Turkey’s NATO status in light of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the emergence of a military-normalism alliance with the EU
Turkey is set to join NATO after the parliament voted to approve its membership, meaning months of delays are over.
French President Emmanuel Macron visits China this week, partaking in a trilateral meeting with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Thursday.
Russia arrested Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, drawing condemnation from the U.S. government and press freedom groups. The Journal denies that he tried to gather classified information at military industrial sites for the US.
Turkey and Hungary made it official, giving the alliance a strong military and northern position. Sweden applied jointly with Finland, alarmed by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but the Swedes are still waiting for approval from both Hungary and Turkey.
The battle for Bakhmut in Ukraine’s east became particularly intense this weekend according to President Zelenskyy. Russia’sWagner Group of mercenaries had claimed that they captured the city and raised a Russian flag on the administrative building, but that was denied by the Ukrainians.
The State of Ukraine, Helsinki’s Security Council and the Russian-NATO War on the Crimes of August 11: Russia’s NATO Embedded Security Council
A well-known Russian military Bloggers was killed in a cafe in St. Petersburg, with reports claiming a bomb could have been placed in a bust of him. Moscow blamed Russian opposition activists and Ukraine.
Russia took on the rotating presidency of the U.N. Security Council this month. The foreign minister of Ukraine said it was a slap to the international community.
You can read past recaps here. For context and more in-depth stories, you can find more of NPR’s coverage here. NPR’s State ofUkraine is a good place to get updates throughout the day.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg were on hand as the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Pekka Haavisto, established Finland’s accession.
Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko said that they would strengthen their military capabilities in the west and northwest if NATO deploy forces and equipment on Finnish territory.
Moscow is going to have to take counter-measures to ensure its own security, as a result of the accession of Finns, said Peskov.
Russia and five NATO members shared a land border of about 755 miles before Tuesday. Finland’s accession more than doubles NATO’s land border with Russia.
“Today, we show the world that he failed, that aggression and intimidation do not work. Our door is firmly open, even though he achieved the opposite of less NATO.
It includes the protection offered by NATO’s Article 5 principle, which states that an attack on one member of NATO is an attack on all members. The alliance was founded in 1949 as a counterbalance to the Soviet Union.
NATO will over time have access to Finnish ports, air space and sea lanes, which will greatly enhance its ability to defend the Baltic nations, as well as Sweden.
A report from the Wilson Center states that there are three areas in which NATO benefits: reserve forces, technology access and artillery forces.
The Wilson Center report also noted Finland’s strong cyber security record, pointing out the country is home to Nokia, “a major provider of 5G infrastructure,” and one of three major providers of 5G infrastructure in the world, along with Sweden’s Ericsson and China’s Huawei.
It stated that Finland has trained over a million people to be conscripts in its armed forces. It says the strength of the forces is 280,000.
There is chance that Sweden will be successful in its bid. On Monday, Stoltenberg said Finland’s accession is “in itself something we should celebrate” but that it was also good for Sweden.
President Sauli Niinisto ofFinland attended the ceremony for the expansion of NATO, which is a strategic victory for President Putin of Russia.
Mr. Niinisto said that it was a great day for his country. History has many important moments, he added, but “this is the day most historic to us and to our partners.” Russia tried to restrict Finland’s freedom of choice and “tried to create a sphere around them,” he said. “We are not a sphere.”
A new government in the Nordic country will have to decide if they will accept foreign troops or even nuclear weapons on their soil, because both NATO and Russia currently have troops in other frontline states.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey, who is up for re-election on May 14, continues to express his displeasure with what he considers Sweden’s inadequate commitment to fighting terrorism, focusing on those living in Sweden whom Mr. Erdogan regards as terrorists, including certain Kurds and others he believes supported a 2016 coup attempt against him. Sweden’s entry is being blocked by Hungary.
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It will mean looking atUkraine’s immediate defense needs against Russian forces, as well as how to help Kyiv rebuild and align its military with NATO standards.