Albania PM's Socialists score large election win: official results
Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama's Socialist Party scored a large victory in parliamentary elections, securing him his fourth term, official results showed late Tuesday.
The Socialist Party won 52.1 percent of the vote on Sunday compared with 34.2 percent for an alliance of opposition parties led by his main rival, Sali Berisha, according to results released by the Central Election Commission. Diaspora votes have yet to be counted, but according to initial results, Rama was also leading there.
According to projections, the Socialist Party could have more lawmakers than in 2021 elections. At the time, it won 74 seats in the 140-seat assembly.
The vote was dominated by the contest between three-time premier Rama, 60, who focused his campaign on European integration, and right-winger Berisha, from the conservative Democratic Party of Albania.
The two campaigned mainly on economic issues, such as pensions, wages, infrastructure and tourism. But there were bitter exchanges too on the fight against corruption and organized crime, both of which are seen as essential requirements for Albania's EU bid.
On Tuesday, the 80-year-old Berisha -- Albania's first postcommunist president 1992-1997 -- made allegations of electoral irregularities, accusing the Socialists of pressure, fraud and vote-buying.
"It's impossible to reconcile with such elections. No, forget (about) that," he told reporters in Tirana.
Berisha called for a protest on Friday, when European leaders would be meeting in Tirana for the sixth European Political Community Summit The election was closely watched by the EU and seen as a test of the democratic maturity of the Balkan country, by far the most Europe-oriented in the region, after decades of dictatorship 1944-1985.
"The elections were managed generally in an inclusive and transparent manner, the election day being calm and well organised, despite some shortcomings," EU top diplomat Kaja Kallas and Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos said in a joint statement.
Without waiting for the official results, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni late Tuesday congratulated her friend Rama for his "reappointment as head of the Albanian government."
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and his British counterpart Keir Starmer also congratulated Rama on the election victory.
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Korea Herald
2 hours ago
- Korea Herald
US strikes on Iran leave hopes for nuclear diplomacy in tatters
PARIS/ISTANBUL (Reuters) -- In a bid to defuse the conflict over Iran's nuclear program, foreign ministers from Europe's top three powers hurried to meet their Iranian counterpart on Friday in Geneva. Those hopes collapsed Saturday when US President Donald Trump ordered airstrikes on Iran's three main nuclear sites in support of Israel's military campaign. "It's irrelevant to ask Iran to return to diplomacy," Iran's foreign minister Abbas Araqchi, visibly angry, told reporters in Istanbul on Sunday, promising a "response" to the US strikes."It's not time for diplomacy now." Trump, who said the US airstrikes "obliterated" the sites, warned in a televised speech on Saturday that the US could attack other targets in Iran if no peace deal was reached and urged Tehran to return to the negotiating table. Reuters spoke to seven Western diplomats and analysts who said the prospect of negotiations was negligible for now, with an unbridgeable gap between Washington's demand for zero enrichment by Iran and Tehran's refusal to abandon its nuclear program. "I think the prospects of effective diplomacy at this point are slim to none," said James Acton, co-director of the Nuclear Policy Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, a think tank headquartered in Washington. "I'm much more worried about escalation, both in the short and the long term." According to European diplomats, the three European allies -- Britain, France and Germany -- were not made aware of Trump's decision to strike Iran ahead of time. French President Emmanuel Macron had promised on Saturday -- just before the US strikes -- to accelerate the nuclear talks, following a call with his Iranian counterpart. One European diplomat, who asked not to be identified, acknowledged there was now no way of holding a planned second meeting with Iran in the coming week. In the wake of the US military action, any European diplomatic role appears likely to be secondary. Trump on Friday dismissed Europe's efforts towards resolving the crisis, saying Iran only wanted to speak to the US. Three diplomats and analysts said any future talks between Iran and Washington would likely be through regional intermediaries Oman and Qatar, once Tehran decides how to respond to the US airstrikes on its nuclear sites at Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan. The attacks leave Iran with few palatable options on the table. Since Israel began its military campaign against Iran on June 13, some in Tehran have raised the prospect of withdrawing from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty to signal Iran's determination to accelerate enrichment, but experts say that would represent a considerable escalation and likely draw a forceful response from Washington. Acton, of the Carnegie Endowment, said Iran's most obvious means of retaliation is its short-range ballistic missiles, which could be used to target US forces and assets in the region. But any military response by Iran carried the risk of miscalculation, he said. "On the one hand, they want a strong enough response that they feel the US has actually paid a price. On the other hand, they don't want to encourage further escalation," he said. Even before the US strikes, Friday's talks in Geneva showed little sign of progress amid a chasm between the two sides, and in the end, no detailed proposals were put forward, three diplomats said. Mixed messaging may have also undermined their efforts, diplomats said. European positions on key issues like Iran's enrichment program have hardened in the past 10 days with the Israeli strikes and the looming threat of US bombing. The three European powers, known as the E3, were parties to a 2015 nuclear deal that Trump abandoned three years later during his first term. Both the Europeans and Tehran believed they had a better understanding of how to get a realistic deal, given that the E3 has been dealing with Iran's nuclear program since 2003. But the Europeans have had a difficult relationship with Iran in recent months as they sought to pressure it over its ballistic missiles program, support for Russia and detention of European citizens. France, which was the keenest to pursue negotiations, has in the last few days suggested Iran should move towards zero enrichment, which until now was not an E3 demand given Iran's red line on the issue, two European diplomats said. Britain has also adopted a tougher stance more in tune with Washington and that was expressed in Geneva, the diplomats said. And Germany's new government appeared to go in the same direction, although it was more nuanced. "Iran has to accept zero enrichment eventually," said one EU official. A senior Iranian official on Saturday showed disappointment at the Europeans' new stance, saying their demands were "unrealistic," without providing further details. In a brief joint statement Sunday, which acknowledged the US strikes, the European countries said they would continue their diplomatic efforts. "We call upon Iran to engage in negotiations leading to an agreement that addresses all concerns associated with its nuclear program," it said, adding the Europeans stood ready to contribute "in coordination with all parties." David Khalfa, co-founder of the Atlantic Middle East Forum, a Paris-based think tank, said Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei's government had taken advantage of the Europeans for years to gain time as it developed its nuclear program and ballistic missile capabilities. "The European attempt ended in failure," he said. However, the Europeans still have one important card to play. They are the only ones who, as parties to the nuclear accord, can launch its so-called "snapback mechanism," which would reimpose all previous UN sanctions on Iran if it is found to be in violation of the agreement's terms. Diplomats said, before the US strikes, the three countries had discussed an end-August deadline to activate it as part of a 'maximum pressure' campaign on Tehran. In total, the US launched 75 precision-guided munitions, including more than two dozen Tomahawk missiles, and more than 125 military aircraft in the operation against the three nuclear sites, US officials said. US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Sunday warned Iran against retaliation and said both public and private messages had been sent to Iran "in multiple channels, giving them every opportunity to come to the table." Five previous rounds of indirect negotiations between the US and Iran collapsed after a US proposal at the end of May called for Iran to abandon uranium enrichment. It was rejected by Tehran, leading to Israel launching its attack on Iran after Trump's 60-day deadline for talks had expired. Iran has repeatedly said from then on that it would not negotiate while at war. Even after Israel struck, Washington reached out to Iran to resume negotiations, including offering a meeting between Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian in Istanbul, according to two European diplomats and an Iranian official. That was rebuffed by Iran, but Araqchi did continue direct contacts with US Special envoy Steve Witkoff, three diplomats told Reuters. One of the challenges in engaging with Iran, experts say, is that no one can be sure of the extent of the damage to its nuclear program. With the IAEA severely restricted in its access to Iranian sites, it is unclear whether Tehran has hidden enrichment facilities. A senior Iranian source told Reuters on Sunday that most of the highly enriched uranium at Fordow, the site producing the bulk of Iran's uranium refined to up to 60 percent, had been moved to an undisclosed location before the US attack there. Acton, of the Carnegie Endowment, said that -- putting aside the damage to its physical installations -- Iran had thousands of scientists and technicians involved in the enrichment program, most of whom had survived the US and Israeli attacks.
Korea Herald
2 hours ago
- Korea Herald
NATO agrees to higher defense spending goal
BRUSSELS/MADRID (Reuters) — NATO members agreed on Sunday to a big increase in their defense spending target to 5 percent of gross domestic product, as demanded by US President Donald Trump, but Spain said it did not need to comply just days before a summit in The Hague meant to be a show of unity. NATO officials had been anxious to find consensus on a summit statement on a new spending commitment ahead of Wednesday's gathering. But Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez declared on Thursday he would not commit to the 5 percent target. NATO boss Mark Rutte has proposed to reach the target by boosting NATO's core defense spending goal from 2 percent to 3.5 percent of GDP and spending an extra 1.5 percent on related items like cybersecurity and adapting roads and bridges for military vehicles. After diplomats agreed on a compromise text on Sunday, Sanchez swiftly proclaimed Spain would not have to meet the 5 percent target as it would only have to spend 2.1 percent of GDP to meet NATO's core military requirements. "We fully respect the legitimate desire of other countries to increase their defense investment, but we are not going to do so," Sanchez said in an address on Spanish television. Spain spent 1.24 percent of GDP on defense in 2024, or about 17.2 billion euros ($19.8 billion), according to NATO estimates, making it the lowest spender in the alliance as a share of its economic output. NATO officials argue big defense spending increases are needed to counter a growing threat from Russia and to allow Europe to take on more responsibility for its own security as the United States shifts its military focus to China. Sanchez's stance risked setting up a summit clash with Trump, who has frequently accused European countries of not spending enough on defense and threatened not to defend them if they do not meet their targets. On Friday, Trump said Spain "has to pay what everybody else has to pay" and Madrid was "notorious" for low defense spending. However, he also suggested the US should not have to meet the new target, as the US had spent large amounts to protect the continent over a long period. Washington spent an estimated 3.19 percent of GDP on defense in 2024, NATO says. But Sanchez argued it was not necessary for Spain to meet the new target and trying to do so would mean drastic cuts on social spending, such as state pensions, or tax hikes. NATO did not release the compromise summit text, which will only become official when it is endorsed by the leaders of NATO's 32 members at the summit. But diplomats said one tweak in the language on the spending commitment, from "we commit" to "allies commit," allowed Spain to say the pledge does not apply to all members. In a letter seen by Reuters, Rutte told Sanchez that Spain would have "flexibility to determine its own sovereign path" for meeting its military capability targets agreed with NATO. A NATO diplomat said Rutte's letter was simply "an affirmation that allies chart their own course for making good on their commitments" to meet their capability targets. NATO officials have expressed scepticism that Spain can meet its military capability targets by spending just 2.1 percent of GDP, as Sanchez has suggested. The targets are secret, so their costs cannot be independently verified. "All allies have now agreed to the summit statement, which includes the new defense investment plan," said the diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss internal matters. Rutte had originally proposed countries meet the new target by 2032 but the deadline in the final text is 2035, according to diplomats. There will also be a review of the target in 2029.
Korea Herald
2 days ago
- Korea Herald
Trump repeats NATO members should spend 5% of GDP on defense
US President Donald Trump reiterated Friday that North Atlantic Treaty Organization member states should spend 5 percent of gross domestic product on defense, while saying the United States should not. Trump made the remarks during a press availability as he is preparing to attend a NATO summit in The Hague, the Netherlands, next week, where the defense spending target is expected to figure prominently. "I don't think we should, but I think they should," he said, responding to a question about the defense spending target that he proposed. "We've been supporting NATO so long. In many cases, I believe ... almost paying 100 percent of the cost. So I don't think we should, but I think that the NATO countries should absolutely," he added. The US spent about 3.4 percent of its GDP on defense last year. Asked about Spain's stance against the target, Trump said that NATO will have to deal with the country. "Spain has been a very low payer," he said. "They were either good negotiators or they weren't doing the right thing. I mean I think Spain has to pay what everybody else has to pay. Spain has been notorious for low pay." Spain has reportedly rejected the defense spending proposal, calling for a more "flexible" approach. On Thursday, the Pentagon said that European allies are setting the "global standard" for Asian allies, which is spending 5 percent of GDP on defense. South Korea's defense budget this year stands at around 61.2 trillion won ($44.6 billion), which is about 2.32 percent of its GDP, according to Seoul's defense ministry. (Yonhap)
