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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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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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Lavrov calls request of Moldovan president-elect to withdraw "Russian peacekeepers" from Transnistria an irresponsible demand

Lavrov calls request of Moldovan president-elect to withdraw "Russian peacekeepers" from Transnistria an irresponsible demand

For three decades Russia has pretended that its military base on the Moldovan territory of Transnistria was a "peacekeeping force", despite several attempts by the Moldovan government to end its mandate, and accusations that it promoted separatism.
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NATO Ministers will discuss increased Russian presence, including in Nagorno-Karabakh

NATO Ministers will discuss increased Russian presence, including in Nagorno-Karabakh

Speaking at a press briefing on Monday ahead of the meeting NATO's Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg said Ministers will address Russia military build-up around the Alliance including in Belarus and Nagorno-Karabakh, and what more should be done to respond to Russia’s growing military activity. 
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Iran vows to revenge the murder of nuclear scientist

Iran vows to revenge the murder of nuclear scientist

Iran on Friday evening, raised the issue of the assassination at the United Nations Security Council. The Permanent Representative of Iran in the UN Majid Takht-Ravanchi in a letter addressed to the UN Secretary General and to the Security Council said that there are "serious signs pointing at Israel’s responsibility" in the Fahrizade’s assassination.
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Tokayev calls for an increased state of readiness in Kazakhstan armed forces

Tokayev calls for an increased state of readiness in Kazakhstan armed forces

Kassym-Zhomart Tokayev called on the leadership of the military to closely monitor the rapidly changing situation in the world, both globally and in some regions. According to him, the current security architecture is in crisis. Tokayev said he  believes that internal unrest and revolutions will inevitably affect the integrity of the country.