Lithuania’s defense minister on Wednesday warned that a Russian military exercise later this year may serve as cover for an aggressive troop buildup on NATO’s eastern flank. Raimundas Karoblis is in Washington to lobby US officials and lawmakers for support as the exposed Baltic states modernize their defenses to deter Kremlin interference. In an interview … Read more
Russian President Vladimir Putin is a bigger threat to world security than the so-called Islamic State group, according to veteran US Senator John McCain who also admits Donald Trump makes him “nervous”. Republican McCain — one of US President Trump’s most outspoken critics in his own party — said Russia’s alleged meddling in elections was … Read more
Brexit will see the departure of the EU’s largest military force, leaving France as the bloc’s main military power. And as the US pressures Europe to take more responsibility for its own defense, much of that burden will likely fall on Paris. Speaking at a meeting of NATO foreign ministers on Friday, US Secretary of … Read more
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will meet with NATO members next week in Brussels, officials said Friday, as alliance diplomats struggled to reschedule a key meeting. The transatlantic alliance’s leading partner threw planning for an April 5 summit of NATO foreign ministers into chaos on Tuesday, when Tillerson revealed he would not be attending. … Read more
Sweden is set to bring hundreds of Cold War-era nuclear bunkers out of mothballs as tensions with Russia in the Baltic are ratcheted up another notch. More than 60,000 bunkers were established after 1945 to protect Swedes in the event of a nuclear attack by the Soviet Union. Although Sweden has always remained neutral and … Read more
President-elect Donald Trump is finding himself caught between his desire to improve relations with Russia and fellow Republicans who are pushing for a harsher response to what American spy agencies say was the Kremlin’s meddling in the U. S. presidential election. The tacit acknowledgement on Sunday by his incoming chief of staff, Reince Priebus, that … Read more
POTUS 45 won’t have much time to celebrate. After a bruising brawl of a campaign, the next US commander in chief will inherit a world with the toughest array of foreign policy challenges in decades. The President’s Situation Room meetings will focus on hot, cold and simmering conflicts around the globe, all playing out as … Read more