Sweden, and hopes to do so no later than July, Finnish foreign minister Pekka ...
Turkey to reject Sweden’s NATO bid, may agree to Finland joining
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan signalled that Ankara may agree to Finland joining NATO ahead of Sweden, amid growing tensions with Stockholm.
“We may deliver Finland a different message (on their ...
Finland says time-out needed in talks with Turkey over NATO bid
Finland’s foreign minister said that a pause of a few weeks was needed in Finland and Sweden’s talks with Turkey on their application to join the NATO military ...
Russia should exercise self-criticism says Anastasiades
Russia could not have expected Cyprus to disagree with Europe’s collective decisions and ought to engage in a little self-criticism, President Nicos Anastasiades said on Thursday.
Responding to statements ...
Finland hopes Turkish minister’s U.S. trip will boost its NATO membership bid
Finland said on Tuesday it hoped that Turkey’s foreign minister’s trip to the United States this week would bring positive impetus for it and Sweden’s bids to ...
2022: the year when history began again
Historians will judge 2022 a momentous year. If when the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991 it heralded the end of history, by that logic Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 ushered in ...
Turkey calls for more action from Sweden on extradition for NATO backing
Turkey’s foreign minister said on Thursday that Sweden has not yet acted to extradite or freeze the assets of people that his country believes are linked to terrorism, even ...
Turkey says it wants more extraditions from Sweden
Sweden’s extradition to Turkey last week of a Kurdish man with alleged terrorism links is a “good start”, but Stockholm needs to do more before Ankara can approve its ...
Russia’s Lavrov accuses NATO of fanning tensions in South China Sea
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Thursday accused NATO of whipping up tensions near China in a way that posed risks for Russia.
“The South China Sea is now becoming ...
NATO vows to protect ‘fragile’ countries in Russia’s neighbourhood
NATO foreign ministers will on Wednesday seek to reassure fragile countries in Russia’s neighbourhood that they fear could be destabilised by Russia as the conflict in Ukraine drags on, ...
Sweden, Finland and Turkey have made progress on NATO membership, Sweden says
Sweden and Finland have made good progress towards an agreement with Turkey on the Nordic countries’ admission to NATO, Swedish Minister for Foreign Affairs Tobias Billstrom said.
“We had a ...