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☆ Sweden formally joins NATO military alliance, ending centuries of neutrality
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-07 | by ( Sophie Kiderlin | In | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

A JAS 39 Gripen C/D fighter aircraft takes off from Lulea-Kallax Airport, Sweden on March 4, 2024 during the NATO Nordic Response 24 military exercise, a Norwegian national exercise carried out in northern Sweden, Norway and Finland with associated airspace and waters. Sweden officially joined NATO as its 32nd member on Thursday, almost two years after first applying to the military alliance. "Sweden's accession makes NATO stronger, Sweden safer, and the whole Alliance more secure. The country first applied to join NATO in May 2022, not long after Russia's war on Ukraine began. This marked a significant change in Sweden's previous policy of military nonalignment which stretches back to the Napoleonic wars.

Persons: Jens Stoltenberg, Ulf Kristersson Organizations: Kallax, NATO, Alliance, Washington , D.C Locations: Lulea, Sweden, Norwegian, Norway, Finland, Swedish, Washington ,, Ukraine

☆ Sweden is exactly what the West needs to counter Putin's underhand tactics
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-28 | by ( Tom Porter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Sweden this week became the newest member of the NATO alliance. On Tuesday, Hungary's parliament voted to approve Sweden's NATO membership in a move that may be exactly what the West needs to counter Putin and his underhand tactics. Sweden has accused Russia of spreading misinformation about Koran burnings to damage its bid for NATO membership. NATO has some major challengesDespite the boost from Sweden's membership, NATO still faces some of the gravest challenges in its history. "The same is true for Finland and Sweden's NATO membership."

Persons: —, Vladimir Putin, He's, Putin, Oscar Jonsson, JONATHAN NACKSTRAND, Nima Khorrami, St, Russia's, It's, Shawn Coover, Emmanuel Macron, Jonsson, Khorammi, Donald Trump Organizations: NATO, Service, Russia, Swedish Defence University, Business, Forces, Swedish Amphibious Corps, US Marine Corps, Stockholm Archipelago, Getty, Arctic Institute, Staff, US Locations: Sweden, Ukraine, Russian, Hungary's, Russia, Baltic, Europe, Stockholm, NATO, St Petersburg, Kaliningrad, USSR, Crimea, South Carolina, Western, Finland

BRUSSELS (AP) — U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan said that he and his NATO counterparts cautioned Hungary on Wednesday against further delaying Sweden’s membership in the military alliance, and he warned that patience in Washington has its limits. The governing Fidesz party, which holds an absolute majority in Hungary's parliament, has stalled Sweden’s bid since July 2022, alleging that Swedish politicians have told “blatant lies” about the state of Hungarian democracy. The party insists that Sweden’s prime minister must come to Hungary first. The country, along with the other 30 allies, must all agree that Sweden should stand among NATO’s ranks. Hungary is the only member standing in its way.

Persons: Jake Sullivan, Viktor Orbán, Hungary’s, “, ” Sullivan, Sullivan, ”, Orbán, Ulf Kristersson Organizations: —, NATO, Wednesday, Fidesz, Sweden’s, Kremlin, Swedish Locations: BRUSSELS, Hungary, Washington, Hungarian, Hungary's, Sweden, Brussels, Finland, Russia, Ukraine, U.S, Budapest

HELSINKI (AP) — Ex-Prime Minister Alexander Stubb was projected to win the first round of Finland's presidential election on Sunday and face runner-up Pekka Haavisto in a runoff next month. Finnish public broadcaster YLE projected that Stubb won the first round of the presidential election with 27.3% of the votes, while Haavisto, an ex-foreign minister, took second place with 25.8%. Recent polls suggest that former Prime Minister Alexander Stubb, 55, and ex-Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto, 65, are the leading contenders. The president also acts as the supreme commander of the Finnish military, a particularly important duty in Europe's current security environment. About 4.5 million citizens were eligible to vote for Finland’s new head of state from an array of nine candidates — six men and three women.

Persons: —, Alexander Stubb, Pekka Haavisto, Stubb, Jussi Halla, aho, Sauli Niinistö, “, ”, Eve Kinnunen, Haavisto, Olli Rehn, Niinistö, Vladimir Putin of, ___ Kostya Manenkov, Sergei Grits Organizations: HELSINKI, YLE, Legal, Nordic, NATO, Union, National Coalition Party, Finns, Bank of Finland, Halla, Associated Press, Helsinki, Green League Locations: Finnish, Stubb, Finland, HELSINKI, Russia, United States, China, Helsinki, Sunday’s, Europe, Ukraine, Vladimir Putin of Russia, Nordic, Finland’s, Sweden, Hungary

STOCKHOLM (AP) — Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson has agreed to meet with his Hungarian counterpart Viktor Orbán, who invited Kristersson to Budapest to discuss Sweden’s accession into NATO, Swedish media reported Thursday. Orbán's invitation comes as Hungary and Turkey remain the only NATO members not to have ratified Sweden’s bid to join the defense alliance. Turkish legislators have endorsed Sweden’s NATO membership, lifting a major hurdle on the previously nonaligned country’s entry into the military alliance. Lawmakers ratified Sweden’s accession protocol 287 to 55, with ruling party members saying the country’s tougher stance on Kurdish militants was key to winning approval. Finland joined the alliance in April, becoming NATO’s 31st member, after Turkey’s parliament ratified the Nordic country’s bid.

Persons: Ulf Kristersson, Viktor Orbán, Kristersson, ” Kristersson, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Vladimir Putin Organizations: STOCKHOLM, NATO, Lawmakers, Sweden’s, Nordic Locations: Swedish, Budapest, Hungary, Turkey, Brussels, Ankara, Ukraine, U.S . Turkey, Stockholm, Sweden, Finland

Here is a look at Sweden's complicated path toward NATO membership. Sweden has stayed out of military alliances for more than 200 years and long ruled out seeking NATO membership. But the Russian aggression caused a dramatic shift in both countries, with polls showing a surge in support for NATO membership. That leaves Hungary as the last hurdle for Sweden's NATO bid. Not surprisingly, Moscow reacted negatively to Sweden and Finland's decision to abandon nonalignment and seek NATO membership, and warned of unspecified countermeasures.

Persons: —, hasn’t, Nonalignment, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Erdogan, Viktor Orbán, Ulf Kristersson, ” Organizations: STOCKHOLM, NATO —, Nordic, NATO, Kurdistan Workers ’ Party, Kremlin, Swedish, ALLIANCE, Finns, RUSSIA, nonalignment Locations: NATO, Hungary, Sweden, Ukraine, Finland, Russia, Baltic, U.S, Turkey, Turkish, Swedish, Kurdistan, Stockholm, Budapest, SWEDEN, St, Petersburg, Kaliningrad, Moscow, Northern Europe

☆ Ukraine war live updates: Turkey approves Sweden's NATO bid, putting pressure on Hungary; death toll rises in Russian strikes
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-24 | by ( Holly Ellyatt | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Turkish lawmakers finally approved Sweden's NATO membership bid on Tuesday, clearing a major obstacle for the country to enter the military alliance after 20 months of delays. After decades of military nonalignment, Sweden and Finland applied to join NATO in May 2022, several months after Russia invaded Ukraine. After Ankara's decision to approve Sweden's entry to the defense bloc, Hungary is now the only NATO member yet to ratify Sweden's accession. NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg welcomed the Turkish parliament's decision yesterday, and called on Hungary to follow suit. In other news, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russian missile strikes on major Ukrainian cities on Tuesday killed 18 people and injured more than 130.

Persons: Jens Stoltenberg, Volodymyr Zelenskyy Organizations: NATO, Sweden's, Turkish Locations: Sweden, Finland, Russia, Ukraine, Turkey, Hungary, Russian

☆ Turkey’s parliament approves Sweden’s NATO membership, lifting key a hurdle
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-23 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Turkish legislators on Tuesday endorsed Sweden's membership in NATO, lifting a major hurdle on the previously nonaligned country's entry into the military alliance. The legislators ratified Sweden's accession protocol by 287 votes to 55, with four abstentions. Hungary then becomes the only NATO ally not to have ratified Sweden's accession. Turkey's main opposition party also supported Sweden's membership in the alliance but a center-right party and the country's pro-Kurdish party declared they would oppose it. U.S. President Joe Biden's administration never formally tied the sale of the F-16s to Turkey's ratification of Sweden's NATO membership.

Persons: Tayyip Erdogan, Ulf Kristersson, Jens Stoltenberg, Sweden's, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Burak Akcapar, Erdogan, Koray Aydin, Joe Biden's, John Kirby, Viktor Orbán Organizations: Swedish, NATO, Official Gazette, Ankara, Kurdistan Workers ' Party, Good Party, U.S . Congress, Administration, Turkey, National Security, Nordic Locations: Vilnius, Hungary, Turkey, Ankara, Stockholm, Kurdistan, Sweden, Turkey's, Canada, Washington, NATO, Finland, Ukraine, Budapest

☆ U.S. slams 'meritless' Israel genocide suit, reigniting tensions with South Africa
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-09 | by ( Elliot Smith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

The International Court of Justice, the U.N.'s highest legal body, will this week hear a case brought by South Africa that accuses Israel of committing genocide against Palestinian people during the assault on the Gaza Strip. Ambassador Reuben Brigety accused South Africa of running guns for Russia via a mystery merchant ship, a South African inquiry found no evidence of the alleged arms shipment, but ties between the two historical allies remained taut. "Over the past two years a succession of frustrations, including South Africa feeling it is being pushed on Russia-Ukraine, the U.S. Ambassador's statements on South African domestic security and on its relationship with Russia, and U.S. policy on China in Africa, have all contributed to the worsening of this relationship," Vandome said. 'Solidarity against apartheid oppression' South Africa's close relationship with Russia is based on a multitude of factors past and present.

Persons: John Kirby, Kevin Lamarque, Israel, Reuben Brigety, Cyril Ramaphosa, Chris Vandome, Vandome, Sergey Lavrov, Naledi Pandor Organizations: White, Reuters, U.S, Court of Justice, Palestinian, . National Security, Chatham, CNBC, South, Russian, African Foreign, Pretoria Ihsaan Haffejee, Anadolu Agency, Getty, United States Trade, Solidarity, Congress, ANC, Party Locations: Washington , U.S, South Africa, Gaza, Israel, Washington, Pretoria, Russia, China, African, Ukraine, Africa, U.S, Palestine, PRETORIA, Pretoria Ihsaan

☆ Turkey’s president submits protocol for Sweden’s admission into NATO to parliament for ratification
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-23 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has submitted a protocol for Sweden's admission into NATO to Turkey's parliament for ratification, his office said Monday. Erdogan had been delaying ratification of Sweden's membership, accusing Stockholm of being too soft on Kurdish militants and other groups he considers to be security threats. All 31 NATO allies must endorse Sweden's membership. It was not immediately known when Sweden's membership would come to the floor. Earlier this month, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg urged Turkey to quickly ratify Sweden's membership in the military organization.

Persons: Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Erdogan, Vladimir Putin, Jens Stoltenberg, Stoltenberg Organizations: Turkiye, Nation's, Culture Center, NATO, Turkish Grand National Assembly, Associated Press Locations: Ankara, Turkiye, ANKARA, Turkey, Stockholm, Sweden, Hungary, Finland, Russia, Ukraine, Brussels

☆ Russian missile attack kills 7 in northern Ukrainian city as Zelenskyy visits NATO candidate Sweden
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-19 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

A view shows a site of a Russian missile strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Chernihiv, Ukraine, on Aug. 19, 2023. Sweden abandoned its longstanding policy of military nonalignment to support Ukraine with weapons and other aid in the war against Russia. As Zelenskyy arrived in Sweden, a Russian missile strike killed seven people and wounded 90 others in the city center of Chernihiv, the regional capital of the northern Ukrainian province of the same name, Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said. A Russian missile hit right in the center of the city, in our Chernihiv," he wrote on Telegram. In Russia, President Vladimir Putin visited top military officials in the city of Rostov-on-Don near the Ukrainian border.

Persons: Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Zelenskyy, Sweden's King Carl XVI Gustaf, Queen Silvia, Ihor Klymenko, Vladimir Putin, Don, Putin, Valery Gerasimov, Wagner, group's, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Gerasimov, Sergei Shoigu, Prigozhin, Alexander Khodakovsky, Tiurin, Vitalii Bunechko Organizations: Russia, Archer, NATO, Russia's Southern Military District, Russian, Ukraine Locations: Russian, Ukraine, Chernihiv, Sweden, Harpsund, Stockholm, Ukrainian, Russia, Rostov, Urozhaine, Ukraine's, Donetsk, Zhytomyr

☆ Sweden is in the final stretch to NATO membership. But Turkey could yet derail it
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-10 | by ( Natasha Turak | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan arrives for a NATO summit in Madrid, Spain June 29, 2022. With much at stake for Turkey, Sweden, and the NATO alliance, whichever direction Turkey moves in will have significant consequences for them all. "Turkey's blockade on Sweden's NATO progression isn't a clear-cut ticket to economic fallout, but it is playing with fire," said Guney Yildiz, a researcher focused on Turkey and Syria. Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected to meet Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday. "Either Turkey approves Sweden's NATO membership at Vilnius or it risks a major break in relations with the West and at a time when Turkey's macro is on the edge.

Persons: Tayyip Erdogan, Doce, —, Joe Biden, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Washington, Erdogan, Biden, Ryan Bohl, Rane, Guney, Syria Erdogan, Vladimir Putin, Kamal Alam, Christine Olsson, Alam, Guney Yildiz, Yildiz, Timothy Ash, Ash Organizations: NATO, Reuters NATO, Nordic, Ankara, Turkish, East, CNBC, Russia, Kurdish Workers ' Party, Atlantic Council, Kurdish Democratic Society Center, Afp, Getty, ISIS, EU, Anadolu Agency, BlueBay Asset Management, West Locations: Madrid, Spain, Vilnius, Lithuania, Sweden, Turkey, Hungary, EU, Ankara, Turkish, North Africa, Finland, Ukraine, Russia, Syria, Moscow, Kyiv, Stockholm, Kurdish, Europe, East Syria

☆ NATO unity will be tested at upcoming summit. Ukraine's possible entry may be the biggest challenge
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-09 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

Patriot long-range air defence systems of the German Bundeswehr armed forces are deployed at Vilnius Airport ahead of the upcoming NATO Summit in Vilnius, Lithuania on July 7, 2023. "I don't think it's ready for membership in NATO," President Joe Biden told CNN in an interview airing Sunday. More than two-thirds of alliance members have banned the weapon because it has a track record for causing many civilian casualties. As for Ukraine's possible entry into NATO, the alliance said in 2008 that Kyiv eventually would become a member. "That's an issue that will cause tension and dissent, and that's not what the Vilnius summit is all about," he said.

Persons: NATO's, Joe Biden, Donald Trump, Biden, Douglas Lute, Barack Obama, Vladimir Putin, Wagner, Lute, Mitch McConnell, Putin, Daniel Fried, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Finland, Erdogan, It's, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, Max Bergmann, They've, Bergmann, Viktor Orban, Idaho Sen, Jim Risch, aren't, Risch, I'm, we've, Jens Stoltenberg, who's, Mette Frederiksen, Stoltenberg, Rasmussen, Skip Davis, that's Organizations: German Bundeswehr, Vilnius Airport, NATO Summit, NATO, CNN, Republican, Kentucky, Associated Press, Putin, Atlantic Council, Ukraine, State Department, Center for Strategic, International Studies, Senate Foreign Relations, Danish, Center for Locations: German, Vilnius, Lithuania, Russian, Ukraine, Sweden, Eastern Europe, United States, Israel, Moscow, Finland, U.S, Russia, Kyiv, Poland, Estonia, Latvia, Czech Republic, Turkey, Stockholm, Idaho, Hungary, Baltic, Norwegian, Danish

On Tuesday, Mr. Putin called for a “multipolar world” in an apparent reference to the role of these countries as a bulwark against Washington. China has made a long-term bet on Mr. Putin as a partner in challenging a global order that is dominated by the United States. India is also a member of a security-focused coalition with the United States called the Quad, which also includes Australia and Japan. For Mr. Modi, the summit was a forum to balance out India’s ties with the United States and other Western allies as it exercises a policy of nonalignment. Mr. Xi and Mr. Modi are bound by an economic interest as Mr. Modi looks to Beijing for answers on the question of how to advance India’s economy.

Persons: Here’s, Vladimir V, Putin, Xi Jinping, Xi, Narendra Modi, Modi Organizations: Shanghai Cooperation Organization, Mr, NATO Locations: Ukraine, China, India, Russia, Moscow, Washington . China, Beijing, United States, Europe, Washington, Australia, Japan, Kyiv . India

☆ Brazil’s Lula pitches ‘peace coalition’ for Ukraine, but he treads a thin line
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( Julia Jones | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

He says he aims to form a coalition of countries willing to intervene and lead efforts for peace in Ukraine, though in the process is finding himself treading a thin line with the world’s biggest powers. When he launched his political comeback in 2022, Lula told Time magazine that he thought both Russia and Ukraine were responsible for the conflict. Lula condemned Russia’s decision to invade its neighbor, but controversially claimed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky could have done more to avoid the conflict. Lula could not contemplate sending weapons – a step that would go far beyond Brazil’s traditional foreign policy, suggested the analyst. But he couldn’t do nothing, either – after all, Lula had promised to bring Brazil “back” to the world stage.

☆ Sanna Marin Faces Tight Election as Finland Prepares to Join NATO
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-02 | by ( Sune Engel Rasmussen | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Finns are voting in an election Sunday that could determine whether Prime Minister Sanna Marin will lead the country as it enters NATO in a few days’ time, after a campaign dominated by the economic and security aftershocks of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Though the outcome won’t affect Finland’s accession to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, which marks a new course for the country after decades of nonalignment, polls indicate a tight race that could unseat Ms. Marin, who has gained international fame for her feminist politics. Given that no party is large enough to command a majority without governing partners, Finland may be headed into lengthy negotiations to form a ruling coalition.

☆ Erdogan suggests Turkey could accept Finland into NATO — without Sweden
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-30 | by ( Natasha Turak | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan handed another blow to Sweden's NATO bid, suggesting that his government could approve Finland's NATO membership application without its Nordic neighbor. Erdogan, angry at Sweden's government for a number of reasons, is poised to make or break both countries' NATO accession plans, as each state's application requires unanimous approval from all 30 current members. "We may deliver Finland a different message [on their application], and Sweden would be shocked when they see our message. But Finland should not make the same mistake Sweden did," Erdogan said during a speech on Sunday. "Those who allow such blasphemy in front of our embassy can no longer expect our support for their NATO membership," Erdogan said on Jan. 23.

☆ Right-wing Quran burning in Sweden enrages Turkey and throws a new wrench in Nordics’ NATO bid
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-24 | by ( Natasha Turak | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Rasmus Paludan holds a burning Koran outside of the Turkish embassy on January 21, 2023 in Stockholm, Sweden. Jonas Gratzer | Getty Images News | Getty ImagesOn Saturday, far-right demonstrators burned a Quran and chanted anti-Muslim slogans in front of Turkey's embassy in Stockholm, Sweden. Several media outlets and independent journalist gather to see Rasmus Paludan stage a Koran burning outside the Turkish embassy on January 21, 2023 in Stockholm, Sweden. Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson reportedly denounced the protest as an act of "sabotage" against the country's NATO membership bid. Nonetheless, he expressed confidence that Turkey would approve his country's NATO bid.

☆ Beyond Catastrophe: A New Climate Reality Is Coming Into View
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-26 | by ( David Wallace-Wells | Photographs Devin Oktar Yalkin | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +53 min

Beyond Catastrophe A New Climate Reality Is Coming Into View By David Wallace-WellsYou can never really see the future, only imagine it, then try to make sense of the new world when it arrives. (A United Nations report released this week ahead of the COP27 climate conference in Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt, confirmed that range.) A little lower is possible, with much more concerted action; a little higher, too, with slower action and bad climate luck. There were climate-change skeptics in some very conspicuous positions of global power. New emissions peaks are expected both this year and next, which means that more damage is being done to the future climate of the planet right now than at any previous point in history.

☆ Russia is scraping the bottom of the manpower barrel in order to hold off Ukraine's advance
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-11 | by ( Michael Peck | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Members of the German Volkssturm march during their swearing-in ceremony in Berlin on November 12, 1944. While Russia still has a military draft, only about 30% of its troops are conscripts, with the remainder contract soldiers. Arkady Budnitsky/Anadolu Agency via Getty ImagesHence, Putin signed an executive order for partial mobilization on September 21. But the hundreds of thousands of Russian men fleeing the country know better. Those new Russian soldiers will receive barely any training.

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