-US Senate, Italian Parliament approve NATO membership for Finland, Sweden
-Biden confident to overcome challenges
KYIV: Russia has initiated a new military strike aimed at President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s hometown of Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine said, while NATO moved closer to its most important expansion in decades as the alliance responds to the invasion of Ukraine.
The U.S. Senate and the Italian parliament both approved on Wednesday Finland and Sweden’s accession to the 30-member NATO. Under NATO membership, which must be ratified by all 30 member states, an attack on one member is an attack against all.
“This historic vote sends an important signal of the sustained, bipartisan U.S. commitment to NATO, and to ensuring our Alliance is prepared to meet the challenges of today and tomorrow,” U.S. President Joe Biden said in a statement. Russia, which invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, has repeatedly warned Finland and Sweden against joining NATO.
NATO’s 30 allies signed the accession protocol last month, allowing them to join the U.S.-led nuclear-armed alliance once its members ratify the decision.
Ukraine on Wednesday dismissed suggestions by former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder that Russia wanted a “negotiated solution” to the war and said any dialogue would be contingent on a Russian ceasefire and withdrawal of its troops. The South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported on Thursday that Ukraine was seeking an opportunity to speak “directly” with Chinese leader Xi Jinping to help end the war.
“It’s a very powerful state. It’s a powerful economy … So (it) can politically, economically influence Russia. And China is (also a) permanent member of the U.N. Security Council,” Zelenskyy told SCMP in an interview. –Agencies
