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New attacks on Ukraine very close to NATO-member Romania’s border

According to an assistant to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the Kremlin intended for the strikes to spark a “food crisis” in the country…reports Asian Lite News

President of NATO-member Romania, Klaus Iohannis, said that the latest attacks on neighbour Ukraine happened “very close” to his country’s border, as Russia repeatedly launches drone raids on Danube infrastructure in southern Ukraine, Al Jazeera reported.

“We had attacks … which were verified at 800 metres [2,600 feet] from our border. So very, very close,” Iohannis told a joint news conference with Luxembourg’s Prime Minister Xavier Bettel.

The NATO member nation refuted Kyiv’s claims on Monday that an attack on the Ukrainian port of Izmail resulted in Iranian-made Russian drones falling and exploding on Romanian soil, according to Al Jazeera.

“There was no piece, and no drone and no other part of any device that made it to Romania,” Iohannis told the media on Tuesday, echoing comments Monday by the defence ministry.

“But yes, we are concerned because these attacks are taking place within a very short distance from the Romanian border,” Iohannis added, speaking from the Cincu military base in central Romania.

“But we are alert,” he said, as reported by Al Jazeera.

In a statement, the Russian Ministry of Defence said that it was aiming at gasoline storage facilities in the Ukrainian port of Reni that were used to supply Ukraine’s armed forces. The attack was effective, the Russian statement continued, with “all assigned targets neutralised.”

The NATO member Romania issued a quick reprimand after the salvo crossed its border. The attack was denounced by Romania’s Ministry of Defence in “the strongest terms possible,” calling it “unjustified and in deep contradiction with rules of international humanitarian law.”

The ministry said that there was no direct threat to Romanian territory or its territorial waters, CNN reported.

According to an assistant to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the Kremlin intended for the strikes to spark a “food crisis” in the country.

“Russian terrorists continue to attack port infrastructure in the hope that they will be able to provoke a food crisis and famine in the world,” the aide, Andriy Yermak, said on the messaging app Telegram.

The airstrikes that took place overnight are Moscow’s most recent attempt to attack Ukrainian shipping infrastructure since July, when Moscow backed out of an agreement that permitted Ukrainian ships to get around a Russian blockade of Ukrainian Black Sea ports and safely navigate the waterway to Turkey’s Bosphorus Strait in order to access international markets.

The failure of the agreement raised food prices worldwide and stoked concerns that the world’s poorest nations would struggle to feed their populations.

The UN too has been seeking to revive the deal, CNN reported. (ANI)

ALSO READ-Russian Drone Strike Hits Port Facilities on River Danube in Ukraine

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Turkey preparing to host Putin in August

MOSCOW, March 5, 2020 (Xinhua) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) meets with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Moscow, Russia, on March 5, 2020. Russia and Turkey agreed Thursday on a ceasefire in the de-escalation zone in Syria's northwestern province of Idlib, after talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan which lasted for about six hours. (Sputnik/Handout via Xinhua/IANS)

One of the key issues expected on the agenda is whether the Black Sea Grain Initiative will be prolonged, reports Asian Lite News

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan he is ready to host his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Ankara next month for talks on several issues.

“We are preparing to host Putin in August,” Erdogan told reporters in Istanbul.

According to Erdogan, one of the key issues expected on the agenda of the two leaders’ talks is whether the Black Sea Grain Initiative will be prolonged, reports Xinhua news agency.

The deal, brokered by Turkey and the UN that allows Ukraine to export grain and other agricultural products from its Black Sea ports, will expire on July 17.

Erdogan had called for extending the deal last week, stressing that poor African countries in particular are in desperate need of grain shipments from Ukraine.

The Black Sea Grain Initiative was launched in July 2022 to provide a humanitarian maritime corridor for ships with food and fertilizer exports from Ukrainian Black Sea ports.

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NATO summit ends amid division, opposition

NATO leaders also pledged to provide more long-term support to Ukraine and held the inaugural meeting of the new NATO-Ukraine Council…reports Asian Lite News

The NATO summit wrapped up here in the Lithuanian capital amid divisions among members and opposition from the international community.

During the summit concluding on Wednesday, NATO adopted its “most comprehensive defence plans since the end of the Cold War” and endorsed a new defence production action plan.

Under the new plans, NATO aims to have 300,000 troops fully ready for action, Xinhua news agency reported. 

NATO allies have also made an “enduring commitment” to invest at least two per cent of their GDP annually in defence, according to a statement published at the summit.

Only 11 of the alliance’s 31 members have reached or exceeded this target after “nine consecutive years of increased defence spending” since 2014, documents released at the summit showed.

NATO leaders also pledged to provide more long-term support to Ukraine and held the inaugural meeting of the new NATO-Ukraine Council with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. However, they failed to set a timetable for Ukraine’s membership in the alliance, which Zelensky has called “unprecedented and absurd”.

NATO members have been divided on how to bring Ukraine closer to their bloc. While some Eastern European members are pressing for an explicit commitment on when Ukraine will join, the US and Germany are reluctant to clarify, according to some reports.

A regional alliance between Europe and North America, NATO again invited leaders of Australia, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea, the so-called partners in the Asia-Pacific region, to attend its summit for the second time and vowed to “further strengthen dialogue and cooperation to tackle our shared security challenges,” according to the statement.

In the statement, the military bloc mentioned China 15 times, saying that “China’s stated ambitions and coercive policies challenge our interests, security and values” and that China posed “systemic challenges” to the alliance.

In response, China on Wednesday rejected such claims.

“What’s said in the NATO statement is a complete opposite of the truth and the product of Cold War mentality and ideological bias. China strongly opposes it,” Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin told a daily press briefing.

“We urge NATO to stop making groundless accusations and provocative rhetoric targeting China, quit the outdated Cold War mentality, ditch the wrongdoing of seeking absolute security. We have seen what NATO has done to Europe, and NATO must not seek to sow chaos here in the Asia-Pacific or elsewhere in the world,” he added.

Leading up to the two-day summit, protests against NATO were held in several European countries, including major countries like Britain and France.

Russia warns of response

Russia has said the latest NATO summit demonstrates that the Western military alliance has returned to “Cold War schemes”, and Moscow is ready to respond to such threats by “all means” necessary.

Russia’s comments came as United States President Joe Biden said at the end of the NATO summit on Wednesday that Russian President Vladimir Putin had a “craven lust for land and power” and had badly misjudged the resolve of the military bloc to support Ukraine.

Ukraine, he was betting NATO would break apart … But he thought wrong,” Biden said at the end of the two-day summit in Lithuania’s capital Vilnius.

“NATO is stronger, more energised and yes, more united than ever in its history. Indeed, more vital to our shared future,” he said.

The Russian foreign ministry said in a statement late on Wednesday that the outcome of the NATO meeting would be “carefully analysed” for the threats posed to Russia’s security.

“Taking into account the challenges and threats to Russia’s security and interests that have been identified, we will respond in a timely and appropriate manner, using all means and methods at our disposal,” the ministry said in the statement.

Western powers were determined to divide “the world into democracies and autocracies”, the ministry said, adding that “the crosshairs of this policy of searching for enemies is aimed at Russia”.

The ministry also said that NATO was continually lowering the threshold for the use of force while escalating political and military tensions by supplying Ukraine with more powerful and sophisticated weaponry.

“Taking the course of escalation, they issued a new batch of promises to supply the Kyiv regime with more and more modern and long-range weapons in order to prolong the conflict as long as possible – to exhaustion,” the ministry said.

Russia would respond by strengthening “the country’s military organisation and defence system”.

The NATO summit, which opened with news that Turkey would approve Sweden’s membership of the military alliance after months of objections, ended on Wednesday with the US and its allies giving Ukraine new security assurances for its defence against Russia.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who attended the summit, was offered long-term security promises, but he was not given a concrete timeline for NATO membership, which he had lobbied for strenuously.

NATO’s courting of Ukraine will likely further anger Putin who has partly portrayed his invasion of Ukraine as a response to NATO’s eastward expansion and to prevent the possibility of Ukraine joining the Western military alliance and the stationing of NATO forces at Russia’s borders.

Washington, DC-based think tank the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said on Wednesday the NATO summit “demonstrated the degree to which the 2022 Russian invasion has set back the goals for which the Kremlin claims it launched the war” on Ukraine.

ALSO READ: China, Taiwan loom large behind Ukraine at NATO summit

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NATO allies affirm support for Ukraine’s push for membership

North Atlantic Treaty Organization, NATO. Handout Image

NATO allies reiterated their condemnation of Russia’s “blatant violations of international law.” They said that Russia must stop the war and cease its use of force against Ukraine…reports Asian Lite News

North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) allies on Tuesday affirmed their support for Ukraine’s push for becoming a member of the military alliance. However, the NATO allies stopped short of extending an invitation to Ukraine to become a member of the alliance.

NATO allies noted that the future of Ukraine lies in NATO and recognised that Kyiv’s path towards full Euro-Atlantic Integration has moved beyond the need for the membership action plan, according to a joint communique issued by NATO leaders at a summit in Vilnius. NATO allies in the joint communique said, “We fully support Ukraine’s right to choose its own security arrangements. Ukraine’s future is in NATO. We reaffirm the commitment we made at the 2008 Summit in Bucharest that Ukraine will become a member of NATO, and today we recognise that Ukraine’s path to full Euro-Atlantic integration has moved beyond the need for the Membership Action Plan.”

NATO allies noted that Ukraine has become “increasingly interoperable and politically integrated” with the alliance. The NATO allies said that they will continue to support and review Ukraine’s progress through the adapted annual national programme.

“Ukraine has become increasingly interoperable and politically integrated with the Alliance, and has made substantial progress on its reform path.  In line with the 1997 Charter on a Distinctive Partnership between NATO and Ukraine and the 2009 Complement, Allies will continue to support and review Ukraine’s progress on interoperability as well as additional democratic and security sector reforms that are required,” a joint communique issued by NATO leaders reads.

“NATO Foreign Ministers will regularly assess progress through the adapted Annual National Programme.  The Alliance will support Ukraine in making these reforms on its path towards future membership. We will be in a position to extend an invitation to Ukraine to join the Alliance when Allies agree and conditions are met,” it added.

NATO allies reiterated their condemnation of Russia’s “blatant violations of international law.” They said that Russia must stop the war and cease its use of force against Ukraine.

“We continue to condemn in the strongest terms Russia’s blatant violations of international law, the Charter of the United Nations, and OSCE commitments and principles. We do not and will never recognise Russia’s illegal and illegitimate annexations, including Crimea,” the joint communique issued by NATO leaders reads.

On Tuesday, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg announced that the alliance has changed the requirements needed for Ukraine to become part of the group, CNN reported. Stoltenberg said allied nations have “agreed to remove the requirements for membership action” which will make Ukraine’s membership path from a “two-step process to a one-step process,” as per the CNN report. He said that NATO allies will invite Ukraine to become part of the military alliance “when conditions are met.” (ANI)

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NATO summit opens amid protests, criticism

Ahead of the summit, protests against NATO have been held in several European countries, while experts criticised the alliance’s expansion and its impacts…reports Asian Lite News

Leaders of the NATO gathered here for a two-day summit that seeks to address “the most pressing challenges” facing the alliance amid protests and growing criticism.

Strengthening defence and bridging differences on the Ukraine war are on top of the summit’s agenda. The alliance aims to adopt three regional defence plans backed by 300,000 troops on high readiness.

NATO also wants its member states to agree on “a more ambitious” defence investment pledge to spend a minimum of two per cent of their GDP annually on defence. After “nine consecutive years of increased defence spending” since 2014, only 11 of the alliance’s 31 members have reached or exceeded this target.

The inaugural meeting of the new NATO-Ukraine Council will be held with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky in attendance. NATO members are still divided on how to put Ukraine on a path to membership.

Ahead of the summit, protests against NATO have been held in several European countries, while politicians and experts criticised the alliance’s expansion and its impacts.

Pointing out that the summit will see “calls for further escalation” of the Ukraine war, the “Stop the War coalition” organised a day of protests across Britain on Saturday, calling for peace. In Paris, a march against the military alliance drew hundreds of people, with many calling for France to withdraw from NATO.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova predicted the summit would be “a colourful spectacle in the worst traditions of Western manipulation,” according to the RIA news agency.

“NATO is not a defence alliance; it is an alliance that wages illegal wars,” Sevim Dagdelen, a member of the German Left Party, told Xinhua, accusing NATO of fighting a proxy war against Russia by supplying military aid to Ukraine.

Erdogan meets Biden

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday met his US counterpart Joe Biden on the sidelines of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) summit in Vilnius.

Presidency of the Republic of Turkiye in a tweet stated, “President @RTErdogan met with President Joe Biden of the U.S. on the sidelines of the NATO Summit in Vilnius.” Before the bilateral meeting, Biden stated that they are at the “historic summit.” He said that Erdogan made the summit more historic by agreeing to back Sweden’s NATO bid. He thanked Erdogan for his diplomacy and courage.

According to the statement released by the White House, Biden said, “Mr President, it’s good to see you again — delighted to be with you.  And, you know, we’re at this historic summit meeting.  We’re resolving a lot of things, I hope.”

He further said, “You made all the more historic by the agreement you reached yesterday in the admission of Sweden and how you’re going to proceed.  I want to thank you for your diplomacy and your courage to take that on.  And I want to thank you for your leadership, Mr. President.”

In his remarks, Biden said, “This summit is reaffirming our commitment to NATO defence with close Allies in NATO, and I hope we can make it even stronger.”

Meanwhile, Recep Tayyip Erdogan thanked Biden for congratulating him on his re-election as Turkey’s President. He noted that Biden is preparing for the forthcoming elections in the US and wished him good luck.

“And within the framework of our strategic mechanism, I think it’s high time for the heads of states to get together for further consultations. That’s why I believe today’s meeting with you within the margin of the NATO Summit is the first step forward,” Erdogan said, according to the statement released by the White House.

“Our meetings prior to this were mere warmups, but now we are initiating a new process.  This new process is a process of five years,” he added.

US President Joe Biden on Monday (local time) welcomed his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s commitment to transmit the accession protocol for Sweden to Turkey’s Grand National Assembly for swift ratification.

Biden expressed readiness to work with Erdogan and Turkey on enhancing defence and deterrence. He stated that he looked forward to welcoming Sweden as US’ 32nd North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) ally. He thanked NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg for his “steadfast leadership.”

Biden’s statement comes after NATO Secretary General announced that Turkey has agreed to support Sweden’s bid to become a member of the military alliance. He made the announcement after his meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Sweden’s Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson.

Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Stoltenberg said, “I am glad to announce that, as a result, President Erdogan has agreed to forward the accession protocol for Sweden to the Grand National Assembly as soon as possible. And work closely with the Assembly to ensure ratification.”

The decision on Sweden’s NATO bid comes after months of opposition and demands from Turkey. Turkey had said that Sweden allows members of Kurdish terror groups to operate in the country, CNN reported. 

ALSO READ-G7 members to ratify long-term Ukraine security package at NATO Summit

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NATO fails to give Ukriane timeframe on joining

NATO members have been divided on how to bring Ukraine closer to their bloc…reports Asian Lite News

Leaders of the NATO have failed to set a timetable for Ukraine’s membership of the alliance, following the first day of the NATO summit in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius.

Speaking at a press conference, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said on Tuesday that the allies have agreed on a package of three elements to “bring Ukraine closer to NATO”. However, he clarified that an invitation for Ukraine to join the alliance will be issued “when allies agree and conditions are met”.

“It’s unprecedented and absurd when a time frame is not set either for the invitation or for Ukraine’s membership. While at the same time vague wording about ‘conditions’ is added even for inviting Ukraine,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky tweeted. He is set to attend the inaugural meeting of the new NATO-Ukraine Council on Wednesday.

NATO members have been divided on how to bring Ukraine closer to their bloc. While some Eastern European members are pressing for an explicit commitment on when Ukraine will join, the US and Germany are reluctant to clarify, according to some reports.

Stoltenberg said NATO leaders have also approved the “most comprehensive defence plans since the end of the Cold War,” and endorsed a new defence action plan, Xinhua news agency reported.

Under the new plans, NATO aims to have 300,000 troops fully ready for action. NATO allies have also made an “enduring commitment” to invest at least two per cent of their GDP annually in defence, although after “nine consecutive years of increased defence spending” since 2014, only 11 of the alliance’s 31 members have reached or exceeded this target.

Critics argue that such an emphasis on militarisation fosters an arms race among member states, diverting resources away from social and economic development and negatively impacting citizens’ quality of life.

Swedish expert Jan Oberg said NATO’s pledge to ask its members to invest a minimum of two per cent of GDP annually on defence was “absurd”. 

A military budget “should be decided according to a comprehensive threat analysis, followed by a priority discussion, and never be tied to a country’s economic ups and downs,” Oberg added.

“What we are seeing is a rampant, exclusivist militarism that doesn’t care about the other side or about the consequences of its own provocative policies,” said Oberg, Director of the Transnational Foundation for Peace and Future Research.

Analysts have also warned that NATO’s expansion and its responses to the Ukraine issue may seriously threaten global security.

Sevim Dagdelen, a member of Germany’s lower house of Parliament, told Xinhua in a recent interview that NATO is not a defence alliance, although that is the constant refrain of Western leaders.

At the same time, the military pact is engaged in an aggressive arms drive and is thwarting all negotiation efforts regarding the Ukraine crisis, she said, accusing NATO of fighting a proxy war against Russia by supplying military aid to Ukraine.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Tuesday accused NATO of treating Russia like an “enemy”.

“We are clearly talking about the summit of an association, which has a pronounced, concentrated anti-Russian nature,” local media reported Peskov as saying.

He said that Moscow has witnessed repeated waves of NATO expansion towards its borders, and the West does not understand the risks of this expansion.

Ahead of the two-day summit, protests against NATO have been held in several European countries.

Underlining that the summit will see “calls for further escalation” of the Ukraine war, the “Stop the War” coalition organised a day of peace protests across Britain on Saturday. Meanwhile, in Paris, a march against the military alliance drew hundreds of people, with many calling for France to withdraw from NATO.

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Turkey greenlights Sweden’s NATO bid

The announcement came following talks between the Turkish and Swedish leaders in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius, where the two-day NATO Summit will begin on Tuesday….reports Asian Lite News

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg announced that Turkey has finally backed Sweden’s bid to join the military alliance and called Ankara’s decision “historic”.

Taking to Twitter late Monday night, Stoltenberg said: “Glad to announce that after the meeting I hosted with (Turkish President Recep Tayyip) Erdogan & Swedish PM (Ulf Kristersson), President Erdogan has agreed to forward Sweden’s accession protocol to the Grand National Assembly ASAP & ensure ratification. 

“This is an historic step which makes all NATO allies stronger & safer.”

The announcement came following talks between the Turkish and Swedish leaders in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius, where the two-day NATO Summit will begin on Tuesday.

Turkey had previously spent months blocking Sweden’s application, accusing it of hosting Kurdish militants, reports the BBC.

As one of NATO’s 31 members, Turkey has a veto over any new country joining the group.


In a separate statement, the NATO chief  said Turkey and Sweden had addressed “Turkey’s legitimate security concerns” and as a result Sweden had amended its constitution, changed its laws, expanded its counter-terrorism operation against the PKK (Kurdistan Workers’ Party) and resumed arms exports to Turkey.


Monday night’s announcement was welcomed by a host of NATO members.


Reacting to the news, US President Joe Biden said he welcomed the commitment by his Turkish counterpart to proceed with “swift ratification”.


“I stand ready to work with President Erdogan and Turkey on enhancing defence and deterrence in the Euro-Atlantic area. I look forward to welcoming Prime Minister Kristersson and Sweden as our 32nd Nato ally,” a White House statement said.

While German Foreign Minister Annalen Baerbock tweeted: “At 32, we’re all safer together,” British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said Sweden joining would “make us all safer”.

President of the EU Commission Ursula Von Der Leyen said: “A historic step in Vilnius. I welcome the important step that Türkiye has promised to take, to ratify Sweden’s accession to NATO.”

Sweden and its eastern neighbour Finland announced their intention to join NATO in May last year in the wake of Russia launching its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. 

Finland formally joined he alliance in April this year.

The main focus of the two-day NATO Summit is Ukraine’s membership which President Volodymr Zelensky has been pushing for months amid the ongoing war.

But all NATO members agree that Ukraine cannot join the bloc during the war amid fears this would lead to a direct conflict with a nuclear-armed Russia, the BBC reported.

Zelensky has admitted that he does not expect a membership until after the war, but he wants the Summit to give a “clear signal” on Ukraine’s bid.

ALSO READ: NATO leaders to meet for crucial summit

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NATO leaders to meet for crucial summit

The world’s biggest security alliance is struggling to reach an agreement on admitting Sweden as its 32nd member…reports Asian Lite News

As the Russian invasion of Ukraine continues with no end in sight, NATO’s much-celebrated unity faces fresh strains when leaders gather for their annual summit this week in Vilnius, Lithuania.

The world’s biggest security alliance is struggling to reach an agreement on admitting Sweden as its 32nd member. Military spending by member nations lags behind long-standing goals. An inability to compromise over who should serve as NATO’s next leader forced an extension of the current secretary-general’s term for an extra year.

Perhaps the most difficult questions are over how Ukraine should be eased into NATO. Some maintain admitting Ukraine would fulfill a promise made years ago and be a necessary step to deter Russian aggression in Eastern Europe. Others fear it would be seen as a provocation that could spiral into an even wider conflict.

“I don’t think it’s ready for membership in NATO,” President Joe Biden told CNN in an interview airing Sunday. He said joining NATO requires countries to “meet all the qualifications, from democratization to a whole range of other issues.”

He said the United States should provide long-term security assistance to Ukraine — “the capacity to defend themselves” — as it does with Israel.

Bickering among friends is not uncommon, and the current catalogue of disputes pales in comparison with past fears that Donald Trump would turn his back on the alliance during his presidency. But the current challenges come at a moment when Biden and his counterparts are heavily invested in demonstrating harmony among members.

“Any fissure, any lack of solidarity provides an opportunity for those who would oppose the alliance,” said Douglas Lute, U.S. ambassador to NATO under President Barack Obama.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is eager to exploit divisions as he struggles to gain ground in Ukraine and faces political challenges at home, including the aftermath of a brief revolt by the Wagner mercenary group.

“You don’t want to present any openings,” Lute said. “You don’t want to present any gaps or seams.”

Finland’s flag was raised outside NATO Headquarters for the first time.

By some measures, the war in Ukraine has reinvigorated NATO, which was created at the beginning of the Cold War as a bulwark against Moscow. NATO members have poured military hardware into Ukraine to help with its counteroffensive, and Finland ended a history of nonalignment to become NATO’s 31st member.

“I think it’s appropriate to look at all the success,” Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky said. “So I think the invasion has strengthened NATO — exactly the opposite of what Putin anticipated.”

He noted Germany’s shift toward a more robust defense policy as well as increase in military spending in other countries. The latest test of NATO solidarity came Friday with what Biden said was a “difficult decision” to provide cluster munitions to Ukraine.

More than two-thirds of alliance members have banned the weapon because it has a track record for causing many civilian casualties. The U.S., Russia and Ukraine are not among the more than 120 countries that have not signed a convention outlawing the use of the bombs.

As for Ukraine’s possible entry into NATO, the alliance said in 2008 that Kyiv eventually would become a member. Since then, little action has been taken toward that goal. Putin occupied parts of Ukraine in 2014 and then tried to capture the capital in 2022 with his invasion.

“A gray zone is a green light for Putin,” said Daniel Fried, a former U.S. ambassador to Poland who is now a distinguished fellow at the Atlantic Council.

Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, called for a unified signal from NATO on Ukraine and for his country to join the alliance.

“It would be an important message to say that NATO is not afraid of Russia,” Zelenskyy said through a translator in an ABC interview, when asked whether he would come to Vilnius. “Ukraine should get clear security guarantees while it is not in NATO. And that is a very important point. Only under these conditions our meeting would be meaningful. Otherwise, it’s just another politics.”

The U.S. and Germany insist that the focus should be on supplying weapons and ammunition to Ukraine, rather than taking the more provocative step of extending a formal invitation to join NATO. Countries on NATO’s Eastern flank — Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland — want firmer assurances on future membership.

NATO could decide to elevate its relationship with Ukraine, creating what would be known as the NATO-Ukraine Council and giving Kyiv a seat at the table for consultations.

Also in the spotlight in Vilnius will be Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the main obstacle to Sweden’s attempts to join NATO alongside neighbor Finland.

Erdogan accuses Sweden of being too lenient on anti-Islamic demonstrations and militant Kurdish groups that have waged a long insurgency in Turkey.

Sweden recently changed its anti-terrorism legislation and lifted an arms embargo on Turkey. But a man burned a Quran outside a mosque in Stockholm last week, and Erdogan signaled that this would pose another hurdle. He equated “those who permitted the crime” to those who perpetrated it.

ALSO READ: Biden kills Ukraine’s NATO hopes

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Erdogan: Ukraine deserves NATO membership

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has met with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky in the Turkish city of Istanbul,

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has met with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky in the Turkish city of Istanbul, reports Asian Lite News

NATO

Zelensky spent this week visiting NATO countries, courting support ahead of a NATO summit in Lithuania next week where members are expected to reaffirm that Ukraine will eventually join, the CNN reported.

The Turkish President said: “Without a doubt, Ukraine deserves to be in NATO.”

Zelensky said he was “happy to hear” that Turkey supports Ukraine’s bid to join during a joint press conference.

This is Zelensky’s first visit to Turkey since the war broke out between his country and Russia in February 2022, but he has often spoken on the phone with Erdogan, whose country has been pushing for peace talks between Russia and Ukraine.

The two presidents met on Friday night at the Vahdettin Palace on the Asian side of the city, Xinhua news agency reported.

“Finishing a busy day in Turkey,” Zelensky tweeted, followed by another tweet of an image of the two leaders shaking hands. “Coordination of positions on the peace formula, the NATO summit, security guarantees, and the grain initiative” were discussed, he said.

Meanwhile, the White House said that Ukraine’s entry into NATO will be discussed at the alliance’s ensuing summit but it won’t come out as a member.

Jake Sullivan, White House National Security Advisor, said that the summit to be held next week in Vilnius will highlight NATO’s readiness to consider Ukraine’s membership, which he termed a “milestone” in itself. Sullivan said, “The NATO Summit will dive into the question of NATO’s relationship with Ukraine, both the question of its pathway towards future membership and the question of an ongoing partnership that has existed for several years.”

“Ukraine’s pathway to NATO will be discussed at the summit, but Kyiv still has further steps that it needs to take before membership and Ukraine will not be joining NATO coming out of this summit,” he added.

Sullivan noted that Ukraine would have the chance to talk about the reforms that are still essential for Kyiv to match NATO standards.

Even as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is ready to attend the summit to establish that his country should join the alliance when its conflict with Russia ends, Sullivan said the White House expects Sweden’s NATO membership to win final approval in the foreseeable future.

He also said Turkey and Hungary can “possibly” drop their opposition at the forthcoming summit.

“If not, we believe it will happen in the not-too-distant future,” said Sullivan, adding that there was “fundamental goodwill” towards Sweden’s move within the alliance.

In the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Sweden and Finland ended decades of military non-alignment and submitted applications to join NATO last year.

Finland officially joined the bloc in April, but Turkey and Hungary prevented Sweden from joining because of the requirement for unanimity in support of new members.

Due to a long-standing disagreement over Stockholm’s decision to allow alleged Kurdish militants to dwell in the Nordic nation, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is preventing Sweden from entering the European Union.

ALSO READ: Zelensky pressures Biden over Ukraine’s NATO bid

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Turkey-Sweden standoff not over yet

Finland’s flag was raised outside NATO Headquarters for the first time.

Sweden and Finland applied to join NATO last year but faced objections from Turkey…reports Asian Lite News

Turkey did not green-light Sweden’s accession to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) at a three-party meeting held here, but the participants agreed to meet again next Monday in Vilnius, Lithuania, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said.

The aim of Thursday’s talks between Stoltenberg and the foreign ministers of Sweden and Turkey in Brussels was to overcome Turkey’s objections to Sweden joining the alliance, Xinhua news agency reported.

Stoltenberg described the Brussels meeting as “productive” and reaffirmed that Sweden’s NATO membership is within reach. He added that he would convene a meeting between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Sweden’s Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson on the eve of NATO’s July 11-12 summit.

Sweden and Finland applied to join NATO last year but faced objections from Turkey, which argued that the two countries harbour members of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and the Gulen movement.

Turkey eventually lifted its objection to Finland’s NATO accession earlier this year after Helsinki took “concrete steps” against such organisations. In April, Finland became NATO’s 31st member state. However, Ankara continued to block Sweden’s NATO bid.

Stoltenberg said Sweden had amended its constitution and introduced new anti-terrorist legislation, removed restrictions on arms exports to Turkey, and stepped up counter-terrorism cooperation, including against the PKK.

“Sweden has taken steps in terms of legislative changes, but legislative changes need to be reflected in practice,” Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan was quoted by Turkish state-run Anadolu News Agency as saying.

Fidan said after the meeting that it is imperative that countries wishing to join NATO take a firm stand in the fight against terrorism.

Sweden’s Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom said after the meeting that progress was made during the meeting and that his country expects “a positive decision next week.”

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