Europe

Amid Finland and Sweden’s application for NATO membership, France’s Europe minister Clement Beaune has reportedly said Ukraine’s EU membership is “15 or 20 years” away. According to media reports, Beaune made the remarks while speaking to a local radio station during which he also said, “We have to be honest. …

The US plans to keep 100,000 troops in Eastern Europe for the foreseeable future, potentially increasing the number if it perceives a threat from Russia to NATO, local media have cited the US officials as saying. The US is expected to keep 100,000 troops stationed in Europe for the foreseeable …

A tourist plane crashed near the town of Les Adrets in southeast France, leaving at least five dead. Five dead bodies, including a child, were discovered at the site of the crash on Saturday afternoon, French news channel BFMTV reported. Local media reported that four people were of the same …

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday said the oil sector was undergoing a “tectonic change,” but claimed Europe would be committing “economic suicide” with its sanctions on Moscow over Ukraine. By seeking to phase out Russian energy supplies, Europe will only hurt itself, Putin said, urging state officials to use …

A cargo train has hit a rush-hour passenger train in Catalonia, killing an engineer and injuring 85 people, Spanish authorities and the regional rail company said. Emergency crews said they were helping to remove about 100 people from the passenger train. The accident happened about 6 pm on Monday 15km …

The Nordic country seeks to join the military alliance alongside Sweden

More than 250 Ukrainian fighters surrendered to Russian forces at the Azovstal steelworks in Mariupol and Kyiv said on Tuesday it had ordered its full garrison to evacuate, bringing an apparent end to the bloodiest battle in Europe for decades. Reuters saw buses leave the steelworks overnight and five of …

Decisions by Finland and Sweden to join the Western military alliance threaten to increase the chance of armed confrontation, Russian official says.

The foreign ministers of Sweden and Finland plan to travel “soon” to Turkey for talks to address Ankara’s objections to NATO membership for the two Nordic countries, news agency TT reported, citing the Swedish foreign office. Swedish Foreign Minister Ann Linde and Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto would meet their …

Sinn Fein President Mary Lou McDonald said her party had a “fairly tough” meeting with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Monday in which they told him taking unilateral action over post-Brexit trade rules for Northern Ireland would be wrong. Johnson says the European Union must make concessions on the …

Russia’s defense ministry said Monday that an agreement has been reached to evacuate injured soldiers from the Azovstal steel plant in Ukraine’s port city of Mariupol. “An agreement was reached with representatives of the Ukrainian military blocked at Azovstal in Mariupol to evacuate the wounded,” the ministry said. It added …

Russia pummelled positions in the east of Ukraine on Sunday, its defence ministry said, as it sought to encircle Ukrainian forces in the battle for Donbas and fend off a counteroffensive around the strategic Russian-controlled city of Izium. At a meeting in Germany, the secretary-general of the North Atlantic Treaty …

The country’s ruling party has followed the example of neighboring Finland

The Nordic country’s bid to join the US-led military bloc now needs approval from parliament

Russian President Vladimir Putin told his Finnish counterpart Sauli Niinisto on Saturday that ditching neutrality and joining NATO would be a mistake that could damage relations between their two countries, the Kremlin said. The two countries said their presidents spoke by phone two days after Finland declared its intention to …

Diplomats from the Group of Seven (G7) countries threaten to reinforce economic and political pressure on Russia and continue supplying weapons to Kiev as the conflict in Ukraine grinds into its third month with no solution on the horizon.

Ukraine asked the G7 group of rich nations on Friday to seize Russian assets and hand them over to help it rebuild after months of the war, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said. Kuleba said he made the request while addressing a meeting of G7 foreign ministers in northern Germany. “We …

The EU’s foreign policy chief said on Friday that he believed there had been enough progress during consultations between his envoy and Iranian officials in Tehran this week to relaunch nuclear negotiations after two months of deadlock. Talks to revive Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers have been on …

Russia on Friday expelled 10 Romanian diplomats in response to similar expulsions by Bucharest.

A report by the Swedish government on the changed security environment facing the Nordic country after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine says Moscow would react negatively to Sweden joining NATO and launch several counter-measures.