NATO

NATO extends boss Stoltenberg’s term by a year

BRUSSELS, July 4 (Reuters) - NATO on Tuesday extended Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg’s contract by another year, opting to stick with an experienced leader rather than try to agree on a successor…

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NATO races to design long-term package for Ukraine but differences remain

NATO members are racing to complete a plan to provide long-term support to Ukraine, but are wrestling with how best to assure the country's security until it can join the military…

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NATO struggles in the shadows to find new leader

By Andrew Gray Stoltenberg due to step down later this year Big post in Western response to war in Ukraine Britain's defence minister Wallace wants the job Danish PM Frederiksen…

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NATO needs bigger presence in Black Sea, Romania’s president says

NATO needs a bigger presence in the Black Sea, Romania's President Klaus Iohannis said on Monday (April 3) after meeting German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. “The Black Sea is now, more…

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Sweden summons Russia’s ambassador over “legitimate target” statement

Sweden's foreign ministry said on Wednesday it will summon Russia's Stockholm ambassador to complain about an "attempt at interference" with the Swedish NATO application process.Sweden and Finland in 2022 both…

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Fresh from Kyiv, Biden rallies NATO allies in Poland

Fresh from an unannounced visit to Ukraine, President Joe Biden rallied NATO allies in Poland on Tuesday, proclaiming "unwavering" support for Kyiv and a commitment to bolstering the alliance's eastern…

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Boost in arms for Kyiv needed as Putin escalates war – NATO

Western countries need to boost ammunition supplies to Ukraine as Russia escalates its war effort before the first anniversary of the Feb. 24 invasion, NATO military alliance chief Jens Stoltenberg…

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NATO, Japan pledge to strengthen ties in face of ‘historic’ security threat

NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg and Japanese premier Fumio Kishida pledged on Tuesday to strengthen ties, saying Russia's invasion of Ukraine and its growing military cooperation with China had created the…

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NATO’s Stoltenberg expects allies to lift defence spending target

BERLIN, Jan 25 (Reuters) - NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg expects the alliance's member states to raise their current spending target on defence of 2% of national output when they…

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NATO and EU pledge to expand cooperation

Spurred by the war in Ukraine, top NATO and EU officials pledged to expand cooperation between the two institutions in a joint declaration signed on Tuesday in Brussels. The 27-member European…

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NATO foreign ministers discuss more winter aid for Kyiv

NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg will call on allies to pledge more winter aid for Kyiv at a meeting on Tuesday and Wednesday, after Ukraine's president told residents to brace for…

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NATO to go ahead with planned routine nuclear exercise -Stoltenberg

The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) will go ahead with its annual routine nuclear deterrent exercises as cancelling it now would send the wrong signal to Moscow, NATO head Jens…

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NATO peacekeepers increase presence in northern Kosovo

Peacekeepers in NATO's Kosovo Force (KFOR) have increased their presence in northern Kosovo to be able to react to security challenges, a NATO spokesperson told Reuters on Thursday (August 18). KFOR peacekeepers were seen…

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U.S. envoy sees ‘consequential shift’ in NATO, Asia ties amid China challenges

The recent attendance by four Asia Pacific leaders at the NATO summit reflects a "consequential shift" in the U.S. transatlantic security partnership which Washington seeks to expand to better counter…

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NATO to have over 300,000 troops at higher readiness- Stoltenberg

NATO will massively boost the number of troops on high readiness to over 300,000, Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said on Monday, with allies set to adopt a new strategy describing Moscow as a direct…

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NATO chief says Sweden has taken “important steps” to meet Turkey’s demands

Sweden has taken important steps to meet Turkey's demands for approving Stockholm's NATO membership application, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Monday during a visit to Sweden. Sweden and Finland applied to join the…

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Turkey wants ‘concrete steps’ from Finland, Sweden for NATO bids

A chief adviser to Turkey's president told his U.S. counterpart that Turkey wanted "concrete steps" on the existence of what it calls "terrorist organisations" in Finland and Sweden before it…

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Turkey’s Erdogan to speak to Finland as NATO application row simmers

ISTANBUL, (Reuters) - Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said he will speak to Finland on Saturday, while maintaining his opposition to Finnish and Swedish NATO membership bids over their history of hosting members of groups…

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Erdogan says Swedish, Finnish delegations should not bother coming to Turkey

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday that Swedish and Finnish delegations should not bother coming to Ankara to convince it to approve their NATO bid. Sweden's government has formally…

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NATO chief says alliance will increase presence in Baltic sea if Sweden applies

NATO will increase it's presence around Sweden's borders and in the Baltic sea while a potential application to join the alliance is processed, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told Swedish public…

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Finland and Sweden could join NATO quickly, Stoltenberg says

Finland and Sweden will be able to join NATO quickly should they decide to ask for membership in the Western military alliance, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said on Thursday (April…

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Lithuania wants NATO to expand Baltic battalions into brigades

Lithuania wants the NATO battalions in the Baltic countries to be expanded into brigades, the country's defence ministry said on Monday. A brigade consists of several battalions of troops. Lithuania…

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NATO plans full-scale military presence at border, says Stoltenberg

NATO is working on plans for a full-scale military presence on its border in an effort to battle future Russian aggression, The Telegraph reported, citing NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg. NATO was "in the midst of a…

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Finland, Sweden set to join NATO as soon as summer – reports

Russia has made a "massive strategic blunder" as Finland and Sweden look poised to join NATO as early as the summer, the British press has reported on Monday, citing officials. London-based The Times said…

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NATO chief says Finland, Sweden welcome to apply to join

NATO would quickly welcome Finland and Sweden into its ranks with open arms if they decided to apply, the military alliance’s top civilian official said Wednesday, as Russia’s war on…

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UPDATED: Stoltenberg to stay on as NATO chief until October 2023 as Russia wages war on Ukraine

BRUSSELS, March 24 (Reuters) - NATO allies on Thursday extended the term of Jens Stoltenberg at the helm of the Western military alliance by a year until Sept.30, 2023. "As we face…

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UPDATED: NATO vows more help for Ukraine, begins planning to adapt to ‘new reality’

BRUSSELS, March 16 (Reuters) - The United States and other NATO members said on Wednesday they would keep helping Ukraine fight off Russia's invasion, while also adapting the alliance's own security to…

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NATO wary as Ukraine calls for no-fly zone to hinder Russia

BRUSSELS, March 4 (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Friday said NATO would defend "every inch" of members' territory but emphasized the alliance was defensive, as foreign ministers resisted…

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NATO mulls longer-term military posture in eastern Europe, Stoltenberg says

NATO is considering a longer-term military posture in eastern Europe to strengthen its defences, Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said on Monday, as tensions remained high over Russia's military build-up near Ukraine.…

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Russia accuses West of hysteria as NATO sends reinforcements to eastern Europe

NATO said on Monday it was putting forces on standby and reinforcing eastern Europe with more ships and fighter jets, and could also send additional troops to its south-east flank,…

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UPDATED: US considering moving troops from Western Europe to Eastern Europe, NATO strengthens presence in eastern Europe

Jan 24 (Reuters) - The United States is considering transferring some troops stationed in Western Europe to Eastern Europe in the coming weeks, a NATO diplomat told Reuters, amid escalating…

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Kremlin says no ultimatums, but Russia needs concrete answers on security

MOSCOW, Jan 12 (Reuters) - Russia is not making ultimatums in its negotiations with the West but needs concrete answers regarding its security concerns, the Kremlin said on Wednesday as…

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NATO agrees master plan to deter growing Russian threat

NATO defence ministers agreed a new master plan to defend against any potential Russian attack on multiple fronts, reaffirming the alliance's core goal of deterring Moscow despite a growing focus…

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NATO to agree master plan to deter growing Russian threat, diplomats say

BRUSSELS, Oct 21 (Reuters) - NATO defence ministers are set to agree a new master plan on Thursday to defend against any potential Russian attack on multiple fronts, reasserting a…

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Russia shuts mission to NATO in spy row retaliation

Russia said on Monday it would halt the activities of its diplomatic mission to NATO after the Western military alliance expelled eight Russians saying they were spies. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov also said staff…

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NATO calls on Russia to be transparent with military exercises

NATO's secretary general called on Russia on Friday to be open about its "Zapad-2021" military exercises and the troop numbers involved as alarm grows in Poland, the Baltics and Ukraine…

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After NATO, Biden turns to EU for renewal of transatlantic ties

U.S. President Joe Biden will intensify his post-Trump push to renew transatlantic relations on Tuesday, meeting with European Union leaders to cool trade tensions and join forces to beat COVID-19, uphold democracy and…

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UPDATED: At NATO, Biden says defence of Europe a “sacred obligation”

U.S. President Joe Biden told fellow NATO leaders on Monday the defence of Europe, Turkey and Canada was a "sacred obligation" for the United States, a marked shift from his…

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Decisions for NATO’s first summit with Biden

NATO leaders hold their first summit with U.S. President Joe Biden on Monday, aiming to repair transatlantic ties after his predecessor Donald Trump said the Western military alliance was "obsolete".…

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Diplomats say Turkey pushed NATO allies into softening outrage over Belarus plane

Turkey pushed NATO allies into watering down an official reaction to the forced landing by Belarus of a passenger plane and the detention of a dissident journalist on Sunday, two…

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Biden to join eastern European NATO states summit, focus seen on Ukraine

U.S. President Joe Biden will join a virtual summit of eastern European NATO states held in the Romanian capital Bucharest on Monday, Romanian President Klaus Iohannis said, with a focus…

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NATO forces to leave together from Afghanistan

A coalition of NATO-led troops in Afghanistan will leave the country in coordination with a planned U.S. withdrawal by Sept. 11, Washington's top diplomat said on Wednesday, ahead of a…

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Ukraine says NATO path is only way to end war in eastern region

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Tuesday that a path towards membership of NATO was the only way to end war in the eastern Donbass region after speaking to the…

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At NATO, Blinken warns Germany over Nord Stream 2

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Tuesday the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, under construction from Russia to Germany, ran counter to the European Union's own interests and undermined Ukraine. Speaking on…

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NATO Operation Sea Guardian focused patrols return to Central Mediterranean

The flagship Hellenic Navy frigate Salamis and the Croatian Navy missile boat Dubrovnik, supported by aircraft and submarines from Greece, Italy and Turkey, deployed to the Central Mediterranean as part…

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U.S. reassures Turkey over executions after Erdogan calls response ‘a joke’

Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday reassured Ankara that Washington blames the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) for the executions of 13 kidnapped Turks in northern Iraq, after Turkey called…

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In NATO debut, Biden’s Pentagon aims to rebuild trust damaged by Trump

President Joe Biden's administration will use a NATO defense gathering this week to begin what is expected to be a years-long effort to rebuild trust with European allies shaken by…

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Majority in Swedish parliament backs ‘NATO option’ after Sweden Democrats shift

STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - A Swedish parliamentary majority in favour of readiness to join NATO as a possible security policy option has emerged for the first time after the far-right Sweden…

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NATO urged to adapt to global, not just Russian, threats

NATO must significantly broaden its scope to help deal with climate change, future pandemics and terrorism while focusing on new security threats from China, a new high-level report commissioned by…

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China says ready to talk to NATO, urges correct outlook

China hopes NATO will adopt the correct outlook toward the country and stands ready to engage in dialogue with the group, foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said during a regular briefing on Tuesday. She was reacting to a…

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Global powers push to end Nagorno-Karabakh fighting

Armenia's president headed to Brussels for talks with the European Union and NATO military alliance on Wednesday in a renewed drive to end the heaviest fighting since the 1990s over…

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NATO chief calls for ceasefire in Nagorno-Karabakh

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg called on Monday for a ceasefire in Nagorno-Karabakh as the death toll rose during fighting in the breakaway enclave in the South Caucasus. "It is extremely…

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Photo Story: The Silver Arrow exercise in Latvia

Over 3,000 troops and 200 vehicles from 12 NATO Allies took part in exercise Silver Arrow in Latvia this week. The multinational exercise, which wrapped up on 3 October, provided…

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NATO chief says Lukashenko must respect fundamental rights

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg called on Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko on Thursday to respect fundamental rights and said it would be unjustified to use the defence alliance as an excuse…

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NATO to investigate Mediterranean incident between French, Turkish warships

NATO will investigate French accusations that Turkey's navy failed to respond to an allied call to inspect a vessel this month in the Mediterranean, the alliance chief said on Thursday,…

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Trump confirms reduction of US troops in Germany

President Donald Trump said on Monday he would cut the number of U.S. troops in Germany to 25,000, faulting the close U.S. ally for failing to meet NATO's defense spending target and accusing…

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NATO chief warns West could not ignore the rise of China

The head of the NATO military alliance said on Wednesday that the West could not ignore the rise of China and so it was important that the United Kingdom…

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