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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)
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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.

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Trudeau in Florida to Meet Trump as Tariff Threats Loom

Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks during Question Period in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada October 2, 2024. REUTERS/Blair Gable
Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks during Question Period in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada October 2, 2024. REUTERS/Blair Gable
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Trudeau in Florida to Meet Trump as Tariff Threats Loom

Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks during Question Period in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada October 2, 2024. REUTERS/Blair Gable
Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks during Question Period in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada October 2, 2024. REUTERS/Blair Gable

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau traveled to Florida on Friday for a dinner with Donald Trump at the president-elect's Mar-a-Lago estate, as the incoming US leader promised tariffs on Canadian imports.
The unannounced meeting came at the end of a week that has seen Canada as well as Mexico scramble to blunt the impact of Trump's trade threats, which experts have warned could also hit US consumers hard, AFP said.
A smiling Trudeau was seen exiting a hotel in West Palm Beach before arriving at Mar-a-Lago, making him the latest high-profile guest of Trump, whose impending second term -- which starts in January -- is already overshadowing the last few months of President Joe Biden's administration.
Flight trackers had first spotted a jet broadcasting the prime minister's callsign making its way to the southern US state. A Canadian government source later told AFP that the two leaders were dining together.
Trump caused panic among some of the biggest US trading partners on Monday when he said he would impose tariffs of 25 percent on Mexican and Canadian imports and 10 percent on goods from China.
He accused the countries of not doing enough to halt the "invasion" of the United States by drugs, "in particular fentanyl," and undocumented migrants.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum spoke with Trump by phone on Wednesday, though the two leaders' accounts of the conversation differed drastically.
Trump claimed that Mexico's left-wing president had "agreed to stop migration through Mexico, and into the United States, effectively closing our Southern Border."
Sheinbaum later said she had discussed US-supported anti-migration policies that have long been in place in Mexico.
She said that after that, the talks had no longer revolved around the threat of tariff hikes, downplaying the risk of a trade war.
Billions in trade
Biden warned that same day that Trump's tariff threats could "screw up" Washington's relationships with Ottawa and Mexico City.
"I think it's a counterproductive thing to do," Biden told reporters.
Trudeau did not respond to questions from the media as he returned to his hotel Friday evening after meeting with Trump.
But for Canada, the stakes of any new tariffs are high.
More than three-quarters of Canadian exports, or Can$592.7 billion ($423 billion), went to the United States last year, and nearly two million Canadian jobs are dependent on trade.
A Canadian government source told AFP that Canada is considering possible retaliatory tariffs against the United States.
Some have suggested Trump's tariff threat may be bluster, or an opening salvo in future trade negotiations. But Trudeau rejected those views when he spoke with reporters earlier in Prince Edward Island province.

"Donald Trump, when he makes statements like that, he plans on carrying them out," Trudeau said. "There's no question about it."
According to the website Flightradar, the Canadian leader's plane landed at Palm Beach International Airport late Friday afternoon.
Canadian public broadcaster CBC said that Trudeau's public safety minister, Dominic LeBlanc, was accompanying him on the trip.