Day: May 15, 2022

By Humeyra Pamuk, John Irish and Johan Ahlander BERLIN/STOCKHOLM (Reuters) – NATO and the United States said on Sunday they were confident Turkey would not hold up membership of Finland and Sweden in the Western military alliance, as the two Nordic states took firm steps to join in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Finnish President Sauli Niinisto confirmed on Sunday that his country would apply to join NATO, while Sweden’s ruling Social Democrats announced an official policy change that would pave the way for their country to apply within days. “Today the Swedish Social Democratic Par… Continue reading “NATO expects Turkey not to hold up Finland, Sweden membership”

By Jonathan Landay and Tom Balmforth RUSKA LOZOVA, Ukraine (Reuters) – Russia pummelled positions in the east of Ukraine on Sunday, its defence ministry said, as it sought to encircle Ukrainian forces in the battle for Donbas and fend off a counteroffensive around the strategic Russian-controlled city of Izium. At a meeting in Germany, the secretary-general of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) said Ukraine could win the war, calling for more military support and fast-track approval of expected bids by Finland and Sweden to join the alliance. Ukraine has scored a series of successes… Continue reading “Battle rages for Ukrainian region of Donbas”

NATO on Sunday pledged open-ended military support for Ukraine, as Finland hailed its “historic” bid to join the alliance and with Western claims that Russia had suffered heavy losses in its push east. The promise came after Finland jettisoned decades of military non-alignment for a bulwark against Russia, redrawing the balance of power in Europe and angering the Kremlin. On the ground in Ukraine, Russia announced airstrikes in the east, as well as in Lviv, near the Polish border in the west which has largely been spared the destruction seen elsewhere. “Ukraine can win this war,” NATO secretar… Continue reading “NATO assures Ukraine open-ended military support against Russia”

By Humeyra Pamuk, John Irish and Essi Lehto BERLIN/HELSINKI (Reuters) – NATO and the United States said on Sunday they were confident that Turkish concerns would not hold up bids by Finland and Sweden to join the Western military alliance in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Finland’s President Sauli Niinisto confirmed that his country would apply to join the alliance, while Sweden is expected to follow suit promptly, moves that have angered Russia. Turkey, which had surprised its allies by saying it had reservations about Finnish and Swedish membership, laid out its demands on Sunday … Continue reading “NATO expects Turkey not to hold up Finland, Sweden membership bids”

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has said he does not expect the anticipated accession of Finland and Sweden to the defence alliance to be delayed by Turkey’s objections. Turkey had made it clear that it did not want to block accession, Stoltenberg said at the end of a NATO foreign ministers’ meeting in Berlin on Sunday. “I’m confident that we will be able to address the concerns that Turkey has expressed in a way that doesn’t delay the membership or the accession process,” Stoltenberg said. Turkey had earlier said it would only agree to Finland and Sweden joining NATO if certain condit… Continue reading “Stoltenberg: No delay in NATO expansion expected, despite objections”