The US military will participate in a major Israeli drill later this month simulating an airstrike on Iran’s nuclear facilities, Israel’s Channel 13 reported on Tuesday. The drill, part of an exercise dubbed “Chariots of Fire,” will include the air-to-air refueling of Israeli fighter jets by US Air Force tanker planes as they simulate entering Iranian territory and carrying out repeated strikes.
Românii plătesc, în gospodăriile lor, cel mai scump curent electric din Uniunea Europeană raportat la puterea de cumpărare, adică după metodologia PPS – purchasing power standard.
США сохраняют уверенность в том, что НАТО достигнет консенсуса в вопросе вступления Финляндии и Швеции в блок, несмотря на возражения Турции, заявили в Белом доме. Когда это произойдет, пока планировать сложно, подчеркивают политологи. Как и последствия присоединения Хельсинки и Стокгольма к Североатлантическому альянсу. Обозреватель “Ъ” Максим Юсин считает, что их членство в организации станет неизбежной реальностью.
The European Union’s executive arm moved Wednesday to jump-start plans for the 27-nation bloc to abandon Russian energy amid the Kremlin’s war in Ukraine, proposing a nearly 300 billion-euro ($315 billion) package that includes more efficient use of fuels and faster rollout of renewable power.
NATO envoys failed to reach a consensus Wednesday on whether to start membership talks with Finland and Sweden, diplomats said, as Turkey renewed its objections to the two Nordic countries joining.
The envoys met at NATO’s headquarters in Brussels after Finland and Sweden’s ambassadors submitted written applications to join the military organization, in a move that marks one of the biggest geopolitical ramifications of Russia’s war on Ukraine — and which could rewrite Europe’s security map.
Nearly 1,000 last-ditch Ukrainian fighters who had held out inside Mariupol’s pulverized steel plant have surrendered, Russia said Wednesday, as the battle that turned the city into a worldwide symbol of defiance and suffering drew toward a close.
Extensive meetings were held in the past days between Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, which controls Idlib, and the Levant Front, one of the most prominent and strongest groups of the Syrian National Army, in a bid to reach a compromise between the two sides.
If Ankara can be tactful about Stockholm and Helsinki’s possible membership in NATO, it has a chance to see its concerns addressed.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine turned the spotlight on Turkey’s status as a regional power. Sweden and Finland’s expected bid to join NATO could further boost Turkish influence if the concerns raised by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who noted his objection to possible Swedish and Finnish membership in the US-led alliance, could be addressed.
Mr Biden’s hopes of pressing ahead with the nuclear talks suffered a significant setback the other week when a bipartisan super-majority of US Senators voted to endorse a Republican-led measure insisting that any future agreement with Tehran must address Iran’s support for terrorism in the region, and that Washington should not lift sanctions against the IRGC. Tehran is unlikely to concede to either measure.
Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s statement on May 13 that Turkey would not consider Sweden and Finland’s NATO membership favorably, has exposed the conflict that has been going on behind closed doors since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The plan to make Sweden and Finland, which are members of the European Union but not NATO members, join NATO due to the fear of Russia and the demand of the USA was uttered in the first days of the crisis.