分类： politics

DUBLIN — A landmark ceremonial event kicking off Ireland’s six-month term holding the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union launched in the Irish capital on July 1, 2026, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky gracing the guest list alongside top EU and Irish leaders. The gathering, which opened with a formal flag-raising ceremony featuring performances of both the Irish national anthem and the European Union’s official anthem, marks the eighth time Ireland has held the rotating presidential role since it joined the European Economic Community, the EU’s precursor, in 1973. The last time Dublin assumed the responsibility was 2013, and this current term will run through the end of December 2026. As the presiding country, Ireland will be tasked with steering legislative negotiations across EU policy areas and mediating consensus between the bloc’s 27 member states.

Irish Taoiseach Micheál Martin opened the ceremony by extending official welcomes to European Council President António Costa and visiting Ukrainian President Zelensky. In his opening address, Martin emphasized that Ireland’s decades-long evolution into a modern, outward-facing economy and inclusive society cannot be separated from its decades of European Union membership. “Ireland has always been a deeply European country,” Martin told attendees, framing the nation as “a beacon of hope for the transformative potential of the European appeal.” He went on to reaffirm Ireland’s longstanding commitment to Ukraine amid Russia’s ongoing full-scale invasion, stating: “We will stand unswervingly by the people of Ukraine. We are determined to ensure Ukraine get the peace and justice they deserve.” The presidency role passed to Ireland from Cyprus, which completed its own six-month term in June 2026.

In his address at the ceremony, Zelensky offered his warm congratulations to Ireland on assuming the presidency, noting that the role carries an outsized “great responsibility” for the bloc. He thanked Ireland for its consistent “attention to Ukraine” and recalled that the country has stood with Kyiv from the “very beginning” of Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022. “We must protect lives and our values from Russia’s anti-European aggression, and when we face many other challenges, both in international affairs and at the national level,” Zelensky said. He added that the European Union currently holds a unique “opportunity and responsibility to be a force that brings more stability” to the European continent and the broader global order.

Costa echoed this sentiment in his own remarks, praising Ireland for its consistent leadership in upholding the core tenets of the international rules-based system. “Ireland has consistently been at the forefront” of efforts to defend these foundational principles, Costa noted, highlighting the country’s longstanding commitment to multilateral cooperation and European integration.

TALLINN, Estonia – In a move framed as a step toward mending strained ties with Western governments, Belarusian authoritarian leader Alexander Lukashenko has issued a pardon to 28 people imprisoned on what the regime labels “extremism” charges – offenses widely recognized as politically motivated convictions targeting dissent.

The pardon, announced Wednesday via presidential decree, was timed to coincide with Belarus’ upcoming Independence Day celebration on Friday, with the administration justifying the action on “humanitarian grounds.” The announcement marks the latest in a series of prisoner releases that have gained momentum since the return of U.S. President Donald Trump to the White House, which have been facilitated by Washington-mediated diplomatic negotiations.

Lukashenko has held unbroken power over the 9.5 million-person nation for more than 30 years, ruling with a harsh, repressive grip that has drawn repeated waves of economic and political sanctions from Western capitals. Sanctions have been imposed both for the regime’s systematic crackdown on fundamental human rights and for its decision to allow Russia to use Belarusian territory as a staging ground for Moscow’s full-scale 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

The most serious challenge to Lukashenko’s rule emerged after the disputed 2020 presidential election, when hundreds of thousands of Belarusians took to city streets across the country to protest what they widely viewed as a rigged vote outcome. The regime responded with a brutal, sweeping crackdown: tens of thousands of demonstrators were detained, many were beaten by security forces, leading opposition figures were either imprisoned or forced into exile.

Five years after those mass 2020 protests, Lukashenko secured a seventh consecutive term in office in an election last year that opposition groups dismissed as a completely undemocratic farce.

Under the series of U.S.-brokered agreements struck in recent months, Lukashenko has overseen the release of hundreds of political prisoners, in exchange for the lifting of a subset of U.S. sanctions. A March deal brokered by Washington saw the release of 250 detained opposition figures and activists, while the U.S. agreed to lift sanctions on two major Belarusian state-owned banks, the national Finance Ministry, and the country’s top potash producer – a key export industry for Belarus. A second deal in April facilitated a prisoner swap between Belarus and Poland that freed prominent independent journalist Andrzej Poczobut as part of a 10-person release.

Despite these incremental releases, leading Belarusian human rights organization Viasna reports that 864 political prisoners remain behind bars in the country, including 21 journalists working for independent media outlets.

Earlier this week, Nils Muižnieks, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on human rights in Belarus, issued a stark warning that even with the release of hundreds of detainees over the past year, the broader human rights situation in Belarus has not seen meaningful improvement. “Sustainable progress requires an end to politically motivated repression and accountability for past violations,” Muižnieks stated in his report.

Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, the exiled leader of Belarus’ opposition, told the Associated Press that while the latest pardon will bring momentary relief to the families of the 28 released prisoners, the international community cannot lose sight of the hundreds still detained. “We mustn’t forget that hundreds of political prisoners remain in Belarusian jails, and all of them must be released,” Tsikhanouskaya emphasized.

As the July 7-8 NATO summit approaches, the Turkish capital of Ankara is bracing for the arrival of leaders from all 32 alliance member states, with host nation Turkey rolling out unprecedented strict security measures and preparing to showcase its dual role as both an independent and core member of the transatlantic bloc. The summit, which will gather global defense leaders including U.S. President Donald Trump at a time of growing rifts within the alliance, comes as Turkey has signaled a deliberate shift back toward closer alignment with its NATO partners after years of unorthodox independent foreign policy.

To guarantee the safety of summit attendees and delegations, Turkish authorities have deployed tens of thousands of police officers, placed national air defense systems on high alert, and imposed sweeping restrictions on public activity. All public gatherings, demonstrations, concerts and even graduation ceremonies within the capital have been banned for the duration of the summit, while non-essential public sector workers have been granted administrative leave to reduce traffic and crowd congestion. Major access controls are in place across key city arteries, the presidential complex (where summit meetings will be held), delegation hotels, and both existing and new aviation facilities.

In a pre-summit security sweep, law enforcement officials have detained more than 200 individuals alleged to have ties to extremist organizations including the Islamic State, according to official statements. However, the operation has also drawn criticism after independent reports confirmed that several political activists, lawyers and a local academic were swept up in the detentions. Additional controversy has emerged over restrictions on press and expression: a Turkish court has ordered internet service providers to block access to websites critical of the NATO summit and alliance policy on public order and security grounds, and multiple journalists aligned with Turkish opposition media outlets have been denied official press accreditation to cover the event. Media rights organizations and opposition political figures have decried these measures as excessively restrictive, with former Turkish ambassador and main opposition lawmaker Namik Tan noting that “in the history of the organization, we have never witnessed security measures as stringent and suffocating in a host city for a summit as we are seeing this time in Ankara.”

As part of pre-summit infrastructure upgrades, Turkey has completed conversion of a former military airfield into a purpose-built VIP airport exclusively designed to accommodate arriving heads of state and senior delegation members. Officials confirmed the facility will remain a dedicated VIP airport after the summit concludes and will not open to commercial civilian traffic. Local media has also reported city-wide beautification efforts, including repainting building facades along the motorcade route from the new airport to central Ankara.

For Ankara, a city of nearly 6 million residents with long experience of tight security in response to persistent terrorist threats, the current measures represent an extraordinary expansion of security controls that have significantly disrupted daily life. While some residents have adjusted to the new rules – like personal trainer Selin Karakoc, who expressed relief that her July 5 wedding falls just before restrictions take effect – the sweeping limits on public assembly and expression have sparked debate over the balance between security and civil liberties.

Beyond the immediate security preparations, the summit holds major strategic significance for both NATO and host Turkey. The core agenda for the two-day meeting centers on shoring up alliance unity amid growing tensions between the United States and European NATO members, stoked by Trump’s repeated threats to withdraw from the alliance, cut U.S. troop levels in Europe, and criticism of European allies for failing to back U.S. policy toward Iran and efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Defense spending commitments and the long-term future of the alliance’s transatlantic bond are also expected to feature prominently in discussions.

Fatih Ceylan, a former Turkish ambassador to NATO and current security analyst at the Ankara Policy Center, noted that the key metric for the summit’s success will be progress in reducing transatlantic rifts. “The important aspect of the meeting is to what extent the rift between the United States and Europe can be healed or narrowed during the summit,” he said. “We should not expect miracles, but nonetheless if there is a convergence of ideas emphasizing the importance of NATO, that should be seen as a success.”

Turkey’s role as summit host is widely credited with securing Trump’s attendance, a point the U.S. president himself acknowledged after a meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte at the White House, saying “Well, except for the fact that it was being held in Turkey by President Erdogan, I don’t think I would have gone to it.” Trump has long maintained a close personal rapport with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has positioned the summit as a landmark moment for Turkey’s standing in the alliance.

Erdogan has framed Turkey as a reliable, responsible NATO ally that shoulders unique responsibility on the alliance’s strategically critical southeastern flank, saying he is working to ensure the Ankara summit “will stand as a reference point in NATO’s history.” As a NATO member since 1952, Turkey boasts the alliance’s second-largest standing military after the United States, a rapidly expanding domestic defense industry, and a one-of-a-kind strategic location at the intersection of Europe, the Middle East, the Black Sea and the Caucasus.

Yet Turkey has long walked an independent path within NATO, a track record that has frequently frustrated other alliance members. Ankara has refused to join Western sanctions on Russia, maintains ongoing territorial disputes with fellow NATO member Greece, and purchased a Russian S-400 air defense system that resulted in its expulsion from the U.S.-led F-35 stealth fighter program in 2019. Turkey also delayed the accession of Finland and Sweden to NATO for more than a year, only dropping its opposition after securing major concessions on counter-terrorism cooperation and the lifting of European arms export restrictions. It has also previously blocked senior NATO leadership appointments over unmet policy demands.

But Turkish analysts point out that this independent streak has also allowed Turkey to play a unique mediating role in regional conflicts, most notably brokering the 2022 Black Sea Grain Initiative that allowed critical grain exports to leave Ukrainian ports amid Russia’s full-scale invasion, and supporting recent diplomatic efforts to de-escalate tensions in the Middle East.

Ankara has itself long expressed frustration with NATO allies, particularly over what it views as insufficient alliance solidarity during the 2016 failed coup against Erdogan, and over arms export restrictions imposed after Turkey’s military intervention in northern Syria. Murat Aslan, an analyst with Ankara-based think tank SETA, argued that Turkey’s history of tense relations with the U.S. and Europe forced it to develop an independent approach to alliance politics – a model that could now help bridge current transatlantic tensions, as European powers also push for their own strategic autonomy from the U.S. “Turkey can help NATO navigate U.S.–Europe tensions by showing how to ‘balance’ independence with alliance commitments,” Aslan said.

In recent months, Turkey has signaled a clear shift back toward closer alignment with NATO. The strategic value of the alliance was underscored earlier this year when NATO missile defense systems intercepted four missiles launched from Iran that crossed into Turkish territory during the Iran war. In a sign of alliance solidarity, Italy and Germany deployed additional air defense systems to Turkey in the weeks leading up to the summit to bolster security against potential regional threats.

Hamish Kinnear, principal Middle East and North Africa analyst at risk intelligence firm Verisk Maplecroft, wrote in a recent research note that “Turkey wishes to distinguish itself as a foreign policy actor that is independent of NATO and the West. While Turkey is not abandoning its balancing approach, it is tilting closer to the West, primarily because of NATO.”

For the alliance, the Ankara summit will test whether members can put longstanding rifts aside to present a unified front at a time of global uncertainty – while for host Turkey, it is an opportunity to cement its role as a core, indispensable member of the transatlantic alliance even as it retains its independent foreign policy voice.