Category: NATOSource

NATO gives woman top press job for first time

By DPA

China steps up role in Europe

By Antoaneta Becker, the Asia Times

From Antoaneta Becker, the Asia Times:  China’s increasing financial involvement in debt-ridden European nations has divided observers, inviting comparisons on one side to a Chinese Marshall Plan for Europe, and to a Chinese communist takeover of the continent on the other.

Russia may sell S-300 missiles to Venezuela, instead of Iran – analyst

By RIA Novosti

From RIA Novosti:  Russia’s S-300 air defense systems, which Moscow refused to deliver to Iran following a new round of UN sanctions against the Islamic Republic, could be sold to Venezuela instead, a Russian arms trade expert said on Friday.

Anglo-French defense co-operation

By the Economist

From the Economist:  Mr Cameron and Mr Sarkozy are determined to use next month’s summit to give new momentum to Anglo-French defence relations.

France backs NATO missile defense system: source

By Reuters

From Reuters:  France supports a NATO-wide missile defense system and is willing to help fund it, a source in the French president’s office said on Friday, dispelling earlier talk that the country was skeptical. NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen has said there was broad agreement among member states about the need for a missile […]

Clinton and Gates meet with Turkish leaders to discuss missile defense vote and radar base

By Craig Whitlock, the Washington Post

From Craig Whitlock, the Washington Post:  Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton met with their Turkish counterparts on the sidelines of the NATO meeting Thursday to discuss whether Turkey will allow a high-powered X-band radar on its territory.

Hillary Clinton’s warning to Britain over cuts in defence budget

By James Kirkup, the Telegraph

From James Kirkup, the Telegraph:  Barack Obama’s government has delivered a stark public warning against major cuts in the British defence budget, suggesting that they would undermine Nato and strain the Special Relationship.

Sarkozy’s Russian Gamble

By Kenneth Weinstein, the Wall Street Journal

From Kenneth Weinstein, the Wall Street Journal:  The French president courts Moscow and maybe trouble. The news from France is always interesting, especially under President Nicolas Sarkozy. He is the most pro-American French leader since the days of the Fourth Republic and last year returned his country to NATO’s military command structure. On the world […]

Ahead of NATO talks, Gates warns on defense cuts

By Phil Stewart, Reuters

From Phil Stewart, Reuters: U.S. Defence Secretary Robert Gates said ahead of talks with NATO allies Thursday that he was concerned by defence spending cuts in Europe that threatened to put more pressure on an increasingly stretched U.S. military.

NATO Rep reveals details of troop withdrawal dividend

By Mark Sedwill, NATO