DefenceTalkDefenceTalkThe NATO alliance should seek a more political role as the lynchpin of the West, ministers will hear this week, despite disputes about its strategy. Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg will present foreign ministers with a report from an outside expert panel, arguing the case for NATO as a policy hub. “I will then develop my […]https://www.defencetalk.com/nato-seeks-more-political-role-despite-divisions-76572/

DefenceTalkDefenceTalkThe EU will once again have a cooperative US partner when Joe Biden becomes president, but Europeans should harbour no illusions: Washington will be no globo-cop nor NATO’s big protector, leaders and analysts say. “Great day for US and Europe, we look forward to working together with new administration to rebuild our partnership,” the EU’s […]https://www.defencetalk.com/eu-must-learn-to-live-without-us-leadership-under-biden-say-analysts-76535/

DefenceTalkDefenceTalkTen countries, including for the first time France and Norway, will meet NATO’s target of spending two percent of their output on defence this year, the alliance said Wednesday. European countries have been under intense pressure from an angry US President Donald Trump to share more of the burden in the world’s biggest defence alliance […]https://www.defencetalk.com/ten-allies-meet-nato-target-for-defence-spending-76508/

DefenceTalkDefenceTalkNATO insisted Thursday that its members would consult and decide together on when to leave Afghanistan, after US President Donald Trump vowed to bring American troops home by Christmas. Trump, trailing in polls ahead of the November 3 presidential election, made his surprise announcement on Twitter on Wednesday, dramatically speeding up the timeline for ending […]https://www.defencetalk.com/nato-chief-says-allies-will-leave-afghanistan-together-76461/

DefenceTalkDefenceTalkNATO needs a new strategic concept adjusted to the global rise of new technologies, terrorism and China to replace a plan developed a decade ago, the head of the alliance said on Wednesday. French President Emmanuel Macron famously branded the alliance “brain dead” last year, demanding a new strategy that would, among other things, reopen […]https://www.defencetalk.com/nato-chief-calls-for-new-strategy-on-cyber-china-76447/

DefenceTalkDefenceTalkGeorgia on Monday launched large-scale joint military exercises with NATO forces as part of its longstanding bid to join the alliance, which has angered Tbilisi’s Soviet-era master Russia. Some 2,800 troops from the United States, France, Britain, and Poland will take part in the Noble Partner 2020 exercises held at the Vaziani and Camp Norio […]https://www.defencetalk.com/georgia-hosts-major-drills-with-nato-forces-76275/

DefenceTalkDefenceTalkTurkey on Friday accused Greece of shunning dialogue and lying by denying it had signed up to NATO-brokered talks aimed at avoiding accidents between their navies in the eastern Mediterranean. NATO allies Turkey and Greece are at loggerheads over energy riches, with overlapping maritime border claims and escalating tensions. A Greek frigate collided with a […]https://www.defencetalk.com/turkey-accuses-greece-of-shunning-east-med-talks-76256/

DefenceTalkDefenceTalkTurkey’s big push into the Mediterranean featuring controversial gas drilling, tough rhetoric and warships is rooted in a grand vision of a “Blue Homeland” that takes over waters claimed by EU neighbours. Fearful of being denied a fair share of the region’s bountiful natural gas wealth, Turkey sent a research vessel and a small navy […]https://www.defencetalk.com/turkeys-bid-to-become-maritime-powerhouse-unsettles-mediterranean-76197/

DefenceTalkDefenceTalkWashington will deploy at least 1,000 soldiers in Poland and oversee forces on NATO’s eastern flank, Defence Minister Mariusz Blaszczak said Friday after the US announced a massive troop pullout from Germany. US Defence Secretary Mark Esper said on Wednesday the Pentagon will be sending home about 6,400 military personnel from Germany, and move nearly […]https://www.defencetalk.com/poland-says-us-to-deploy-troops-on-eastern-border-76105/

DefenceTalkDefenceTalkWashington is getting ready to unveil its plans for repositioning of US forces in Europe in the coming days, including a reduction in troop levels in Germany, sources in both countries say. US President Donald Trump approved plans in late June to withdraw 9,500 American troops from Germany, and was to present them first to […]https://www.defencetalk.com/us-to-unveil-plans-soon-for-repositioning-forces-in-europe-76074/