D-Day, Biden: “Democracy in the world has never been so at risk”

D-Day: Biden, democracy in the world has never been so at risk

Never in the last 80 years has democracy been so threatened, US President Joe Biden warned at a ceremony to mark the D-Day landings of the World War II. “We live in a time when democracy around the world is at risk as never since the end of the Second World War,” Biden said, speaking from Colleville-sur-Mer. “Isolationism wasn’t the answer 80 years ago and it’s not the answer today,” he said.

Macron, we are with Ukraine, we will not give in

“Faced with the return of war to our continent, faced with the calling into question of everything for which (the heroes of the landing, ed.) fought, of those who would like to move borders or rewrite history, we must be worthy of those fought here”: said the French president, Emmanuel Macron, concluding his speech on Omaha Beach with a greeting to the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, who was also present at the D-Day celebrations while the French tricolor arrows whizzed through the Normandy sky.

Ovation for Zelensky upon his arrival on Omaha Beach

A real ovation, followed by very long applause, greeted the entry of Volodymyr Zelensky and his wife into the structure that welcomes the authorities, veterans and the public of the most important ceremony for the 80th anniversary of D-Day. The emotional Ukrainian president was wearing a black sweater and smiled at those present before heading towards the French president, Emmanuel Macron, who welcomed him by hugging him.

Moscow, Biden’s words on raids in Russia ‘cynical and obscene’

“Cynical and obscene”: this is how Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin defined today’s statements by US President Joe Biden, according to whom Washington gave Kiev permission to bomb Russian territory with American weapons only “near the border”, without endangering Moscow. “Any attempt to violate Russian territory” regardless of the region in which it occurs, “will have an adequate response, and those who bomb us in this way will bitterly regret it,” Galuzin said, speaking to Tass.

Stoltenberg: The EU is not for defence, that’s what NATO is for

“I am a strong supporter of the European Union. I tried twice to get Norway to join and I failed. But the EU is not there to defend, but for trade, the environment, the economy and many other things. But for defense there is the NATO Alliance.” This was stated by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg at an Atlantic Council event in Helsking with the Finnish President Alexander Stubb. “We must understand that the EU cannot defend Europe. And it is a question of resources: 80% of NATO defense spending comes from non-EU allies. It does not only concern the United States but also other allies It’s also a question of geography: Norway and Iceland are probably not the largest military powers in the world but if you look at the map they are very important for transatlantic connections and ensuring the connection of the Atlantic Turkey which is extremely important for all the threats on the southern flank, from the fight against terrorism to the war against ISIS. In the West there are obviously the United States and Canada, so the defense of Europe goes beyond the EU states”, he said explained. “And even more importantly: it is a question of politics. Any attempt to weaken the transatlantic bond will not only weaken NATO but will divide Europe. So any effort for the defense of the EU is welcome but it must be complementary to NATO and not duplicate or weaken the concept of NATO. NATO has responsibilities that must not be questioned: we have a command structure, the backbone. If the EU begins to build a parallel command structure, it will weaken It is the command of NATO and will not be competitive”, he added.