World

Sweden on Monday officially announced it will apply for NATO membership as a deterrent against Russian aggression, entering a “new era” and reversing two centuries of military non-alignment.

“The government has decided to inform NATO that Sweden wants to become a member of the alliance,” Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson told reporters a day after neighbouring Finland made a similar announcement.

“We are leaving one era and beginning another,” Andersson said of the dramatic turnaround of her country’s position less than three months after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Sweden’s NATO ambassador would “shortly” inform NATO, she said.

Sweden and Finland have both expressed a desire to act in lockstep on NATO membership. They are expected to submit their applications jointly this week.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday warned that NATO’s expansion may trigger a response from Moscow.

It poses “no direct threat for us… but the expansion of military infrastructure to these territories will certainly provoke our response,” Putin said during a televised summit meeting of the Collective Security Treaty Organisation, a Moscow-led military alliance. 

Andersson acknowledged Sweden would be “vulnerable” in the interim period before its application is ratified. 

Stockholm has received security assurances from several key partners, including the United States, Britain, Germany, France and the Nordic countries, she added.

Sweden’s Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, Micael Byden, said the risk of a Russian military attack was “pretty low”, but the country could expect to see “disinformation campaigns, cyberattacks, sabotage, (and) subversion”.

– Soaring support –

Sweden’s announcement was expected after Andersson’s Social Democratic party on Sunday backed membership, in a dramatic U-turn. Sweden had opposed the idea since the birth of the Western military alliance.

The premier had earlier in the day consulted parliament by convening a debate, though lawmakers did not vote on the issue.

Six of eight parties in parliament, constituting a very broad majority, are in favour of joining. Swedish public support has also risen dramatically to around 50 percent — with about 20 percent against.

In Helsinki, support has surged even more dramatically, with more than three-quarters of Finns in favour of membership, almost triple the level seen before the war in Ukraine began on February 24.

Finnish lawmakers on Monday launched a marathon debate with over 150 of 200 MPs asking to speak, following a NATO membership proposal presented on Sunday by President Sauli Niinisto and Prime Minister Sanna Marin.

“Our security environment has fundamentally changed,” Marin told parliament.

“The only country that threatens European security, and is now openly waging a war of aggression, is Russia”, she said.

– Memories of war –

Finland, which shares a 1,300-kilometre (800-mile) border with Russia, has a long shared history with Russia.

It spent more than a century as part of the Russian empire until it gained independence in 1917. Finland was then invaded by the Soviet Union in 1939. 

Finns put up a fierce fight during the bloody Winter War, but were ultimately forced to cede a huge stretch of their eastern Karelia province in a peace treaty with Moscow.

An overwhelming majority of Finland’s 200 MPs — at least 85 percent — back the decision to join NATO.

During the debate in Sweden’s parliament, Andersson acknowledged that Sweden’s decision to join NATO was closely tied to Finland’s.

As the only country in the Baltic Sea region outside of NATO, Sweden would find itself “in a very vulnerable position”, she told parliament.

She also stressed Sweden’s “extensive military cooperation” with Finland.

If Sweden doesn’t join, and “Finland as a NATO member focuses more on its cooperation with NATO countries, Sweden’s defence capability decreases at a time when it instead needs to be strengthened.”

“The best thing for our country’s security is therefore for Sweden to apply for membership in NATO and to do it together with Finland,” she said.

Andersson later said “it shouldn’t take more than a year” for the alliance’s 30 members to unanimously ratify Sweden’s membership application.

NATO has said the two countries would be welcomed “with open arms”, but Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has expressed last-minute objections.

Ankara is angered by what it considers to be the two countries’ leniency, in particular Stockholm’s, towards the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which is on the EU’s list of terrorist organisations.

Swedish Defence Minister Peter Hultqvist said Monday Sweden was sending a delegation to Turkey for talks with officials.

US Vice President Kamala Harris was Monday leading a high-level delegation to meet the United Arab Emirates’ new president, who takes over after his half-brother’s death, following months of strained ties between Washington and the oil-rich Gulf state.

Harris, whose team includes Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and CIA chief William Burns, is heading the strongest delegation to visit UAE since President Joe Biden took office last year.

Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan or “MBZ”, for years the de facto ruler, was chosen as president on Saturday, a day after the death of his long-ailing half-brother, former leader Sheikh Khalifa.

Harris congratulated Sheikh Mohamed on his election as UAE president, the office of the vice president said in a statement.

“She underscored the strength of the United States’ partnership with the UAE and the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to deepening ties to advance the interests of the American and Emirati people,” it said.

“The Vice President noted that she is looking forward to the future of the relationship under Sheikh Mohamed’s leadership, and that our friendship and partnership is enduring.”

World leaders have flocked to Abu Dhabi to pay their respects, demonstrating the rising prominence of the major oil exporter after the decline of some of the Middle East’s traditional powers.

On Monday, Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was in Abu Dhabi to offer his condolences, while Britain’s Prince William also flew in.

The high-level US visit appears intended to repair a relationship that has deteriorated since Biden replaced Donald Trump in the White House in January 2021.

“We were here to discuss the strength of that partnership and that friendship and our commitment, going forward, to continue to work at the strength of that relationship,” said Harris. 

Ties have soured over issues including Abu Dhabi’s refusal to condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and Washington’s reopening of nuclear talks with Iran, long accused by Gulf states of creating regional chaos.

Yousef al-Otaiba, the Emirati ambassador to the US, admitted in March that relations were going through a “stress test”.

– ‘Close cooperation’ –

Blinken, who arrived in Abu Dhabi early Monday morning ahead of the delegation, offered his “warm congratulations” to Sheikh Mohamed on becoming president. 

“He will carry on the legacy of Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed. I look forward to continuing our two peoples’ close cooperation,” Blinken tweeted on Sunday. 

John Kerry, the special presidential envoy for climate, and Brett McGurk, the National Security Council coordinator for the Middle East and North Africa, are also in the US team. 

The UAE hosts US troops and has been a strategic partner to Washington for decades, but it has recently also grown closer to Russia economically and politically.

After a period of cosier ties under Trump, Biden shifted to a tougher stance on human rights and arms deals.

Relations were further strained when the UAE abstained from voting on a UN Security Council resolution demanding a Russian withdrawal from Ukraine.

Abu Dhabi has also shown no interest in increasing oil production after prices were sent sky-rocketing by the Russian invasion.

It has repeatedly urged Washington to “support re-designating” Yemen’s Iran-backed Huthi rebels as a “foreign terrorist organisation” — a label imposed by Trump but rescinded by the Biden administration.

The UAE is part of the Saudi-led military coalition that has been fighting for Yemen’s internationally recognised government in a civil war against the Huthis since 2015.

In December, the UAE threatened to scrap its mega-purchase of US F-35 fighter jets, protesting stringent conditions set by Washington.

In January, three oil workers were killed in a Huthi drone and missile attack on Abu Dhabi. US forces based there fired Patriot interceptors to help thwart a further attack.

The exodus of Western businesses from Russia deepened on Monday as French automaker Renault’s local assets were effectively nationalised and fast food giant McDonald’s said it would exit the market.

Renault handed over its local assets to the Russian government, both parties announced, marking the first major nationalisation since the onset of sanctions over Moscow’s military campaign in Ukraine.

Meanwhile, American fast-food giant McDonald’s said it would exit the Russian market and sell its business after more than 30 years of operations in the country.

Renault controlled 68 percent of AvtoVAZ, the largest carmaker in Russia with the country’s top brand Lada, but was under pressure to pull out of the country since the start of Russia’s military intervention in Ukraine in late February.

Renault has funnelled billions of euros into the Soviet-era factory since the two automakers signed a strategic partnership agreement in 2008.

No financial details were provided on Monday, but Russian Industry and Trade Minister Denis Manturov said in April that Renault planned to sell its Russian assets for “one symbolic ruble”.

“Agreements were signed on the transfer of Russian assets of the Renault Group to the Russian Federation and the government of Moscow,” the industry ministry said in a statement.

Under the agreement Renault will retain a six-year option to buy back the stake in AvtoVAZ.

The deal also included Renault’s Moscow plant, which makes Renault and Nissan models.

“It was a brave and quick decision,” Renault chief executive Luca de Meo told reporters.

– ‘New page in history’ –

De Meo said Russia and its car industry will likely “continue to suffer for a long time” from sanctions imposed over Ukraine. 

He added that the company’s Russian operations would have quickly faced bankruptcy and 45,000 people would have lost their jobs. 

“We didn’t have many choices. I think we did the right thing,” he said.

De Meo did not disclose the financial details of the deal. 

Renault indicated that a non-cash writedown of 2.2 billion euros will be made on the firm’s Russia assets in the first half of 2022.

Renault’s shares skidded 0.7 percent lower on Monday, and are down more than a third from before the invasion began.

Thanks to AvtoVAZ, Russia was Renault Group’s second-largest market behind Europe last year, with around half a million vehicles sold.

Moscow mayor Sergei Sobyanin said production of passenger cars at the Renault plant would resume under the Soviet-era Moskvich (Muscovite) brand, which the French automaker had discontinued.

“We cannot allow thousands of workers to be left without work,” Sobyanin said in a statement.

“In 2022, we will open a new page in the history of Moskvich,” he added.

The first Moskvich cars were produced in 1946 and were inspired by Germany’s Opel Kadett K38, but the brand’s vehicles were notorious for their shoddiness.

Political commentator Anton Orekh said that it was unclear what Moscow authorities planned to do with the plant, but trying to make a new car from scratch in the absence of access to foreign technologies and components would be akin to throwing “billions to the wind.”

– McDonald’s exiting Russia  –

Since President Vladimir Putin sent troops into Ukraine on February 24, Renault has had difficulty keeping its operations going due to a lack of components following the imposition of Western sanctions.

The conflict and sanctions have triggered an exodus of foreign corporations.

Russian authorities said they were ready to nationalise foreign assets, and some officials assured Russians that their favourite brands would have domestic alternatives.

In March, citing “unspeakable suffering to innocent people”, McDonald’s closed all of its 850 restaurants in the country.

On Monday, the company said it was looking to sell “its entire portfolio of McDonald’s restaurants in Russia to a local buyer”.

The company added that after the sale, the restaurants would no longer be able to use the McDonald’s name, logo, branding or menu.

The restaurant chain, which launched in Moscow in January 1990 to great fanfare almost two years before the Soviet Union was dissolved, characterised the withdrawal as difficult but necessary.

“We’re exceptionally proud of the 62,000 employees who work in our restaurants, along with the hundreds of Russian suppliers who support our business, and our local franchisees,” chief executive Chris Kempczinski said in a statement. 

“However, we have a commitment to our global community and must remain steadfast in our values.”

McDonald’s shares were down 0.6 percent in midday trading in New York.

Colombia’s last remaining recognized rebel group on Monday announced a 10-day ceasefire to allow presidential elections later this month to pass off peacefully.

Colombians head to the polls on May 29 with leftist former guerrilla Gustavo Petro the favorite.

“We are declaring a ceasefire from 0:00 on May 25 until 24:00 on June 3, so that those that want to vote can do so in peace,” said the Marxist National Liberation Army (ELN) in a statement.

The ELN said it had taken the decision in its own interests to generate a “better atmosphere… so that we can see who could be the winning candidate.”

The ceasefire includes a halt to actions against Colombia’s security forces but the ELN said “we reserve the right to defend ourselves if attacked.”

After the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) signed a peace deal with the state in 2016, ELN became the violence-ridden South American country’s last remaining recognized rebel group.

Former president Juan Manuel Santos had been in negotiations with the ELN to also make peace but his right-wing successor Ivan Duque put an end to those discussions following a car bomb attack on a police academy in Bogota claimed by the Marxist guerrillas that killed at least 20 people.

The government has not commented on this latest ceasefire. The ELN also called a six-day truce in March during legislative elections and presidential primaries.

Formed in 1964 in the wake of the Cuban communist revolution, the ELN can count on around 2,5000 fighters and an extensive support network in urban centers, mostly on the border with Venezuela and along the Pacific coast.

It is largely funded through drug trafficking.

Following the election, Petro is expected to face a second round run-off on June 19 against right-wing candidate Federico Gutierrez.

Petro used to be a member of the 19th of April Movement (M-19), an urban left-wing nationalist guerrilla group that laid down its arms in 1990.

After that he entered politics and served as mayor of Bogota from 2012 to 2015. Petro is currently a senator and has vowed to negotiate with rebels if elected president.

Colombia is the world’s largest producer and exporter of cocaine and has been gripped by more than half a century of a multi-faceted conflict involving leftist guerrillas, right-wing paramilitaries, drug-traffickers and the state.

North Korea’s Kim Jong Un criticised “irresponsible” officials over the country’s pandemic response and ordered the army to help distribute medicine, state media said on Monday, as Seoul offered Covid-19 aid.

More than a million people have been ill with what Pyongyang refers to as “fever”, state media said, despite leader Kim ordering nationwide lockdowns in a bid to slow the spread of disease through the unvaccinated population.

In a sign of how serious the situation may be, Kim “strongly criticised” healthcare officials for what he called a botched response to epidemic prevention — specifically a failure to keep pharmacies open 24/7 to distribute medicine.

He ordered the army to get to work “on immediately stabilising the supply of medicines in Pyongyang”, the capital, where Omicron was detected last week in North Korea’s first reported cases of Covid-19.

Kim has put himself front and centre of North Korea’s disease response, overseeing near-daily emergency Politburo meetings on the outbreak, which he has said is causing “great upheaval” in the country.

The failure to distribute medicine properly was “because officials of the Cabinet and public health sector in charge of the supply have not rolled up their sleeves, not properly recognising the present crisis”, state media KCNA reported Kim as saying.

Kim, who inspected pharmacies first hand, “strongly criticised the Cabinet and public health sector for their irresponsible work attitude”, KCNA said.

He also criticised lapses in official legal oversight, flagging “several negative phenomena in the nationwide handling and sale of medicines”.

North Korea has one of the world’s worst healthcare systems, with poorly-equipped hospitals, few intensive care units, and no Covid-19 treatment drugs or mass testing ability, experts say.

“While visiting a pharmacy, Kim Jong Un saw with his eyes the shortage of medicines in North Korea,” Cheong Seong-jang, researcher at the Sejong Institute told AFP.

“He may have guessed but the situation may have been more serious than he had expected.”

KCNA said that as of May 15, a total of 50 people had died, with 1,213,550 cases of “fever” and over half a million currently receiving medical treatment.

North Korea had maintained a rigid blockade since the pandemic began, but with massive Omicron outbreaks in neighbouring countries, experts said it was inevitable Covid would sneak in.

– Seoul’s help? –

Kim’s public criticism is a sign that the situation on the ground is grim, said Yang Moo-jin, professor at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul.

“He is pointing out the overall inadequacy of the quarantine system,” he said.

North Korea is likely to need international assistance to get through the massive Omicron surge, Yang said, and will turn to China first — but maybe the United States or South Korea if it gets desperate.

North Korea has previously rejected offers of Chinese-made vaccines, but Kim has said they will “actively learn” from Beijing’s so-called zero-Covid disease management approach.

South Korea’s new President Yoon Suk-yeol said Monday that he would “not hold back on providing necessary assistance to the North Korean people”.

“If the North Korean authorities accept, we will not spare any necessary support such as medicine — including Covid-19 vaccines, medical supplies and healthcare personnel,” he told South Korea’s National Assembly.

Pyongyang has not responded to Seoul’s most recent official communication detailing the Covid aid offer, the unification ministry said.

The decision on whether to accept help may depend more on Kim’s nuclear testing plans than the medical situation, said the Sejong Institute’s Cheong.

The World Health Organization said on Monday it was concerned about the situation and willing to provide both technical support and medical supplies.

“With the country yet to initiate Covid-19 vaccination, there is risk that the virus may spread rapidly among the masses unless curtailed with immediate and appropriate measures,” regional WHO director Poonam Khetrapal Singh said in a statement. 

Despite the public health crisis, new satellite imagery indicates North Korea has resumed construction at a long-dormant nuclear reactor.

The United States and South Korea have warned that Kim is preparing to conduct another nuclear test — the regime’s seventh.

“Receiving help from South Korea will hurt its ego,” Cheong told AFP. “If Kim Jong Un is determined to conduct a test, he will not accept South Korea’s help.”

Analysts have warned Kim could speed up testing plans to distract the population from the coronavirus outbreak.

US President Joe Biden is set to visit Seoul later this week, with discussions of Pyongyang’s weapons programs and Covid-19 outbreak likely to top the agenda.