https://twitter.com/JohnBasham/status/1526238091857510401?s=20&t=JMSHN2N3smWR6BobkTGh-w
16 May, 2022 17:27
HomeWorld News
Turkey opposes Finland and Sweden's NATO bids – Erdogan
Delegations from these countries should not bother asking Ankara to approve their applications, president says
Turkey will not say “yes” to Finland and Sweden’s NATO membership bids, the country’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday, adding that any attempts to persuade Ankara to change its position would be fruitless.
Both governments officially announced their intention to join the US-led military bloc this weekend. Turkey had previously warned that it might oppose the move, with Erdogan calling the two Nordic countries “guesthouses for terrorist organizations.” He was referring to the separatist Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and the Revolutionary People’s Liberation Front (DHKP/C), which have been outlawed by Ankara.
“These countries do not have a clear unequivocal stance against terrorist organizations. Sweden is the incubation center of terrorist organizations. They bring terrorists to talk in their parliaments. <…We wouldn't say 'yes' to them joining NATO, a security organization <…> They were going to come on Monday to convince us. Sorry, they don’t have to bother,” Erdogan said.
The Swedish Foreign Ministry said on Monday that senior officials from Helsinki and Stockholm would travel to Turkey to discuss the matter. Erdogan, however, indicated at the press briefing that such talks would be senseless.
In order to join the bloc, a country’s membership bid must be approved unanimously by all 30 members. It's likely that Ankara will be pressed by the US to reverse its objections.
NATO Deputy Secretary General Mircea Geoana had previously said he was sure his organization would be able to overcome Turkey’s reservations.
Finland and Sweden decided to reconsider their long-standing policy of non-alignment following a major change in public opinion amid the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. According to recent polls, a majority in both countries now support NATO membership.
The decision of the countries to apply for NATO membership has been condemned by Moscow. In Russian President Vladimir Putin’s opinion, the new development aggravates an already complicated international security situation.
https://www.rt.com/news/555584-turkey-no-to-finland-sweden-nato/
16 May, 2022 17:34
HomeWorld News
Austria makes pledge on neutral status
Vienna has no plans to change its non-aligned status, the country’s foreign minister has said
Austria is not a NATO member and has no plans to become one in the near future, the nation’s foreign minister, Alexander Schallenberg, told journalists in Brussels on Monday. When asked about his stance on Swedish and Finnish aspirations to join the military bloc, Schallenberg said he “fully respects” the decisions taken by Helsinki and Stockholm but added that it “is their decision and not ours.”
“Austria will continue to be a neutral country,” he said. However, he described the move taken by Sweden and Finland as a “strong signal” to Russian President Vladimir Putin, indicating that Moscow’s policies are flawed.
“[Putin] made NATO more relevant and [what] he achieved was [forcing] two countries to join NATO,” the Austrian minister said, adding that the Russian president’s security strategy “has blown [up] in his face.”
Stockholm and Helsinki officially announced their bids to join the military bloc on Sunday. Moscow has repeatedly warned that it would have to respond if Finland and Sweden join NATO. Russia has said it considers NATO expansion to be a direct threat to its own security.
Following the development, Putin said Moscow “has no problems” with either of the two nations joining NATO but considers the advancement of the alliance’s military infrastructure a threat.
Meanwhile, Schallenberg called for the EU to stay united when it comes to anti-Russian sanctions and “make it clear” to Moscow that the costs of its attack on Ukraine “remain high.” The minister admitted that EU members do not exactly see eye-to-eye on the next round of sanctions, but said the EU “has so far managed to demonstrate an incredible image of unity… and should seek to keep it that way.”
Austria’s top diplomat also urged Brussels to counter Russia’s influence in the Balkans as he warned of Moscow’s ability to destabilize the region. “It is our most important geostrategic task to ensure that it is the European model of values and life that [prevails],” he said, adding that “there is no vacuum in politics” and it can be “either our value model or a foreign one.”
Schallenberg was speaking ahead of the EU foreign ministers’ meeting that would also involve Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba. The ministers were expected to discuss the Russian military operation in Ukraine and their response to Moscow’s actions, as well as the new round of sanctions.
https://www.rt.com/news/555582-austria-remain-neutral-nato/
16 May, 2022 20:42
HomeRussia & FSU
Hundreds of houses damaged in Ukraine-bordering region
Russian villages have been shelled frequently from Ukrainian side amid ongoing Moscow’s offensive on its neighbor
Almost 300 houses have been damaged in Russia’s Belgorod Region, which shares a border with Ukraine, over the last two and half months, the region’s governor Vyacheslav Gladkov revealed on Monday.
Since the beginning of Moscow’s military offensive on Ukraine on February 24, numerous settlements in Russia's southwestern regions of Belgorod, Bryansk and Kursk have been struck from the Ukrainian side.
“Over the entire period of the special operation, 281 houses in the Belgorod region were damaged, we have already repaired 126,” the governor said during a Q&A session on social media.
Gladkov also revealed that in two villages - Zhuravlevka and Nekhoteevka – the reconstruction works have not started for a reason.
“Why? Because, unfortunately, the shelling continues,” the governor explained.
Last week, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that some additional measures would be necessary to strengthen security in Russia’s regions bordering Ukraine because of repeated shelling by Kiev’s forces. His remarks followed the news that a Ukrainian artillery strike on Solokhi, a village in Belgorod Region located about 11 kilometers from the Ukrainian border, had left seven Russian civilians injured and one dead.
https://www.rt.com/russia/555590-hundreds-houses-damaged-belgorod/
16 May, 2022 13:02
HomeRussia & FSU
Injured troops to be evacuated from Azovstal – Moscow
Evacuation from the Mariupol stronghold to a Donbass city agreed, Russian military said
Russian and allied troops blocking the Azovstal steelworks in Mariupol will allow injured Ukrainian soldiers to leave the stronghold and go to hospital in Novoazovsk, the Russian defense ministry said on Monday. The evacuation is planned for later on Monday after an agreement was reached, the military said.
According to the Russian ministry, it has suspended hostilities at Azovstal to allow the humanitarian evacuation later in the day.
Novoazovsk is a small city about 40km east of Mariupol, which is controlled by the militia force of the Donetsk People’s Republic. The evacuated troops will apparently remain in the custody of the breakaway republic, which Russia recognized as an independent state before launching its attack against Ukraine in late February.
Azovstal serves as the last bastion of Ukrainian troops in Mariupol, a major port city that saw some of the most intense fighting during Russia’s offensive in Ukraine. The vast facility has an extensive network of underground tunnels and shelters, where Ukrainian fighters are holed up.
Russia decided not to storm the site, saying it would take too many lives of its soldiers, and opted for a prolonged siege instead. Ukrainian troops stationed there, many of whom belong to the controversial nationalist Azov battalion, have been complaining about a shortage of food, medical supplies and ammunition for weeks.
https://www.rt.com/russia/555560-injured-troops-evacuation-azovstal/