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The former mayor of Izmir, a stronghold of opposition to President Erdogan, along with 109 municipal officials from the Republican People's Party (CHP), were arrested on Tuesday on charges of corruption and misconduct. The party has rejected the accusations. There is a feeling of déjà vu in Turkey. After the publication of a political cartoon, which Turkish authorities said depicted the Prophet Muhammad, led to the arrest of four journalists on Monday, June 30, in Istanbul, authorities carried out a large-scale sweep in Izmir at dawn on Tuesday. Izmir, the country's third-largest city, is a bastion of the Republican People's...

Prime Minister Donald Tusk does not back down. On June 1 his candidate for president Rafal Trzaskowski lost the vote to the Conservative Karol Nawrocki. Nobody doubted Nawrocki’s victory. Even the observers from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe said the election was “competitive and well-managed”. Nawrocki won, Trzaskowski lost. But Tusk is now trying to block Nawrocki taking office. He won’t back down. Tusk is pitching accusations of electoral fraud – no evidence, just accusations — at Nawrocki. The fight is getting dirty. Even during the election, Tusk was trying to sink Nawrocki, going as far as...

Key Points and Summary - At this week's NATO summit in The Hague, Ukraine was largely sidelined as the alliance focused on internal matters, primarily a new commitment to raise defense spending to 5% of GDP to placate US President Donald Trump. -While European allies pledged new military aid—including German artillery rockets, Dutch F-16s, and British-funded drones—the final summit declaration omitted previous language about Ukraine's "irreversible path" to membership. -This shift, combined with a strained and brief meeting between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, leaves Kyiv in a precarious position, increasingly dependent on European support as US commitment appears...

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Friday that the country was dismissed regarding its concern about NATO expansion. "We emphasized that the security of one nation or a group of nations cannot come at the expense of another's security. This principle is enshrined in international agreements that all parties have ratified," Putin said. "Yet, in practice, what transpired?" Putin continued. "One NATO expansion after another. We were consistently reassured, 'there's nothing to fear; it doesn't pose a threat to you.' When we expressed our concerns, asserting that we believed it did threaten us, what was the response? Nothing at all. We...

The following is adapted from a speech delivered on April 25, 2025, at a Hillsdale College National Leadership Seminar in Kansas City, Missouri. Vice President J.D. Vance’s first major assignment from Donald Trump was to join a bunch of European leaders who thought of themselves as our close allies—and to read them the riot act. This happened at the Munich Security Conference on February 14. Instead of discussing armaments and armies, Vance said: “The threat that I worry the most about vis-à-vis Europe is not Russia. It’s not China. It’s the retreat of Europe from some of its most fundamental...

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President Donald Trump reacts to NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte referring to him as a “daddy” in dealing with the Israel-Iran conflict.

President Donald Trump said Wednesday that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky wants to see the war between Ukraine and Russia come to a close following their meeting at the NATO Summit. Trump was asked about the meeting during his press conference at the summit in the Hague, Netherlands. “He couldn’t have been nicer. I think he’d like to see an end to this, I do. What I took from the meeting — couldn’t have been nicer, actually — but I took from the meeting he’d like to see it end,” Trump said. “I think it’s a great time to end it....

President Trump said he left the NATO summit feeling differently about the alliance than when he arrived, after countries showed their appreciation for the U.S. “I came here because it was something I’m supposed to be doing, but I left here a little bit different,” Mr. Trump said at his post-NATO press conference Wednesday. He said he watched other world leaders at the summit talk about the love and passion they have for their countries. “I’ve never seen quite anything like it,” he said. “They want to protect their country, and they need the United States, and without the United...

“Terrible” socialist Spain was the sole NATO member to refuse a major increase in defence spending this week, leaving President Donald Trump threatening tariffs in return. Spain will end up paying more, all told, for the dogged refusal of its government to accept a greater share of the common defence of the Euro-Atlantic area because it will simply pay higher tariffs on trade instead, President Trump said on Wednesday. Apparently enjoying playing the room and getting laughs, President Trump showed a glint of steel as he brushed off Spanish reporters trying to ask questions at his end-of-summit press conference in...

President Trump said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky “couldn’t have been nicer” during their one-on-one meeting Wednesday on the sidelines of the NATO summit at The Hague. Trump said at a press conference that the two leaders did not discuss details of a ceasefire in the Russia-Ukraine war, but stressed their shared desire to end the war swiftly. “No, no, I just — I wanted to know how he’s doing,” Trump told the reporter. “It was very nice, actually. We had a little rough times. He couldn’t have been nicer. I think he’d like to see an end to this, I...

As the North Atlantic Treaty Organization held meetings on Wednesday, leaders from the bloc of Western nations agreed to spend 5% of their gross domestic product on defense, NATO announced. According to a NATO statement, nations will commit to spending at least 3.5% on core defense requirements. These nations will allocate an additional 1.5% of their GDP to protect infrastructure, networks, and civil preparedness. Nations will be expected to submit annual plans on defense spending. Nations have until 2035 to reach the 5% target. Previously, NATO leaders agreed to commit 2% of their national GDP to defense spending. However, according...

Spain wants a carve-out from NATO's likely future defense spending goal of 5 percent of GDP, the country's Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said ahead of next week's high-stakes alliance summit in The Hague. "Spain will continue to fulfil its duty in the years and decades ahead and will continue to actively contribute to the European security architecture. However, Spain cannot commit to a specific spending target in terms of GDP at this summit," Sánchez told NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte in a letter seen by POLITICO. Spain has the lowest military spending of any NATO member, allocating just 1.3 percent of...

Trump is heading to NATO for a trip lasting barely a day. It’s the pattern of his second term — attend international meetings, but don’t stay long.President Donald Trump left last week’s G-7 gathering in Canada a day early. This week he is scheduled to arrive at a NATO summit in The Hague for an abbreviated trip, arriving Tuesday and returning to the White House by Wednesday. Later this year, he may skip the G-20 in South Africa altogether. Trump has a long history of brushing off global summits — and, sometimes, physically brushing off the leaders who attend them....

US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday (June 24) that he would “probably” meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on the sidelines of the upcoming NATO summit in The Hague. Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump confirmed the possibility when asked about a meeting. “Yeah probably I’ll see him,” he said. When asked what he intended to say to the Ukrainian leader, Trump replied, “I’ll say ‘how you doing?’ He’s in a tough situation, should never have been there.” Zelensky team confirms meeting preparations Volodymyr Zelensky’s chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, also confirmed that talks were under way to...

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky will tell this week’s NATO summit that Russia is “preparing new military operations on the territory of Europe”, a warning that comes as the gaze of the world again shifts from Eastern Europe to the Middle East. The head of Ukraine’s Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defence (GUR) has briefed President Volodymyr Zelensky that Russia is preparing a military strike on Europe, the President revealed on the eve of his trip to Western Europe. Zelensky arrived in London on Monday morning by Presidential plane where he is to meet with senior British figures...

NATO members are rushing to show President Donald Trump they’re shoveling money into defense — some with a dose of creative math — as Russia’s battle with Ukraine grinds on and war threatens to consume the Middle East. The group’s summit this week in The Hague, which Trump plans to attend, will attempt to set a deadline for members to spend 5 percent of GDP on defense. Trump has complained about European defense budgets since his first term, claiming the U.S. gets ripped off by countries that rely on Washington for a security blanket. The way allies approach this at...

Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s Turkey has long coveted the Greek Aegean islands in the disputed waters between the two countries, and now it has made its claim official. ... Turkey “has provoked Greece by submitting a map to UNESCO claiming parts of the Aegean Sea – which has been the primary point of contention and discussions between the countries ... Erdogan refuses to recognize the Treaty of Lausanne, which ceded the Aegean islands in question now to Greece, despite the fact that the Republic of Turkey duly ratified the treaty on Aug. 23, 1923, as well as the fact that Turkey...

Broadband and Heathrow’s third runway are to be counted as defence spending under Sir Keir Starmer’s plans to redraw the definition of national security. The Government’s national security review, due to be published before a Nato summit next week, will expand the definition to include economic stability, food prices, supply chains, crime and the internet. It could allow the UK to hit Nato’s new defence spending target of five per cent of GDP without committing any further public money. Mark Rutte, Nato’s secretary general, has proposed member states spend 3.5 per cent on core defence activities and a further 1.5...

Israel has launched what it called “preemptive strikes” against Iran and a state of emergency has been declared in Israel, according to the country’s Defense Minister Israel Katz. “Following the State of Israel’s preemptive strike against Iran, a missile and drone attack against the State of Israel and its civilian population is expected in the immediate future” Katz said in a statement. Iranian state media outlet IRNA reported repeated explosions could be heard in Tehran.