Sweden and Finland applied to join NATO last year to safeguard themselves against possible Russian acts of aggression as such concerns became manifest with the Russia-Ukrainewar.
Recently, Chinese neutrality and a light tone of support for Russia’s "special military operation” in Ukraine have further escalated the already tense diplomatic and economic confrontation with the West.
hile the long-term effects of climate change continue, the COVID-19 epidemic, which spread at the end of 2019 and continued for almost two years, and the Ukraine-Russia war that followed, have had significant negative effects on agriculture and food security.
Following Egypt's economic crisis and the situation after the food and energy crisis caused by the Russia-Ukrainewar, the country has adopted a strategy of re-establishing strong partnerships with its partners in the region.
refusal to sell certain advanced technology weapons to a number of Middle East countries, along with Russia’s focus on its war in Ukraine, have led China to become “the secondary arms supplier of choice for many Middle East countries” in 2022.
What makes the visit particularly important is that it comes during the Russia-Ukrainewar and following a visit to Mali, Moscow’s new ally in the Sahel region, after the withdrawal of European forces, primarily French ones, from the country.
Importantly, the Western world has other priorities which distract it from the Taliban such as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which might be a protracted conflict, the U.
Whereas the Russian invasion of Ukraine increased the number of advocates of NATO membership, it is important to underline that Sweden’s recent decision was radical and risky.
ollowing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, NATO membership was deemed so essential and urgent for Russia’s neighbouring countries, Sweden and Finland, that an intense diplomacy traffic was initiated immediately after the start of the war.
Beginning with Ukraine, unlike other NATO members, Turkey did not cut its relations with Russia in order not to punish the Russian people and not to worsen the situation in Syria, where NATO has left Turkey alone against Russia.
Read: Ukraine: The Lesson Japanese Policy-Makers Won’t LearnThe two percent figure is an arbitrary one, not based on any kind of serious assessment of defense needs.