Qatar's offer of the jet -- which is valued in the hundreds of millions of dollars -- has raised huge constitutional and ethical questions, as well as security concerns about using an aircraft donated by a foreign power for use as the ultra-sensitive presidential plane.

"The Secretary of Defense has accepted a Boeing 747 from Qatar in accordance with all federal rules and regulations," Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said in a statement.

"The Department of Defense will work to ensure proper security measures and functional-mission requirements are considered for an aircraft used to transport the President of the United States," Parnell said, referring questions to the US Air Force.

The US Constitution prohibits government officials from accepting gifts "from any King, Prince or foreign State," in a section known as the Emoluments Clause.

But Trump has denied there are any ethical issues involved with accepting the plane, saying it would be "stupid" for the US government not to take the aircraft.

"It's a great gesture," the 78-year-old billionaire told reporters at the White House last week when asked if the oil-rich Gulf state would expect anything in exchange.

"I would never be one to turn down that kind of an offer. I mean, I could be a stupid person (and) say 'no we don't want a free, very expensive airplane.'"

The leader of the Democratic minority in the US Senate introduced legislation earlier this week that would block Trump from using the aircraft.

Chuck Schumer's Presidential Airlift Security Act would prohibit the Pentagon from using taxpayer funds to retrofit any plane previously owned by a foreign government for use as the presidential plane.

"Donald Trump has shown time and again he will sell out the American people and the presidency if it means filling his own pockets," Schumer said in a statement.

"Not only would it take billions of taxpayer dollars to even attempt to retrofit and secure this plane, but there's absolutely no amount of modifications that can guarantee it will be secure."

Although several Republicans have voiced concerns about the proposed gift, Senate Majority Leader John Thune -- a Trump loyalist -- is not obliged to bring the bill to the floor of Congress's upper chamber.

But Schumer plans to force a vote by offering it as an amendment to spending bills that Republicans will have to pass later in the year.

]]> Fri, 23 MAY 2025 02:30:08 AEST London (AFP) May 19, 2025 - UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy suggested Monday that British troops could complement missions in the Western Balkans as part of a new defence and security pact signed with the EU.

Britain inked a new deal with the bloc at a landmark summit in central London that marks a new chapter in UK-EU relations since Brexit on January 31, 2020.

The defence part of the agreement will allow British representatives to attend certain EU ministerial meetings and for its forces to take part in European military exercises and missions.

Asked for concrete examples, Lammy told AFP and a small group of European media outlets that he had visited Serbia, Kosovo, and Bosnia, and "there are concerns about the undermining of the Dayton Accords".

"We want to work closely with our European partners there," he said.

Lammy added that British soldiers were already "making a difference" in the Nato-led Kosovo Force (KFOR) peacekeeping missions.

"I think that it's hugely important that we are able to complement NATO," he said.

Lammy added it was "good" that the defence pact "opens a pathway" for British firms to tap into a 150-billion-euro ($168-billion) EU fund, currently under negotiation among the 27 member states.

An additional agreement still needs to be made, along with a financial contribution from London.

"We intend to get going quickly on this and hope that we can work this out in a matter of weeks," Lammy said of the next steps.

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer's new agreement with Brussels also saw the two sides also agree to lift controls imposed on UK food and plant exports to the 27-country bloc.

That was agreed in exchange for Britain extending EU fishing rights in British waters, due to expire in 2026, for a further 12 years.

Lammy dismissed claims by the UK's opposition Conservative party that the deal meant Labour had "betrayed Brexit and Britain".

"My sense is always that the British people have moved on," Lammy said.

"I will let those in our political system who want to rehearse the fights of the past, they can do that.

"But in the end, we must be pragmatic on behalf of the British people, and this is a deal that delivers prosperity, security, fundamentally and is good for growth," he added.

Is NATO set to agree spending 5% of GDP on defence? Not quite
Brussels, Belgium (AFP) May 19, 2025 - NATO countries look on course to agree a deal on ramping up their defence spending target at a summit in The Hague next month in a bid to satisfy US President Donald Trump.

The volatile leader has been pressuring allies to spend five percent of their GDP on defence -- a level none of NATO's 32 members, including the United States, currently hit.

To make him happy, alliance chief Mark Rutte has floated a proposal for 3.5 percent of GDP on direct defence spending by 2032, and 1.5 percent of broader security-related expenditures.

That should give Trump the chance to claim a win by reaching his headline figure of five percent.

But the reality is that not all of that may need to be new spending.

- What's the real increase?

The current minimum agreed by NATO's countries for defence spending is two percent of GDP.

Under the compromise being hatched for The Hague, that amount should rise to 3.5 percent and be devoted to direct military spending -- such as troops and weaponry.

That is roughly the amount NATO estimates needs to be spent by countries to be able to counter Russia in the coming years.

To pad that out further, for the first time the alliance could then count things such as infrastructure spending, cyber protection, border security -- and even support for Ukraine.

That would make up the additional 1.5 percent, taking the overall figure to five percent.

NATO diplomats say that much of that broader spending is likely already on the books and filling it out would just be a matter of redefining it in their budgets.

"We have to make sure that we not only concentrate on the core defence spending, but also making sure that we do these defence related investments," Rutte said.

To ensure countries stick to the plan, which hasn't been made public, diplomats say Rutte has proposed a 0.2 percentage point annual increase on the direct military spending.

- Implications for each country? -

For some countries -- such as Poland and the Baltics on NATO's eastern flank -- the new 3.5-percent target would actually be lower than what they're already planning to spend.

Worried by the threat from Russia, they're already planning to dedicate five percent of their GDP to core military spending from next year.

The United States wouldn't have far to go to reach the new target as it already spent 3.19 percent of its GDP on its military last year.

For others it will be a bigger leap.

European heavyweights France and Germany are only just hovering over the two percent target and a raft of stragglers such as Italy, Spain, Canada and Belgium are still reaching that level this year.

- Is everyone on board?

Rutte's compromise deal received backing from Germany and France at a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Turkey last week.

Berlin's top diplomat Johann Wadephul said the plan would meet Trump's five percent demand -- and that Germany was willing to "follow" the US lead.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot also gave the greenlight to the 3.5 percent number.

Elsewhere there was little public dissent from other NATO members.

Even those who have struggled to reach two percent seemed open to the deal -- with Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani welcoming counting broader security spending.

- And the United States? -

Even though it doesn't necessarily satisfy Trump's original demand, Washington supports the compromise widening out the parameters to reach five percent.

US NATO Ambassador Matthew Whitaker said the Hague investment plan wouldn't cover "just missiles, tanks and howitzers".

But he warned that the broader "defence-related" spending should not just be "a grab bag for everything that you could possibly imagine".

- What's left to agree?

While allies seem generally to accept the contours of the new plan -- there is still some haggling to be done in the weeks before The Hague summit.

Diplomats say sensitive areas will include hammering out exactly what can and can't be included in the 1.5 percent.

On top of that some countries are pushing for the 2032 timeline to be extended beyond the seven years currently on the table and annual targets to be eased.

]]> Fri, 23 MAY 2025 02:30:08 AEST Brussels, Belgium (AFP) May 19, 2025 - EU countries have finalised a plan for a 150-billion-euro loan programme to help rearm in the face of Russia and worries over US reliability, diplomats said Monday.

The SAFE borrowing scheme backed by the EU's central budget was proposed by Brussels in March as the bloc rushes to boost its defences.

Member states haggled over what the money could be spent on and how countries outside the EU can access the funds for weeks before agreeing a final text late Sunday, diplomats said.

In the end, the agreement stuck to the original proposal allowing 35 percent of the value of the weapons to come from manufacturers beyond the bloc and Ukraine.

The finalisation comes as the EU and the UK agree a new defence partnership as part of a post-Brexit "reset" at a London summit.

London would still need to strike a separate deal with the EU if it wants to fully open the new scheme to the British defence industry.

The EU text still needs to be formally signed off by the bloc and approval should come when Europe ministers meet in Brussels on May 27.

The borrowing programme is part of a package of measures including loosening budget rules that Brussels says could unlock 800 billion euros of defence spending.

]]> Fri, 23 MAY 2025 02:30:08 AEST Berlin (AFP) May 15, 2025 - Germany's new government surprised NATO allies on Thursday by putting forward plans to boost defence spending, to meet a target of five percent of GDP demanded by US President Donald Trump.

Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul made the pledge a day after German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, in office for just over a week, said his coalition government intends to have "the strongest conventional army in Europe".

NATO chief Mark Rutte has floated a plan for members to hit the five-percent goal by spending 3.5 percent of GDP on military spending and 1.5 percent on other security measures such as infrastructure and cyber defence.

Wadephul, speaking at a NATO meeting in Turkey, pointed to Rutte's proposal to reach "the five percent that President Trump demanded" and declared that "we follow him there".

In Berlin, Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil struck a more cautious note, saying that "we will spend more on security, but how much that will be we will see in the agreement reached at the NATO summit" to take place next month in The Hague.

Roderich Kiesewetter, a former senior German military officer and a politician in Merz's CDU party, called the announced move a "paradigm shift", in an interview with the Bild daily.

He added that "it won't happen overnight, but it has to happen".

The goal sounds ambitious, given the dire state of the German armed forces which have been plagued by shortages of key weapons systems and face trouble recruiting new troops.

Germany, with its dark World War II history, has long been reluctant to spend big on defence. Funding dropped off sharply after the Cold War as European countries relied on NATO heavyweight the United States for security.

Decades of lower military spending has reduced Germany's number of battle tanks and howitzers from the thousands to the hundreds.

- 'Epochal shift' -

In recent years, Germany's armed forces were mocked for equipment failures when they deployed in Afghanistan and Mali. Those included helicopters that couldn't fly and rifles that did not shoot straight.

The army, hoping to boost troop strength to 203,000 by 2031, fell short of its incremental target last year by more than 20,000, despite a social media campaign.

The military has "too little of everything" -- from air defences and drones to satellites and AI capabilities -- the parliamentary commissioner for the armed forces, Eva Hoegl, warned in March.

Trump has long claimed NATO partners are not paying their fair share. Germany only just hit the alliance's target last year of spending two percent of GDP on defence.

Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine led then-chancellor Olaf Scholz to announce 100 billion euros ($110 billion) in extra defence spending.

Major orders placed include new submarines and F-35 fighter jets -- but they will take years to be delivered.

Now Merz has signalled an even bigger shift, warning of the threat from a hostile Russia.

- 'Collective madness' -

For Germany, spending five percent of GDP would equate to more than 200 billion euros per year -- a figure previously deemed unrealistic.

But Merz's coalition has secured major financial firepower: an easing of debt rules and approval for hundreds of billions in extra funding for defence and infrastructure.

Merz told Die Zeit weekly that spending big on defence -- especially for European-made systems -- should be seen as a stimulus for the recession-hit economy.

"If we want to strengthen our defence capabilities, we must gradually reduce our dependence on the US," he said.

The CEO of German defence giant Rheinmetall, Armin Papperger, said that, after stepping up capacity in recent years, "we can deliver".

A lawmaker with the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) that embraces Moscow-friendly policies, Peter Boehringer, called the five-percent target "completely absurd".

Criticism also came from Ralf Stegner of the SPD, the junior coalition partner in Merz's government.

Stegner told the Handelsblatt daily that, in a conflict-torn world, "disarmament is the order of the day... not an arms race".

Spending "billions on weapons that reduce the world to rubble and ashes and then billions for the reconstruction of Gaza, Ukraine and Aleppo, that is collective madness," he said.

bur/fz/sr/rmb

RHEINMETALL

]]> Fri, 23 MAY 2025 02:30:08 AEST London (AFP) May 15, 2025 - The UK government Thursday defended supplying fighter jet parts to Israel amid the war in Gaza, telling a London court that suspending exports would compromise Britain's security and damage relations with Israel and allies.

Rights groups took the government to the High Court this week, accusing it of breaking international law by allowing the export of advanced Lockheed Martin F-35 stealth jet components.

Supported by Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Oxfam and others, the Palestinian rights association Al-Haq is seeking a court order to stop the supply of UK-made parts for the US warplanes, which Israel has used to devastating effect in Gaza and the West Bank.

Earlier this week, lawyers for Al-Haq said the government had known there was a "clear risk" Israel would use the jet parts to commit violations of international law.

But government lawyer James Eadie said Thursday the UK's trade department had acted lawfully and that suspending the export licences would have affected a wider international F-35 programme, resulting in "extremely serious risks to the UK and international security".

He added the court was not placed to rule on the legality of Israel's actions, and that attempting to do so could have a "potentially deleterious" effect on "foreign relations with a friendly state, namely Israel".

He also said the government had taken decisions about suspending arms licences with its relationship with Israel in mind, seeking to "make sure relations continued to be cordial".

In September 2024, the new Labour government announced it was suspending around 30 of 350 export licences following a review of Israel's compliance with international humanitarian law.

But the partial ban did not cover British-made F-35 parts.

The refuelling probe, laser targeting system, tyres and ejector seat are among the components made in Britain, according to Oxfam.

Britain's defence secretary has previously said suspending F-35 licences would "undermine US confidence in the UK and NATO", and would not be possible without "wide impacts to the whole F-35 programme".

But lawyers for Al-Haq have described the F-35 exemption as a "loophole" allowing the components to reach Israel through a global pooling system.

In a separate statement, UK-based NGO Campaign Against Arms Trade said licensing figures showed the government had made a "shocking increase in military exports to Israel" in the months after its September 2024 announcement of partial suspensions.

It said the figures showed the UK approved £127.6 million ($170 million) in military equipment to Israel in single-issue licences from October to December 2024, saying this was more than for the period from 2020 to 2023 combined.

Most of the licences were for military radars, components and software, as well as targeting equipment, according to the NGO, which was involved in the case against the government.

It is not certain when a decision could be made after the four-day hearing, which ends on Friday and marks the latest stage in a long-running legal battle.

lcm/jkb/jhb

LOCKHEED MARTIN

]]> Fri, 23 MAY 2025 02:30:08 AEST Turkey (AFP) May 15, 2025 - Germany's foreign minister said Thursday that Berlin was willing to "follow" US President Donald Trump's demand for NATO to ramp up its defence spending target to five percent of GDP.

Johann Wadephul said NATO chief Mark Rutte had laid out a plan to reach "the five percent that President Trump demanded, which he considers necessary".

"And we follow him there," Wadephul told a meeting of the alliance in Turkey.

Berlin's signal of support will put more pressure on other European allies and Canada to strike a deal on spending at a NATO summit in The Hague next month.

Rutte has floated a proposal for allies to commit to 3.5 percent of direct military spending by 2032, and an additional 1.5 percent of broader security-related expenditure.

That overall plan has already got the backing of the United States.

It would hand Trump the headline figure he is demanding while giving enough wiggle room to European allies that are struggling just to reach NATO's current spending target of two percent of GDP.

Rutte declined to go into details of the discussions as foreign ministers gathered near the Turkish coastal resort of Antalya.

But he said broader spending, such as on infrastructure like bridges needed to move military hardware around, had to "be taken into account".

Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani announced that Italy had this week hit NATO's two percent spending target.

"This is the first step. Then it's possible to do more, it's possible to increase the money for defence," he said.

"I prefer to talk about security, because security is not only weapons."

Trump has rattled European allies worried about the menace from Russia by threatening not to protect countries that, in his eyes, do not spend enough.

None of NATO's 32 countries, including the United States, currently spend five percent of their GDP on defence.

Eastern members most worried about Moscow such as the Baltic states and Poland have already said they are willing to go beyond that level on direct military expenditures.

Several suspects arrested over NATO arms contract graft
Brussels, Belgium (AFP) May 14, 2025 - NATO said Wednesday that several suspects had been detained over alledged corruption in procurement contracts, as authorities in Belgium and in Luxembourg announced an inquiry.

"Law enforcement authorities in a number of countries have arrested a number of individuals accused of corrupt activities related to NATO contracts," NATO spokeswoman Allison Hart said.

"NATO -- including the NSPA (NATO Support and Procurement Agency) -- is working closely with law enforcement to ensure that perpetrators are brought to justice."

Prosecutors in Belgium said one person had been formally arrested in the country after anti-corruption officers carried out searches.

"The investigation concerns possible irregularities in awarding contracts to defence contractors for the purchase of military equipment for NATO such as ammunition and drones," the Belgian prosecutors said.

"It would be more specifically about the possible passing on of confidential information by employees of NATO Support & Procurement Agency based in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, to defence contractors eligible to win these contracts."

The Belgian authorities said several former employees of NATO's procurement agency "are said to be involved".

Prosecutors in Luxembourg meanwhile said police in the country had carried out "various searches" and seized documents related to the case.

"Belgian, Dutch, Italian, Spanish and American authorities conducted simultaneous operations, leading to the arrest of suspects," the Luxembourg authorities said.

]]> Fri, 23 MAY 2025 02:30:08 AEST Helsinki (AFP) May 14, 2025 - Finland said Wednesday that it was looking at increasing the maximum age of reservists to 65 as part of plans to strengthen security because of tensions with neighbouring Russia.

The proposal, if approved, would mean the number of reservists in the NATO member would reach one million by 2031 -- an increase of 125,000.

Finns currently remain part of the reserve until the age of 50 for enlisted soldiers or 60 for non-commissioned officers and reserve officers.

"Finland's defence capability is based on general conscription, a trained reserve and a strong will to defend the country," Defence Minister Antti Hakkanen said in a statement.

"By raising the maximum age of reservists we are giving more people the possibility to participate in national defence," he said.

All Finnish men have to complete military service from the age of 18, and about 900,000 conscripts have already had military training.

The increase in numbers would happen over the next five years, as those who reach the age of 60 become liable to serve for a further five years.

The defence ministry has put the proposal out for consultation until the end of next month before it is submitted to parliament.

"This is proof for NATO allies that Finland did not pause when it joined NATO but takes the strengthening of national defence very seriously," Hakkanen told public broadcaster Yle.

Finland shares a 1,340-kilometre (830-mile) border with Russia and ended decades of military non-alignment by joining NATO in April 2023, just over a year after Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Helsinki closed its eastern border with Russia in December 2023, suspecting Moscow of orchestrating the arrival of migrants to destabilise the country.

'Increased threat': Dutch army raises alert level
The Hague (AFP) May 14, 2025 - The Dutch military on Wednesday raised its alertness level due to an "increased threat" and the possibility of sabotage near the country's borders.

The Netherlands has been at alert level "Alpha" since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, but Wednesday's increase took it to "Alpha Plus", meaning "increased threats" in Europe.

Alpha Plus is level two on a six-level rating system that goes up to level D meaning "a targeted attack is imminent or has taken place."

The raised threat level means military personnel should step up surveillance of suspicious people and vehicles, as well as drones, said the defence ministry.

The threat analysis from the MIVD spy agency is that "other countries are increasingly prepared to engage in sabotage activities, also near the Dutch border," the ministry said.

"The increase is also related to increased threats in Europe. There is currently no concrete threat against a military site," the statement added.

]]> Fri, 23 MAY 2025 02:30:08 AEST Brussels, Belgium (AFP) May 14, 2025 - NATO foreign ministers meeting in Antalya from Wednesday will look to forge a compromise deal on ramping up defence spending as allies scramble to satisfy US President Donald Trump's demand to agree to five percent of GDP at a summit next month.

The two-day gathering in the sun-baked Turkish seaside resort comes as diplomatic intrigue swirls over a possible meeting across the country in Istanbul between Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelensky and Russia's Vladimir Putin.

But it will be the internal wrangling over NATO's spending target that dominates the meat of the debate Thursday among foreign ministers with just over six weeks before leaders come face-to-face with Trump in The Hague.

Trump has piled on pressure ahead of the summit by insisting he wants NATO to agree to devote five percent of GDP to defence -- a level no member, including the United States, currently reaches.

The volatile former reality TV star has rattled European allies worried about the menace from Russia by threatening not to protect countries that, in his eyes, don't spend enough.

In a bid to prevent him blowing up the alliance, NATO boss Mark Rutte has floated a proposal for allies to commit to 3.5 percent of direct military spending by 2032, as well as another 1.5 percent of broader security-related expenditure.

That would hand Trump the headline figure he's demanding while giving enough wiggle room to European allies who are struggling just to reach NATO's current spending threshold of two percent.

"Trump will be able claim victory and say that he got NATO to spend five percent," one senior NATO diplomat, talking on condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations.

"In reality it will be more complicated than that -- but that will be the essential political message from the summit."

- 'Not a grab bag' -

Diplomats say that Rutte's plan, which hasn't been made public, envisions ratcheting up direct defence spending by 0.2 percent each year over the next seven years until countries hit the 3.5 target.

The other 1.5 percent of more loosely defined spending could include a wide-range of areas including infrastructure, cyber defence, border controls and even support for Ukraine.

Diplomats admit it's a budgetary sleight-of-hand aimed at softening the blow for countries, such as Canada, Spain and Italy, who are still only just limping towards two percent.

They say some countries are pushing for more time to reach the new target and to stretch the broader spending parameters as wide as possible.

But European heavyweights France and Germany seem on board -- especially as Berlin has opened the doors for a major splurge on defence.

And the main thing for now appears the United States is already throwing its weight behind the plan -- making officials optimistic of reaching a deal.

"This new Hague investment pledge or plan is going to include all of the capability targets necessary for NATO allies to deter and defend, but it also includes things like mobility, infrastructure, necessary infrastructure, cyber security," US NATO ambassador Matthew Whitaker said.

"It is definitely more than just missiles, tanks and howitzers, but at the same time, it's got to be defence-related. It is not a grab bag for everything that you could possibly imagine."

- Short and sweet? -

Looming beyond the discussion on money are warnings from the United States that it could look in the future to pull out forces from Europe to focus on the threat from China.

For now Washington says no firm decisions have been taken and it is conducting a review of its deployments worldwide.

"We are having ongoing discussions with our allies to make sure that there are no security gaps," Whitaker said. "We're asking our European allies to be more capable and to be equal partners."

With a deal in the offing on spending, NATO is keen to avoid any other bones of contention potentially spoiling the summit.

There is still no agreement on inviting Zelensky -- who has a rocky relationship with Trump -- to The Hague and it looks likely to depend on where things stand by then with the US push to end Russia's war.

Meanwhile diplomats say there is only likely to be one full session with leaders and a short declaration that avoids thorny issues such as Kyiv's membership push.

US says new NATO spending target won't just be 'missiles and tanks'
Brussels, Belgium (AFP) May 13, 2025 - The United States on Tuesday said NATO's new spending commitment at a summit next month should cover broader "defence-related" areas, endorsing a proposal from alliance chief Mark Rutte.

President Donald Trump is pressuring allies to agree to a new spending target of five percent of GDP when leaders meet in June in The Hague -- a level none of NATO's 32 members currently reaches.

Rutte has floated a compromise deal to commit to 3.5 percent of direct military spending by 2032, as well as another 1.5 percent of broader security-related expenditure.

US NATO Ambassador Matthew Whitaker threw Washington's weight behind the proposal to allow a wider scope of spending to make up the five percent.

"This new Hague investment pledge or plan is going to include all of the capability targets necessary for NATO allies to deter and defend, but it also includes things like mobility, infrastructure, necessary infrastructure, cyber security," he told journalists.

"It is definitely more than just missiles, tanks and howitzers, but at the same time, it's got to be defense related. It is not a grab bag for everything that you could possibly imagine," Whitaker added.

NATO foreign ministers are set to meet Wednesday in the Turkish resort of Antalya for two days of talks aimed at thrashing out details for the June summit in The Hague.

The flexible approach from Washington should help Rutte forge a deal as it grants more leeway to allies still scrambling to hit NATO's current spending threshold of two percent.

Europe has ramped up its defence spending since Russia launched its 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

But a number of countries including Canada, Italy and Spain are only due to hit two percent this year.

Diplomats say that allowing countries to count broader security-linked spending should help those grappling with constrained budgets agree to further hikes.

]]> Fri, 23 MAY 2025 02:30:08 AEST Rome (AFP) May 12, 2025 - Defence ministers from five major European military powers will meet in Italy on Friday to discuss support for Ukraine, the host country said.

Italian Defence Minister Guido Crosetto will host his counterparts from Britain, France, Germany and Poland, his ministry said Monday in a statement.

The announcement came after Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky said he was ready for direct talks with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Istanbul on Thursday.

US President Donald Trump said Monday he was "thinking" about flying to Turkey for the talks but Russia did not indicate whether Putin would take part.

Aside from Ukraine, the European ministers will also discuss ways to strengthen European defence -- a priority for them following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

The five will hold a joint press conference at the end of their meeting at 1245 GMT on Friday, the Italian statement said.

Kyiv and its European allies called on Saturday for a 30-day ceasefire starting Monday -- calling it a prerequisite for direct peace talks between the two countries.

Moscow rejected their call on Monday, despite threats of "massive sanctions" in case of refusal.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said during his daily briefing that "the language of ultimatums is unacceptable to Russia".

He later said that Moscow wanted "serious" negotiations to achieve peace in the conflict, which has left tens of thousands of people dead.

NATO chief seeks defence spending at 5% of GDP by 2032: Dutch PM
The Hague (AFP) May 9, 2025 - NATO chief Mark Rutte wants member countries to agree at a summit in June to reach five percent of GDP on defence-related spending by 2032, Dutch premier Dick Schoof said Friday.

US President Donald Trump has demanded that NATO allies ramp up their military spending to five percent of GDP, a level that not even the United States currently hits.

Schoof said Rutte had written to NATO's 32 member countries calling for them to reach 3.5 percent of GDP on "hard military spending" and 1.5 percent of GDP on "related spending such as infrastructure, cybersecurity and other things" over the next seven years.

Trump is piling the pressure on Europe and Canada to ratchet up NATO's spending target at a summit in The Hague next month.

Foreign ministers from alliance countries are expected to tackle the matter at an informal gathering in Antalya, Turkey, next week.

Rutte on Friday refused to confirm the figures being debated but said "internal discussions" were taking place within NATO.

Diplomats within NATO, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the proposal circulated last week envisioned increasing direct military spending by 0.2 percent each year to 2032.

They said the discussions were at an early stage and there were no clear signs yet that there would be consensus for the figures.

The parameters of what could be included in the 1.5 percent of loosely related defence spending were still to be defined, they said.

"It makes no sense to argue about abstract GDP percentages now. What is crucial is that we continuously expand our efforts over the next few years," Germany's new chancellor Friedrich Merz said during a visit to NATO's headquarters in Brussels on Friday.

Merz said that for Germany, every increase of one percent of GDP represented 45 billion euros ($50 billion).

- Trump threatens -

Trump has long accused Washington's allies of underspending on their defence and taking advantage of US largesse.

He has also threatened not to protect countries that do not spend enough on their military in his eyes.

European countries have ramped up their defence spending since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, but Rutte says they must go considerably higher to ward off Moscow.

Last year 22 of NATO's 32 allies hit its current spending target of two percent of GDP on their militaries.

A string of countries such as Italy, Spain, Canada and Belgium that still lag below that level have pledged to reach it in 2025.

The United States last year spent 3.19 percent of its GDP on defence, behind eastern flank countries Poland, Estonia and Lithuania close to Russia.

But Washington remains by far the biggest military spender in NATO in absolute terms, accounting for 64 percent of all defence expenditure last year.

In a bid to help European countries bolster their spending, the EU has proposed loosening budget rules and establishing a 150-billion-euro defence fund.

]]> Fri, 23 MAY 2025 02:30:08 AEST Warsaw (AFP) May 7, 2025 - Germany's new Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Wednesday said that Berlin supports relaxing strict EU fiscal rules to let member states ramp up defence spending as he sought to establish his European credentials on his first foreign visits.

Less than a day after scrambling to get enough votes in parliament to secure his job, Merz visited France and Poland in a high profile start to his term when he will have the threat of the Ukraine war, transatlantic tensions and domestic worries over the far-right to tackle.

In Paris, Merz said that he and France's President Emmanuel Macron had "agreed a new start for Europe", though he gave few details.

The 69-year-old Christian Democrats head turned his attention to the European Union's military spending in Poland, a key ally of Ukraine in its war with Russia.

Speaking at a press conference with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, Merz pointed to recent changes to Germany's constitutional debt rules to largely exempt defence spending.

"We could imagine something similar for the European fiscal pact or fiscal rules," he said.

- More bazookas -

The continent has been looking to rearm following Russia's invasion of Ukraine and US President Donald Trump's changing stance on European security.

In April, the European Commission said it would relax strict rules limiting public debt in order to allow states to spend up to 1.5 percent of national output on defence for four years.

EU members are bound by spending rules obliging them to keep the public deficit below three percent of economic output and debt at 60 percent of GDP.

But the EU can suspend the rules in exceptional circumstances and crises, as it did during the coronavirus pandemic when states had to prop up their embattled economies.

Sixteen countries, including Germany, have said they want to make use of the exemption.

Merz and his Social Democrat (SPD) coalition partners pushed the change to Germany's constitution through the parliament earlier this year, enabling a "bazooka" of borrowing to upgrade Germany's defence and infrastructure.

Merz also said it was important for the EU "to produce more" of its own military equipment and to harmonise weapons systems across member states.

"We must make sure the European members of NATO, and the whole European Union, are able to defend themselves on a long-term basis," he said.

Tusk in turn praised what he called a "new opening" for the countries' relations that could be "the most important in the history of German-Polish relations in more than 10 years."

Tusk said Europe's external frontiers had to be strengthened to defend internal travel. Merz's government, which has seen the far-right seize on fears over migration, controversially announced on Wednesday that border guards would be told to push back most asylum seekers.

Tusk said it was "in the interest" of Germany and Poland to maintain "free passage" between their countries and that more attention should be "concentrated on the protection of the external borders" of the European Union.

In a new sign of EU leaders' desire to strengthen their standing, the French and Polish leaders will on Friday sign a new friendship alliance that will include security cooperation.

France, Germany say to cooperate more closely on defence
Paris (AFP) May 7, 2025 - French President Emmanuel Macron and Germany's Chancellor Friedrich Merz vowed Wednesday to ramp up security cooperation in the face of Russian threats, as the new German leader visited Paris on his first trip abroad.

Europe is seeking to bolster its defences amid Moscow's invasion of Ukraine and doubts over US security commitments to Europe under President Donald Trump, though Merz insisted that any peace deal in Ukraine required an American commitment.

"We will set up a French-German defence and security council to meet regularly to bring operational responses to our common strategic challenges,' Macron said at their joint press conference.

Merz, who became chancellor on Tuesday, is a committed European, transatlanticist and Ukraine supporter who has pledged to restore Germany's role on the world stage after half a year of paralysis.

"We will take joint measures to further enhance Europe's security and defence capabilities," Merz said, before heading to Poland later in the day.

Berlin, like other European capitals, has been watching nervously as Trump seeks to push Volodymyr Zelensky and Vladimir Putin into a quick agreement on ending the war, now in its fourth year.

US-led mediation efforts have failed to stop the conflict, and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio last month threatened to pull out of talks if there was not progress.

Merz said the conflict in Ukraine could not end without the involvement of the United States.

"We cannot end this war in Ukraine without a continued involvement of the United States of America, this is not something that Europeans can substitute for," he said.

- 'We need the Americans' -

He said any ceasefire and security guarantees for Ukraine would also require US engagement.

France and Britain have been spearheading discussions among a "coalition of the willing" of 30 countries on the potential deployment of troops to secure any ceasefire.

But, Merz said, "at the same time we are aware that we will continue to need the Americans".

"We want the Americans to remain onboard, and to meet their responsibilities within NATO and towards Ukraine," he said.

"President Trump has our full support when it comes to bringing about an end to the war," Merz added.

He said European countries were ready to participate in any future monitoring of a ceasefire "under the leadership, and with the participation of, the United States".

Merz also said he wanted to discuss nuclear "deterrence" on the European continent with France and Britain, Europe's only nuclear powers other than Russia.

"We will give our respective ministers the mandate to begin this discussion," Merz said, adding that any such arrangement would be "complementary to what we already have with our American partners within NATO".

Macron said that strengthening "the European pillar of NATO" did not weaken the alliance.

"It is perfectly natural that all issues should be discussed, including nuclear deterrence, given our history and our specific characteristics," he said.

- Putin 'finally serious?' -

Macron also said he doubted Putin would respect a three-day truce in Ukraine that he ordered to start at midnight Wednesday, and wondered if the Russian leader was "serious" about a durable peace.

"Beyond the three days promised, which will undoubtedly not be respected, like the previous ones, is the Russian president finally serious?" Macron said.

"Will he finally decide to keep his word, especially the promises he made in his discussions with the US administration? That is what matters to us."

Ukraine has dismissed the three-day ceasefire as a "game" designed to protect its World War II commemoration parade in Moscow rather than a genuine peace measure.

The Kremlin was forced Wednesday to say it was taking "all necessary measures" to ensure the safety of foreign leaders set to attend its flagship May 9 parade after a wave of Ukrainian drone attacks closed airports across the country, disrupting hundreds of flights.

Asked on Tuesday how Germany could seek to influence talks on a possible peace deal in the Ukraine war, Merz said there was a "proven format" of Berlin working with France and Britain.

Merz said he would "consult intensively" with France and Britain, adding that "if we can include the Poles, then it will be even better".

Boris Pistorius, party soldier in charge of Germany's defence
Berlin (AFP) May 6, 2025 - Germany's Defence Minister Boris Pistorius -- who has led the push to make the military "ready for war" so it doesn't have to fight one -- was the only cabinet member to survive the new government taking office.

Hailed as a straight-talking politician, the Social Democrat has earned the respect of troops and voters for his efforts to strengthen the Bundeswehr, Germany's armed forces, and support Ukraine in its fight against Russia.

That saved his seat at the cabinet table when conservative Friedrich Merz officially took over as chancellor Tuesday from Olaf Scholz of the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD).

The SPD -- staying on as a junior partner to Merz's CDU/CSU alliance -- decided that Pistorius would remain in charge of Germany's defence ministry, a job he has held for over two years.

Pistorius, 65, now has at his disposal an unprecedented budget to make the armed forces battle-ready in the face of sabre-rattling from Moscow and an uncertain future for the transatlantic alliance.

The new government intends to borrow hundreds of billions of euros to upgrade the military after years of underinvestment in the post-Cold War era which has drawn the ire of US President Donald Trump.

Pistorius took the job in January 2023, as Berlin stepped up arms shipments to Ukraine, making Germany the country's second biggest military backer after the United States.

In a job that has derailed many politicians before him, he quickly became Germany's most popular politician according to opinion polls, a position he has maintained ever since.

Under Pistorius, Berlin also decided to deploy a German brigade to Lithuania by 2027 to help strengthen NATO's eastern flank.

- 'Red general' -

Born in the northern city of Osnabrueck on March 14, 1960, Pistorius completed his own compulsory military service in the early 1980s.

He went on to study law and work as an attorney before entering politics in the 1990s.

He became mayor of his hometown and later interior minister of Lower Saxony state, where he gained a reputation for his work in renewing the police force and boosting it to combat extremism.

When Pistorius became defence minister, Der Spiegel news magazine nicknamed him the "red general" for the colour of the centre left Social Democrats party and his hard-charging style.

"Pistorius is considered impatient, occasionally comes across as brash and can sometimes barely conceal it when he is annoyed with others," public broadcaster NDR wrote of him.

As Scholz's unwieldy three-party government engaged in open bickering last year over fiscal and economic policy, Pistorius stayed above the fray.

After Scholz's government came crashing down in November, some voices within the SPD begged Pistorius to take the helm to try to turn around its dire poll ratings.

But Pistorius refused to make a move for the party crown and played the loyal soldier, backing Scholz.

As the SPD went down to its worst defeat in history, with around 16 percent of the vote, Pistorius is now the last man standing from the old ministerial lineup.

He has two daughters and was widowed in 2015 when his wife died of cancer. He remarried in December 2023 to academic Julia Schwanholz.

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