Latest North Atlantic Treaty Organization News

Blinken says no cease-fire until Ukraine gains upper hand in war

Jun. 02, 2023 12:53 PM EDT

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Friday the United States won't support peace talks in the war in Ukraine until Kyiv holds the upper hand, possibly after a Ukrainian counteroffensive that appears to be taking shape. Blinken said heeding calls from...

NATO chief heading to Turkey this weekend in fresh push on Swedish membership

Jun. 02, 2023 08:29 AM EDT

BRUSSELS (AP) — NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg will hold talks with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and other senior Turkish officials this weekend as pressure mounts on Turkey to lift its objections to Sweden joining the military organization. In a statement on Friday,...

Zelenskyy pushes for Ukraine support at European leaders' summit in Moldova

Jun. 01, 2023 21:56 PM EDT

BULBOACA, Moldova (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's unrelenting quest for more political support and security backing from NATO got a warm welcome but no concrete commitments Thursday during a sprawling summit where nearly every European leader had assembled to condemn non-invitees...

Biden thanks Air Force Academy graduates for choosing 'service over self'; he stumbles after speech

Jun. 01, 2023 17:20 PM EDT

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) — President Joe Biden on Thursday thanked U.S. Air Force Academy graduates for choosing “service over self” but said they now have the “great privilege” of leading in a world that will only get more confusing in the years to come. His appearance was punctuated...

France, Germany urge new elections in Kosovo following flare-up in ethnic tensions

Jun. 01, 2023 15:38 PM EDT

BULBOACA, Moldova (AP) — The leaders of France and Germany have urged their counterparts in Kosovo and Serbia to agree on holding new municipal elections in northern Kosovo, hoping that another ballot would quell a flare-up of ethnic tensions that have led to violent protests in the region. ...

NATO presses Turkey to approve Sweden's membership, eyes Ukraine security plan as summit looms

Jun. 01, 2023 14:05 PM EDT

OSLO, Norway (AP) — NATO on Thursday ramped up pressure on member nation Turkey to drop its objections to Sweden's membership as the military organization seeks to deal with the issue by the time U.S. President Joe Biden and his counterparts meet next month. The 31-member alliance...

Djokovic struggles for set at French Open after government official critiques Kosovo comments

May. 31, 2023 17:33 PM EDT

PARIS (AP) — Novak Djokovic refrained from any political messages at the French Open following a second-round victory that was a struggle for a set Wednesday night — hours after a government minister criticized the 22-time Grand Slam champion's comments about clashes in Kosovo as “not...

Efforts to defuse Kosovo crisis intensify amid more protests

May. 31, 2023 12:42 PM EDT

ZVECAN, Kosovo (AP) — International efforts to defuse a crisis in Kosovo intensified Wednesday as ethnic Serbs held more protests in a northern town where recent clashes with NATO-led peacekeepers sparked fears of renewed conflict in the troubled region. Hundreds of Serbs repeated...

Latvian Parliament elects foreign minister as new president

May. 31, 2023 12:14 PM EDT

HELSINKI (AP) — Latvian lawmakers on Wednesday picked the country’s long-serving and popular foreign minister, a strong backer of Ukraine, as its new head of state in a tight vote. The 100-seat Saeima legislature elected Edgars Rinkevics, the country's top diplomat since 2011, as...

Why do Kosovo-Serbia tensions persist?

May. 31, 2023 04:28 AM EDT

BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Tensions between Serbia and Kosovo flared anew this week after Kosovo’s police raided Serb-dominated areas in the region’s north and seized local municipality buildings. There have been violent clashes between Kosovo’s police and NATO-led peacekeepers...