NATO | Pakistan

Belgium’s prime minister was a little surprised on landing back home from Wednesday’s North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato) summit in Turkiye to find that he had a handgun and ammunition in his luggage. After Nato leaders gathered for Wednesday’s fractious summit in Ankara, their host, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, handed each an unusual parting gift: a vintage revolver, along with live ammunition indicating it was not just for show. Erdogan wanted to showcase Turkiye’s defence industry, which has become a key export and foreign policy tool. Images shared by the office of Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda showed what appeared to be the Gumusay .357 Magnum, a rare six-shooter produced by Turkish arms maker MKE in the 1990s. It was set in a wooden display box featuring Turkiye’s flag and the Nato logo as well as a placard inscribed “Gumusay, the first revolver-type handgun produced in our country” in Turkish and English. The pistol gifted by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to Belgium’s P...

Calls Madrid a 'terrible partner' in NATO as ‌he rails against allies for not supporting the war on Iran

Turkiye must be included in all of Europe’s defence and security structures, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday, a week ahead of a key Nato summit in Ankara. His remarks come as Europe seeks to revamp its defences in light of the threat from Russia and the risk of a US pullback from Nato, as the military alliance gears up for a key summit in the Turkish capital on July 7-8. “Turkiye’s indispensable contributions to European security are sometimes overlooked,” Erdogan told parliamentary delegates from all 32 Nato member states in Istanbul, saying Turkiye wanted “to participate in all defence and security initiatives” on the continent. At issue is Turkiye’s access to the European Union’s 150-billion-euro ($176bn) Security Action for Europe (Safe) initiative, a scheme key to strengthening European defence capabilities. Although Turkiye is technically eligible to access the Safe initiative, it requires approval from all 27 EU members — something Greece has threatened to block. “We expect your support, ...

United States Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth on Thursday hailed progress by North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato) allies to meet defence spending vows, but said some must “do more”, as he struck a conciliatory tone at an alliance meeting. “Many countries following through, some that still need to do more, and we will be candid about that, both in private and in public,” Hegseth said ahead of talks with Nato defence ministers in Brussels. “I think that’s important — friends being honest with friends.” The warm tone will likely reassure Washington’s allies ahead of a summit with US President Donald Trump next month — after the mercurial leader lashed out at Europe over its response to his war on Iran. Nato will look to showcase increased expenditure by Europe to prove to Trump it is progressing on a pledge last year to reach five per cent of GDP on defence-related spending. “When it comes to spending, what we are seeing is staggering amounts of money coming in,” Nato chief Mark Rutte said. “Europe and Ca...

Nato chief Mark Rutte said on Friday he had assured Romania’s president of the alliance’s “absolute solidarity” as he slammed Russia for a drone crash in the country bordering Ukraine. Nato member Romania said that a drone injured two people in a southeastern city during an overnight Russian attack on Ukraine, the first time in the war that a drone had hit a densely populated area in Romania and caused injuries. The incident in Romania, also a member of the European Union, was likely to increase tensions on Nato’s eastern flank at a time when Ukraine’s allies are worried about Russia’s war on its neighbour spilling over its borders. “Russia’s reckless behaviour is a danger to us all,” Rutte wrote on social media after a call with President Nicusor Dan. “I affirmed that Nato stands ready to defend every inch of Allied territory.” The drone hit the roof of a 10-storey block of flats in Galati and caused an explosion, the Romanian authorities said. “We condemn Russia’s recklessness, and Nato will continue to str...

Nato said on Saturday it was working with the United States to understand Washington’s decision to withdraw 5,000 troops from Germany as a rift in transatlantic ties deepens over the Middle East war. The Pentagon’s announcement of the troop withdrawal follows a spat between US President Donald Trump and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who said on Monday that Iran was “humiliating” Washington at the negotiating table. Trump fired back by saying that Merz “doesn’t know what he’s talking about”. It also came as Trump announced that tariffs on cars and trucks from the European Union will increase to 25 per cent next week over accusations that the bloc did not comply with a trade deal signed last summer. Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said on Friday the withdrawal of around 5,000 troops from Germany was expected “to be completed over the next six to twelve months”. “This decision follows a thorough review of the Department’s force posture in Europe and is in recognition of theater requirements and conditions on...

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Friday stressed his country was a “reliable member” of Nato, after a report the United States was considering possibly trying to expel Spain over its refusal to support operations in the Middle East war. Reuters news agency cited an anonymous US official telling it that the Pentagon had outlined the expulsion option in an email looking at ways to punish Nato allies that steered clear of the US-Israeli war against Iran. “Spain is a reliable member within Nato” which is fulfilling all its obligations, Sanchez told reporters in Cyprus, where he was attending an EU summit. “As a result, I am absolutely not worried,” he said. US President Donald Trump has repeatedly railed against Nato allies for refusing to join the war, saying he viewed it as a betrayal. Some of them — France, Spain and Italy — did not allow US military aircraft deployed for the war to overfly their territories or to use bases. Britain initially also refused, but later allowed US flights from its bases for...

“Paper tiger”. “Cowards”. As US President Donald Trump grapples with the fallout of his war on Iran, much of his anger has been redirected onto another target: the Nato military alliance. Enraged by European allies who have refused to back his fight, rejected demands to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz, or denied access to US jets, Trump’s tone has grown increasingly menacing. “I was never swayed by Nato. I always knew they were a paper tiger,” Trump told British newspaper The Telegraph on Wednesday, suggesting he was strongly considering pulling the United States out. The ire from the president — who has also blasted Nato allies as “cowards” over Iran — is just the latest existential crisis to grip the 77-year-old alliance since his return to power last January. A few months ago, he rocked Nato’s foundations by threatening to seize the vast Arctic island of Greenland from fellow member Denmark — before abruptly backing off. That followed him repeatedly pulling the rug from under Ukraine in the war against Ru...

'Without the USA, NATO is a paper tiger!' Trump lashes out

US President Donald Trump lashed out Tuesday at “foolish” Nato over Iran, saying the United States needs no help after allies rebuffed his calls to join efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Trump said most US allies had rejected his push to escort ships through the crucial waterway, with French President Emmanuel Macron saying his country would “never” do so until the situation was calmer. “I think Nato is making a very foolish mistake,” Trump told reporters as he hosted Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin in the Oval Office. “I’ve long said that I wonder whether or not Nato would ever be there for us. So this was a great test.” But Trump insisted that Washington was ready to go it alone against Iran, saying that even Nato allies had agreed that Tehran needed to be confronted over its nuclear programme. “We don’t need too much help. We don’t need any help,” Trump said. Minutes before the meeting, Trump made a lengthy post on his Truth Social platform saying US forces “no longer need” military help in the I...

Britain said United States President Donald Trump was “wrong to diminish” the role of Nato troops in Afghanistan, as his claims that they did not fight on the front line sparked outrage. In an interview with Fox News aired on Thursday, Trump appeared unaware that 457 British soldiers died during the conflict, following the September 11 attacks on the United States. “They’ll say they sent some troops to Afghanistan,” Trump told the US outlet, referring to Nato allies. “And they did, they stayed a little back, a little off the front lines,” he added. Trump also repeated his suggestion that Nato would not come to the aid of the United States if asked to do so. In fact, following the 9/11 attacks, the UK and several other allies joined the US in Afghanistan from 2001 after it invoked Nato’s collective security clause, Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty, which treats an act of aggression against one or more members as an attack on all. As well as British forces, troops from other Nato ally countries, including...

Ukraine has relinquished its aim to join the Nato military alliance in exchange for Western security guarantees as a compromise to end the war with Russia, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Sunday as peace talks got underway in Berlin. Zelensky aired the concession as he flew to the German capital, where he began meetings with US President Donald Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner in efforts to end Europe’s bloodiest conflict since World War Two. The move marks a major shift for Ukraine, which has fought to join Nato as a safeguard against Russian attacks and has such an aspiration included in its constitution. It also meets one of Russia’s war aims, although Kyiv has so far held firm against ceding territory to Moscow. Zelensky met the US envoys at talks hosted by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who, a source said, had made brief remarks before leaving the two sides to negotiate. Other European leaders are also due in Germany for talks on Monday. Security guarantees from the United...

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday said Saudi Arabia was being designated as a “major, non-Nato ally”. “Tonight, I’m pleased to announce that we’re taking our military cooperation to even greater heights by formally designating Saudi Arabia as a major non-Nato ally, which is something that is very important to them,” Trump said during a formal black-tie dinner at the White House. “And I’m just telling you now for the first time, because they wanted to keep a little secret for tonight,” Trump said of the designation, which only 19 other countries have previously received. View this post on Instagram According to Politico, the other countries in that category include Israel, Jordan, Kuwait and Qatar. The status provides a US partner with military and economic privileges but does not entail security commitments. US strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities in June had made Saudi Arabia safer, Trump added. Meanwhile, bin Salman had earlier promised to increase his country’s US investment to $1 trillion from a $600 ...

MOSCOW: Vladimir Putin is demanding that Ukraine give up all of the eastern Donbas region, renounce ambitions to join NATO, remain neutral and keep Western troops out of the country, three sources familiar with top-level Kremlin thinking told Reuters. The Russian president met Donald Trump in Alaska on Friday for the first Russia-U.S. summit in more than four years […]

United States President Donald Trump and Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte announced a plan on Monday to rearm Ukraine with missiles and other weaponry in its fight to fend off Russian invaders and warned of severe tariffs if Moscow does not end the war. The announcement by the two leaders followed weeks of frustration on the part of Trump with Russian President Vladimir Putin over his refusal to make an agreement to end the conflict. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has made frequent appeals to Trump and Nato leaders for more weapons. Under the deal, Trump said the US will supply weapons that will be paid for by Nato countries. Rutte said massive numbers of weapons would be sent, including missiles, as part of a first wave of equipment. “It’s a full complement with the batteries,” Trump said when asked whether he would send Patriot missiles specifically. “We’re going to have some come very soon, within days … a couple of the countries that have Patriots are going to swap over and will replace the Patri...

THE HAGUE: Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte on Wednesday likened President Donald Trump to a “daddy” intervening in a schoolyard brawl after the US leader repeatedly berated Middle East foes Israel and Iran this week including with a profanity. Talking to reporters alongside Rutte at a Nato alliance summit, Trump again berated Israel and Iran. “They’ve had a big fight, like two kids in a schoolyard. You know, they fight like hell, you can’t stop them. Let them fight for about 2-3 minutes, then it’s easy to stop them,” he said. In response, Rutte laughed and said: “And then daddy has to sometimes use strong language to get (them to) stop.” On Tuesday, after a ceasefire deal, Trump had raised eyebrows by saying Israel and Iran had been fighting “so long and so hard that they don’t know what the f*** they’re doing”. With the 32-member Nato alliance endeavouring to placate Trump after complaints that it was over-reliant on US financial and military muscle, Rutte was asked if he might be over-flattering the US pr...

Nato leaders on Wednesday backed a big increase in defence spending and restated their commitment to defend each other from attack after a brief summit tailor-made for United States President Donald Trump. In a short statement, Nato endorsed a higher defence spending goal of 5 per cent of GDP by 2035, a response to a demand by Trump and to Europeans’ fears that Russia poses a growing threat to their security following the 2022 invasion of Ukraine. “We reaffirm our ironclad commitment to collective defence as enshrined in Article Five of the Washington Treaty that an attack on one is an attack on all,” the statement said, after Trump had sparked concern on Tuesday by saying there were “numerous definitions” of the clause. But just before the summit opened, Trump had said of fellow Nato members: “We’re with them all the way.” Trump lauded the “tremendous” summit in the Hague as leaders wrapped up a meeting that saw the alliance back his demand to ramp up defence spending. “I think the summit was fantastic. It w...