NATO

NATO invites Finland, Sweden to join, says Russia is a ‘direct threat’

MADRID (Reuters) - NATO invited Sweden and Finland on Wednesday to join the military alliance in one of the biggest shifts in European security in decades after Russia's invasion of…

Read More Here

NATO in talks to build naval base in Albania

Albania is in talks with NATO to build a naval base at Porto Romano, a port under construction on its Adriatic coast, Prime Minister Edi Rama revealed. Rama told a…

Read More Here

Factbox: NATO’s plan to vastly increase combat-ready forces to counter Russia

NATO leaders have agreed to put over 300,000 troops on high alert from mid-2023, up from 40,000 currently, to counter Russia, the country designated by the alliance as posing the…

Read More Here

Erdogan raises possibly nixing NATO-Nordics deal if promises not kept

ANKARA, July 1 (Reuters) - An accord signed with Finland and Sweden to lift Turkey's veto on their NATO membership bids is not the end of the matter and obliges…

Read More Here

PM Orban says Hungary must radically increase its defence capabilities

BUDAPEST, July 1 (Reuters) - Hungary will speed up its defence development programme, Prime Minister Viktor Orban told state radio on Friday. "We must radically increase our defence capabilities," Orban…

Read More Here

Spain will gradually raise spending on defence to 2% of GDP by 2029

MADRID, June 30 (Reuters) - Spain will gradually raise spending the equivalent to 2% of the country's gross domestic product by 2029, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on Thursday. "The government is…

Read More Here

Ukraine and Russia: What you need to know right now

June 30 (Reuters) - Russian forces have withdrawn from Snake Island in the Black Sea in a move Ukraine hailed as a victory and Russia said showed Moscow was not seeking to…

Read More Here

UPDATED: Russia abandons Snake Island in strategic victory for Ukraine

KYIV, June 30 (Reuters) - Russian forces abandoned the strategic Black Sea outpost of Snake Island on Thursday, in a major victory for Ukraine that could loosen a Russian grain…

Read More Here

Final day of NATO summit gets underway; Spain pushes for bigger role in North Africa, Sahel

MADRID, June 30 (Reuters) - Spain will urge fellow NATO allies to consider a bigger role for the alliance in North Africa and the Sahel at a summit in Madrid on Thursday,…

Read More Here

NATO to monitor migration as risk of instability to members

Irregular mass migration is among the "hybrid threats" that hostile powers can use to undermine the stability of NATO countries, the alliance said in its new Strategic Concept agreed at…

Read More Here

NATO deal with Turkey greeted with caution and concern in Sweden

STOCKHOLM, June 29 (Reuters) - Sweden and Finland took a step closer to joining the NATO military alliance after Turkey's decision to drop its objections, but there may still be…

Read More Here

Ukraine tells NATO Russia wants to dictate future world order

KYIV, June 29 (Reuters) - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy told NATO leaders on Wednesday his country needed more advanced weapons and money to defend itself against Russia, warning that Moscow's ambitions did…

Read More Here

UPDATED: Citing Russia threat, Biden to ramp up U.S. forces in Europe

MADRID, June 29 (Reuters) - The United States will create a new permanent army headquarters in Poland and deploy additional land, air and sea forces across the length and breadth of Europe in response…

Read More Here

UPDATED: NATO invites Sweden and Finland to join, Russia the “most significant and direct threat to the allies’ security”

MADRID, June 29 (Reuters) - NATO has invited Sweden and Finland to become members of the military alliance, a commununique published by the NATO summit in Madrid on Wednesday said. "The accession…

Read More Here

France’s Macron: NATO must be united at this week’s summit in Madrid

SCHLOSS ELMAU, Germany, June 28 (Reuters) - The member states of the NATO defence alliance must send a message of unity when meeting for a summit in Madrid this week, French President…

Read More Here

Sweden’s Kurds fear they may pay price for NATO bid as Turkey fumes

STOCKHOLM, June 28 (Reuters) - Kurds in Sweden's large diaspora are worried they will become a pawn in the negotiations over Stockholm's ambition to join NATO if the West makes concessions to…

Read More Here

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…

Read More Here

Spain turns to Africa, lobbies NATO, allies over Ukraine-driven migration

MADRID/LAS PALMAS (Reuters) - Spain is shifting its foreign policy towards Africa while lobbying the EU and NATO for support to address migration from the continent, aggravated by the Ukraine…

Read More Here

South Korea’s Yoon to meet U.S., Japan leaders in Spain during NATO summit

SEOUL/YOKOHAMA, June 26 (Reuters) - South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol will meet leaders of the United States and Japan on Wednesday during the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) summit in…

Read More Here

UPDATED: Lithuania: We’re ready if Russia cuts us out of common power grid over Kaliningrad disruptions

VILNIUS, June 22 (Reuters) - Lithuania will be prepared if Russia disconnects it from the regional power grid in retaliation for blocking rail shipments of some Russian goods to Moscow's Kaliningrad exclave,…

Read More Here

Turkey says summit is not deadline for talks on Finland and Sweden’s NATO bids

Discussions between Turkey, Finland and Sweden about the Nordic countries' NATO membership will continue and an alliance summit in Madrid next week is not a deadline, Turkey said after talks in Brussels on Monday. Finland…

Read More Here

Germany “very confident” of deal on Sweden, Finland NATO bid

BERLIN, June 20 (Reuters) - Germany is "very confident" NATO will reach an agreement with Sweden and Finland over bid for membership of the alliance but it would not be a "catastrophe"…

Read More Here

As battles in Ukraine’s east grind on, NATO warns of long war

KYIV, June 19 (Reuters) - The war in Ukraine could last for years, the head of NATO said on Sunday, calling for steadfast support from Ukraine's allies as Russian forces battle for…

Read More Here

NATO warns of long Ukraine war as Russian assaults follow EU boost for Kyiv

KYIV, June 19 (Reuters) - The war in Ukraine could last for years, the head of NATO said on Sunday, as Russia stepped up its assaults after the European Union recommended that Kyiv become a candidate to join the bloc. Jens Stoltenberg said…

Read More Here

Australia PM to attend NATO summit

SYDNEY, June 17 (Reuters) - Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Friday said he would attend "an important" NATO meeting in Madrid at the end of the month as the…

Read More Here

Latvia wants more NATO troops, fed up of “paying for lunch for the others”

BRUSSELS, June 16 (Reuters) - Latvia on Thursday made a last pitch for the deployment of more NATO troops in the Baltics, two weeks before NATO leaders are set to decide the…

Read More Here

UPDATED: NATO to help Ukraine with transition to Western weapons

BRUSSELS, June 15 (Reuters) - A NATO summit in Madrid later this month is expected to agree an assistance package for Ukraine that will help the country with the move from old…

Read More Here

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…

Read More Here

Russia says will respond to NATO build up in Poland – Ifax

June 11 (Reuters) - Russia's foreign ministry said on Saturday that Moscow's response to a build up of NATO forces in Poland will be proportionate, Interfax news agency reported citing a Russian…

Read More Here

No signs of Russian threat to Sweden, Finland -NATO deputy chief

COPENHAGEN, June 10 (Reuters) - NATO's deputy chief sees no immediate military threat to Sweden and Finland from Russia and is confident that the aspiring NATO members will join the alliance despite Turkey's objections, he…

Read More Here

Sweden to seek constructive progress with Turkey over NATO bid

STOCKHOLM, June 10 (Reuters) - Sweden will look to make constructive progress in talks with Turkey on Ankara's objections over the Nordic country's application to join the NATO defensive alliance,…

Read More Here

NATO’s Stoltenberg diagnosed with shingles

BRUSSELS, June 9 (Reuters) - NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has been diagnosed with shingles and will therefore hold talks scheduled in Germany and Romania only remotely, a NATO official said on Thursday.…

Read More Here

Spain wants NATO to flag migration as ‘hybrid threat’ in policy roadmap

Spain, as host of an upcoming NATO summit, will push for the inclusion of "hybrid threats" such as irregular migration, food insecurity and terrorism in the alliance's new policy roadmap,…

Read More Here

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…

Read More Here

NATO has the right to deploy in eastern Europe, deputy chief says

NATO is no longer bound by past commitments to hold back from deploying its forces in eastern Europe, the US-led alliance’s deputy secretary general said Sunday. Moscow itself has “voided…

Read More Here

UPDATED: Spain’s PM Sanchez says NATO’s support for Ukraine is unbreakable

MADRID, May 30 (Reuters) - NATO's support for Ukraine is unbreakable and Russian President Vladimir Putin will not achieve his objectives in the country his forces invaded on Feb. 24, Spanish Prime…

Read More Here

Erdogan says won’t let ‘terrorism-supporting’ countries enter NATO

ISTANBUL, May 29 (Reuters) - President Tayyip Erdogan said Turkey's talks last week with Finnish and Swedish delegations were not at the "expected level" and Ankara cannot say yes to "terrorism-supporting" countries…

Read More Here

Sievierodonetsk under assault as Russian forces advance in east Ukraine

KYIV, May 29 (Reuters) - Russian forces have stepped up their assault on the Ukrainian city of Sievierodonetsk after claiming to have captured the nearby rail hub of Lyman, as Kyiv intensified…

Read More Here

Turkey seeks concrete action from Sweden, Finland for NATO bids

ISTANBUL, May 27 (Reuters) - Turkey expects Sweden and Finland to take concrete action and halt what it says is their support for terrorist groups in order for Ankara to…

Read More Here

Ukraine needs to face reality and talk to Putin – Zelenskiy

KYIV, May 27 (Reuters) - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Friday said Ukraine was not eager to talk to Russia's Vladimir Putin but that it has to face the reality that this…

Read More Here

No need seen to add U.S. ground forces in Sweden, Finland

Sweden and Finland’s push to join NATO won’t require adding more U.S. ground forces into either country, the U.S. general nominated to take over European Command told senators. But Army…

Read More Here

UPDATED: Ukraine says 87 killed in strike on barracks, worst military loss of war

KYIV/MARIUPOL, May 23 (Reuters) - Kyiv acknowledged its worst military losses from a single attack of the Ukraine war on Monday, saying 87 people had been killed last week when Russian forces…

Read More Here

Erdogan sets conditions for Swedish, Finnish NATO membership in calls

ISTANBUL, May 21 (Reuters) - Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, who has objected to Sweden and Finland joining NATO, held phone calls with the leaders of the two countries on Saturday and discussed…

Read More Here

Russia advances in Ukraine’s Donbas, Moscow stops Finland gas flow

KYIV, May 21 (Reuters) - Russia moved nearer to control over Ukraine's Donbas region, claiming victory in the months-long battle for Mariupol's steel plant and launching a major offensive on the remaining…

Read More Here

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…

Read More Here

NATO beer goes on sale in Finland

Finnish brewery Olaf Brewing introduced their OTAN beer into the market, a beer released to cheer Finland's historic decision to join the NATO, or OTAN as the defence alliance is…

Read More Here

UPDATED: Russia says it will beef up forces near western border

May 20 (Reuters) - Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said on Friday that moves by Finland and Sweden to join NATO were part of an increase in military threats near Russia's western borders, and it was taking "adequate countermeasures". In a speech, Shoigu also…

Read More Here