Lithuania backs Ukraine’s NATO bid as Russia seeks talks with U.S. in Moscow — global media highlights

These and other topics were covered by global media as of the morning of June 11.

The world is under threat of an attack by the "new axis"

Defense Minister Dovilė Šakalienė warns that the world is under threat of attack from a “new axis” made up of Russia, China, North Korea, and Iran, according to Politico.

From Washington to Warsaw, the voices of politicians slamming the door on Ukraine’s hopes of joining NATO are growing louder, but one NATO member country, under perhaps the greatest threat, insists that Kyiv's hopes must not be crushed.

Lithuania will “never give up” on the idea that Ukraine must join NATO, said Defense Minister Dovilė Šakalienė in an interview with Politico. Her country is considered one of the most vulnerable to a possible Russian attack due to the Suwałki Gap.

Germany’s foreign intelligence chief Bruno Kahl warned that Putin could use “little green men” to attack vulnerable Baltic states such as Estonia, repeating the tactics used in 2014 to seize Crimea from Ukraine.

“We are absolutely certain, and we have intelligence confirming this, that Ukraine is just one step on the path westward,” said Kahl, adding: “There are people in Moscow who no longer believe Article 5 of NATO works. And they would like to test it.”

U.S. President Donald Trump has ruled out the possibility of Ukraine joining NATO as part of his efforts to reach a peace deal in the war by shifting American policy toward Moscow. He is supported by pro-Kremlin NATO members Hungary and Slovakia, and newly elected Polish President Karol Nawrocki has also stated that he will not allow Ukraine to join the alliance.

But Šakalienė insisted that the final decision on which country joins the alliance must be made by the alliance, not by Putin.

“If anyone other than the alliance decides who becomes a member of the alliance, then trust in the alliance will be seriously undermined,” she emphasized.

The Ukraine-skeptical stance driven by Trump has been evident in internal NATO debates about whether to invite Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to the upcoming summit of alliance leaders, which will take place this month in The Hague. This was never an issue under the previous Joe Biden administration, which gladly welcomed Zelenskyy to top-level meetings, though it also showed little enthusiasm for Ukraine’s admission into NATO, Politico notes.

Lithuania insisted that Zelenskyy must be there.

“I would not support his absence in The Hague,” Šakalienė said.

On Tuesday, Kyiv announced that Zelenskyy had been invited to The Hague.

“For us as a country, the content of this meeting is important, and it is crucial that the summit’s outcome sends a signal of strength and unity, particularly regarding Ukraine,” said Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Heorhiy Tykhyi.

Alliance leader Mark Rutte wants to minimize conflicts with Trump and focus the summit on agreeing to a new target for defense spending among NATO members, raising it from the current 2% of GDP to 5%.

Šakalienė stated that this goal should be achieved by 2030—two years earlier than the 2032 target proposed by Rutte—echoing the sentiments of other frontline countries that want to see a swift increase in NATO spending to deter Russia. She warned that part of NATO’s increased defense spending must be allocated to arming Ukraine. Lithuania also wants NATO countries to quickly meet newly adopted goals for Alliance capability development—highly classified targets for military equipment that member states must possess and operate.

“Our region, the northeastern flank of NATO, believes this needs to happen faster,” she emphasized.

Russia’s war against Ukraine is part of a broader campaign to destabilize the world, Šakalienė warned.

“The new axis of Russia, China, North Korea, and Iran is cooperating very effectively in its plan to dismantle the current world order,” she noted, calling for the expected one-page declaration by NATO leaders in The Hague to reflect the dangers of the moment. “The United States and its allies and partners may need to deter and, if necessary, defeat both Russia and China simultaneously.”

Russia announces it will hold talks with the U.S. in Moscow

Russia’s new ambassador to Washington, Alexander Darchiev, stated that negotiations between the U.S. and Russia aimed at resolving bilateral issues will be moved from Istanbul to Moscow, reports Reuters.

“Restoring Russian-American relations is still far off,” he said, noting that rapprochement with Moscow is hindered by the so-called “deep state” in the U.S. and anti-Russian “hawks” in Congress. He added, “I can confirm that the next round of delegation talks will take place soon in Moscow.”

As Reuters recalls, the war in Ukraine has triggered the most significant confrontation between Moscow and the West since the Cold War.

Senior diplomats in both Moscow and Washington told Reuters in 2024 that they could not recall relations ever being worse.

The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump views the conflict in Ukraine as a proxy war between the United States and Russia, and Trump has repeatedly warned of the risk of it escalating into a world war.