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Added on the 26/04/2022 16:23:02 - Copyright : France 24 EN
Sweden joining NATO shows Russian President Vladimir Putin "failed" in his Ukrainian war strategy of weakening the alliance, its chief Jens Stoltenberg says. The Kremlin's invasion not only prompted formerly non-aligned nations Sweden and Finland to come under NATO's defence umbrella, but now "Ukraine is closer to NATO membership than ever before," Stoltenberg adds. SOUNDBITE
US President Joe Biden says during his State of the Union address that Ukraine is capable of stopping Putin if the US provides Kyiv the "weapons it needs to defend itself." SOUNDBITE
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky warns European leaders that Russia's Vladimir Putin would exploit any failure to agree to launch his country's EU membership talks. "People in Europe won't see any benefit if Moscow receives a pass from Brussels in the form of negativity towards Ukraine. Putin will surely use this against you personally and against all of Europe," Zelensky tells an EU summit by videolink. SOUNDBITE ++ TEXT 347R2JH
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken accuses Russian President Vladimir Putin of trying to use the Israel-Hamas war in a bid to reduce Western support for Ukraine. "Putin is very much trying to take advantage of the Hamas attack on Israel in the hopes that it will distract us... and that it will result in the United States pulling back its resources" from Ukraine, Blinken tells a Senate hearing. SOUNDBITE
UN chief Antonio Guterres warns that he fears the likelihood of further escalation in the Russia-Ukraine conflict means the world is heading towards a "wider war." "The prospects for peace keep diminishing. The chances of further escalation and bloodshed keep growing," he added as explained his 2023 priorities plan to the UN General Assembly. SOUNDBITE
Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko hold bilateral talks in Minsk in a room full of delegates, which included the defence ministers of both nations. IMAGES