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[1/2] An Italian member of the NATO-led Kosovo Force (KFOR) looks on while standing guard in Leposavic, Kosovo, June 1, 2023. REUTERS/Ognen TeofilovskiBULBOACA, Moldova, June 1 (Reuters) - The presidents of Serbia and Kosovo insisted on Thursday they want to defuse a violent crisis in northern Kosovo but showed little sign of backing down from their opposing positions. Violence flared on Monday after Kosovo authorities, backed by special police units, installed ethnic Albanian mayors in offices in northern municipalities. But he said Kosovo authorities should withdraw "alleged mayors" from the north and declared the Kosovo special police units were there illegally. Vucic said he did not even know who was coming to the summit from Kosovo.

Persons: Serbia's Aleksandar Vucic, Vjosa Osmani, Osmani, Vucic, Emmanuel Macron, Olaf Scholz, Albin Kurti, Macron, Scholz, Jens Stoltenberg, Andrew Gray, Fatos Bytyci, Ivana Sekularac, Sabine Siebold, John Irish, Daria Sito, Edmund Blair Organizations: NATO, Kosovo Force, REUTERS, Kosovo, European, Political, Thomson Locations: Italian, Leposavic, Kosovo, BULBOACA, Moldova, Serbia, Belgrade, Moldovan, European Union, United States, Oslo

NATO Airborne Warning and Control Systems (AWACS) surveillance aircraft will watch the skies over the summit venue through Friday, the alliance said in a statement. Missile debris from the war in Ukraine has been found in Moldova several times since Russia invaded 15 months ago. "NATO AWACS can detect aircraft, missiles and drones hundreds of kilometres away, making them an important early warning capability," NATO spokesperson Oana Lungescu said. The summit will also touch on a range of strategic issues, ranging from energy to cybersecurity and migration. Reporting by John Irish, Andrew Gray and Alexander Tanas; writing by John Irish; editing by Mark HeinrichOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Josep Borrell, Nicu Popescu, Ana Revenco, Oana Lungescu, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Maia Sandu, Ursula von der, Albin Kurti, Aleksandar Vucic, ” Borrell, Emmanuel Macron, Olaf Scholz, John Irish, Andrew Gray, Alexander Tanas, Mark Heinrich Our Organizations: High Representative, European Union for Foreign Affairs, Moldova's, Russia, NATO, Kyiv, Control Systems, European, Kosovo, EU, Thomson Locations: Chisinau, Moldova, Ukraine, Kosovo, Moldovan, Romania, Russia, Ursula von der Leyen, KOSOVO, Slovakia, defusing, Serbian, Europe, Azerbaijan, Armenia

BRUSSELS, May 17 (Reuters) - European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell has proposed adding 3.5 billion euros ($3.85 billion) to a fund used to finance military aid for Ukraine, EU sources said on Wednesday. It originally had a budget of 5 billion euros, meant to last until 2027. That ceiling has already been raised once, by 2 billion euros, last December. The fund allows EU countries that supply weapons and ammunition to Ukraine to claim back a portion of the cost. It was conceived for any conflict that the European Union could deal with."

☆ The US has a new friend in the Mediterranean that could help it isolate Russia, but not everybody in NATO is happy about it
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( Constantine Atlamazoglou | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Cyprus long had close ties with Russia, but it has turned to the West in recent years. John YountzHowever, Nicosia has been moving away from Russia and pursuing a closer relationship with the US. "We keep a strong military-to-military relationship with Cyprus," Cavoli said. Unhappy neighborsA UN peacekeeper looks at a map of the buffer zone between the Republic of Cyprus and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus in Nicosia in April 2021. ROY ISSA/AFP via Getty ImagesBurgeoning US-Cyprus ties would appear to benefit NATO, but not all of the alliance's members are happy about it.

☆ China doesn't really care who wins the war in Ukraine — it just wants to win the peace, analysts say
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( Holly Ellyatt | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +9 min

There's little doubt that China wants the war between Russia and Ukraine to end, and soon. Political analysts and China watchers note that, ultimately, Beijing doesn't really care who "wins" the war — or what form a peace deal takes. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks with Chinese President Xi Jinping via phone line, in Kyiv on April 26, 2023. Russian President Vladimir Putin and China's President Xi Jinping shake hands during a signing ceremony following their talks at the Kremlin in Moscow on March 21, 2023. Any peace will be hard-wonNo-one is underestimating the challenges any would-be peace broker has before them.

☆ Wendy Sherman, US official who led diplomacy with China and Russia, to retire
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

WASHINGTON, May 12 (Reuters) - U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman, the country's number two diplomat, said on Friday she will retire at the end of June after three decades in Washington's foreign policy establishment. Sherman is the first woman to serve in her current role, in which she has headed up the Biden administration's diplomacy with China and led unsuccessful talks with Russia to avert Moscow's February 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Secretary of State Antony Blinken credited Sherman with breaking barriers for women and working on "some of the toughest foreign policy challenges of our time." "Our nation is safer and more secure, and our partnerships more robust, due to her leadership," Blinken said in a statement. "(N)othing lent itself to straightforward answers," Sherman wrote in the note seen by Reuters.

BRUSSELS, May 12 (Reuters) - Turkey's elections on Sunday are a key moment not just for the country itself but also for its European neighbours. Its internationally recognised government, composed of Greek Cypriots, is an EU member, while the breakaway Turkish Cypriot state is recognised only by Ankara. However, EU officials see little sign that Kilicdaroglu would change much on Cyprus. EU leaders designated Turkey as a candidate to join the bloc in 2004 but the talks ground to a halt years ago. There is already a lot of European money that has made its way to Turkey," said a European diplomat.

☆ After a year of heavy losses, Ukraine's military is juggling a 'very uneven' force as it prepares for major fighting, expert says
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Constantine Atlamazoglou | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Ukraine's military is gearing up for offensives against Russian forces in spring and summer. Mustafa Ciftci/Anadolu Agency via Getty ImagesWhen Russia invaded in February 2022, Ukraine's military had about 196,000 active personnel and 900,000 in reserve, according to the International Institute of Strategic Studies' 2022 Military Balance report. The Western approachAn instructor briefs Ukrainian soldiers at a training center near Yavoriv in April 2017. The training they provided accompanied other efforts by Kyiv to reverse two decades of post-Cold War decay that weakened the Ukrainian military. "This is a continuous struggle in the Ukrainian military," Kofman said.

☆ How Russia has fortified parts of Ukraine ahead of a possible counteroffensive
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +11 min

A map shows all the locations in Russia, along its border with Ukraine, and in Russian-held Ukraine, where the American Enterprise Institute found any kind of fortification built by Russia. Four maps show when the fortifications built by Russian along its border with Ukraine and in Russia-held Ukraine were first spotted on satellite imagery. In December 2022 and January 2023, fortifications appeared inside Russian regions and more parts of occupied Ukraine. Russian forces have dug many such trenches along what they see as key roads and junctions, and outside strategic cities, Africk said. A zoomed-in map shows fortifications around several towns such as Tokmak, Bilmak and Mykhailivka, along plain terrain and along major roads in Russian-held Ukraine.

☆ Front-line NATO allies worry they could be next after Russia's invasion of Ukraine and are getting ready for a fight
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-23 | by ( Sinéad Baker | Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +13 min

These countries along the military alliance's front line are now scrambling to make sure they're protected should the Russian military ever come knocking. "There is an imminent need of a stronger NATO presence in our region," Estonia's Foreign Minister Urmas Reinsalu said. For nearly 14 months, the Russian military has been bogged down by its grinding war in Ukraine. More boots on the groundSome leaders in the Baltic countries have said that they ultimately want to host more NATO troops, including permanent brigades, in the years to come. So as the threat landscape continues to shift, the Baltic defense has adapted along with it, Townsend said.

☆ NATO's chief is talking openly about alliance membership for Ukraine as Putin's war continues to shoot Russia in the foot
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Ukraine has long sought NATO membership, something Vladimir Putin deeply opposes. Ukraine has long sought NATO membership. As early as April 2008, NATO said it "welcomed" aspirations from Ukraine and Georgia — the latter was attacked by Russia later that year — to join the military alliance. Finland officially became the 31st member of the military alliance earlier this month, a huge setback for Putin. in a Friday tweet that included a link to a media report about Stoltenberg telling Zelenskyy Ukraine belongs in NATO.

☆ Macron: France's 'tone deaf' president faces backlash over Taiwan comments
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( Luke Mcgee | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

In it, he said that Europe must not become “just America’s followers” when asked about the prospect of China invading Taiwan. One said that Macron is “simply tone deaf to everything happening in the world. They were surprised to see Macron’s comments so soon after that meeting. For all that Macron’s comments could be put down to a president under pressure at home doing things on the world stage to create a distraction, his comments on Taiwan have done real damage to the fragile transatlantic relationship. It might not have been his intention, but Macron’s comments have come at a yet unknown cost.

☆ NATO's newest member means Russia's 'unsinkable aircraft carrier' will be even more isolated
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( Constantine Atlamazoglou | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Finland also extends NATO's border along the Baltic Sea, which has been called a "NATO lake." That further isolates Russia's Kaliningrad region, which is surrounded by NATO member countries. Kaliningrad is a major military outpost, hosting Russia's Baltic Fleet and other forces, and has been called an "unsinkable aircraft carrier" that allows Moscow to project power deep into NATO and EU territory. However, some Baltic Fleet units were redeployed to Ukraine where they have reportedly suffered very high casualties. Russia's Baltic Fleet is based in Baltiysk and is composed of warships — mostly corvettes and a number of support ships — infantry and armored units, and aviation and air-defense forces.

☆ Turkey’s Parliament Ratifies Finland’s NATO Membership Bid
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( Jared Malsin | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

ISTANBUL—The Turkish parliament on Thursday ratified Finland’s entrance into the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, removing the last obstacle to a historic expansion of the alliance in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Finland’s inclusion would add more than 800 miles to NATO’s border with Russia and bring to the alliance one of Europe’s best-defended and best-armed countries. Finland ended its decades-old policy of managing its contentious relationship with Russia in reaction to the assault on Ukraine, which heightened the perceived risk of Russian threats to broader European security.

☆ In Beijing, Spanish PM urges Xi to speak with Ukraine's Zelenskiy
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( Eduardo Baptista | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Sanchez told a news conference in Beijing he had informed Xi, who visited Moscow on March 20-21, that Spain supported the proposals made by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. They include a demand to restore Ukraine's territory to the status quo before Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea. "I transmitted our concern over the illegal invasion of Ukraine," Sanchez said, adding that he "encouraged Xi to talk to President Zelenskiy". Last month, Beijing put forward its own 12-point peace plan and called for a comprehensive ceasefire in the conflict. Sanchez urged China to seek a more balanced economic relationship with Spain and called for greater transparency.

☆ Turkish parliament ratifies Finland's NATO accession as Sweden kept waiting
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The Turkish parliament was the last among the 30 members of the alliance to ratify Finland's membership after Hungary's legislature approved a similar bill earlier this week. Finland and Sweden asked to join NATO last year in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. "NATO membership will strengthen Finland's security and improve stability and security in the Baltic Sea region and Northern Europe," the Finnish government said in a statement following the Turkish parliament vote. Twe Turkish parliament's ratification of Finland's NATO membership is set to be approved by President Tayyip Erdogan and then published in the country's Official Gazette. When Finland's instrument of accession document reaches the U.S. State Department, the Nordic country will formally become a NATO member.

☆ How Ukraine's closest allies turned the tide on sending advanced tanks, and could do the same for military jets
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( Sinéad Baker | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

Their success, an expert told Insider, shows how Europe's balance of power has shifted eastwards since Russia's invasion in February 2022. Sergei Grits/APEstonian Foreign Minister Urmas Reinsalu told Insider that Ukraine's allies had been "too slow" when deciding to send weapons to Ukraine. AP Photo/Martin Meissner, FileReinsalu, Estonia's foreign minister, told Insider that he had repeatedly engaged with his German counterpart about the decision. Kallas and Šimonytė, the two prime ministers, both told Insider that they support Ukraine getting military jets. "Ordinarily, on less critical matters, peer pressure happens but the public sees very little of it or none of it," he told Insider.

☆ NATO, world leaders condemn Russia's 'dangerous and irresponsible' nuclear rhetoric
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-26 | by ( Ashley Capoot | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

NATO condemned Russia's "dangerous and irresponsible" nuclear rhetoric Sunday after President Vladimir Putin shared plans to station tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus. The NATO spokesperson added that there have not been changes in Russia's nuclear posture that have caused NATO to adjust its own. He added that Putin has not suggested any intention to use nuclear weapons, "period," but that the U.S. is continuing to monitor the situation closely. He called Russia's announcement an "irresponsible escalation" and a threat to European security. "Making a statement about tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, he admits that he is afraid of losing & all he can do is scare with tactics," he wrote.

☆ US urges Turkey to quickly ratify Sweden's NATO bid
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

WASHINGTON, March 17 (Reuters) - The United States welcomed Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan's announcement on Friday that the country's parliament will begin ratifying Finland's NATO bid, and encouraged Turkey to quickly ratify Sweden's accession into the military alliance as well. "Sweden and Finland are both strong, capable partners that share NATO’s values and will strengthen the Alliance and contribute to European security. The United States believes that both countries should become members of NATO as soon as possible," White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said in a statement. Reporting by Costas Pitas and Rami Ayyub; editing by Paul GrantOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Once the party of foreign policy "hawks," Republicans have increasingly cooled on foreign entanglements and military support for allies, particularly after Trump took office in 2016. Republican senators Marco Rubio, who is from DeSantis' home state, and Lindsey Graham, both former presidential candidates, criticized isolationists within their party. "People care about foreign policy, but I think it's kind of mixed on Ukraine funding," said Trudy Caviness, a member of the Iowa Republican State Central Committee. By embracing Trump's hands-off brand of foreign policy, DeSantis risks turning off some of the white-collar Republicans that are most eager to move on from the former president. That will give the eventual winner of the Republican nomination significant power to shape the party's foreign policy preferences going forward.

☆ Putin's war in Ukraine is endangering Russia's centuries of great-power status
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( Robert Farley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

And yet Russian power and influence have waned in the past; the first 20 years of the 20th century represented a nadir in Russian power, as the Russian Empire lost most of its western territories after suffering a series of defeats at the hands of Japan, Germany, and Poland. Russian soldiers in World War II uniforms parade at Dvortsovaya Square in St. Petersburg in January 2019. AP Photo/Dmitri LovetskyBy virtue of its size and legacy, Russia is undoubtedly an important military power. Even as Russia has struggled mightily to impose its will upon Ukraine, nuclear weapons have ensured that NATO stays on the sidelines. Thomson ReutersBut is Russia a great power if it can't even crush its neighbor without help from China?

☆ The US Air Force is finally getting rid of its A-10s, and its focus may be straying from the Warthog's unique mission
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Constantine Atlamazoglou | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Those retirements would shrink the Air Force's A-10 fleet to 260 aircraft, and Air Force leaders plan to continue decommissioning A-10s in the years ahead. Not so closeUS Air Force joint terminal attack controllers during a close air support training with an A-10 in Nevada in September 2011. Michael HolzworthCurrent and former Air Force officials have said that the F-35 would take over the A-10's mission after the Warthog left the fleet. So it will perform the mission very differently," said Kendall, who is now the Air Force's top civilian official. Those skills "are perishable," Boeding added, "and the stakes are too high to not train dedicated crews (ground and air) in purpose build close air support aircraft."

☆ Lithuania's prime minister says Ukrainians should get all the weapons they want because they are dying for Europe's safety: 'We're just losing some money'
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( Sinéad Baker | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Ukrainians are dying to help protect European security, Lithuania's prime minister told Insider. That's why Ukraine should get the weapons it needs, including offensive weapons, she said. I say we are losing, [but] I think we are investing in a way, investing into our security," she said. Lithuania was sending Ukraine weapons even before Russia's invasion began last February, at a time when Ukraine was fighting Russian-backed separatists in its east. "It's sort of a cliche to say that Ukrainians are fighting this war for all of us," she added.

He predicted that tough negotiations with Ukraine and the West would follow that would culminate in "some kind of agreement." To push back the borders that threaten our country as far as possible, even if they are the borders of Poland," said Medvedev. Poland shares long eastern borders with Ukraine and with Russia's ally Belarus, and a frontier of some 200 km (125 miles) in its northeastern corner with the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad. Any encroachment on Poland's borders would bring Russia for the first time into direct conflict with NATO. U.S. President Joe Biden pledged in a speech in Warsaw this week to defend "every inch" of NATO territory if it was attacked.

☆ Swedish Military Intelligence says threat from Russia has increased
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

STOCKHOLM, Feb 20 (Reuters) - Russia poses a clear military threat in Sweden's immediate area but its forces are largely tied up in the war in Ukraine, the Swedish Military Intelligence and Security Service (MUST) said on Monday. "The European Security Order as we know it has ceased to exist...and with that the risks for Swedish security have also increased," Lena Hallin, head of MUST, told a news conference. Hallin also said she expected Russia to strengthen its military capability in Sweden's immediate area when it was possible, in response to Sweden and Finland applying for NATO membership. She said that MUST judged that Russia wants to avoid current tensions escalating into an armed conflict with NATO. "But there is considerable uncertainty, mainly relating to the Russian leaderships' willingness to take high risks," she said, adding that the high level of tension raised risks that accident or misjudgment could lead to conflict.

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