Latest news with #internationalsecurity
Russia Today
16-05-2025
- Politics
- Russia Today
Over 150 nations to participate in Moscow security conference
Representatives from more than 150 nations are expected to attend the 13th international security conference in Moscow later this month, the press service of the Russian Security Council has announced. The agenda of the annual event, which is scheduled for May 27-29 and will take place in National Center 'Russia', includes international cooperation to defend critical technology and information infrastructure. 'In particular, the formation of a new architecture of equal and indivisible security that is fairer and corresponds to today's realities will be discussed,' the press service specified. Combating terrorist attacks, technological sabotage, and online fraud will be key issues for discussion during the event. Russia's Security Council emphasized that challenges and threats in the information space will be discussed by national security advisers and intelligence agency heads as part of a dedicated roundtable featuring other experts. 'This will allow for the discussion of the most pressing issues in the field of information security in an atmosphere of international cooperation,' the press release stated. The press office specified that invitations have been sent to the nations of the Global South and East, to the Commonwealth of Independent States, and to members of the Collective Security Treaty Organization, the Eurasian Economic Union, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, as well as to more than 20 international organizations. 'Tectonic shifts in foreign policy and international economic relations create both challenges and opportunities for the countries of the Global South and East,' said the head of the Russian Security Council, Sergey Shoigu, who chairs the forum. 'Today's security challenges and threats are global and transboundary in nature,' he added, highlighting that 'no modern state can cope with them alone or on a bilateral basis.'
Russia Today
13-05-2025
- Politics
- Russia Today
Ex-NATO chief warns Trump to stay away from Greenland
US President Donald Trump should drop his plans to take control of Greenland as its residents do not want to become Americans, former NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen has said. Trump has been talking about making Greenland, which is an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark, part of the US since winning a second term in the White House in November. He has offered to buy the resource-rich Arctic territory from Copenhagen, but also warned that he could go as far as using force to bring it under Washington's sovereignty. 'I do not say I am going to do it, but I do not rule out anything,' the US president said of a possible military scenario in an interview with NBC's Meet the Press earlier this month. 'We need Greenland very badly. Greenland is a very small amount of people [around 57,000], which we will take care of, and we will cherish them, and all of that. But we need that for international security,' he claimed. Rasmussen, who previously served as Danish prime minister, told Politico on Monday that it is 'shameless that an American president can threaten an ally. Denmark is one of the closest and most reliable allies of the US.' The former NATO boss, who oversaw the military bloc's disastrous intervention in Libya, destroying the country's economy, unleashing immigrant flows across North Africa and slave auctions in Tripoli, stressed that he is 'concerned' by Trump's rhetoric regarding Greenland. He noted that the US already has a right to keep military bases on the island as part of a 1951 treaty. 'The fact is that Greenland is part of NATO. If the US is dissatisfied with the defense of Greenland... we would appreciate a strengthened defense cooperation with the US,' Rasmussen stressed. However, he insisted that Greenland 'is part of Denmark and Greenlanders do not want to become Americans.' Last week, the Danish Foreign Ministry summoned the acting US ambassador to the country, Jennifer Hall Godfrey, over a report in the Wall Street Journal that Trump had ordered US spy agencies to ramp up their intelligence-gathering efforts in Greenland. Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen said the meeting was aimed at conveying to Washington that Copenhagen treats the claims 'very seriously.' Greenland's prime minister, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, described the alleged spying activities by the US as 'completely unacceptable, disrespectful… and entirely abnormal.'
The Independent
13-05-2025
- Business
- The Independent
UN chief pleads with countries to pay their share for peacekeeping, points to financial problems
U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres told countries that the world body's peacekeeping operation is 'only as strong as member states' commitment to it' as he pleaded with them Tuesday to pay their share. The United Nations' peackeeping department currently leads 11 operations, in countries including Congo, the Central African Republic, South Sudan, Lebanon, Cyprus and Kosovo. The budget for nine of those operations during the fiscal year that ends on June 30 totals $5.6 million, 8.2% lower than a year earlier. Each of the U.N.'s 193 member countries is legally obliged to pay its share toward peacekeeping. Guterres argued that, with a budget 'representing a tiny fraction of global military spending — around one half of one per cent — U.N. Peacekeeping remains one of the most effective and cost-effective tools to build international peace and security.' 'But it's only as strong as member states' commitment to it,' he added at the opening of a two-day, German-hosted conference of ministers to discuss the future of peacekeeping. 'Unfortunately, peacekeeping operations have been facing serious liquidity problems. It is absolutely essential that all member states respect their financial obligations, paying their contributions in full and on time.' Guterres didn't offer details of the problems, but acknowledged that "these are tough times for the financing of our work across the board." More broadly, the U.N. has been scrambling to respond to funding cuts for aid operations from its biggest donor, the United States, under President Donald Trump's administration. German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said that his country, like many others, 'is prepared to pledge additional resources' for peacekeeping. But he said there should also be an effort to make missions 'more efficient and more focused' through clearer mandates, cutting back on bureaucracy and avoiding duplication.
Associated Press
13-05-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
UN chief pleads with countries to pay their share for peacekeeping, points to financial problems
BERLIN (AP) — U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres told countries that the world body's peacekeeping operation is 'only as strong as member states' commitment to it' as he pleaded with them Tuesday to pay their share. The United Nations' peackeeping department currently leads 11 operations, in countries including Congo, the Central African Republic, South Sudan, Lebanon, Cyprus and Kosovo. The budget for nine of those operations during the fiscal year that ends on June 30 totals $5.6 million, 8.2% lower than a year earlier. Each of the U.N.'s 193 member countries is legally obliged to pay its share toward peacekeeping. Guterres argued that, with a budget 'representing a tiny fraction of global military spending — around one half of one per cent — U.N. Peacekeeping remains one of the most effective and cost-effective tools to build international peace and security.' 'But it's only as strong as member states' commitment to it,' he added at the opening of a two-day, German-hosted conference of ministers to discuss the future of peacekeeping. 'Unfortunately, peacekeeping operations have been facing serious liquidity problems. It is absolutely essential that all member states respect their financial obligations, paying their contributions in full and on time.' Guterres didn't offer details of the problems, but acknowledged that 'these are tough times for the financing of our work across the board.' More broadly, the U.N. has been scrambling to respond to funding cuts for aid operations from its biggest donor, the United States, under President Donald Trump's administration. German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said that his country, like many others, 'is prepared to pledge additional resources' for peacekeeping. But he said there should also be an effort to make missions 'more efficient and more focused' through clearer mandates, cutting back on bureaucracy and avoiding duplication.
