Foreign Digest: Sweden, France and UNESCO

Sweden: Sweden is now allowing military forces from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization on its soil while its NATO membership application is pending. The Nordic State remains under NATO protection in the meantime. Like neighboring Finland, which was admitted earlier this year, Sweden abandoned its longtime neutrality to apply to join the defensive pact because of the Russian Federation aggression against Ukraine. France: France condemned the Russian Federation last week for disinformation attacks, that it identified were committed through a hybrid campaign by Russians, including state actors. Such hybrid campaigns against European and Western States are typical of Russia under tyrant Vladimir Putin, the ex-Soviet intelligence officer attempting to restore the Soviet Union. France backs the former Soviet Republic of Ukraine against Russian aggression. The United States Rejoins the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization: The United States is rejoining the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), which it had left in 2017, and will pay its back dues, which it had been withholding since 2011. By rejoining UNESCO, the U.S. is seeking to counter Communist Chinese influence and promote freedom. The U.S., which had supplied 22% of UNESCO’s budget, had objected to the UN’s bias against Israel, which also left the organization, and its financial mismanagement. UNESCO reformed its policies toward Israel and its financial management. Among the many projects that will receive a boost in funding are cultural heritage preservation in Ukraine, education of girls in Afghanistan and Holocaust education. The UN General Assembly is expected to approve the deal, which has bipartisan American support.