Turkey’s President Tayyip Erdogan holds a news conference during the NATO summit at the Alliance’s headquarters in Brussels, Belgium June 14, 2021. Yves Herman | Reuters NATO officials on Tuesday celebrated Turkey’s lifting of its veto against Sweden and Finland joining the transatlantic alliance, a move that brought the Nordic states one step closer to … Read more
Europe has been rewiring itself in impressive ways in the five months since Russian President Vladimir Putin launched his invasion of Ukraine. The coming weeks will show whether that work of building a more resolute European Union for a future of new security challenges will continue. Or, instead, will the rewiring short-circuit before the job … Read more
EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen (l) speaks at a joint press conference with Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President of Ukraine. Michael Fischer | Picture Alliance | Getty Images BRUSSELS – Leaders of the European Union on Thursday formally approved Ukraine’s candidate status to join the bloc – the first official step towards full membership. Charles … Read more
Germany plans to compensate for a cut in Russian gas supplies by increasing the burning of coal – the most carbon-intensive fossil fuel in terms of emissions. Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images Germany has said the deteriorating gas market situation means Europe’s largest economy must limit the use of natural gas for electricity production … Read more
For President Xi Jinping, dispatching his special envoy to Europe for a three-week charm tour was just one of many acts of high-stakes damage control ahead of the 20th Chinese Communist Party Congress this autumn. Xi’s economy is dangerously slowing, financing for his Belt and Road Initiative has tanked, his Zero Covid policy is flailing, … Read more
NATO’s Stoltenberg says Russia’s war in Ukraine could last for years. Valeria Mongelli | Afp | Getty Images The war in Ukraine could last for years, the head of NATO said on Sunday, as Russia stepped up its assaults after the European Union recommended that Kyiv become a candidate to join the bloc. Jens Stoltenberg … Read more
Russian President Vladimir Putin watches a military parade on Victory Day, which marks the 77th anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany in World War Two, in Red Square in central Moscow, Russia May 9, 2022. Mikhail Metzel | Sputnik | Reuters Russian President Vladimir Putin has said his hand was “forced” over Moscow’s invasion … Read more
Chinese President Xi Jinping spoke Friday via video at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum’s plenary session, which Russian President Vladimir Putin opened with a speech over an hour long. This picture is from Putin’s visit to Beijing in early February 2022. Alexei Druzhinin | AFP | Getty Images BEIJING – Chinese President Xi Jinping … Read more
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy visits the positions of Ukrainian troops located in the Bakhmut city and Lysychansk districts, Ukraine on June 05, 2022. Ukrainian Presidency | Handout | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images LONDON – There are increasing signs that Western unity over the war in Ukraine could be starting to crack as the … Read more
Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto has ruled out the prospect of a Russian gas ban in the European Union’s next package of sanctions, saying it would be “impossible.” Landlocked Hungary is overwhelmingly dependent on Russian hydrocarbons. Szijjarto’s comments come as President Vladimir Putin says he believes the West will not be able to wean itself … Read more