Now the process of ratification by each of the allies begins," Swedish Foreign Minister Ann Linde said on Twitter. South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol said his nation would increase the amount of humanitarian and nonlethal military assistance sent to Ukraine following a meeting with President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in Kyiv. The historic shifts by Sweden and Finland came in the face of Russia's brutal invasion of Ukraine in February and other aggressive moves by the Kremlin in the region. Russian troops again shelled the Kherson region, wounding two people who were in their yard, the regional military administration reported. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Russian Service, click here. The Urals Electrochemical Combine says it enriches uranium for use in nuclear power plants. I look forward to further strengthening our Fenno-Ugric connection also as allies," Niinisto said on Twitter, referring to the countries' shared liguistic history. Earlier Monday, Erdogan introduced a new condition for approving Sweden's membership in NATO, calling on European countries to "open the way" for Turkey to join the European Union.. On May 18, Sweden and Finland applied to join NATO. Russian forces spearheaded by Wagner mercenaries took Bakhmut in May after months of heavy fighting, but Ukrainian troops have recently been making gains to the north and south of the devastated city. Nikitin, who holds dual Russian and Dutch citizenship,arrived at Belgrade's Nikola Tesla airport after a vacation. The Russian Army carried out 22 attacks during the day, most of them in the Maryinka area. Carlsberg Group last year announced plans to withdraw from the Russian market within weeks of the start of Russia's full-scale military invasion of Ukraine. The newest edition, Finland, was approved earlier this year. The agreement allows safe passage for ships carrying grain from Ukraine, one of the largest food exporters, through the Black Sea corridor. BRUSSELS (AP) Finland is set to join NATO on Tuesday, days after Turkey ratified the Nordic country's membership and set it on track to become the 31st member of the world's biggest military alliance. The three countries signed a pact on the issue last year. Finland, by the way, says it will continue to press for Stockholm's accession to the military alliance. Hengaw said the lawyers must appear in court between July 11 and July 16. Some of Prigozhins media outlets did not shut down in the wake of the failed mutiny, another source close to Prigozhin told the FT. ANKARA, Jan 14 (Reuters) - Turkey is running out of time to ratify NATO membership bids by Sweden and Finland before it holds elections expected in May, a Turkish presidential spokesman. Having completed the ratification process, both Turkey and Hungary need to send their approving documents to the U.S. government in Washington, which is the depository of NATO under the alliance's founding treaty. Traffic on the bridge linking Russia with Moscow-annexed Crimea was stopped early on July 17 due to an "emergency," Russia-installed regional Governor Sergei Aksyonov said, amid unconfirmed reports of at least one explosion on the bridge as Ukraine said the incident could be a Russian provocation. Finland's well-funded military maintains mandatory conscription for men. Turkey gives green light to Swedish NATO membership bid But the process has been held up by Turkey and Hungary. United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres earlier this week said he sent Putin a letter with a proposal to keep the deal operational. South Korea "will expand the scale of supplies from last year, when we provided materials such as helmets and bulletproof vests," he told reporters, adding that humanitarian aid would be increased to $150 million in 2023, from $100 million last year. So this ratification vote now clears the way for Finland to formally join the alliance as a full member. "Good that Finland can count on Hungary in our NATO ratification. That prompted the NATO secretary general to say he believes Sweden had fulfilled its commitments to Turkey and should be allowed into NATO. Putin on July 15 told South African President Cyril Ramaphosa that requests to remove obstacles to Russian food and fertilizer exports had not yet been fulfilled. The proposal reportedly included an offer to reconnect a subsidiary of Russias Rosselkhozbank to the SWIFT international payments system. Ciolacu, who is the PSD leader, appears increasingly preoccupied by next year's parliamentary, local, and presidential elections. Finland and Sweden completed accession talks at NATO Headquarters in Brussels on Monday (4 July 2022), as agreed last week by NATO leaders at their Summit in Madrid. A 54-year-old woman and a 49-year-old man were injured," the report said, adding that they were treated at the scene. The deal, formally known as the Black Sea Grain Initiative, allows the safe export of grain and fertilizers from three Ukrainian Black Sea ports. A vote on Sweden's bid has not yet been scheduled in Hungary. Build the strongest argument relying on authoritative content, attorney-editor expertise, and industry defining technology. Turkey Agrees to Support Sweden's NATO Bid - The New York Times BERLIN, July 8 (Reuters) - Germany on Friday ratified Finland's and Sweden's accession to NATO, three days after the 30 members signed off on the most significant expansion of the alliance on Tuesday. Finland shares a land border of nearly 900 miles with Russia . The Kremlin quickly clarified that it had not reached such an agreement. NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. Erdogan agrees to send vote on Sweden's NATO accession to Turkish Published 5:32 AM PDT, April 3, 2023. Some Hungarian legislators suggested on Friday that they might ratify Finland's NATO bid on March 27, but following Turkey would hold back on a vote on Sweden. The General Staff of the Armed Forces said in its evening summary on July 14 that the enemy carried out 43 air strikes and launched 17 attacks from rocket salvo systems. "This is a good day for Finland and Sweden and a good day for NATO," alliance chief Jens Stoltenberg told reporters in a joint press statement with the Swedish and Finnish foreign ministers on July 5. "We see a positive and progressive movement forward when it comes to the ratification by Hungary towards the Swedish and the Finnish applications," he said. The long-simmering conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh led to a six-week war in 2020 in which nearly 7,000 soldiers were killed on both sides. The Norway-based Hengaw group, which monitors rights violations in Iran's Kurdish regions, reported on July 14 that the lawyers from Bukan in West Azerbaijan Province were being investigated for publishing "images and content against public modesty" rules. Browse an unrivalled portfolio of real-time and historical market data and insights from worldwide sources and experts. Turkey also has yet to ratify application. He often publicly criticized Russias military leadership in crude terms. As for Selivyorstov, Telegram channel CHEKA-OGPU said Tula Governor Aleksei Dyumin sought to defend him during a trip to Moscow on July 14. ", Michel called for an end to "violence and harsh rhetoric" and said he had extended an invitation to both leaders "for another meeting in Brussels after the summer.". Police have carried out searches of the houses of two former employees of jailed opposition politician Aleksei Navalny's headquarters in the cities of Tambov and Tver for unspecified reasons. It employed 8,400 people at the time. Guterres offered to reconnect a subsidiary of Russia's Agricultural Bank (Rosselkhozbank) to the international payment system SWIFT in exchange for Russia's extension of the deal, Reuters reported. He has long opposed any eastward expansion by NATO. If the exports were again blocked, food prices could spiral even higher than they are now. Last month, Orban's chief of staff Gergely Gulyas said he expected the Hungarian parliament to discuss the approval of the ratification document before its autumn session ends. The former presidents legal team asked Georgia courts this week to block evidence uncovered during a special grand jury and bar the prosecutor from pursuing the probe as charges loom. Three people were killed and 21 others were wounded in a drone strike on the namesake provincial capital, Sumy, on July 4. After the accession protocols were signed on July 5, the protocols are currently being ratified by each member state. The Belarusian Defense Ministry didn't say how many Wagner troops were in Belarus or specify whether more will follow. Hungary to approve Finland and Sweden NATO accession next year Turkey agreed on Monday to clear the way for Sweden to join NATO, a sudden reversal just hours after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that the European Union should first advance . The 19-kilometer road and rail bridge opened in 2018 and is an important transportation route between Russia and Ukraine's Crimea region, which Moscow illegally annexed in 2014. Finland's Chancellor of Justice Tuomas Poysti told Ilta-Sanomat the process would give Finland some room to wait for Sweden if need be, but not endlessly. NATO Allies sign Accession Protocols for Finland and Sweden Under the Moscow-brokered cease-fire, Russia deployed peacekeepers to the 5-kilometer-wide Lachin Corridor, the only land link between Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia. According to TASS, Putin said he had not seen the letter from Guterres, but Russia has been in contact with UN officials. Sweden's rocky road from neutrality toward NATO membership Milivojevic said that Nikitin's "human and minority rights" guaranteed under Serbian law have been violated. "I look forward to a swift ratification process," Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto said. The convoy was headed in the direction of Tsel, a village 90 kilometers southeast of Minsk where a tent encampment capable of holding as many as 15,000 people had recently been set up by the Belarusian authorities. See here for a complete list of exchanges and delays. November 24, 2022 7:51 pm CET. Speaking at a press briefing after the meeting, Yoon pledged to increase his country's humanitarian and nonlethal military assistance to Ukraine. Turkey agrees to back Sweden's accession to NATO The men were fired, the ICRC said. RFE/RL cannot independently verify reports from regions of heavy fighting or that are under Russian occupation. So far this has not been done," Putin said in the interview, claiming this was the case despite "the known shortage of ammunition in a certain period of time.". However, South Korea -- the world's ninth-largest arms exporter -- has not directly provided weapons to Ukraine in line with Seoul's long-standing policy of not supplying arms to active conflict zones. Sweden has a strong navy, which would strengthen NATO's defenses in the Baltic Sea, and builds its own fighter jets. "Russia has a great influence on the Serbian authorities, who simply fulfill their orders," Nikitin told RFE/RL after being allowed to enter Serbia. The bill was supported by ruling New Democracy, principle opposition party SYRIZA, and opposition party PASOK. The New York Times reported the previous day that Kyiv has changed its tactics in the counteroffensive to reduce the loss of advance Western-provided weaponry and is now focused on attacking with artillery and long-range missiles. Finland and Sweden are still waiting to join NATO. Moscow has insisted from the start that in exchange for its cooperation it wants obstacles to exports of Russia's own food and fertilizer lifted. The security spending is making the country safer, Kurti said in a Facebook post showing him in front of a drone with his defense minister. Germany ratifies NATO membership for Finland, Sweden Screen for heightened risk individual and entities globally to help uncover hidden risks in business relationships and human networks. Nikitin, who has lived in Serbia for the past seven years, had been stranded at the airport since early on July 13 after arriving on a flight from Germany. Russian lawyer Pyotr Nikitin, a sharp critic of the Kremlin's war in Ukraine, has been allowed to enter Serbia more than 24 hours after authorities at the Belgrade airport confiscated his passport and refused to let him in. The 106 Airborne Division is based in Tula. All NATO members must vote unanimously to admit a new country into the alliance. Screen for heightened risk individual and entities globally to help uncover hidden risks in business relationships and human networks. Spokesman Dmitry Peskov in a conference call with reporters refused to elaborate when asked about Putins comments to Kommersant in an interview published on July 14. Zelenskiy met with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, who made an unannounced visit to Ukraine on July 15, offering support for Kyiv in its war with Russia. Ahead of the meeting with the Ukrainian leader, Yoon toured Bucha and Irpin, towns near Kyiv where bodies of civilians were found in the streets and mass graves after Russian troops retreated from the area last year. Russia has threatened in the past to pull out of the deal only to agree at the last minute as it pushed for greater concessions. Serbia has long voiced aspirations to join the European Union. Oleh Synehubov, head of the Kharkiv regional military administration, told people to stay inside as an air alert was sounded after dark. South Korea, the ninth-largest arms exporter, is wary of directly shipping lethal military aid to Ukraine for fear that Russia or China may boost aid to its nemesis, North Korea. The U.S. was hoping that they would be in by now to show a united front against Russia's war in Ukraine, but Turkey has been holding up. To read the original story by Reuters, click here. Russian President Vladimir remained noncommittal on extending a UN-backed grain deal, claiming in a call with his South African counterpart that Moscow's demands have not been met. In May, both nations began the formal process of applying to NATO . This photo released by the Telegram channel Ostorozhno Novosti on July 17 reportedly shows damaged parts of the Crimea Bridge. The factory said the "depressurization" of a cylinder containing depleted uranium hexafluoride had occurred, without saying what caused it. Hungary and Turkey are the only members not to have ratified the applications. Build the strongest argument relying on authoritative content, attorney-editor expertise, and industry defining technology. Turkey, meanwhile, has raised significant objections to the Nordic countries joining the alliance, citing their support for Kurdish groups that Ankara sees as terrorist threats. Amid speculation that could be a threat to his own hold on power, he said, "We will keep a close eye on them.". Both Finland and Sweden had applied for NATO membership following Russia's invasion of Ukraine last year, but Sweden's application has been blocked by Turkey and Hungary. Reuters, the news and media division of Thomson Reuters, is the worlds largest multimedia news provider, reaching billions of people worldwide every day. Ankara initially said it would veto their bids, with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accusing them of providing havens for Kurdish militants operating in Turkey and for promoting what he called "terrorism.". Turkey Agrees to Support Sweden's NATO Bid, Clearing Main Obstacle In Tver, Pavel Kuzmin's house was searched even though he left months before it was declared an extremist group. HELSINKI Finland and Sweden have adopted a common "future ally" approach with Turkey in an attempt to fast-track their NATO membership something hindered by the Ankara government. VILNIUS, Lithuania (AP) When long-neutral Sweden applied for NATO membership together with Finland, both expected a quick accession process. The decree says the Russian state would "temporarily" manage shares belonging to Danone Russia and the shares that Carlsberg owns in Baltika, a leading brewing company in Russia with approximately 30 percent of the market share. Romania's Family and Youth Minister Gabriela Firea has resigned, the second member of Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu's leftist-led government to become a casualty of a national scandal over revelations about the abusive treatment of people interned in a complex of private retirement homes near Bucharest. It was brokered by the UN and Turkey last year to help alleviate a global food crisis worsened by Moscow's invasion and blockade of the ports. Hungary postpones vote on Sweden's NATO accession bid ahead of summit Three soldiers were killed in a separate attack on the same day when gunmen targeted an army convoy in Sui, a town that the countrys main natural gas pipeline passes through. Nikitin's Russian Democratic Society has been organizing protests against Moscow's invasion of Ukraine and has been helping antiwar Russians settle in Serbia, which has historically friendly ties with Russia and has refused to join sanctions on Moscow imposed by most of Europe and Ukraine's Western allies after the invasion. When will Sweden and Finland join NATO? Tracking the ratification Valeriy Shershen, spokesman for the Tavria defense forces, said earlier on July 16 that Ukrainian troops had advanced more than 1 kilometer along the front line in the Berdyansk direction. "Potentially, this can contribute to a difference in pace between Finland and Sweden," Pesu said, while adding that it would still be up to Turkey to determine the speed of the process. The Wall Street Journal reported earlier this week that at least 13 high-ranking Russian military officials were detained following Prigozhins mutiny. By KARL RITTER, SUZAN FRASER and LORNE COOK. Some news outlets belonging to Yevgeny Prigozhins media holding may resume their work as the fallout from his mutiny last month dissipates, the Financial Times (FT) reported. Russia said at the time that the warrant was "outrageous" and legally void because Russia is not an ICC member. Finland shares a long border with Russia, and Sweden is just across the Baltic Sea from Russia. Not all U.S. presidents are missed once they leave the White House. The state-run charity will provide six-month courses for women in soap manufacturing and for men in carpentry, the production and repair of shoes, and welding of metal structures. "An injustice was done to him. HELSINKI, Feb 10 (Reuters) - Finnish parliamentary groups said on Friday they may ratify NATO's founding treaties in the coming weeks, a key step that could lead the country to proceed with. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Turkey treats both groups as terrorist organisations. Putin's remarks appeared to be part of efforts to denigrate Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin while trying to maintain control over Wagner mercenaries and secure their loyalty. NATO Launches Ratification Process For Swedish, Finnish Membership Russia is facing manpower issues and cant afford to disband Wagner, which is considered one of the most experienced and disciplined units, military experts said. The most comprehensive solution to manage all your complex and ever-expanding tax and compliance needs. Access unmatched financial data, news and content in a highly-customised workflow experience on desktop, web and mobile. As a final step, Finland will deliver its "instrument of accession", a document signed by its foreign minister, with the U.S. government, the Finnish government said. Yoon, who was accompanied by his wife, laid flowers at a monument to the country's war dead, his office said. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Putin told Kommersant that he offered the private military company the option of continuing to serve as a single unit under their same commander, who goes by the call sign "Gray Hair" and has led the private army in Ukraine for 16 months.