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Yahoo
03-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Balkan military leaders summit signals calm in a conflict-prone region
ISTANBUL — Amid renewed geopolitical friction in Europe, Balkan military leaders met in Istanbul to reaffirm their cooperation, offering rare show of unity in a region still shadowed by historic tensions. On May 28, Turkey hosted the 18th Balkan Chiefs of Defence (CHODs) Conference in Istanbul. Military leaders from Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Greece, North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, and Montenegro gathered alongside observers from Slovenia and Croatia. Also in attendance were the chairman of NATO's Military Committee and the deputy commander of NATO's Joint Force Command Naples. At first glance, this might appear as just another high-level military meeting, but both its symbolism and timing are significant. The Balkans — historically one of Europe's most conflict-prone regions — are once again at the geopolitical forefront amid the ongoing war in Ukraine, escalating tensions between NATO and Russia, and evolving U.S. security commitments in Europe. Turkish officials used the platform to present plans for establishing a NATO Centre of Excellence for Countering Unmanned Threats, underscoring growing global concerns over the strategic use of drones and autonomous systems in modern warfare — from the Donbas region to the Red Sea. During the conference, participants reviewed the outcomes of recent multinational military education programs and exercises hosted by Turkey, including Special Forces training and computer-assisted command post drills. Progress since the last summit was assessed through an evaluation of coordination and working group activities, including the endorsement of annual reports and operational results from joint exercises. Attendees reaffirmed their shared commitment to deepening military ties, broadening existing cooperation, and exploring new avenues for collaboration. Turkish Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz also delivered a speech at the conference. In the Balkans, nationalist tensions can smolder for years and quickly spiral out of control. The ability of countries with long-standing disputes to sit at the same conference table is crucial for preventing miscommunication and fostering predictability among neighbors. Among the participants, Bosnia-Herzegovina, a member of NATO's Partnership for Peace program, and Serbia — the only non-NATO country — stood out. Serbia, which traditionally maintains close ties with Russia, was bombed by NATO members a little more than a quarter-century ago. The presence of senior NATO commanders sent a clear message of commitment to maintaining military dialogue despite deep-rooted historical and political divisions. Officials confirmed that Greece will host the 19th Balkan CHODs Conference in 2026, continuing the tradition of rotating venues to encourage inclusivity and shared responsibility for regional security. To close the event, Turkish Chief of General Staff Gen. Metin Gürak, along with NATO and Balkan military leaders, visited the Baykar Özdemir Bayraktar National Technology Center — showcasing Turkey's growing defense-industrial ambitions and its leadership role in the region.
Irish Times
26-04-2025
- Business
- Irish Times
US approves €40m deal to sell Javelin anti-tank missile systems to Ireland
The US state department has approved a €40 million deal to sell advanced missile systems to Ireland. The deal will significantly expand the Defence Forces ' stock of FGM-148 Javelin anti-tank missiles, which are already deployed with its Unifil mission in Lebanon . Ireland has operated the Javelin , which is made by US defence companies Raytheon and Lockheed Martin, since 2006. The latest purchase will add 35 missile launchers and 44 missiles to Defence Forces stocks. The missiles can cost upwards of €70,000 each. Under US law, the state department must notify the US Congress of exports of military equipment that exceed a certain value. READ MORE According to regulations, such sales are not approved if they might weaken US national security or if the equipment could be used against US interests. The deal, which will be worth an estimated $46 million (€40.44 million), has been approved by US officials. It was confirmed this week by the Defense Security Co-operation Agency (DSCA), a part of the defence department that overseas foreign military sales. Included in the package is technical assistance from the US government, training, advanced training simulators, containers and 'related elements of logistics and program support'. The state department approved the deal on the basis that it will support US foreign policy goals by improving Ireland's ability to participate in UN peacekeeping missions and Nato's Partnership for Peace programme, the DSCA said. The sale will not alter 'the basic military balance in the region', another key consideration for the US government when assessing foreign military sales. It will also not involve deploying any US troops to Ireland and 'will have no adverse impact on US defense readiness', the DSCA said. Ireland's Defence Forces have never fired a Javelin in combat, but missile stocks have been depleted over the years through training exercises. The missiles also have expiry dates, after which they must be destroyed. The Javelin launcher units, known as Lightweight Command Launch Units, are sometimes used without the missile components as reconnaissance tools. Their advanced targeting technology is useful in detecting potential threats at a distance. The Defence Forces declined to comment on the deal on Friday. 'We do not give out specifics of our weapons systems for reasons of operational security,' a spokesman said. The FGM-148 Javelin is a 'fire and forget' anti-tank system, meaning its user can retreat to cover immediately after firing. The weapon has played a key role in Ukraine's defensive war against Russia. US-donated Javelins have proven to be highly effective at blunting Russian tank attacks. Weighing 22kg, they can be operated by a three-person team. The guided projectile can hit a target 2km away with more than 90 per cent accuracy. It can be used on targets hiding behind cover using its 'indirect fire' mode, which launches the missile on a long arcing trajectory. The cost of the missiles means most Defence Forces training on the Javelin system is done using simulators. However, about once a year a few selected soldiers get to shoot the real thing in a training scenario in the Glen of Imaal in Co Wicklow. At the beginning of Russia's invasion in 2022 , Ireland faced calls to donate some or all of its Javelin stocks to Ukraine. However, the Government has limited the military assistance it offers to 'non-lethal' support, including body armour and medical kits. It plans to donate some Defence Forces radar systems and to provide funding for armoured personnel carriers and demining equipment.
Express Tribune
06-03-2025
- Politics
- Express Tribune
Zelensky has a weak hand
Listen to article Volodymyr Zelensky is the third in line among leaders of modern Ukraine around whom country's fate has evolved. Vladimir Putin is his neighbour in Russia who has ruled his country for the last twenty-five years, four of which were as the prime minister. Around 2000, at the turn of the millennium, with globalisation taking effect when the Soviet Union stood dissolved, the US was the only pole left in the new world. Or at least this is what the Americans thought. The age of China had yet to manifest, and Americans were the masters of the universe. This remained true for all of ten years till China rose from its shadows and became a global factor in no uncertain terms in the 2010s. Former Soviet states that had regained their independence were in the meanwhile scampering to join the only party in town, NATO, for fear of being reembraced in the enveloping clutches of an agitated Russian bear. From sixteen NATO nations rose to thirty-two in quick succession over time. Russian influence reduced infinitesimally from its Soviet days till it began hurting Russian vanity. NATO had its eyes on two nations that would complete Russia's coup de grace – Georgia and Ukraine, both soft underbellies of Russia. These two were Russia's declared red lines. NATO violated agreements with Putin when it sought to enclose Russia with creeping expansionism threatening security of Russian federation. Georgia, a member of NATO's Partnership for Peace program since 1994, five years after the Berlin Wall fell and the Soviet Union dissolved – a waiting-in-line status for full potential membership – has been in persistent tumult under one completing influence or another. Ukraine however held out well, first under Victor Yanukovych, who was a Russian and Putin ally, and then under Petro Poroshenko who was a consummate neutral. A country of only thirty-odd million people but the second largest area-wise in Europe, once a crown jewel of the Soviet Empire, the bread-basket of the world in an interconnected global market, and the softest underbelly of Russia whose people spoke Russian and were once bona fide Russians of great pride – Soviet leader Nikita Khruschev and many more were Ukrainian Russians – it was largely understood that Ukraine is better left alone. But then another prospective cold war loomed. China's rise was contentious and fearful challenging American exceptionalism. The bigger fear was what if Russia and China joined hands, which in fairness the latter two had exhibited sufficiently challenging American eminence. Hence the multipolarity which now is an established definition of today's geopolitics. America reverted to its 1972 playbook when Nixon visited China in an implicit move to checkmate Soviet Union by opening to China. The only way to break this potentially evolving co-axial threat to America's lone primacy was to keep the two separated and obsessed within their own orbits of concern and attention. Russian circle of influence may have shrunk from its Soviet days but retained its potent military, the one that had kept the West on tenterhooks for decades. It hadn't lost its bite. Another competitive and confrontational Cold War brought Russian military might back into focus. Together with Chinese economic strength and galloping advances in its military potential and the possibility of the two joining forces, politically, economically and militarily against the US, if successful would mean the American century was literally over. That is when Ukraine and Zelensky greatly helped. The reformed international economy that now rests on Artificial Intelligence, quantum computing and biotechnology is sourced in microprocessors and chips which need a different set of raw materials. These are now the basis of a renewed competitive focus between two if not the three principal powers of the world, China, USA and Russia. The war in Ukraine however has kept Russia effectively off this congested hustle. Just as Russia remains embroiled, the US and its allies continue to raise the bogey of tensions around Taiwan and the South China Sea where the specter of war is increasingly leveraged to force China to be concerned and locked in its backyard than be expeditious to the detriment of US interests. Simply put, America is fighting hard to keep its position of eminence in the world and found it opportune to keep Russia engaged in a war and China worried. Considering how much the US is leaking to Ukraine in finances to keep a feared nexus of its two principal opponents from realising is perhaps what Donald Trump has clearly questioned. To invest any further in an undertaking where no returns are on the anvil is both counterproductive and counterintuitive. Zelensky, by now used to freebies by Europe and the US and in an extended run in power of an increasingly debilitated Ukraine – he wallows in power under the martial law that he ingratiatingly imposed after he ran out of his constitutional tenure using ongoing war as an excuse – was easily flustered when Trump faced him off in the Oval Office. If the US and NATO do not violate their agreements with Putin on keeping the limits of expansion, Putin will not have a worry on what happens inside NATO and between its members. Putin annexed Crimea as a warning shot when Yanukovych was replaced with Poroshenko challenging Russian influence over Ukraine. The US and the entire Europe sat idly by as this happened. NATO had implied plans to squeeze Russia in the Black Sea through Ukraine and Georgia harassing Russian presence at its main Naval facility, but Putin preempted the move by occupying Crimea in 2014 denying NATO its design and warning Ukraine to avoid capitulating before NATO and threaten to irritate Russia's underbelly. Zelensky however had found his way into power on the back of obvious western support and had played his role of engaging Russia in war on the back of continuous feed from NATO/EU members. So, what went on in the Oval Office was just the face; what stood behind it was the design of the previous twenty-five years in how the entire gamut had played out. Just that Trump was not willing to have any more of it in leaky dollars when really no return was coming to it. Attrite(ing) Russia over the long term by denying it the freedom of economic engagement and building military losses would not gain the US the time it needs in the immediate to find the freedom to instead focus on building its capacity to compete and confront China she fears as her emerging nemesis. China, undeterred, surges on in geopolitical and economic gains. From an American perspective it may be the right call to make. And Trump made it. Zelensky's bluff was called. More than likely the rest of Europe too will soon fall in line and call curtains on the time of Zelensky who has had it better than his real worth.
Euronews
10-02-2025
- Politics
- Euronews
Austrian coalition talks expected to hit snag over control of interior ministry
Coalition negotiations between Austria's far-right Freedom Party (FPÖ) and the conservative People's Party (ÖVP) are reportedly stuck over which party will get control of the country's interior ministry. The FPÖ and the ÖVP have been holding talks about forming a government since January, after previous discussions between the ÖVP, the centre-left Social Democrats (SPO), and the liberal Neos party collapsed. The FPÖ, and its controversial leader Hebert Kickl, came first in September's parliamentary election in September with about 29% of the vote, but faced difficulty in finding other parties that would agree with its Eurosceptic and Russia-friendly agenda. Local media reports say that coming discussions between the FPÖ and the ÖVP will be tense as both parties are vying for control over the interior ministry, which oversees law enforcement and has broad responsibility over the nation's migration and asylum policy. Kickl publicly claimed he should have control of both the interior and finance ministries last week in a Facebook post. The ÖVP called it "unacceptable" that both departments should be under the FPÖ's control, but recently softened its position on the finance ministry, according to the Austria Press Agency. Aside from the interior ministry, reports on Sunday suggested that a compromise on foreign policy was emerging. Local media said the FPÖ offered the ÖVP the foreign ministry as well as control over the country's European Union agendas. They also reached in January an agreement to bring down the country's budget deficit. There is reportedly still plenty of room for discussion between the two parties, who disagree on a number of policy areas and whose politicians have expressed personal dislike for one another. A report by Austrian public broadcaster ORF said that the FPÖ is unwilling to accept the World Health Organization (WHO) pandemic treaty, and wants to withdraw from NATO's Partnership for Peace treaty — a programme aimed at creating trust and cooperation between NATO member states, according to its website. Elsewhere, Kickl — who has long campaigned against vaccinations — has said that his party wants "compensation" from the previous government for policies introduced during the Covid-19 pandemic. He also reportedly wants government buildings to stop flying EU flags, a position that strays from the ÖVP's pro-European course. Entering into coalition negotiations with the FPÖ was framed as a last resort by the ÖVP, whose former leader Karl Nehammer insisted he would not enter negotiations with Kickl and who resigned after failing to put together an alternative coalition. Kickl is a polarising figure, due to his anti-immigration and broadly Eurosceptic platform promising to tackle illegal immigration and Austria's consistently high inflation rate. He has been criticised for his casual use of Nazi-era terms — having once called himself the "Volkskanzler" (People's chancellor), a term that the Nazis used to describe Adolf Hitler — as well as his opposition to vaccinations and lockdowns during the pandemic. If Kickl becomes chancellor, he will head the country's first far-right-led government since the Second World War.
