After Putin vowed ‘problems,’ Russia ends cross-border deal with Finland – POLITICO

Russia’s foreign ministry announced on Wednesday it was terminating a cross-border agreement between Moscow and Helsinki. The abrupt move followed Finnish accusations that Russia has been fueling a migrant crisis on their mutual border. Moscow’s foreign ministry statement said it had “terminated” a 2012 agreement between Russia and Finland on “the promotion of cross-border cooperation,” … Read more

Turkey approves Sweden’s NATO bid, leaving Orbán as final holdout – POLITICO

The Turkish parliament on Tuesday ratified Sweden’s bid to join NATO, with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan now expected to sign the accession. Turkey’s move, which follows 20 months of diplomatic bargaining with Stockholm and Washington, leaves Hungary as the final NATO country still to proceed with Sweden’s bid to join the 31-member military alliance. The … Read more

Orbán invites Swedish PM for talks on NATO bid – POLITICO

If you want to join NATO, come and talk to me — that’s Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s latest message to his Swedish counterpart. “Today I sent an invitation letter to Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson … for a visit to Hungary to negotiate on Sweden’s NATO accession,” Orbán tweeted today. Orbán’s remarks come amid growing … Read more

Ukraine must give up territory to end Russian invasion – POLITICO

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico said on Saturday the only way to end Russia’s war against Ukraine is for Kyiv to give up some of its territory to the invaders, and reiterated his opposition to NATO membership for Ukraine. “There has to be some kind of compromise,” Fico told Slovak public broadcaster RTVS on Saturday, … Read more

Putin willing to visit North Korea at ‘early date,’ Pyongyang says – POLITICO

Russian President Vladimir Putin is considering visiting North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Pyongyang soon, North Korea’s state news agency KCNA reported on Sunday, as the two countries seek closer ties against a backdrop of increasing pressure from the West. Putin “expressed his willingness to visit [North Korea] at an early date,” the outlet … Read more

Zelenskyy invites Trump to Kyiv – POLITICO

LONDON — Volodymyr Zelenskyy has invited Donald Trump to Kyiv, but on one condition. The Ukrainian president said the former U.S. president would be welcome to visit him in the capital — as long as Trump is able to stop the war with Russia within 24 hours, as he once promised. Trump has boasted that, … Read more

World’s cartoonists on this week’s events

First published in De Volkskrant, Netherlands, January 17, 2024 | By Schot First published on caglecartoons.com, the Netherlands, January 15, 2024 | By Tom Janssen First published on caglecartoons.com, Costa Rica, January 14, 2024 | By Arcadio Esquivel First published on PoliticalCartoons.com, January 17, 2024 | By Plop and KanKr First published on caglecartoons.com, Austria, … Read more

Baltic states plan common defense zone on Russia border as security concerns mount  – POLITICO

Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia agreed on Friday to set up a common Baltic defense zone on their borders with Russia and Belarus amid growing security concerns. The defense ministers of the three Baltic countries met on Friday in Riga to approve the construction of “anti-mobility defensive installations” on their eastern frontiers. They also agreed to … Read more

Germany warns Putin could wage war against NATO in 5 to 8 years – POLITICO

An increasingly belligerent Russian President Vladimir Putin could attack the NATO military alliance in less than a decade, Germany’s Defense Minister Boris Pistorius warned. “We hear threats from the Kremlin almost every day … so we have to take into account that Vladimir Putin might even attack a NATO country one day,” Pistorius told German … Read more

The influence of China, Ukraine and America at WEF – POLITICO

As the World Economic Forum draws to a close in Davos, Power Play rounds off the week with analysis of an eventful week in the Swiss Alps. Host Anne McElvoy brings together a top team of POLITICO’s reporters: Alex Ward, national security reporter based in Washington; Nahal Toosi, senior foreign affairs correspondent; and Suzanne Lynch, … Read more