NATO Archives - Page 2 of 3

07 Jul

Turkey, Sweden fail to end NATO membership standoff

Brussels, July 7, Turkey did not green-light Sweden's accession to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) at a three-party meeting held here, but the participants agreed to meet again next Monday in Vilnius, Lithuania, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said. The aim of Thursday's talks between Stoltenberg and the foreign ministers of Sweden and Turkey in Brussels was to overcome Turkey's objections to Sweden joining the alliance, Xinhua news agency reported. Stoltenberg described the Brussels meeting as "productive" and reaffirmed that Sweden's NATO membership is within reach. He added that he would convene a meeting between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan…

05 Jul

NATO extends Jens Stoltenberg’s tenure as chief

Brussels, July 5, NATO Allies have agreed to extend the mandate of Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg by a further year, until 1 October 2024. The decision will be endorsed by NATO Heads of State and Government at the Vilnius Summit, an official statement said on Tuesday. Allies thanked the Secretary-General for his leadership and commitment, which has been critical to preserving transatlantic unity in the face of unprecedented security challenges. Stoltenberg said: “I am honoured by the decision of NATO Allies to extend my term as Secretary General. The transatlantic bond between Europe and North America has ensured our freedom…

04 Jul

Zelensky calls on Biden to invite Ukraine into NATO ‘now’

Kiev, July 4, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky jas called on his American counterpart Joe Biden to invite Kiev into the NATO “now” even if membership does not come until after the ongoing war. Speaking to CNN, Zelensky said that Biden was “the decision maker” about whether Ukraine would be in NATO or not. “He supports our future in NATO,” but an invitation now would be a huge motivator for Ukrainian soldiers, the President said. Ukraine’s aspiration to join is enshrined in its Constitution and its relationship with NATO dates back to the early 1990s, according to the military alliance. NATO…

26 Jun

Erdogan urges Sweden to end PKK protests for its NATO membership

Ankara, June 26, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has urged Sweden to prevent the demonstrations by supporters of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in Stockholm in exchange for a green light on its NATO bid. In a phone conversation with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg on Sunday, Erdogan said his country continues its "constructive attitude" toward Sweden's joining the alliance, according to a statement from his office. But Erdogan said the Nordic country's change on terror laws does not meet the expectation of Ankara as long as the PKK can demonstrate in the country "freely", reports Xinhua news agency. Turkey…

09 Jun

No foreign troops to be deployed in Ukraine before war ends: FM

Kiev, June 9 (IANS) Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said that no foreign countries will send their troops to Kiev before the end of the ongoing war. "Until the end of the war in the territory of Ukraine, foreign countries will not deploy their troops in the territory of our state," Kuleba said. The Ukrainian side is asking its partners for weapons, not for dispatching their soldiers, Xinhua news agency quoted the Prime Minister as saying. Kuleba further stressed that Ukraine's possible membership in the NATO would not put an end to Russia's full scale invasion of Kiev, but could prevent…

27 May

Baltic PMs, German Chancellor meet in Tallinn

Riga, May 27 (IANS) The Prime Ministers of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania discussed with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in the Estonian capital Tallinn on security issues, according to a spokesman for the Latvian Prime Minister. A bilateral meeting between Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas and Scholz on Friday was followed by a working dinner attended also by Latvian Prime Minister Krisjanis Karins and Lithuanian Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte, Xinhua news agency reported. Topics discussed included foreign and security policy, preparations for the upcoming NATO summit in Vilnius of Lithuania, and energy policy. Speaking at a news conference following the talks with…

27 May

US congressional panel on China suggests NATO+ status for India

Washington, May 27 (IANS) A US congressional committee has recommended that India should be added to an expanded group of close American allies currently called NATO+5 as part of a broader effort to deter any Chinese military aggression against Taiwan. The panel also suggested that to improve the effectiveness of economic sanctions the US must coordinate them with the Quad, an Indo-Pacific-centric group US forms with India, Australia and Japan, and other alliances and partnerships. "The US should strengthen the NATO Plus arrangement to include India," said the House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition between the US and the Chinese…

31 Mar

Turkey’s Parliament approves Finland’s NATO membership bid

Ankara, March 31 (IANS) Turkey's Parliament has officially approved Finland's bid to become the 31st member of the NATO. There were 276 votes in favour on Thursday for the Nordic nation to become a part of the military alliance, reports Turkey's state-run Anadolu News Agency. The vote means that all 30 current member states of NATO have now ratified Finland's accession, a requirement for it to join the alliance. Abandoning decades of military non-alignment after the launch of Russia's war on Ukraine last February, Finland and Sweden formally applied to join NATO in May. But Turkey, a NATO member for over…

24 Mar

Finland’s president signs national NATO legislation

Helsinki, March 24 (IANS) Finland's President Sauli Niinisto has signed into law his country's accession to the NATO, which was ratified by parliament on March 1. This act formally sealed the Nordic country's historic bid to join the military alliance. Next, Finland will submit its NATO membership-related documents to the US administration once Turkey and Hungary ratify its membership bid, Xinhua news agency reported. Last Friday, during Niinisto's visit to Turkey, the country's President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, said that Ankara would begin the process of ratifying Finland's bid. According to Turkish media reports cited by the Finnish daily Helsingin Sanomat, the…

23 Mar

Sweden’s Parliament endorses country joining NATO

Stockholm, March 23 (IANS) Swedish lawmakers have overwhelmingly voted in favour of the country joining the NATO. The vote on Wednesday was 269 in favour and 37 against, reports Xinhua news agency. Forty-three lawmakers were absent and two of the eight parties represented in the country's Parliament (Riksdag) -- the Left Party and the Green Party -- voted against the motion. Hungary and Turkey remain the last two hold-outs among NATO's 30 members to ratify the accession of Sweden and Finland to the military alliance. Also on Wednesday, a proposal tabled by the Left Party and the Green Party to outlaw…