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Post by Admin on Mar 23, 2022 22:11:11 GMT
NATO will agree at a summit on Thursday to significantly bolster its troop presence on its eastern flank, Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told reporters at a press conference on Wednesday. State of play: The deployment will consist of four new battle groups in Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia. Stoltenberg said he expects leaders at Thursday's emergency summit in Brussels — which Biden will attend — to OK strengthening "NATO’s posture in all domains." That will include "major increases in the eastern part of the alliance on land, in the air and at sea," Stoltenberg said. The backdrop: Since Russia's military buildup on Ukraine's border began in October, the U.S. and NATO have deployed thousands of troops to eastern-flank countries like Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Bulgaria and Romania, Axios' Zach Basu reports. The troops are supported by 130 allied aircraft and 140 allied ships, in addition to sophisticated air defense systems. What he's saying: "We face a new reality for our security, so we must reset our deterrence and defense for the longer term," Stoltenberg said. "Tomorrow, NATO leaders will reaffirm our support to Ukraine. Ukraine has the right to self-defense under the UN Charter and we are helping Ukrainians to uphold this fundamental right."
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Post by Admin on Mar 24, 2022 18:14:41 GMT
NATO allies have agreed to bolster the alliance’s eastern flank with four additional battle groups and to send further support to Ukraine as it battles the Russian invasion.
“Today, NATO leaders agreed to reset our deterrence and defence for the longer term to face a new security reality,” NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told reporters on Thursday following an extraordinary meeting in Brussels.
Stoltenberg, whose mandate was renewed for a year in response to the security crisis, said the invasion launched by Russian President Vladimir Putin was “the biggest threat to our security in a generation,” to which the alliance must respond decisively.
“We must and will provide further support to Ukraine, we will continue to impose unprecedented cost on Russia and we will continue to [provide] allied deterrence and defence,” Stoltenberg said.
The heads of state of the 30 NATO allied nations announced the approval of four additional battlegroups to Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia, in addition to the four already positioned in the Baltic countries and Poland.
NATO will also bolster its eastern flank with an increased number of jets and carrier strike groups, as well as with submarines and combat ships deployed on a permanent basis.
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Post by Admin on Apr 3, 2022 18:02:24 GMT
With the Ukraine crisis putting further strain on China's ties with the United States and the West as a whole, Beijing has set its eyes on mending fences with its neighbours.
China's diplomatic frenzy in the past two weeks shows the importance of its neighbours in Beijing's hierarchy of relations, according to observers.
On the heels of a whirlwind tour of India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Nepal, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi last week hosted Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who travelled abroad for the first time since Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.
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Wang also chaired an Afghanistan-focused meeting attended by the foreign ministers from Russia, Iran, Pakistan and Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.
The Taliban's acting foreign minister Amir Khan Muttaki and the US special envoy on Afghanistan also attended the talks in Anhui province on Wednesday.
Highlighting China's ambitions towards Afghanistan following America's chaotic withdrawal last summer, President Xi Jinping sent a written message, pledging Beijing's continued support for the radical Islamic group and the war-torn country, which he said stood at a "critical point of transition from chaos to order".
China also welcomed foreign ministers from Thailand, the Philippines, Myanmar and Indonesia, which holds this year's Group of 20 presidency, last week and took part in a virtual summit with the European Union in Brussels on Friday.
Friday's visit by Myanmar foreign minster U Wunna Maung Lwin, was the first to a non-Asean country since the coup that brought the ruling junta to power last February and Wang told his counterpart that China was ready to help the country address its economic problems, which have been compounded by the war in Ukraine.
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Post by Admin on Apr 14, 2022 1:37:16 GMT
Finland to decide on joining Nato - as Russia gathers troops for new offensive 162,390 views Apr 14, 2022 This report contains images you may find distressing.
The Organisation of Security and Cooperation in Europe has said that there were "clear patterns'' of violations of international humanitarian law by Russian forces in Ukraine.
Their findings came as Russia said that over one thousand Ukrainian troops had surrendered in the besieged port of Mariupol.
Meanwhile the international fallout from the war continued, as previously neutral Finland said it could decide whether to join NATO "within weeks". -----------------------
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Post by Admin on Apr 14, 2022 18:16:49 GMT
Former President Trump joined President Biden in calling Russia’s war in Ukraine a “genocide” during an interview with Fox News on Wednesday night.
While Trump was slamming Biden for policies he said have led to record high inflation, he said, “And now add to that what’s going on in Ukraine. That’s a genocide.”
The comment comes a day after Biden accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of genocide on Tuesday.
“Your family budget, your ability to fill up your tank, none of it should hinge on whether a dictator declares war and commits genocide half a world away,” Biden said.
Biden later affirmed his belief that Putin’s actions constitute genocide during an exchange with reporters but said his lawyers would make the ultimate determination.
“It’s become clearer and clearer that Putin is just trying to wipe out the idea of being Ukrainian,” Biden said. “The evidence is mounting.”
Trump, who boasts of a close personal relationship with Putin, had previously called Russia’s invasion a “holocaust.”
Trump elaborated on his comments later in the interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity, saying, “This is a genocide that’s taking place.”
“We have the strongest, most capable nuclear anywhere in the world because of what I did,” Trump said, reiterating his claim that Putin would not have invaded were he in office.
Trump said the U.S. has a more powerful nuclear arsenal than Russia and that “people shouldn’t be pushing us around.”
“I think in 100 years people are going to look back and they are going to say, ‘How did we stand back and NATO stand back?'” Trump said.
Though the Biden administration has refused to send troops into Ukraine or impose a no-fly zone over the country, the U.S. has ramped up military support for Ukraine amid the invasion.
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