NATO

"We have communicated directly, privately and at very high levels to the Kremlin that any use of nuclear weapons will be met with catastrophic consequences for Russia, that the US and our allies will respond decisively, and we have been clear and specific about what that will entail," Sullivan told CBS's Face the Nation.

Raisi made the remarks in a meeting with United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in New York on Thursday on the sidelines of the 77th session of the UN General Assembly, Xinhua news agency reported. Iran has taken in a large number of Afghan refugees and seriously fought against terrorism, a big threat to the region and the entire world, he said.

"NATO must increase its presence in the Arctic," NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told Germany's Welt am Sonntag newspaper, adding that Moscow was in the process of reopening Soviet-era bases in its Arctic territories and stationing new state-of-the-art weapons such as hypersonic missiles there. China had also showed increasing interest in the region, Stoltenberg said.

The Chamber of Deputies voted nearly unanimously to endorse the accession of the two Nordic countries in an overnight session that ended early Saturday, reports dpa news agency. The Senate voted in favour earlier this month. The last step for ratification in the Czech Republic is the signature of President Milos Zeman.

"The issue is how we should follow up on the agreement that Turkey, Sweden and Finland reached during the NATO summit in Madrid, which was a precondition for Turkey to agree to Sweden's and Finland's requests," Linde told broadcaster SVT on Wednesday. New members must be unanimously approved but Turkey has blocked Sweden and Finland's accession to NATO.

The Greek fighter jets put Turkish F-16s "under a radar lock" above the eastern Mediterranean during a NATO mission, Xinhua news agency reported, citing the semi-official Anadolu Agency. The Turkish side gave a "necessary response" and the Greek planes left the region, said Anadolu.

A motion of no confidence against Abazovic's government, pushed by the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) of President Milo Djukanovic, went through as 50 of 81 lawmakers voted in favour on Friday night, reports dpa news agency.

The single dissenting vote came from Republican Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri, who argued that there should be less focus on security in Europe and much more on the threat from China, dpa news agency reported. US President Joe Biden has strongly backed the accession of Finland and Sweden to NATO, and referred the matter to the Senate for consideration in July.

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed the Executive Order on Approving the Naval Doctrine of the Russian Federation and the Executive Order on Approving the Russian Navy Regulations earlier in the day before the central part of the Main Naval Parade, Xinhua news agency reported.

Blaszczak, also the Deputy Prime Minister, made the remarks in an interview with public broadcaster Polish Radio on Thursday, a day after Warsaw signed a deal for the purchase of South Korean arms, reports Xinhua news agency.