Category: Politico News

Navalny died in a Russian penal colony in February 2024. The Russian authorities said he died of natural causes. But poisoning was “highly likely the cause of his death,” the five countries said in a joint statement on Saturday. Sky News reported that British scientists from Porton Down, the U.K.’s top secret laboratory, played a […]

Zelenskyy underlined that his country is making enormous sacrifices to hold Russia at bay, and reiterated his call for more and speedier arms deliveries from its allies. A particular sore point is delays in missiles for air defense systems while Russia pounds critical power and heating plants during a freezing winter. Ukraine is also hitting […]

The message from Rogers appeared to be another sign of the Trump administration trying to send conciliatory signals to Europe, despite the recently published National Security Strategy calling on the U.S. to “cultivate resistance” to the political status quo on the continent. And it came just hours after Secretary of State Marco Rubio called for […]

U.S. President Donald Trump is considering John Hurley, a senior official at the U.S. Treasury, for the role of ambassador to Germany, the Financial Times reported Friday. Hurley, who currently holds the position of undersecretary of the Treasury for terrorism and financial intelligence, has been interviewed by the White House for roles including ambassador to […]

“I believe the time has come to bring Europe’s mutual defense clause to life,” von der Leyen said, without providing specifics. “Mutual defense is not optional for the EU. It is an obligation within our own Treaty — Article 42(7) … It is our collective commitment to stand by each other in case of aggression.” […]

Rubio pleaded with the assembled world leaders to get on board with the critique of the global order that drove President Donald Trump’s return to office last year. He rehashed the administration’s complaints on the failure of international institutions, unfettered trade and energy policies that he said are “impoverishing our people,” as well as “mass […]

What Kristersson’s comments lay bare is the lasting damage done to relations between many European governments and the U.S. after Trump’s demands to take “ownership” of the island away from Sweden’s neighbor Denmark. “For very obvious reasons, trust took a hit, no doubt,” Kristersson said this week, shortly before traveling to the Munich Security Conference. […]

His address comes after Pentagon deputy Elbridge Colby told the conference he wanted a new version of the alliance where members pay more and take greater responsibility for defending Europe — echoing a consistent message from the Trump administration, which has prided itself on prodding other NATO members to increase defense spending. While Britain still […]

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy implored the Trump administration to apply more pressure on Russia to end the full-scale invasion of his country — and suggested Congress might need to act to bolster any postwar security guarantees. Zelenskyy, in an interview with POLITICO’s Dasha Burns at the Munich Security Conference, said only the U.S. had the […]

Other European leaders, suggesting coordination among them, also stressed the mutual benefits of the postwar alliance, including Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson.  As leaders gathered in Munich, he wrote on X that the Western alliance is far too important to be allowed to fall apart. “The relationship between the U.S. and Europe is wounded, but should […]