Free Republic

Denmark’s foreign minister had the top U.S. diplomat in the country summoned for talks after the main national broadcaster reported Wednesday that at least three people with connections to President Donald Trump have been carrying out covert influence operations in Greenland. Trump has repeatedly said he seeks U.S. jurisdiction over Greenland, a vast, semi-autonomous territory of Denmark. He has not ruled out military force to take control of the mineral-rich, strategically located Arctic island. Denmark, a NATO ally of the U.S., and Greenland have said the island is not for sale and condemned reports of the U.S. gathering intelligence there.

Russia’s MiG-35, comically dubbed a fourth-generation “+++” fighter, is an overrated “paper tiger” that has been a non-factor in the Ukraine war. With only a handful of aircraft in service, the program is a failure, plagued by significant drawbacks. It lacks its intended advanced AESA radar, its missiles are outmatched, its engines are aging, and its electronic warfare suite is subpar. Instead of a revolutionary dogfighter, the MiG-35 is a symbol of the Russian aviation industry’s inability to deliver on its ambitious promises, making it another costly and ineffective platform.

Worshippers were forced to flee a Melbourne synagogue early Friday morning after it was set ablaze in an arson attack Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony called “act of hate.” Sixty-plus firefighters were called to Adass Israel synagogue in the Victorian state capital just after 04:00 local time on Friday (17:00 GMT Thursday), finding the building fully ablaze when they arrived. Local media outlets confirmed people were inside at the time for morning prayers and they had reported seeing firebombs thrown by masked assailants. One person was injured and the fire caused extensive damage.

Al-Monitor has learned that US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is expected to travel to Turkey March 30. He will be the most senior US official to formally visit Turkey since the Donald Trump administration took office in January. A senior Turkish official who spoke on the condition of anonymity confirmed that Tillerson was expected to meet with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, among others. The official was unaware of Tillerson’s full itinerary but said it would not be unusual for the secretary to visit other countries in the region as well. The official declined to elaborate any further. In an emailed...

Congressman Matt Gaetz proposed a radical peacetime solution – allow Russia to join NATO. “Before you suggest I’m crazy for thinking about NATO and Russia as partners, the idea has been floated by foreign policy thinkers on the right and left for some time,” Gaetz added. “In 1997, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee held a hearing on NATO expansion. President Clinton’s secretary of state, Madeleine Albright, reflected on groundbreaking cooperation between NATO and Russia.” The concept never came to fruition as NATO decided that encircling Russia was of paramount concern, and partnering with its greatest enemy was of no interest...

Through an extended weekend full of summitry, President Donald Trump revived the role of diplomacy in addressing the European conflict, making the first allied contact with Russia’s President Vladimir Putin since early in the Ukraine war. Trump rejected efforts by Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky and seven European leaders to escalate the endless proxy war against Russia. Despite his narcissistic peculiarities, the president made more progress toward peace in four days than President Joe Biden did in three years, though there is still great skepticism that the war will soon end.

While President Trump deserves credit for pursuing diplomacy to end the Ukraine war—a step his predecessor avoided—his strategy contains a grave risk to U.S. interests. In his pursuit of a historic peace deal, Trump has proposed offering Ukraine an “Article 5-like” security guarantee. This commitment, made outside of NATO, could obligate the U.S. military to defend Ukraine and create a direct tripwire for conflict with a nuclear-armed Russia.

While the theory that Russia could collapse under the strain of the Ukraine war is popular, a direct comparison to the fall of the USSR is flawed. Unlike the Soviet Union’s final years, which saw a rapid turnover of leadership and liberalizing reforms under Gorbachev, Putin’s Russia is a stable, repressive regime. However, the current system faces its own unique pressures: major state-owned companies like Gazprom are hemorrhaging money, and a rising tide of violent crime from returning convicts is creating deep social instability that could lead to a different kind of collapse.

Special envoy Steve Witkoff says the White House extracted critical wins from its Friday summit with Vladimir Putin in Alaska, even as President Donald Trump failed to walk away with the ceasefire he was loudly advocated for. Security guarantees offering Ukraine “Article 5-like protections” are the real prize, Witkoff told CNN’s Jake Tapper on Sunday. They’re “game-changing,” he said. “We didn’t think that we were anywhere close to agreeing to Article Five protection from the United States in legislative enshrinement within the Russian Federation, not to go after any other territory when the peace deal is codified,” Witkoff said on...

The Democrats are starting to realize that they have no chance in elections if they continue to vehemently oppose everything Trump is doing. Failed presidential candidate and treasonous Russiagate conspirator Hillary Clinton said in a recent interview that she is “encouraged” by Trump’s actions with NATO and Ukraine as he seeks to bring the Russia-Ukraine war to an end. Clinton made the comments during an appearance on the Raging Moderates podcast with host Jessica Tarlov. Tarlov attempted to set her up to bash Trump, implying that President Trump has overseen a “breakdown” of relationships with allies and Europe is “just...

North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Secretary-General Mark Rutte, French President Emmanuel Macron, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, and Finnish head of state Alexander Stubb all confirmed on Sunday that they will attend the meetings of Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky, the respective leaders of the United States and Ukraine. The aforementioned politicians' press services announced the news on their websites. The encounter will take place at the White House on Monday. The gathering will come after Trump's meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, dedicated to finding a way to solve the conflict in Ukraine. Previously, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and...

Several hundred people gathered for a pro-Ukraine rally in Anchorage, Alaska, where U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin are set to meet Friday. The high-stakes summit — the first in-person meeting between an American president and Putin since the latter launched his full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, is meant to lay the ground for a ceasefire. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was not invited to the summit, scheduled to kick off around 11 a.m. local time at the Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson. Protesters started to gather early on Friday morning ahead of Putin's arrival in Anchorage, chanting...

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Gen. Dan Caine, the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, will attend President Trump’s summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday, according to two senior Defense Department officials. Hegseth isn't joining with Trump on Air Force One, instead flying separately, the officials said. Caine has already arrived in Alaska, a third DOD official said.

The ever-dramatic Margaret Brennan is in full pearl-clutching mode as she questions NATO Secretary General, Mark Rutte, about the upcoming meeting between horrible President Trump and even more horrible President Putin. It is simply unfathomable to allow a U.S. President to create a strategic reset with a Russian President.As Brennan acts out the role, she highlights how it is unimaginable, terrible, and just a no good bad thing. Horrid.NATO Secretary Rutte is quite happy with the new funds flowing into the NATO alliance as organized by President Trump. Rutte sits atop a new cache of taxpayer funded treasure for the...

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said Sunday that President Trump will be "testing" Russian President Vladimir Putin in their landmark face-to-face meeting set for Friday, as world leaders push for a ceasefire deal in Russia's war with Ukraine. "On Friday, it is important to see how serious Putin is, and the only one who can do that is President Trump," Rutte said on "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan." -snip- The secretary general said NATO-coordinated weapons deliveries will continue regardless of what happens at the Friday summit, emphasizing its commitment to "making sure that Ukraine has what it needs to...

SummaryUkraine fears Trump-Putin summit will seek to dictate terms European leaders rally in support of Kyiv Zelenskiy says there is no path to peace without Ukraine Russia's Medvedev blasts European interference Aug 10 (Reuters) - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy won diplomatic backing from Europe and the NATO alliance on Sunday ahead of a Russia-U.S. summit this week where Kyiv fears Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump may try to dictate terms for ending the 3-1/2-year war.Trump, who for weeks had been threatening new sanctions against Russia for failing to halt the war, announced instead on Friday that he would meet Putin...

Russia narrowly avoided an armed skirmish with Romania, a member of the NATO alliance, after striking just a half mile from its border. Romanian defense officials believe the new law passed by parliament explicitly allowing its armed forces to shoot down Russian drones that fly over its territory prevented the Kremlin from incurring on its territory. Russia struck a gas distribution center in the Ismail Area of Ukraine with Shahed kamikaze drones on Tuesday and Wednesday, so close to Romania’s border that Bucharest deployed F-16 aircraft to monitor. No unauthorized intrusions were reported. "They know we passed this law, and...

The historic trade deal between the U.S. and the European Union agreed upon in Scotland marks a significant shift in the transatlantic relations. After the 2024 triumph of the conservative patriots in the United States, the long-standing alliance between Western democracies began collapsing.European nations, well-known for their restraint in foreign policy, led the way to cautious denial of the new American vision, which President Trump called “the complete restoration of America.” It comes as a stunning change to the American people, especially given the fact that Europe’s high living standards are largely based on the U.S. support, dating back to...

Pro tip: Planes can't fly in water. Hoy en el Festival Internacional Aéreo de Gijón podía haber ocurrido una desgracia, si no es por la pericia del Capitán Botana a los mandos del F18 Superhornet. 🙌🏻Se comentaba que algún pájaro pudo haber tenido la culpa. ¿Qué opináis?@GijonAirshow @A3Noticias @lanuevaespana pic.twitter.com/PkzU07kxU3— VISUAIR (@Visuair) July 27, 2025I'm glad Captain Botana was able to recover that spin at the Gijon Sir Show on Sunday, but holy moly that was close. Another angle: Gijon Airshow, Spain F-18 low pass yesterday. Anyone want to share what they believe happened here?📹: u/FirebirdWS6dude pic.twitter.com/4mE6mMYG39— Turbine Traveller (@Turbinetraveler)...

Austrian Foreign Minister Beate Meinl-Reisinger has indicated that the country is open to discussing possible NATO membership in response to growing international instability and Russia’s increasingly aggressive foreign policy. In an interview with Die Welt, Meinl-Reisinger said that Austria cannot rely solely on its traditional neutrality for protection. She emphasised that in today’s uncertain global security environment, the country’s safety depends on both investments in national defense and strong international partnerships, Caliber.Az reports.