NATO Will Not Allow Russia to Blackmail the Alliance, Says Germany

German Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht (Reuters)
German Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht (Reuters)
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NATO Will Not Allow Russia to Blackmail the Alliance, Says Germany

German Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht (Reuters)
German Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht (Reuters)

NATO will not allow Moscow to blackmail the alliance and will not accept a Russian veto against an enlargement, German Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht said on Friday.

"Russia does not have a veto in issues concerning the alliance and cannot blackmail us. These red lines must be clear in all pending talks," she told parliament, Reuters reported.

"But between these red lines and a military conflict, there is a lot of scope that we must make use of", Lambrecht said, adding she would meet NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg in Berlin next week.

In another development, Ukrainian military intelligence said on Friday that Russian special services were preparing what it called "provocations" against Russian servicemen located in Moldova's breakaway region of Transdniestria in order to accuse Ukraine.

It said in a statement that the provocations may be against Russian armed forces' artillery depots.

Ukraine was hit on Friday by a massive cyberattack warning its citizens to "be afraid and expect the worst." Russia, which has massed more than 100,000 troops on its neighbor's frontier, meanwhile released TV pictures of more forces deploying in a drill.



Iran Guards Chief Says Netanyahu ICC Warrant 'Political Death' of Israel

Revolutionary Guards chief General Hossein Salami - File/AFP
Revolutionary Guards chief General Hossein Salami - File/AFP
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Iran Guards Chief Says Netanyahu ICC Warrant 'Political Death' of Israel

Revolutionary Guards chief General Hossein Salami - File/AFP
Revolutionary Guards chief General Hossein Salami - File/AFP

The head of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards on Friday described the arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and a former defense minister as the “end and political death” of Israel, in a speech.
“This means the end and political death of the Zionist regime, a regime that today lives in absolute political isolation in the world and its officials can no longer travel to other countries,” Revolutionary Guards chief General Hossein Salami said in the speech aired on state TV.
In the first official reaction by Iran, Salami called the ICC warrant “a welcome move” and a “great victory for the Palestinian and Lebanese resistance movements,” both supported by the Islamic republic, AFP reported.
The court also issued a warrant for the arrest of Hamas’s military chief Mohammed Deif.
The warrants against Netanyahu and Gallant were issued in response to accusations of crimes against humanity and war crimes during Israel’s war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, sparked by the Palestinian militant group’s attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.
The ICC’s move theoretically limits the movement of Netanyahu, as any of the court’s 124 national members would be obliged to arrest him on their territory.
The court’s chief prosecutor Karim Khan urged the body’s members to act on the warrants, and for non-members to work together in “upholding international law.”