At a news conference with his Dutch counterpart, Scholz reiterated that Germany welcomed the Nordic countries’ bids and said he had the impression many other countries shared his view.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Thursday he was confident that Sweden and Finland would succeed in joining the NATO defence alliance and that Germany was doing everything possible to make that happen.
At a news conference with his Dutch counterpart, Scholz reiterated that Germany welcomed the Nordic countries’ bids and said he had the impression many other countries shared his view.
“If you identify a general will, then it is that Sweden and Finland should quickly become members so I am confident that the many efforts that are underway to enable a joint decision will be successful,” Scholz said.
Less time to read?
Try Quickreads
-
‘Donbas region completely destroyed’: Ukraine’s Zelenskyy
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Thursday said Russian forces had “completely destroyed” the eastern Donbas region and accused Moscow of carrying out senseless bombardments as it intensified its offensive. “In the Donbas, the occupiers are trying to exert even more pressure. It is hell there – and that is not an exaggeration,” he said in a late night video address.
-
Concerned by effect of war, Brics back Kyiv-Moscow talks
Foreign ministers of the Brics grouping on Thursday expressed concern at the impact of the conflict in Ukraine on global energy and food security and backed talks between Moscow and Kyiv. External affairs minister S Jaishankar joined via video link his counterparts from Brazil, Russia, China and South Africa for a meeting that discussed ways to further intra-Brics cooperation in politics and security, economy and finance, and people-to-people and cultural exchanges.
-
More cases of virus found in US, Europe
Health officials in Spain reported seven cases of monkeypox and Portugal updated its number of confirmed cases to 14 Thursday as an outbreak of a viral disease typically limited to Africa expanded in Europe. In Spain, all of the reported cases to date involved men in Madrid, officials said. Health officials are currently testing another 22 suspected cases. The tally of confirmed cases in Britain rose to nine.
-
Dispute over Finland and Sweden’s Nato entry bid
US President Joe Biden on Thursday strongly backed Finland and Sweden’s bid to join Nato in the face of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, as the Nordic nations’ leaders promised to address concerns raised by Turkey. Sweden and Finland, while solidly Western, have historically kept a distance from Nato as part of longstanding policies aimed at avoiding angering Russia. But the two nations both moved ahead amid shock over the invasion of Ukraine.
-
At least 12 killed in Russian shelling of Severodonetsk: Governor
Severodonetsk, with a pre-war population of just over 100,000 people, is a key goal of the Russian military which has made capturing the eastern Donbas region a key objective. The eastern industrial centre and its sister city Lysychansk make up the last pocket of Ukrainian resistance in the smaller of the two regions comprising the Donbas war zone.