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Sweden plans to double its defense budget and army size due to Russian aggression
Sweden intends to increase the strength of the Armed Forces by 2035 from current levels of 50,000 troops to future levels of 120,000 troops, as noted in a new report on national defense strategy submitted by the Swedish Armed Forces, reports The Local.
The document assumes that the overall defense budget will increase from today's 53 billion kronor ($6.5 billion) per annum to about 115 billion kronor ($14 billion) per annum by 2035.
The document, called a "prospective study", is formally …
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Macron and Merkel sent appeal to Putin over situation in eastern Ghouta
French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel sent a joint letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin requesting the approval of a UN Security Council resolution on a truce in Syria, reported Le Figaro, citing the Élysée Palace.
In the letter, the leaders of France and Germany asked Putin to support the draft resolution, which calls for a cessation of hostilities for a period of 30 days in order to deliver humanitarian aid to Eastern Ghouta, as well as to evacuate the …
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US Department of the Treasury preparing new sanctions against Russia
At a briefing in the White House, Steven Mnuchin, US Secretary of the Treasury said that the US Department of the Treasury will introduce new sanctions against Russia in the coming weeks.
"We are working on Russia sanctions. I can assure you that is in the process. I will be back here [at this White House] within the next several weeks to talk about that," he said.
US Treasury Secretary also stressed that the Department is actively working with the FBI on sanctions against individual …
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Kyiv: if Russia holds presidential elections in annexed Crimea it will not be allowed to open polling stations in its consulates in Ukraine
The Foreign Minister of Ukraine, Pavlo Klimkin, stated that if Russia holds the presidential elections in the annexed Crimea, it will not be allowed to conduct the elections at the Russian embassy and consulates in Ukraine.
Klimkin also emphasized that Ukraine is against the presidential elections in uncontrolled territories of the Donbas. The Ukrainian Foreign Minister added that if the elections in the Crimea and the Donbas still take place, Kyiv won’t allow elections in the Russian …
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Kremlin: American diplomats prohibited from observing Russian elections
American diplomats and employees of American overseas institutions in Russia will not be permitted to monitor the forthcoming presidential elections in Russia, stated Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov, according to Interfax news agency.
"United States Citizens who are members of the OSCE’s Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) elections monitoring mission will, of course, be able to fulfill all the corresponding functions in the presidential elections of the Russian …