NATO

"More nuclear weapons and less arms control makes the world more dangerous," Jens Stoltenberg said, urging Russia to reconsider its decision, The Guardian reported. "This is one of the last major arms control agreements we have," he said, and "just another example" of a move away from the international rules-based order.

He was addressing journalists following a NATO defence ministers' meeting here to address key issues for their security, Xinhua news agency reported. "More countries are now spending at least two per cent of their GDP on defence. And 2022 was the eighth consecutive year of increased defence spending by European allies and Canada. With an additional investment.

In a speech to the German lower house of parliament (Bundestag) ahead of a special meeting of the European Council to discuss the conflict, Scholz on Wednesday warned against a "public competition to outdo each other along the lines of battle tanks, submarines, aircraft..." This would harm the unity of the West, he added.

The New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) was signed by Russia and the US in 2010. The last remaining nuclear arms control treaty in force between the two nuclear superpowers can be extended by a maximum of five years with the consent of the two countries. Russia and the US officially extended the treaty by five years on February 3, 2021.

The two leaders on Thursday also discussed Sweden's current Presidency of the Council of the European Union (EU) and the security situation, reports Xinhua news agency. "Last spring, we started our common path to join NATO. This journey must be made hand in hand and in common accord, just like we started it," Marin said in a joint press conference with Kristersson on Thursday.

"If NATO and these countries take such a decision, we, as Turkey, think that we may evaluate the applications separately. But first of all, NATO and these countries have to decide," Cavusoglu added at a joint press conference with his Portuguese counterpart Joao Gomes Cravinho on Monday.

Turkey submitted a list of 120 "terrorists" to Sweden for extradition, the Turkish President said, adding that the Nordic country must extradite these people in order to join the NATO. It is the first time that Erdogan indicated that Ankara could evaluate ratifying Sweden and Finland's NATO membership with a different approach, according to the report.

Stoltenberg made the remark in his meeting with South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin in Seoul, Yonhap News Agency reported. "I think that in a more unpredictable and uncertain world, it's even more important that countries that believe in freedom and democracy in rules-based international order stand together," Stoltenberg said.

"The events of the last few weeks have temporarily caused the process to a pause," Billstrom told Expressen newspaper, adding that the Swedish government was now investing energy and time to try to push forward the process. Billstrom told Swedish Television on Saturday that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had put a lot of work into the recent weeks' anger against Sweden, and that it might take a while for it (anti-Sweden sentiment) to subside after such a big event, Xinhua news agency reported.

"In this environment, a trilateral meeting is meaningless. It has been postponed because the current environment will overshadow this," Cavusoglu explained at a joint press conference with visiting Serbia's First Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic on Thursday, Xinhua news agency reported.