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Focus Point: Regional Security- Transatlantic Security/NATO
NATO Acting Deputy Secretary General in Riga: “The future of Ukraine is in NATO” |NATO
By NATO| 21.10.2024
Speaking at the Riga Conference in Latvia on Saturday (19 October 2024), NATO Acting Deputy Secretary General, Ambassador Boris Ruge, underlined the importance of Ukraine prevailing in its fight to retain its sovereignty and independence in the face of Russian aggression.
Ambassador Ruge emphasised that, “Ukraine is on an irreversible path to membership, so it is not up for debate whether Ukraine will be a member of NATO.”
He also stressed, “support to Ukraine is not charity, it’s about our strategic interests.” Read more…
Focus Point: Emerging Technologies & Data- Emerging Technology Standards
NATO’s strategy for digital transformation | NATO
By NATO | 22.10.2024
The rapid evolution of digital technologies has profoundly transformed our societies, our economies, and is having a significant impact on modern warfare. NATO’s Digital Transformation Implementation Strategy will help address the need for technological and cultural transformation, leveraging data and artificial intelligence to drive this digital transformation.
The strategy highlights four key outcomes for the Alliance:
- Strength across all domains – maritime, land, air, cyberspace and space.
- Elevated digital standards to ensure NATO remains future-proof.
- A more advanced data picture using real-time analytics.
- Enhanced decision-making supported by more effective data sharing.
The summary of NATO’s Digital Transformation Implementation Strategy is available here. Read more…
Focus Point: Security and Defense Policy- Russia-Ukraine War
Why North Korea’s Deployment of Troops to Russia Really Matters| FP
By Keith Johnson| 23.10.2024 | Subscription needed
The deployment of 10,000 or so North Korean troops to Russia marks a sharp escalation and internationalization of Europe’s biggest war in generations, with potential impacts on the battlefield, in Europe, and in Northeast Asia.
It’s an embarrassing comedown for Moscow, bad news for Ukraine, and a very scary development for South Korea and the rest of the world.
Pyongyang has been underwriting Russia’s war in Ukraine for years by supplying literal boatloads of artillery shells. Injecting actual combat troops into the war at a critical time not only ratchets up the pressure on a war-weary and manpower-weak Ukraine, it also deepens the bonds and implications of the four-month-old Russia-North Korea mutual defense pact. Read more…
Focus Point: Regional Security- Transatlantic Security/NATO
NATO tests integration of joint high-end maritime strike capabilities | NATO
By NATO| 24.10.2024
On 24 October 2024, NATO kicked-off “Neptune Strike 2024.” This enhanced vigilance activity will take place across Europe, from the central Mediterranean and Adriatic up to the North and Baltic Seas and will run until 31 October 2024. During this period, NATO will take operational control of cutting-edge maritime warfare capabilities from numerous Allies, including multiple aircraft carriers and expeditionary strike groups that will be deployed across several operational domains. Read more…
Focus Point: Regional Security- Transatlantic Security
Elon Musk’s Secret Conversations With Vladimir Putin | WSJ
By Thomas Grove, Warren P. Strobel, Aruna Viswanatha, Gordon Lubold and Sam Schechner | 25.10.2024 | Subscription needed
Elon Musk, the world’s richest man and a linchpin of U.S. space efforts, has been in regular contact with Russian President Vladimir Putin since late 2022.
The discussions, confirmed by several current and former U.S., European and Russian officials, touch on personal topics, business and geopolitical tensions.
At one point, Putin asked the billionaire to avoid activating his Starlink satellite internet service over Taiwan as a favor to Chinese leader Xi Jinping, said two people briefed on the request.
Musk has emerged this year as a crucial supporter of Donald Trump’s election campaign, and could find a role in a Trump administration should he win. While the U.S. and its allies have isolated Putin in recent years, Musk’s dialogue could signal re-engagement with the Russian leader, and reinforce Trump’s expressed desire to cut a deal over major fault lines such as the war in Ukraine.
At the same time, the contacts also raise potential national-security concerns among some in the current administration, given Putin’s role as one of America’s chief adversaries. Read more…
Focus Point: Regional Security- Middle East
October 25, 2024 Israel strikes Iran in high-stakes retaliation| CNN
By Deva Lee, Kathleen Magramo, Christian Edwards, Elise Hammond, Tori B. Powell, Aditi Sangal and Brad Lendon |26.10. 2024
- Israel launched direct strikesagainst Iran Saturday morning, in a high-stakes retaliation to Tehran’s ballistic missile barrage earlier this month. The attack, which has now concluded, raises fears the long-running confrontationbetween the two powerful militaries could escalate into a wider regional war.
- The Israeli military said it hit “precise” military targets in Iran, as Iranian state media reported several explosions. Israel’s retaliatory targets in Iran did not include energy infrastructure, an Israeli military source told CNN. Iran said Israel attacked military facilities across the country, causing “limited damage” in some areas.
- Israel’sdecision to strikewhat it described as Iranian military targets came after weeks of deliberations within its security cabinet about the nature and scope of such an attack, Israeli officials said. Read more…
Focus Point: Security and Defense Policy- Emerging Threats and Global Risks
How Big of a Deal Is BRICS, Really? | FP
By Chloe Hadavas | 27.10.2024 | Subscription needed
“One of the more remarkable developments over the last 25 years is that an investment banker’s arbitrary acronym for a quartet of emerging market economies has become the rubric for rebellion,” FP’s Keith Johnson wrote ahead of the high-profile BRICS meeting in Kazan, Russia, last week. It was the first summit since the group—originally comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China, and later South Africa—added Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates to its ranks.
But can BRICS really create, as some analysts suggest, an alternative to the Western-led international order and the dominance of the U.S. dollar? The essays below offer a primer on the bloc at this pivotal moment in its development and contextualize some of the debates on its potential to disrupt the global balance of power.. Read more…
Thank you very much for reading.
The NAVI Research Institute is the research division of NATO Veterans Initiative - NAVI that provides a unique perspective to transatlantic leaders and societies on peace and security through the lens of NATO's founding principles of rule of law, democracy, human rights, and individual liberties. The NAVI Research Institute was officially established by the NAVI Board on July 16th, 2023.
