All posts tagged: Antony Blinken

US in direct contact with Syrian rebels that ousted Assad

US in direct contact with Syrian rebels that ousted Assad

Published by Sam

AQABA, JORDAN —  American officials have been in direct contact with the terrorist-designated rebel group that led the overthrow of Syrian President Bashar Assad, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Saturday. Blinken, speaking at a news conference in Jordan, was the first U.S. official to publicly confirm contacts between the Biden administration and Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS, which led a coalition of armed opposition groups that drove Assad from power and into asylum in Russia last weekend. Along with counterparts from eight Arab nations and Turkey and senior officials from the European Union and United Nations, Blinken signed off on a set of principles meant to guide Syria’s transition to a peaceful, nonsectarian and inclusive country. Blinken would not discuss details of the contacts but said it was important for the U.S. to convey messages to the group about its conduct and how it intends to govern in a transition period. “Yes, we have been in contact with HTS and with other parties,” Blinken said in the port city of Aqaba. He added …

Blinken to travel to Guatemala for regional migration conference

Blinken to travel to Guatemala for regional migration conference

Published by skeptic

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken travels Tuesday to Guatemala for regional talks on migration. Officials will be discussing “enforcement, migration management and refugee integration,” the State Department said, two years after a group of 20 countries agreed on a framework of cooperation on migration issues. “Secretary Blinken will underscore our advances over the past two years and look ahead to next joint steps to bolster humane migration management and robust enforcement, lawful pathways and access to protection, and increasing refugee and migrant integration in the Americas,” State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said in a statement. The Los Angeles Declaration on Migration and Protection reiterated the need to create the conditions for “safe, orderly, humane, and regular migration,” and committed to protecting the safety and dignity of migrants, refugees, asylum seekers and stateless persons. It also highlighted the need to address the root causes that push people to leave their home countries. U.S. President Joe Biden hosted Guatemalan President Bernardo Arevalo for talks at the White House in late March. Before heading to Guatemala, Blinken …

Cease-fire should be ‘no-brainer’ for Hamas, Blinken says

Cease-fire should be ‘no-brainer’ for Hamas, Blinken says

Published by skeptic

Washington —  Accepting a cease-fire deal with Israel should be a “no-brainer” for Hamas, but the motivations of the militants’ elusive Gaza-based leadership remain unclear, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said late Friday. Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, has announced that its delegation will return to Cairo Saturday to resume long-running talks brokered by Egypt and Qatar that would temporarily halt Israel’s offensive in return for freeing hostages. “We wait to see whether, in effect, they can take yes for an answer on the cease-fire and release of hostages,” Blinken said. “The reality in this moment is the only thing standing between the people of Gaza and a cease-fire is Hamas.” Noting that the militants “purport to represent” the Palestinian people, Blinken said: “If it is true, then taking the cease-fire should be a no-brainer. “But maybe something else is going on, and we’ll have a better picture of that in the coming days,” he said. Blinken pointed to difficulties negotiating with Hamas, which the United States considers a terrorist group and does …

Blinken speaks to Azeri, Armenian leaders about peace talks

Blinken speaks to Azeri, Armenian leaders about peace talks

Published by skeptic

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has spoken to the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan and reaffirmed Washington’s support for a peace treaty between the South Caucasus neighbors, the State Department said on Sunday. Yerevan suffered a major defeat last September when Baku’s forces retook the region of Nagorno-Karabakh, which while part of Azerbaijan had a predominantly Armenian population. Peace talks have become bogged down in issues including demarcation of the two countries’ 1,000-kilometers (620-mile) border, which remains closed and heavily militarized. Blinken spoke to Azeri President Ilham Aliyev on Sunday and urged him “to keep up the momentum with his Armenian counterpart, reiterating U.S. willingness to support those efforts,” the State Department said in a statement. Aliyev’s press service said on Sunday that foreign ministers of Azerbaijan and Armenia will soon hold a meeting in Almaty in Kazakhstan to continue negotiations. “The president considers an important step that … Azerbaijan and Armenia have begun the process of border demarcation,” Russia’s Interfax news agency cited the press service as saying. In a separate call with …

Russia has nothing to fear from EU in South Caucasus, Armenia insists – POLITICO

Russia has nothing to fear from EU in South Caucasus, Armenia insists – POLITICO

Published by skeptic

“That doesn’t exclude bilateral good relations with Russia, and that’s something we want to explain to our Russian colleagues,” he added. Earlier this month, at a meeting between Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, the EU unveiled a €270 million package designed to help bolster the economic independence and resilience of the former Soviet republic. Russia currently has an effective monopoly over Armenia’s energy networks, railways and imports of key goods like grain. While Russia has also maintained control over Armenia’s borders for the past three decades, relations have soured in recent years, with the Kremlin refusing to back the country in its long-running conflict with neighboring Azerbaijan. Moscow deployed more than a thousand peacekeepers to the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh following a war in 2020, but its troops refused to intervene last September when Azerbaijani forces launched an offensive and sparked the mass exodus of its 100,000 Armenian residents. Days prior to the attack, Pashinyan told POLITICO that the country could …

US State Secretary Blinken to travel to Saudi Arabia next week

US State Secretary Blinken to travel to Saudi Arabia next week

Published by Sam

WASHINGTON: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will visit Saudi Arabia on Monday and Tuesday to meet with regional partners and discuss efforts to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of Israeli hostages, the State Department said on Saturday (Apr 27). “He will discuss the recent increase in humanitarian assistance being delivered to Gaza and underscore the importance of ensuring that increase is sustained,” the State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said in statement. “The Secretary will also emphasize the importance of preventing the conflict from spreading and discuss ongoing efforts to achieve lasting peace and security in the region, including through a pathway to an independent Palestinian state with security guarantees for Israel.” Blinken is not scheduled to visit Israel on this trip. War began in Gaza after Hamas fighters crossed into Israel on Oct 7, killing 1,200 people and capturing 253 hostages, according to Israeli tallies. Nearly 32,000 people have been confirmed killed in Israel’s retaliatory onslaught, according to Palestinian health officials in Hamas-run Gaza, with thousands more feared lost under the rubble. …

Blinken heads to the Middle East for talks on Gaza, regional security

Blinken heads to the Middle East for talks on Gaza, regional security

Published by skeptic

state department —  U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will travel to Riyadh from Monday through Tuesday to participate in regional talks on humanitarian assistance in Gaza, a post-war roadmap for the Palestinian territories, and stability and security in the Middle East. “The secretary will discuss ongoing efforts to achieve a cease-fire in Gaza that secures the release of hostages and how it is Hamas that is standing between the Palestinian people and a cease-fire,” according to the State Department. The Gulf Cooperation Council, or GCC, a regional alliance of Arab countries bordering the Persian Gulf, will convene in Riyadh next week. Blinken will participate in a GCC ministerial meeting to advance coordination on regional security. Additionally, Saudi Arabia is hosting a special session of the World Economic Forum in Riyadh on Sunday and Monday. Expected participants include heads of state and top executives from both the public and private sectors. The meeting aims to tackle a broad range of global challenges, including humanitarian issues, climate change, and economic concerns. Gaza, post-war roadmap The humanitarian …

Xi tells Blinken that China and the US should be ‘partners, not rivals’

Xi tells Blinken that China and the US should be ‘partners, not rivals’

Published by Sam

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday told top US diplomat Antony Blinken that the world’s two biggest economies should be “partners, not rivals”, but that there were a “number of issues” to be resolved in their relations. Issued on: 26/04/2024 – 08:56Modified: 26/04/2024 – 13:33 3 min Blinken, in China for the second time in less than a year, met leading Chinese politicians in the capital Beijing, where US officials said he would directly raise crucial areas of difference including Russia, Taiwan and trade. Meeting Blinken in Beijing’s Great Hall of the People, Xi said the two countries had “made some positive progress” since he met with US President Joe Biden last year, according to state broadcaster CCTV. “The two countries should be partners, not rivals,” Xi said. “There are still a number of issues that need to be resolved, and there is still room for further efforts,” the Chinese leader added. “We hope the US can also take a positive view of China’s development,” he added. “When this fundamental problem is solved… relations can …

Blinken calls for US, China to manage differences ‘responsibly’ ahead of talks

Blinken calls for US, China to manage differences ‘responsibly’ ahead of talks

Published by Sam

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called Thursday on the United States and China to manage their differences “responsibly” as he went on a charm offensive ahead of expected tough talks. Issued on: 25/04/2024 – 04:41 1 min A day before meeting Beijing’s top brass, Blinken visited the bustling metropolis of Shanghai where he sampled local food, watched a basketball game and strolled along the city’s famous Bund promenade on the busy Huangpu River. Visiting the local Communist Party leader in a reception room with sweeping views of the Shanghai skyline, Blinken said President Joe Biden was committed to “direct and sustained” dialogue between the world’s two largest economies after years of mounting tension. “I think it’s important to underscore the value — in fact, the necessity — of direct engagement, of speaking to each other, laying out our differences, which are real, seeking to work through them,” Blinken said. “We have an obligation for our people — indeed an obligation to the world — to manage the relationship between our two countries responsibly,” Blinken …

Blinken to warn China over support for Russia’s military during trip

Blinken to warn China over support for Russia’s military during trip

Published by skeptic

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken (L) and China’s Foreign Minister Qin Gang shake hands ahead of a meeting at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing on June 18, 2023.  Leah Millis | AFP | Getty Images U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will warn China about its support for Russia’s military during his visit to the country this week, according to a senior State Department official. Blinken is expected to convey Washington’s “deep concerns” over China’s aid for Russia’s defense industrial base, during his three-day visit starting Wednesday. “We’re prepared to take steps when we believe necessary against firms that … severely undermine security in both Ukraine and Europe,” the official told reporters ahead of Blinken’s trip.  “And I think we’ve demonstrated our willingness to do so regarding firms from a number of countries, not just China,” he added. “At any rate, again, I think this will be a key issue of discussion while we’re in Beijing.” U.S. allies in Europe are concerned about the implications of Beijing’s support for Russia’s war in Ukraine and “what it …