NATO

July 3, 2025 1:48 PM

Russia poses growing military threat to NATO members, Italy says

Russia could have the ability to pose a military threat to NATO territory within five years, Italy's Defence Minister Guido Crosetto said on Thursday. He was addressing lawmakers on the outcome of a NATO summit last week when the military alliance agreed to increase spending on defence and security. "Allies shared concerns about the growing threat from Russia. There are no signs of conversion of Russian production to civilian purposes, not even in the event of a ceasefire," he said. Crosetto ...

June 30, 2025 6:47 PM

NATO fund backs biotech startup in push to counter biological threats

The NATO Innovation Fund has made its first investment in a biotechnology company, it said on Monday, seeking to enhance defences against biological threats The fund is co-leading a $35 million fundraising round for Portal Biotech, which uses protein sequencing to detect engineered threats and defend against biological warfare. UK-based Portal Biotech's capability is essential for biosecurity defence and security, said Ana Bernardo-Gancedo, senior associate at NATO Innovation Fund. "We believ...

June 25, 2025 1:01 PM

NATO leaders set to back Trump defence spending goal at Hague summit

NATO leaders gathered in The Hague on Wednesday for a summit tailor-made for U.S. President Donald Trump, with European allies hoping a pledge to hike defence spending will prompt him to dispel doubts about his commitment to the alliance. The summit is expected to endorse a higher defence spending goal of 5% of GDP - a response to a demand by Trump and to Europeans' fears that Russia poses an increasingly direct threat to their security following the 2022 invasion of Ukraine. NATO Secretary Ge...

June 24, 2025 3:53 PM

What is NATO’s new 5% defence spending target?

NATO leaders are expected to endorse a big new defence spending target at an alliance summit in The Hague on Wednesday, as demanded by U.S. President Donald Trump. Here are some key questions and answers about the new target. WHAT ARE NATO LEADERS EXPECTED TO APPROVE? They are expected to agree that NATO members should spend 5% of their economic output - or Gross Domestic Product (GDP) - on core defence and broader defence and security-related investments. That’s a hefty increase on the cu...

June 6, 2025 6:23 PM

NATO’s dilemma: how Zelenskiy can attend summit without provoking Trump

Officials organising a NATO summit in The Hague this month are expected to keep it short, restrict discussion of Ukraine, and choreograph meetings so that Volodymyr Zelenskiy can somehow be in town without provoking Donald Trump. Though the Ukrainian president is widely expected to attend the summit in some form, NATO has yet to confirm whether he is actually invited. Diplomats say he may attend a pre-summit dinner but be kept away from the main summit meeting. Whether the brief summit stateme...

May 30, 2025 12:00 PM

Trump envoy says Russian concern over NATO enlargement is fair

U.S. President Donald Trump's envoy to Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, said Russia's concern over the eastward enlargement of NATO was fair and the United States did not want to see Ukraine in the U.S.-led military alliance. Asked by U.S. network ABC News about a Reuters report that Russia wanted a written pledge over NATO not enlarging eastwards to include Ukraine and other former Soviet republics, Kellogg said: "It's a fair concern." "We've said that to us, Ukraine coming into NATO is not on the tab...

May 15, 2025 5:03 PM

Berlin backs Trump’s demand to hike NATO spending target to 5%

Germany on Thursday backed U.S. President Donald Trump's demand to more than double NATO's defence spending target to 5% of GDP, as Washington urged countries to eliminate any "weak links" in the alliance caused by a lack of military investment. "We are following him (Trump), and we see this as a clear commitment by the United States to NATO's Article 5," Germany's new Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said, referring to the military alliance's mutual defence pact. Wadephul, who took office ear...

March 7, 2025 10:09 AM

Trump: If NATO members don’t pay, US won’t defend them

U.S. President Donald Trump cast doubt on Thursday on his willingness to defend Washington's NATO allies, saying he would not do so if they are not paying enough for their own defense. "It's common sense, right," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. "If they don't pay, I'm not going to defend them. No, I'm not going to defend them." Trump said he has been of this view for years and shared it with NATO allies during his 2017-2021 presidential term. Those efforts prompted more spending from ...

February 25, 2025 9:02 PM

After Trump comments, Kremlin reaffirms opposition to European peacekeepers in Ukraine

The Kremlin, asked about an assertion by U.S. President Donald Trump that Russia was open to European peacekeepers being deployed in Ukraine, referred reporters to an earlier statement that such a move would be unacceptable to Moscow. Russia has repeatedly said it opposes having NATO troops on the ground in Ukraine, with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov saying last week that Moscow would view that as a "direct threat" to Russia's sovereignty, even if the troops operated there under a different fl...

February 24, 2025 10:04 AM

Zelenskiy says he is willing to quit presidency if it means peace in Ukraine

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Sunday he was willing to give up his position if it meant peace in Ukraine, adding that he could exchange his departure for his country's entry into the NATO military alliance. "If (it means) peace for Ukraine, if you really need me to leave my post, I am ready," an irritated-looking Zelenskiy said when asked during a press conference whether he was ready to leave his post if it meant securing peace. "I can exchange this for NATO (membership), if...