The North Atlantic Treaty Organization will soon conduct large-scale exercises in the Baltics, with thousands of troops from more than a dozen nations set to take part in war games just 40 miles from the nearest Russian military base.
Iceland, Denmark and Norway have offered security guarantees to Finland and Sweden if either come under attack, after Stockholm said it would follow Helsinki in requesting membership in the NATO bloc.
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s sole Asian member has suggested it could bar two Nordic countries from entering the alliance.
The United States and Germany will reject all Russian territorial claims in Ukraine, leaders from both countries said during a recent phone call, as relations between Berlin and Kiev plumb new depths over alleged close ties between the German president and his Russian counterpart.
NATO’s civilian leader came close to offering Sweden a security guarantee if Stockholm decides to apply for membership in the bloc – even before it’s formally accepted – with Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg vowing new military deployments to the Baltic Sea during the application period.
The United States and its Western partners have embarked on two simultaneous rounds of war games in Eastern Europe as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine enters its third month.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Washington would continue to back Juan Guaido’s claim to power in Venezuela. The statement came just weeks after the White House held talks with Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro.
One month after President Joe Biden warned Americans to prepare for cyberattacks from Russia, a US official said that Washington still has yet to detect any.
