NATO

Macedonia signs NATO accession papers

Macedonia signed accession papers with NATO, a key step on the way to joining the alliance

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Germany pledges €110 million to boost NATO battalion infrastructure in Lithuania

Germany will invest €110 million (US$127 million) in military infrastructure in Lithuania until 2021, its defense minister said on a Monday, February 4 a visit to mark two years since NATO installed battalions in the Baltic region to ward off Russia. In 2017, NATO deployed four multinational battalions to Poland and the Baltic states as a counter against possible Russian action following its 2014 annexation of Crimea from Ukraine. Germany leads the NATO battalion in Lithuania comprising 1,200 troops from 10 countries. “We’re going to invest in the long-term engagement,” Ursula von der Leyen told reporters, adding that Berlin would invest in “common barracks and training fields” in Lithuania until 2021. Lithuania’s defense minister Raimundas Karoblis hailed Germany’s spending plans as evidence of commitment to the NATO deployment. “We have heard very officially, very clearly at the political level … that Germany is for the long run here and will stay here as long as the security situation will demand it,” Karoblis said. The other three NATO battalions deployed in 2017 are based in Estonia, Latvia and Poland and are led by the United Kingdom, Canada and the United States, respectively. The three Baltic states, with a combined population of …

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Afghanistan investigates reports of 16 civilians killed in Helmand airstrike

Afghanistan is investigating reports that at least 16 civilians including women and children were killed in an airstrike in southern Helmand province

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US special forces member killed in combat operation in Afghanistan

US special forces member Staff Sgt. Joshua Z. Beale was killed in combat operations in Afghanistan's Uruzgan province

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Afghan forces open fire on NATO advisors at base in Herat

Two Afghan border guards opened fire on NATO Resolute Support mission advisors at the military base in Herat province in western Afghanistan

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US should back military operation against ISIS led by NATO-ally Turkey

Sanctioning a Turkish military campaign in northeast Syria will have a revitalizing effect on US-Turkey and Turkey-Coalition ties and prevent an ISIS resurgence

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Trump plans ‘significant withdrawal’ of US troops from Afghanistan

President Donald Trump has decided to pull a significant number of troops from Afghanistan, a US official told AFP a day after he announced a withdrawal from Syria

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Raytheon awarded $57 million for Evolved SeaSparrow Missile production requirements

Raytheon was awarded two contracts for for long lead material for the production of Evolved SeaSparrow Missiles, the U.S. Department of Defense said

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Kosovo parliament approves plan to build national army over NATO objections

Kosovo's parliament has approved a plan to turn the the Kosovo Security Force into a national army over the objections of NATO

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NATO to provide Ukraine with secure communications equipment, Stoltenberg says

NATO said it will supply Ukraine with secure communications equipment by the end of the year to help combat destabilization efforts by Russia

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