NATO chief urges bigger defense budgets

In this file photo taken on June 16, 2022, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg speaks during a press conference after the meeting of NATO Ministers of Defense in NATO headquarters in Brussels, Belgium. The member states of NATO should commit to spending at least 2 percent of their GDP on defense by next year, Stoltenberg said […]

Spokesperson: NATO chief won’t seek term extension

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg holds a meeting with US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin at the Pentagon in Washington, DC, on Feb 8, 2023. (PHOTO / AFP) BERLIN — NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg will end his term as planned in October, a spokesperson for the alliance said, after a newspaper reported a further extension was in […]

Finland says to stick with Sweden in NATO process

In this file photo dated Jan 25, 2023, Finland's Foreign Affairs Minister Pekka Haavisto attends a joint press conference with Latvia's foreign affairs minister (unseen) after talks in Riga, Latvia. (PHOTO / AFP) HELSINKI – Finland is sticking to its plan to join NATO at the same time as Nordic neighbor Sweden, and hopes to […]

Sweden’s NATO process paused, says foreign minister

In this file photo taken on Jan 27, 2023, Sweden's Minister of Foreign Affairs Tobias Billstrom holds a joint press conference with Latvia's Minister of Foreign Affairs in Riga. (PHOTO / AFP) STOCKHOLM – Sweden's Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom said on Saturday that the country's North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) process has paused, local media […]

NATO, EU sign declaration on cooperation

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg (center), European Council President Charles Michel (left) and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen (right) hold a press conference after signing a joint declaration of cooperation between EU and NATO in Brussels on Jan 10, 2023. (JOHN THYS / AFP) BRUSSELS – The North Atlantic Treaty Organization and the […]

Finland’s government sends NATO accession bill to Parliament

Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto signs a petition for NATO membership application in Helsinki, May 17, 2022. (ANNTI AIMO-KOIVISTO / LEHTIKUVA VIA AP) HELSINKI — Following its emergency meeting on Monday, the government of Finland submitted to Parliament a draft proposal on the country's accession to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). However, the speaker […]

NATO ready to add forces if Serbia-Kosovo tensions worsen

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg addresses a media conference after a meeting with Kosovo's Prime Minister Albin Kurti at NATO headquarters in Brussels on Aug 17, 2022. (OLIVIER MATTHYS / AP) BRUSSELS – NATO will increase its peacekeeping force in Kosovo if there is an escalation of tensions with neighboring Serbia, the alliance's chief said […]

Ukraine joins NATO’s program of technological cooperation

Apartment buildings damaged during fighting between Russian and Ukrainian forces stand in Severodonetsk, in the territory which is under control of the Government of the Luhansk People's Republic, in eastern Ukraine, July 12, 2022. (PHOTO / AP) KYIV – Ukraine has become an associate member of the Multilateral Interoperability Program (MIP), which coordinates technological cooperation […]

NATO summit opens amid controversy, internal discord

(from right) French President Emmanuel Macron, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama and his wife Linda Rama visit the Prado Museum in Madrid on June 29, 2022. (BERTRAND GUAY, POOL VIA AP) MADRID – The 2022 Summit of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization opened here on Wednesday amid mounting criticisms of […]

NATO bulks up in major overhaul

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg arrives for a media conference at NATO headquarters in Brussels, June 15, 2022. (OLIVIER MATTHYS / AP) NATO will dramatically increase the ranks of its high-readiness forces from 40,000 to 300,000 as part of the biggest overhaul of its collective deterrence and defense since the Cold War, the trans-Atlantic alliance's […]