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Stories related to defence, strategy and cooperation. 

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Monday Commentary
NATO Summit in The Hague II: everyone survived, now all eyes on Türkiye

NATO Summit in The Hague II: everyone survived, now all eyes on Türkiye

The Nato Summit held in The Hague on 24-25 June was a failure, wrapped in success. It was a success because it avoided public display of divisions, mainly by avoiding issues: it was the shortest summit anyone can remember; it also had a very short final statement that basically had two points, the first a re-commitment to article 5 of the North Atlantic Charter and the principle that an attack on one will be considered an attack on all. The fact that Nato leaders in the Hague had felt the need to re-emphasise this should be a cause of worry not celebration, but in the end, it is good that it was said. The second outcome, the one that received most attention, was the commitment of European countries to spend more on their defence: 5 per cent of GDP, of which 3.5 per cent on hard defence, and 1.5 per cent on related ancillary areas such as infrastructure. You may, if you want, believe that this was a response to US President Donald Trump's insistence. Or, if you are more prudent, understand that countries that matter – Germany, France, Poland and the Scandinavian countries had decided on this course of action quite separately, and as a response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which was a wake-up call. Finland and Sweden’s decision to abandon their neutrality, and join NATO was taken long before Trump returned to the White House. The EU’s decision to spend massively on defence was always to ensure that other European countries are part of this process, willy-nilly.
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News
Several countries bordering Russia will leave the Ottawa Convention which bans land mines

Several countries bordering Russia will leave the Ottawa Convention which bans land mines

Several countries that border Russia intend to leave the Ottawa Convention which bans anti personnel land mines. They include EU member states Finland, Poland, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia, as well as Ukraine. Russia has not signed the Ottawa treaty and continues to stockpile and use landmines. Ukraine is withdrawing from the Ottawa Convention, which prohibits the use, stockpiling and production of anti-personnel mines, according to Roman Kostenko, People's Deputy of the Golos party and Secretary of the Committee on National Security, Defense and Intelligence of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine . He said this is a step that the realities of war have long required. "Russia is not a party to this convention and is massively using mines against our military and civilians. We cannot remain constrained in conditions where the enemy has no restrictions," the MP noted.

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Editor's choice
News
Armenian president calls for government and opposition to meet on Saturday amid continuing standoff on future of army command

Armenian president calls for government and opposition to meet on Saturday amid continuing standoff on future of army command

Armenian President Armen Sarkissian has issued an open invitation to prime minister Nikol Pashinyan and the leaders of the opposition to a meet amid a continuing political crisis and an impasse on the command of the armed forces. Pashinyan had a meeting with the army leadership this afternoon
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News
Armenian Armed Forces Chief of Staff formally dismissed

Armenian Armed Forces Chief of Staff formally dismissed

The Chief of Staff of the Armenian Armed Forces, Colonel General Onik Gasparyan, has been formally dismissed from his post, the office of Armenian prime minister Nikol Pashinyan said on Wednesday morning (10 March). The dismissal of Gasparyan has been at the centre of political and constitutional controversy for two weeks.
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News
 Divergent views emerge on future Sahel strategy

Divergent views emerge on future Sahel strategy

Despite the deployment of the G5 force with the backing of France, the Sahel region continues to suffer from regular jihadist attacks. Although France and its allies participated in the G5 summit last week, they appeared to be pursuing diverging courses of action for combating threats from insurgents. 
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Opinion
Opinion: US-Turkey relations are difficult but enduring

Opinion: US-Turkey relations are difficult but enduring

"The US needs Turkey to counter Russia in the Black Sea region, the Middle East, and the South Caucasus. Turkey can also be useful in the US strategy to contain China", argues Benyamin Poghosyan in this op-ed. However given the number of problems between the two countries US-Turkey relations may normalise, but they will continue to develop in the cooperation/competition framework, he argues.
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News
GEU Podcast: Is EU ‘strategic autonomy’ compatible with NATO? – with Dr Jamie Shea

GEU Podcast: Is EU ‘strategic autonomy’ compatible with NATO? – with Dr Jamie Shea

After over 70 years at the forefront of Western defence strategy, what is the state of NATO? In this episode of Global Europe Unpacked, Will Murray speaks to Dr Jamie Shea, former NATO Deputy Assistant Secretary General for Emerging Security Challenges, about how the organisation is handling modern challenges, what a 'strategically autonomous' Europe means for NATO, and more...