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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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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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New round of Syrian peace talks in Geneva this week

New round of Syrian peace talks in Geneva this week

A new round of UN-mediated Syrian peace talks are starting this week in Geneva to agree on national principles before drafting a new constitution. Geir Pedersen, the United Nations special envoy for Syria, has been pushing towards revising Syria's constitution as a step towards ending the country's nine-year-old civil war.