SAULI NIINISTO

The Finnish president says he doesn’t think Sweden will end up in a vulnerable security situation although neighboring Finland is likely to join NATO first.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is meeting his Finnish counterpart in Ankara amid hopes that Turkey approves Finland’s NATO membership bid

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says his government will move forward with ratifying Finland’s NATO application, paving the way for the country to join the military bloc ahead of Sweden.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has suggested that his country may soon ratify Finland’s application to join NATO.

The Finnish president said in an interview published Saturday that he wants Finland and Sweden to be admitted into NATO as full members no later than by the military alliance’s summit in Lithuania in July.

Finland’s foreign minister has suggested that the country may consider joining NATO without neighboring Sweden if Turkey continues to block their joint bid to enter the military alliance.

Last week, the Senate voted 95 to 1 to ratify Finland and Sweden's entrance into the world's most powerful military alliance.

Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell played a pivotal role in the Senate ratifying NATO membership for Sweden and Finland.

Finland’s Parliament has passed amended legislation on border security that allows for the closure of crossing points with Russia.

Just two days after agreeing to lift deal-breaking objections to Sweden and Finland’s NATO accession, Turkey’s leader has threatened that Ankara could still block the process if the two countries fail to fully meet his expectations.

When the leaders of Finland, Sweden and Turkey met with NATO’s chief this week, some remained pessimistic the meeting would lessen Turkey’s objections to the Nordic pair’s historic request to join NATO.

Turkey has agreed to lift its opposition to Sweden and Finland joining NATO, a breakthrough in an impasse clouding a leaders’ summit in Madrid amid Europe’s worst security crisis in decades triggered by the war in Ukraine.

NATO secretary general Jens Stoltenberg says the military alliance wants to increase the strength of its rapid reaction forces from the current 40,000 to over 300,000.

The U.S. general nominated to take over European Command tells senators that Sweden and Finland’s push to join NATO won’t require putting more U.S. ground forces into either country.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has discussed his objections to Sweden and Finland joining NATO with the two Nordic countries’ leaders.

Sweden and Finland’s accession into NATO was supposed to be straightforward. But then Turkey entered the stage.

The president said the decisions by Finland and Sweden to abandon their decades-old positions of military non-alignment proved that a “revived NATO” could provide a strong counterweight to Russia.

President Joe Biden is forcefully supporting the applications of Finland and Sweden to join NATO despite objections from Turkey.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg says he is ”confident that we will come to a quick decision to welcome both Sweden and Finland to join the NATO family” despite Turkey’s opposition.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Wednesday he's in “intense contacts” with Russia and other countries to stop escalating global hunger exacerbated by the war in Ukraine by allowing the export of grain stored in Ukrainian ports and ensuring Russian food and fertilizers have unrestricted access to world markets.

Sweden has signed a formal request to join NATO, a day after it announced it would seek membership in the 30-member military alliance

Sweden and Finland have pushed ahead with their bids to join NATO even as Turkey insists it won’t let the previously nonaligned Nordic countries into the alliance because of their alleged support for Kurdish militants.

Ukrainian officials say the regiment that doggedly defended a steel mill as Ukraine’s last stronghold in the port city of Mariupol has completed its mission.

Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell says Finland and Sweden would be “important additions” to NATO.

The announcement came as NATO foreign ministers, including Secretary of State Antony Blinken, met in Berlin to discuss Ukraine, and Finland and Sweden’s path to membership.

The Finnish Parliament is expected to endorse the decision in coming days.

Russia has warned against expansion of NATO close to its territory. Moscow views NATO's prospective growth as a provocation.

Finland changed its policy toward the military alliance after troops invaded Ukraine. Sweden has avoided all military alliances, but like Finland, has also grown closer and closer to NATO over time.

It's a historic move for the Nordic country, which has had a decades-long policy of military neutrality until now.

Nearly three months have passed since Russia invaded Ukraine.

Finland's President Sauli Niinisto said he spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday about his plans to apply to NATO in the next few days.

"The conversation was direct and straight-forward and it was conducted without aggravations," Finland's President Sauli Niinisto said.

Finland's leader told Russian President Vladimir Putin that the country would seek to join NATO in the coming days.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned his Finnish counterpart that relations between the two neighbors could be “negatively affected” if Finland follows through with plans to apply for NATO membership.

Ukrainian and British officials say Russia suffered heavy losses when Ukrainian forces destroyed the pontoon bridge enemy troops were using to try to cross a river.

The Kremlin reacted to the developments, saying that Finland’s move to join NATO won’t help stability and security in Europe.

If Finland joins the military alliance, the land border that Russia shares with NATO territories would roughly double.

Finland's President Sauli Niinisto and Prime Minister Sanna Marin said their country should apply to join NATO 'without delay.'

The statement by the president and prime minister comes a day after British Prime Minister Boris Johnson visited both Finland and Sweden to sign a military cooperation agreement.

Finland has had a decades-long policy of military neutrality that would come to an end if it becomes a full member of the military alliance.

Finland’s leaders say they’re in favor of applying for NATO membership “without delay.”.

Sauli Niinisto said on Wednesday if Moscow wonders why Helsinki is moving toward joining NATO then Russia should "look at the mirror."

Britain has signed a security assurance with Sweden which like its neighbor Finland is pondering whether to join NATO following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, pledging to “bolster military ties” in the event of a crisis and support both countries should they come under attack.

NATO could soon add two members right on Russia's doorstep.

Key decision-makers in non-aligned Finland and Sweden are set to announce their positions on NATO membership this week.

Despite their orientation toward the U.S. and western Europe, Finland and Sweden since the Cold War have bet that their national security was best protected by staying out of NATO. They aimed to avoid disturbing the military balance in the Baltic Sea region and provoking Russia. Now, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has sparked a rethinking in both countries. For the first time, an entry into the North Atlantic Treaty Organization looks more likely than staying put at least for Finland. Sweden’s sta

With its ground troops forced to pull back in Ukraine and regroup, and its Black Sea flagship sunk, Russia’s military failings are mounting.

At the Academy Awards in Los Angles Sunday night, attendees expressed support for Ukraine by going silent for 30 seconds.

President Joe Biden has met with Finland’s President Sauli Niinisto with the Finns at a crossroads: Should they move closer to the rest of Europe and the West by trying to join NATO as Russia pummels Ukraine.

Through the Cold War and the decades since, nothing could persuade Finns and Swedes that they would be better off joining NATO — until now.

Finland and Sweden have brushed off warnings from neighboring Russia that their possible joining NATO would trigger “serious military-political consequences” from Moscow.

New Zealand’s government summoned Russian Ambassador Georgii Zuev to meet Wednesday with top diplomatic officials who are urging Russia to return to diplomatic negotiations over Ukraine.

Member state flags fly outside the United Nations headquarters during the 75th session of the United Nations General Assembly, Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2020. This year's annual gathering of world leaders at U.N. headquarters will be almost entirely "virtual." (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)TANZANIA – World leaders gathering remotely Wednesday criticized a haphazard global response to a microscopic virus that has unleashed economic havoc and taken nearly 1 million lives in its march across the globe. In the words of Kazakhstan’s president, it was “a critical collapse of global cooperation.”“Our world has been turned upside down,” said Ghana's president, Nana Akufo-Addo. Switzerland's President Simonetta Sommaruga, one of the few women leaders to speak, said the pandemic “has caused untold suffering in the world," with the most vulnerable hit hardest.

Anti-abortion group Susan B. Anthony List launched a $52 million effort on Friday to support President Donald Trump's reelection bid, a day after Planned Parenthood pledged $45 million to support candidates in favor of abortion rights. "Democratic contenders for president are lining up to support abortion on demand, and even infanticide, and declaring war on even the most modest pro-life policies. Meanwhile, President Trump has governed as the most pro-life president in our nation's history." "Our focused, battle-tested voter outreach method will ensure we reach the voters who can provide President Trump and pro-life Senate candidates the winning margin on Election Day." The Supreme Court in March will take up its first major abortion-related case with Trump's appointees Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh on the bench.

President Donald Trump on Tuesday called the House of Representatives's ongoing impeachment probe into his conduct "a lynching." But at least two Republican lawmakers defended Trump language as appropriate, and said the current impeachment process is in fact a lynching. Asked whether he understood that black Americans would be offended by the term lynching, Graham said, "No." McCarthy said that while he does not believe Democrats are conducting a fair impeachment process, "I don't agree with that language. "For three generations in South Carolina, we have understood the evil history of lynching in our state.

As of three hours after Grisham's tweet, Trump had not issued a statement himself condemning the video. "#AMPFest19 always has and always will condemn political violence," the statement said. "The video, while graphic and violent, depicts enemies of President Trump threatening him and his family and his 'over the top' response. The only person that could potentially be "incited" by this video is Donald Trump himself, as the main character of the video is him. "The Kingsman video was played on a small tv in an empty room for a few hours during a 3 day event that FEATURED AN ANTI POLITICAL VIOLENCE PANEL.

President Donald Trump blasted the conservative cable network Fox News on Thursday after it reported that its new poll on impeachment found a majority of respondents favoring his removal from office. "Whoever their Pollster is, they suck," Trump lashed out on Twitter, a day after the Fox poll showed that a new high of 51% of voters want Trump both impeached and removed from office and 40% opposed impeachment. A Fox poll in July found that 42% favored Trump's impeachment and removal, while 45% opposed impeachment. Fox News, Trump said, "doesn't deliver for US anymore." Also Tuesday, an NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll found that 43% of Americans believe that Trump should be impeached and removed from office, compared with 49% who opposed impeachment.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump is mad as hell. Easily rankled when Democrats accuse him of wrongdoing, Trump boiled over on Wednesday at the impeachment inquiry they are pursuing over his July 25 phone call to Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. U.S. President Donald Trump addresses a joint news conference with Finland's President Sauli Niinisto in the East Room of the White House in Washington, U.S., October 2, 2019. REUTERS/Leah MillisAll they want to do is try and win the election in 2020, so they come up with this impeachment nonsense! Trump said of the Democrats. Trump expressed condolences for a stabbing attack in Finland, and Niinisto talked about European security and melting Arctic sea ice.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he likely will bring lawsuits against some of the people involved in the investigation into whether he or his 2016 election campaign colluded with Russia. Trump did not name names but has long expressed frustration at some of the central figures in the investigation by U.S. Special Counsel Robert Mueller such as former FBI Director James Comey. Trump fired Comey in May 2017. The Mueller probe found insufficient evidence to establish that Trump and his campaign had engaged in a criminal conspiracy with Russia. The Russian state did run a hacking and propaganda operation to disrupt the U.S. election, Mueller found.

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks with reporters during a meeting with Finland's President Sauli Niinisto in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, U.S., October 2, 2019. REUTERS/Kevin LamarqueWASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump kept up his assaults on the Democratic lawmakers leading impeachment proceedings on Wednesday, accusing House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff of treason, as well as attacking the unidentified whistleblower who reported concerns about his behavior. Trump repeatedly says he did nothing wrong in his July 25 telephone call in which he asked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to investigate a domestic political rival Joe Biden, the former U.S. vice president. He has repeatedly attacked the Democratic chairman of the House of Representatives Intelligence Committee, Adam Schiff, who is leading the impeachment inquiry. He accused the Democrats impeachment efforts of being groundless and politically motivated.

President Donald Trump is set to participate in a joint press conference at the White House on Wednesday with President Sauli Niinisto of Finland. The joint presser followed a morning of furious tweets from Trump about the ongoing impeachment inquiry announced by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., last week. After Pelosi and House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, D-Calif., took questions about the impeachment inquiry at a news conference Wednesday morning, Trump accused Democrats of "wasting everyone's time and energy on BULLSHIT." Pompeo confirmed earlier Wednesday that he was on the call between Trump and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky that is now at the center of the impeachment inquiry. The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee on Wednesday announced plans to issue a subpoena to the White House for documents related to Ukraine as part of the impeachment inquiry.