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North Macedonia: 7 Plead Guilty to Joining ISIS

In this undated file photo released by a militant website, which has been verified and is consistent with other AP reporting, ISIS militants hold up their weapons and wave flags on their vehicles, in a convoy on a road leading to Iraq, from Raqqa, Syria. (Militant website via AP, File)
In this undated file photo released by a militant website, which has been verified and is consistent with other AP reporting, ISIS militants hold up their weapons and wave flags on their vehicles, in a convoy on a road leading to Iraq, from Raqqa, Syria. (Militant website via AP, File)
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North Macedonia: 7 Plead Guilty to Joining ISIS

In this undated file photo released by a militant website, which has been verified and is consistent with other AP reporting, ISIS militants hold up their weapons and wave flags on their vehicles, in a convoy on a road leading to Iraq, from Raqqa, Syria. (Militant website via AP, File)
In this undated file photo released by a militant website, which has been verified and is consistent with other AP reporting, ISIS militants hold up their weapons and wave flags on their vehicles, in a convoy on a road leading to Iraq, from Raqqa, Syria. (Militant website via AP, File)

Officials in North Macedonia have said that seven of the country's nationals have pleaded guilty to joining ISIS and fighting with it in Syria and Iraq.

The North Macedonian prosecutor's office said late Tuesday the men on trial in a Skopje criminal court were arrested last August in Syria by members of the international coalition fighting the terrorist organization.

According to the Associated Press, they were subsequently handed over to North Macedonian law enforcement agencies.

All were charged with membership of an extremist group, while one also allegedly recruited for ISIS, AP said.

If convicted, they face up to five years in jail.

North Macedonian authorities said more than 130 of the country's nationals have joined ISIS.

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NATO Chief Rutte Says Zelenskiy's Criticism of Germany's Scholz is Unfair

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte holds a press conference, ahead of a meeting of NATO Defense Ministers in Brussels, Belgium October 16, 2024. (Reuters)
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte holds a press conference, ahead of a meeting of NATO Defense Ministers in Brussels, Belgium October 16, 2024. (Reuters)
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NATO Chief Rutte Says Zelenskiy's Criticism of Germany's Scholz is Unfair

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte holds a press conference, ahead of a meeting of NATO Defense Ministers in Brussels, Belgium October 16, 2024. (Reuters)
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte holds a press conference, ahead of a meeting of NATO Defense Ministers in Brussels, Belgium October 16, 2024. (Reuters)

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said he considered the sometimes harsh criticism of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to be unjustified, news wire DPA reported.
Although Germany has been a vital ally of Ukraine, its hesitation in providing long-range Taurus cruise missiles has been a source of frustration in Kyiv, which is battling a foe armed with a powerful array of long-range weaponry, Reuters reported.
"I have often told Zelenskiy that he should stop criticizing Olaf Scholz, because I think it is unfair," DPA quoted Rutte on Monday as saying in an interview.
Rutte also said that he, unlike Scholz, would supply Ukraine with Taurus cruise missiles and would not set limits on their use.
"In general, we know that such capabilities are very important for Ukraine," Rutte said, adding that it was not up to him to decide what allies should deliver.
After a November telephone call by Scholz with Russia's leader Vladimir Putin in November, Zelenskiy said it had opened a Pandora's box that undermined efforts to isolate the Russian leader and end the war in Ukraine with a "fair peace".