May 27 WATCH: Blinken says he’s confident Finland and Sweden will join NATO By Associated Press US Secretary of State Antony Blinken says he is confident that Finland and Sweden applications to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization will move forward despite objections from Turkey. Continue reading
May 25 Turkey demands ‘concrete steps’ to allow Finland, Sweden NATO membership By Suzan Fraser, Associated Press A senior Turkish official says Turkey will not agree to Sweden and Finland joining NATO without "concrete steps in a certain timeframe" to address Ankara's concerns. Continue reading
May 21 Turkey’s Erdogan speaks with Swedish, Finnish leaders on NATO By Associated Press Erdogan called upon Sweden to lift defensive weapons export restrictions it imposed on Turkey over Turkey's 2019 incursion into northern Syria. Erdogan also said he expected Stockholm to take “concrete and serious steps” against the Kurdish Workers’ Party, or PKK,… Continue reading
May 21 Russia halts natural gas exports to Finland after NATO bid By Jari Tanner, Associated Press The measure taken by the Russian energy giant Gazprom was in line with an earlier announcement following Helsinki’s refusal to pay for the gas in rubles as Russian President Vladimir Putin has demanded European countries do since Russia invaded Ukraine… Continue reading
May 19 Watch 8:03 Political scientist Ian Bremmer on the world’s ability to address major global crises With Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the pandemic, climate crisis and extreme political polarization, the dangers currently facing the world are stark. A new book, "The Power of Crisis: How Three Threats – and Our Response – Will Change the World,"… Continue watching
May 19 WATCH: President Joe Biden meets with Swedish and Finnish leaders amid bid for NATO membership By Zeke Miller, Chris Megerian, Associated Press Biden greeted Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson of Sweden and President Sauli Niinistö of Finland at the White House with as they met for trilateral conversations on the NATO mutual defense pact as well as broader European security concerns. Continue reading
May 18 Watch 5:08 News Wrap: Omicron variant drives spike in U.S. COVID-19 cases In our news wrap Wednesday, COVID cases are spiking as federal health officials call for indoor mask mandates, Russia released video of Ukrainian soldiers abandoning the Azovstal steel plant, the U.S. embassy reopened in Kyiv, Finland and Sweden handed in… Continue watching
May 18 WATCH: Finland and Sweden to have ‘effective and efficient’ entry into NATO, White House says By News Desk and Associated Press White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan hold a news briefing on Wednesday. Continue reading
May 18 How serious is Turkey’s Erdogan in denying Finland, Sweden NATO membership? By Matthew Lee, Suzan Fraser, Associated Press Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is taking an increasingly tough line against the NATO membership bids of Finland and Sweden despite far less strident statements from some of his top aides. Continue reading
May 17 WATCH: Prime Minister Mitsotakis touts Greece as a new energy hub in address to Congress By Lisa Mascaro, Aamer Madhani, Zeke Miller, Associated Press As Europe looks to wean itself off Russian energy, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis touted the idea of Greece becoming an energy hub in a speech to a joint session of Congress. Continue reading