The presidents of nine NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) countries came together on Sunday to express their support for Ukraine’s membership bid and also to urge all allies to “substantially increase” their military support to Kyiv. The bloc’s chief, meanwhile, noted that the consent of all 30 NATO states is needed to grant Ukraine’s request to join.
The statement came just two days after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced his country’s intention to apply for fast-track NATO membership.
War Approaches: Ukraine Applies For “Accelerated” NATO Membership
If Ukraine joins NATO, that will be crossing one of Russia’s “red lines” and could lead to a more aggressive war concerning more countries. Nonetheless, certain states seem fine with advancing a world war. “We firmly stand behind the 2008 Bucharest NATO Summit decision concerning Ukraine’s future membership,” the presidents of the Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Poland, Romania, and Slovakia said. “We support Ukraine in its defense against Russia’s invasion, demand Russia to immediately withdraw from all the occupied territories, and encourage all Allies to substantially increase their military aid to Ukraine,” the statement said.
Meanwhile, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, commenting on Zelensky’s NATO bid, emphasized that “any decision on membership has to be taken by consensus” of all 30 members. Stressing that NATO “has an open door policy,” Stoltenberg said that currently, the top priority of the bloc is “to support Ukraine,” both militarily and financially. He believes that this is also “the best way to respond” to Russia’s actions. –RT
Zelensky’s announcement of the NATO membership bid came on the same day that Russian President Vladimir Putin signed treaties on the inclusion of two Donbass republics, and Kherson and Zaporozhye Regions, into Russia.
The United States seems apprehensive about the timing of Ukraine’s request to join NATO. The U.S. is committed to the “open door” policy when it comes to NATO, but now is the wrong time to consider Ukraine’s membership application, President Joe Biden’s national security adviser Jake Sullivan said on Friday.
Moscow, which considers the enlargement of NATO a direct threat to its national interests, cited Ukraine’s potential membership in the alliance as one of the reasons for its military offensive. That means that this was done as a way to further ignite a war that’s going to involve the whole world.
Article cross-posted from SHTF Plan.
At Last, a Company With Integrity in the Gold IRA Industry
For several years, I’ve been vetting out precious metals companies in search of the best. I believe in gold and silver but it’s hard to find integrity in the Gold IRA industry. The vast majority operate with shady tactics and gigantic spreads that take advantage of Americans who simply want to protect their life’s savings.
I’ve found a handful that I like and I’ve worked with some of them. By no means would I “unrecommend” them because, again, I vetted them out and found them to be above the fold. Unfortunately, it isn’t hard to be better than the rest when the rest are so darn awful.
After years of searching, I finally found a company that truly operates with integrity. Augusta Precious Metals has three important attributes that set them far above the competition:
- Non-Commissioned Sales Team: I cannot stress how important and unique this is. With just about every other company in the Gold IRA industry, the sales teams make commission from every account they open. This means they steer their clients toward the gold and silver products with the highest commission. With Augusta Precious Metals, the team is solely focused on putting the best gold and silver for their clients into their IRA. They get paid to serve the best interests of the Gold IRA client, NOT their own commission pay.
- Incredibly Low Fees: Most Americans would be shocked if they knew the spread other Gold IRA companies charge. Augusta charges just 5% versus up to 45% elsewhere.
- No Pressure, No Gimmicks: There’s an understanding among most in the Gold IRA industry that fear and pressure is the way to go. Augusta Precious Metals takes a sober approach when working with clients because they hold integrity in the highest possible regard. This is why they don’t offer gimmicks like “free” or “bonus” silver. It’s also why they do not apply pressure tactics to get quick sales. Their educational and transparent approach to doing business is exceedingly rare in the Gold IRA industry.
