the nato minister has himself to blame -- nato ministers say putin has himself to blame after invading ukraine, and the conflict with turkey will result soon. >> i heard almost across the board strong support for finland and nato joining -- and linda sweden joining the nato alliance they choose to. i'm confident. >> all of the nato states have to approve new members, which normally takes months. ministers in berlin to speed this up to prevent the so-called great -- great period in which they would not be protected, which says an attack on one is an attack on all. as soon as finland and sweden applied for nato membership, it was expected the process would be swift, but the turkey position may have slowed it down. no one can say when they were -- will be added to the collection. >> sweden and finland have been nato partners since 1994 and have taken part in several nato missions since the end of the cold war. what's look what they need to be full members. nato candidates must be democracies, have an open market economy and be able to contribute militarily to the alliance. finland and swe

and since the invasion, all the nato allies have also stepped up their support, so nato and nato allies are providing unprecedented support for ukraine and we are ready to do so for the long haul. i think mr kuleba's point is that, yes, individual nations, no doubt, led by the united states, are giving increased amounts of military and other support to ukraine, but as an institution, as a coherent group of 30 members, mr kuleba sees increasing division and real disagreement about what should be the level of support for ukraine. well, nato as an institution has also provided support for ukraine for many years, but as always when nato do things, we actually do it very often as individual allies. we had our mission in afghanistan and most of that, the troops and the capabilities there, was provided by individual allies, so this is also very much the way nato works, is that we are totally dependent on the contributions from different individual allies for different missions, operations and activities we do in different ways, so nato allies and nato provide support for ukraine. of course, it

, protected by nato. and 96% of eu territory will be nato territory. so we share much of the same population, much of the shame -- the same neighbors. it makes reason to closely work with nato and the european union, and we have seen in this crisis how the eu has been instrumental, providing support, imposing sanctions, and also coordinating with nato allies, the united states, the united kingdom, and others. i also welcome efforts on defense, because as ursula von der leyen mentioned, the european div -- the european defense industry is a problem for your band made of. there are many cattle tanks. in europe we have quite a few battle tanks and nine different types. no economy of scale. a lot of costs for maintenance, education, and so on. this is almost every capability that there is too much fragmentation. the european defense fund will have to provide new capabilities, will have to overcome the fragmentation of the european defense industry, and will also help to increase defense spending. we welcome i

white nato is so -- why nato — most brutal way of white nato is so —— why nato is so important as it offensive — —— why nato is so important as it offensive and security union. we all experience — offensive and security union. we all experience on a daily basis, and for the very— experience on a daily basis, and for the very first — experience on a daily basis, and for the very first time that security, peace _ the very first time that security, peace and — the very first time that security, peace and above all freedom is not something — peace and above all freedom is not something that is bestowed upon us from heaven above and guaranteed until kingdom come. i have to say this is— until kingdom come. i have to say this is not— until kingdom come. i have to say this is not an _ until kingdom come. i have to say this is not an easy realisation, it is indeed — this is not an easy realisation, it is indeed a — this is not an easy realisation, it is indeed a painful realisation, because — is indeed a painful realisation, because it _ is indeed a painful realisati

in joining nato. this is about 25 minutes. >> the finnish president and the swedish prime minister join president biden at the white house to talk about their bid to join the nato alliance amid russia's invasion of ukraine. president biden said the two countries have the complete backing of the u.s. in joining nato. this is about 25 minutes. >> ladies and gentlemen, the president of the united states, accompanied by the president of the republic of finland and the prime minister of sweden. [band plays "hail to the chief brts] -- "hail to the chief"] pres. biden: please be seated, thank you. it's not only a beautiful day, this is in my view and the view of my team, a momentous day. it's a very, very good day. today i am proud to welcome and offer the strong support of the united states for the applications of two great democracies and two close, highly capable partners, to join the strongest, most power. defensive alliance in the history of the world. two proud, independent countries exercising the sov

in joining nato. this is about 25 minutes. ♪ >> ladies and gentlemen, the president of the united states, accompanied by the president of the republic of finland and the prime minister of sweden. ♪ [band plays "hail to the chief"] ♪ pres. biden: please be seated, thank you. it's not only a beautiful day, this is, in my view and the view of my team, a momentous day. it's a very, very good day. today, i am proud to welcome and offer the strong support of the united states for the applications of two great democracies and two close, highly capable partners, to join the strongest, most powerful defensive alliance in the history of the world. two proud, independent countries exercising the sovereign rights all states possess to decide their own security. president niinisto and prime minister andersson, it is great bass is a great honor to have both of you here at the white house as finland and sweden begin the process of joining nato. it was out of the wreckage of world war ii that nato was formed. a

and this is why they're joining nato. and i think that's the whole region we, you asked earlier about the landscape strategic landscape has changed dramatically . should this go through, you know, some people described it as a baltic. so you have increased security in an area that, that was a bit of a vacuum for security. so this will change dramatically. and i think this is going to be very hard for putting to explain to the public that are pushing back. you know, it's actually got to new members. all right, well we have run out of time, so we're going to have to leave the conversation there. thanks so much. all of our i guess on mcnamara, theresa fallon and pablo fog an hour and thank you for watching it to see the program again. any time by visiting our website al jazeera dot com, and for further discussion got our facebook page. that's facebook dot com, forward slash ha inside story. you can also join the conversation on twitter handle is at ha, inside store for me mom a jim jim, the whole team here 5 for now. ah ah,

joining nato. interestingly there are many aspects. any hints of time or to focus on one because it's very relevant to new such as broke today. when yeltsin and clinton and one of the times was the bromance is going strong talked about potential russian membership in nato, yeltsin said the clinton you know it's going to be a big problem? the chinese reaction to the chinese are going to be worried about nato suddenly living close to them. size to talk about putin, putting rush into nato, bill, we had to figure out if managed the chinese reaction. just before we went live and learn that putin who is in beijing for the olympics issued a joint statement with president xi. i repeat a joint statement where they join a to criticize the o expansion so in other words, china has now gone on record saying it is opposed to nato enlargement. that is a real signs of support for putin and very difficult for the united states because it you've got three big power centers, moscow, beijing and washington, you don't

we'll finland and sweetie joining nato. make europe safer. despite warnings from russia, both countries made the decision after the invasion of ukraine. how will the kremlin respond? this is inside story. ah hello and welcome to the program. i'm how much am jerome, finland, and sweden decided against joining nato for many years. both have a long history of remaining neutral during wars and staying out of military alliances. all that changed when russia invaded ukraine. leaders of the nordic nations blame president vladimir putin for endangering security in europe. for finland. the decision could mean abandoning its policy of avoiding confrontation with its enormous neighbor. russia's deputy foreign minister warned a far reaching consequences. the kremlin says it could send more troops to the 1300 kilometer border with finland. but becoming a member of the western military alliance isn't guaranteed, has stepped vast reports from the german capital berlin, finland, and sweden will be warmly welcomed into the nato military all

obviously countries can apply to join nato and nato can defy them if it wants. the real question is what is the stated policy of washington towards enlargement, what does putin care about? this initial status where there was going to be, instead of drawing a hard line they were going to smear the line by having the peace. it would've accomplished the same thing, all of these places would have become members of nato but it would have caused last friction, it is more about presentation than anything else. let me just close on bob, there are obviously more questions but let me close on bob. he was extremely helpful to me about my book, give me multiple interviews and read parts of the book that were related to his participation and events so i could make sure i had understood them correctly, i do not agree with the idea of scoffing at the russians, they lives of ukrainians are hanging in the balance, and more than that as this conflict escalates which is what is very scary. if there were airstrikes, russian aircraft are straying into international airspace while th

it wasn't nato that convinced finland and sweden or pushed finn and sweden to join nato. it was entirely down to the behavior and actions of the russian president because he has basically forced them into this alliance because they wanted to live peacefully with their neighbors. and i very much hope that their accession is approved. so clearly showing signals of hope and optimism for these accession talks to be approved. how likely is that to happen? will to be clear. i mean, turkey does have the ability as a nato ally or to stop another joy country joining nato rules do say that a unanimous agreement by all of the allies is needed for a new alloy to, to join nato. but what is not clear yet, and this is really very fresh, these comments relative to add. one is just how serious he is. if he really does want to go to the point of completely blocking a sweden and finland from joining nato. or if he's, he's known as a leader who's kind of transactional in his diplomacy. if he wants something, if he's out to get some kind of concessions of certainly there you can expect this w

alliance. finland must apply for nato membership without delay. and this is the 1st step in the process of could see finland roll, but decades of military non alignment enhancement is also expected to put pressure on sweden, which is considering applying to join the western military defense alliance. finland shares of 1300 kilometer border with russia. mood in the country has changed dramatically since moscow's invasion of ukraine as get more i for will go to brussels home of nature and d, w correspondent at max xander. welcome max. so nato has been sending out positive signals about the possibility of finland joining other likely to be any roadblocks . right, so, so at the moment we're not them hearing that there are any major roadblocks on the way to finish nato membership at the moment. what we're hearing right now here in brussels is pretty much a relief at this a step um is likely to be taken and there seems to be a great sense that this will also keep members safe from attacks that were, that, that we're seeing was happening in ukraine at th

and we can go back into nato enlargement. in this effort to extend a liberal democratic peace and prosperity, nato did something very unorthodox in the sense that it had it put in the pledge of no troops, no new eastwards. so essentially, to reassure russia to, to show russia it timed in a way. and it didn't have very strong provisions up against russia. borders, which of course, the baltic states on the polls had been highlighting for many, many years on and nato to, to reassure russia. i stayed on persisting with this, i ride up against or right up until i the illegal annexation of crimea in 2014 and even then the nato readiness action plan on operational atlantic result. and later on the enhanced forward presence. these deployments have been very, very light and scalable. and nato has relied for it's the turns on mobilization, keeping most of its troops in the west and only saying that it will call them all call them in the region. if the security situation on deteriorates further on russia displays even more aggression on

and, you know, we hear about nato being revive. never have been this strong and life and you've been saying, hey, things aren't quite as rosy inside the relationship as they're painted to be today . what's wrong from your perspective, about nato, and perhaps america's approach to it right now? well, i think nato is united in opposition to the russian invasion. that's the good news . if it wasn't, it would be stunningly bad data native suppose now, where was it? say, 6 months ago, right? this is a process is they like to say and at the beginning and today, there are still significant divisions within nato, about how to respond, what the outcome should be and a number of other important issues. there are certainly been some improvements, finland in sweden, joining nato, strengthen the alliance. some countries have come to the realization they have to do more in terms of providing for their own self defense and their contribution within nato. but there are still many political disagreements about the road ahead . so i think it's a mis

the heart of nato, which hasn't called article five that attack on one state of the nato alliance is a attack on all states of the nato alliance. it is worth remembering here today that the first time article five actually was instituted was after the attack of september 11 2001. it represents a true watershed moment in the history of the nato alliance. it is our great honor to be here for this moment. it is our great honor for us to give our guests the opportunity to enlighten this audience as to the thinking of both of those countries about their own security, and ultimately the collective security of europe. before the conversation gets underway, i would like to take a moment to offer introductory remarks on our guests. you have seen a lot. prior to assuming her role as ambassador, she served as director general or trade in the sweetest ministry of foreign affairs -- swedish ministry of foreign affairs. it started in 1994 with her first hosting to the swedish embassy in moscow. and at the swedish eu representation in brussels working on european security and defense issues. ambass

in nato and the black sea area. in the naval forces europe, for example, has been working with the walgreens that has been working with -- high-end new equipment. so we have been looking at things like that in the past and we will continue to do those in the future if i'm confirmed. >> do you think we have an adequate strategy within nato and the u.s. for the black sea region? >> i think inside the u.s. we have strategy, adequate, all strategies have to be assessed, reviewed and updated all of the time. clearly the current events in the black sea region will require us to go back and make sure we adjust everything for the result of this conflict. i think i can say the same thing for the nato approach, but i will have to wait and if i'm confirmed look into what nato is planning in that regard and come back to you. >> thank you, i look forward to that. the administration recently appointed retired general wolf as the ukraine security assistance coordinator, which i think was a positive move. can you talk about how the

of nato. we'll have a country that is half in and half out, that doesn't make any sense, and other complications. there's already some really speculative discussion about nato's role in eastern and central europe. again, speculative but it is. there you can see it in the record, i documented and not one inch. , so baker agrees and in one of the newest documents that i present my book immediately rights back to allies in europe and says forget when i was saying about not when it eastward, that's causing confusion, we're going to drop that language. but it takes moscow a while to notice. and so, putin plays on the sense today that there is a bait and switch back then. when he does that, putin is ignoring what happened at the end of the german unification process, which was the final settlement on german unification in september of 1990. gorbachev in that agreement changed his priorities. he was unable to get that not a large mat pledge in writing. he understood the significance of it, as, himsel

their membership in nato would increase our shared security, demonstrate that nato�*s door is open, and that aggression does not pay. a british military intelligence assessment suggests russia may have lost a third of its ground forces since the start of its invasion of ukraine. pictures have been released of buffalo supermarket shooting suspect payton gendro. president biden has been speaking about the attack... president biden has been speaking about the attack. we must all work together to address the hate that remains a stain on the soul of america. our hearts are heavy once again, but our resolve must never, ever waver. ——payton gendro. the uk government says it wouldn't be deterred from taking action over post—brexit trading arrangements in northern ireland — to try to help restore power—sharing at stormont. and a triumphant ukraine wins the eurovision song contest after claiming the popular vote. good evening. in response to russia's invasion of ukraine — finland and sweden have abandoned their military neutrality and announced their intention to join nato. the allian

nato this war. it was always about yeah, russky mir the russian world, the imperial wish of russia who simply doesn't want ukraine to be a cultural and political, independent state, moving west. let me add something to that, please. you know vladimir putin or the kremlin has published an essay written by vladimir putin last year, there was in june 3021 yeah. and we historians, we were like, okay there's a president who wrote an essay. never mind. no problem. but after the beginning of the war, the essay um came out as what it was. it is an ideological manifest of a guy who wants to redraw the map. and putin said they're very clearly that there cannot be an independent ukrainian state as a political entity which is somehow not connected to russia. so he deeply believes that ukrainian people are russian people. i'm talking about the so called tree you nation, belarus ukraine and russia and that's why he has to show them who they really are and he's actually doing this by force. okay, let's say we're t

how will nato respond? we are indeed entering co decisive stage of the war that russia has waged against ukraine in the don't boss in the south. so anticipate the next few weeks to be really decisive, even if the war could really drag on for a longer period of time. for that i being other than the, the rhetoric, oh, which you condemn her by russian leaders. we do not see in military terms, indications for russia willing or able to escalate the situation. would nato, probably the fact that nato has be mobilizing a significant additional force is on these them flank that we have activating for the 1st time in history. the defense plans for, for these them flank countries is a significant symbol of deterrence and strength of the alliance. so the war probably will, will re john even more intensely with even more casualties with more sacrifice. but this timing point to do not see a risk of escalation between russian nato. and we also trying to avoid an escalation between nathan russia. but i cannot imagine how c

militarily, look, it has been working alongside nato rather than inside nato. it's military is modern. have heard from the finnish president and prime minister today they think finland would be an asset to nato if and when a join. get a massi change. 1300 kilometer long border with russia most of brush, no secret of the fact of preferred finland not to join nato. good neighborly relations, the country did not apply for nato membership but russia's invasion of ukraine really changed all that. it changed the post-cold war security order in all of europe but nowhere more so than in the east when countries in europe really do feel exposed. if finland and neighboring sweden do as expected, ask to join the military alliance, he will be an old gold for russia because it will really bolster nato's presence right on russia's doorstep. >> let's take a look at the joint statement released by finland's president and prime minister. it says a plan for nato membership without delay. we hope the national steps still needed to make this decision will be taken rapidly and in th

in the midst of this process on nato, nato is a security organization. nice to meet her tongue rich have to have her to unblock the bid by the to scandinavian notions to get access in today. so oh, i don't think so. i think, i mean, he, his trying now to, i don't know to, to negotiate with, with nato, of course, to. yeah. to add it to 2. see if it's, if there are any common interests, also maybe with protein or was nato and to, to, to, to profit from this whole debated process. but he cannot stop it. and actually in russia, nobody's really very surprised that putin is now meeting his buddy added leanne. but no one thinks that this will change anything in the end. on the contrary, and for the 1st time and public television, there was a former military general and speaking out 2ww people audience. and who said, actually that this war is lost, that we russia has to stop this war. of course, this is only a short moment now, and we need many of those moments and we need it. we need shall go to the, to the fence minister to tell, put in this. but still, there

all right, we're going to apply to join nato and all the nato countries you sent to you. so yeah. would you crane have cause to feel hard done by? because if this happens, data is refuse to protect you crying because the cranes november a even though they want to be. and now sweden and finland are asking for protection while their application is being considered. well, it is, it is a bit ironic. is it not that ukraine is stuck in this war? allegedly because he wanted to join a to that was rush, us really rushes most of a state motivation for, for invading ukraine, wanting to, to dictate it states. whereas this, when land are at peace and are on not being invaded that by very russia and if we're not even planning to join nature and all of a sudden they are they walking in for an open door because apart from turkey, no country, it seems it seems likely to voice any objection and they are incredibly, incredibly attractive candidates, which is of course, the difference between them and ukraine. for 4 reasons. the fair and on fair they, they have all the sort of attributes that nato wa

it could be just, we made a member of nato, would be breaking all of nato's own rules. i mean, you know, they come, they constantly talk about the rule of law and rules based order, but they break their own rules all the time. obviously ukraine has a territorial conflict with russia. ok. and so what they're doing is they're actually wanting, be there, the, in fact, they want the lines to go into all out with russia because ukraine and russia obviously have a military conflict. but no one is talking about this in a logical fashion in the west. go ahead, sarah. well, 1st of all, ukraine already is a de facto member care of nick, a u. s. command and military machine. that's really what it is, and nato ukraine for a long time. has it's for gates have been involved in the war in iraq, in afghanistan, in all kinds of military war maneuvers and the, with thousands of nato trainers advisors as they're called in the ukraine. there was a equipment just pouring ins really since 2014, i didn't just begin so as a de facto member not, not voted anywhere even by the member countries.

yes, this is, this is in the charter of nato. this is what nato is for common defense and for sweden and finland. the fact that they have abandoned decades of policy towards russia and neutrality in the nato, russia oz network. this is a clear sign of failure. also, of putin stated goals and ames with his invasion of ukraine. he said this was a response against expansion of nato, but he's actually just made clear why this defensive alliance is still necessary. we talked about this is the nato expansion. is it a completely non guilty? is it an innocent activity, an innocent political policy that has been taking place for so long? i think the expansion of not as a reaction to the wish wishes of the it's new members. i mean that they came to the nature and said, we would like to be part of the club. it wasn't the nato that said, you must be part of it. and that's why i think am the russian narrative of being surrounded by the nature of being even threatened. it is a myth, is a necessary myth in order to to keep on line if you will n

finland takes a step toward joining nato. the leaders say after decades of military nonalignment, the country should join without delay. moscow worrying that nato expansion will be a threat. they are claiming that moscow is responsible for the vast majority of civilian casualties. also, the u.s. president kicks off a global covid-19 summit with a warning against complacency. >> thousands still dying every day. now is the time for us to act. all of us, together. >> as the u.s. marks one million covid-19 deaths, we look at how countries around the world are coping with the pandemic. astronomers casting light on the dark heart of our galaxy. they have revealed the first images of a supermassive black hole at the center of the milky way. i am brent goff. to our viewers and all of the around the world, good to have you with us. tonight, the historic turning point for european security. finland's president calling for their country to apply for nato membership as soon as possible. david -- they said that this would strengthen finla

republic revived its efforts to join nato. earlier this year with the president making an official request. but nato says it's not actually considering except in kosovo as a member, kosovo declared independence from serbia in 2008. but it's status has not been universally recognized. $3800.00 nato soldiers are still stationed as peacekeepers in kosovo, which has also applied for membership in the council of europe and the united nations. political analyst, alexander poverty says that there is no way for customer to join nato as long as several alliance members don't even recognize it. as an independent state. of course, the application was accepted and it was name by all 30 natal members asking for nato members do not recognize coastal. so either those countries would have to be pressed to change their mind, which is very hard to do because they have their own territorial concerns. in the like, spain, for example, like will mania are like, like greece. so, you know, they are very hesitant. you know, to, to participate in this

s. president offered his full backing for finland and sweden's nato bids they meet every nato requirement and then shop the nordic countries race to join the alliances, russia, wages war on ukraine.

collective defense that is at the heart of nato, which hasn't called article five of the nato charter were the washington treaty that attack on one state of the nato alliance is an attack on all states of the nato alliance and it's worth remembering here today thatto te first time article five actually was on the attack after september 2001. finland and sweden have chosen to agree to this form of solidarity that in and of itself represents a watershed moment in the history of the nato alliance. it's a great honor to be here for this moment and it's a great honor for us to give our guest the opportunity to enlighten this audience as to the thinking of both of the countries about their own security and ultimately the collective security of europe.pe before the conversation gets underway i would like to take a moment to offer some brief introductory remarks on the guest. she took of her post as ambassador of sweden to the united states in 2017. you have seen a lot. anna prior to assuming the role as ambassador, she served as the director generalen for trade and inthe swedish ministry of

nato�*s shared security. president putin has already called finland's move "a mistake." from berlin, our europe correspondent, nick beake, reports. a fresh aerial attack lights the sky above the besieged mariupol steelworks. this is where the last of the city's defenders have been holed up, a final ukrainian stand against a relentless russian bombardment. but as well as by land and by sea, russia continues its assault from the air, focusing its fight on the donbas region. here in the german capital, foreign ministers from nato countries shoulder—to—shoulder, pledging support for ukraine. and now preparing to welcome two new members with finland confirming today it will seek to join the alliance. we have reached today an important decision in good cooperation between the government and the president of the republic. we hope that the parliament will confirm the decision to apply for nato membership during the coming days. it will be based on a strong mandate. the uk is among the countries giving their full