Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani met with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in New York on Monday and received an invitation from U.S. President Joe Biden to visit the White House soon, a State Department spokesperson said. Sudani, who is in New York for the U.N. General Assembly, …
Read More »Blinken talks GERD dam and urges Tigray peace on Ethiopia visit
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on an Africa visit also met representatives from the Tigray People’s Liberation Front. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken discussed with officials in Ethiopia a dispute with downstream Egypt over Ethiopia’s completion of Africa’s largest hydroelectric dam. Egypt and Sudan have been in talks …
Read More »No plans to meet Russian, Chinese counterparts at Delhi G20 meetings: Blinken
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Wednesday that he has no plans to meet either the foreign ministers of Russia or of China during the Group of 20 (G20) meeting in New Delhi. Blinken was on a brief tour of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan and will head to the …
Read More »US ‘in no position to make demands’: China slams Blinken comments
China says it will not accept US ‘pointing fingers’ after Blinken said Beijing is considering providing arms to Russia. Beijing has strongly denied US claims that China was considering arming Russia in its war against Ukraine, as it reiterated a call for dialogue to end the conflict. A Chinese spokesperson …
Read More »Al-Sudani: Iraq seeks to boost cooperation with the US in combatting terrorism
On Saturday, the Iraqi Prime Minister, Muhammad S. al-Sudani, met with US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference. In a statement, the Iraqi government said both sides discussed issues of common interests, including ways to boost relations between Baghdad and Washington to face …
Read More »US’ Blinken tests positive for Covid-19
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken tested positive for Covid-19 on Wednesday, State Department spokesman Ned Price said in a statement.
Read More »Top US officials to meet Zelensky on first wartime visit to Kyiv
The US military chief will visit Kyiv to discuss ways to continue offering more weapons and other support to Ukraine’s military, as other NATO countries’ support continues. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has announced that US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will visit Kyiv on …
Read More »US appoints envoy to defend Afghan women’s rights
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday will name former U.S. official Rina Amiri as a special envoy for Afghan women, girls, and human rights, two sources familiar with the decision said. Amiri has spent two decades advising governments, the United Nations, and think tanks on issues related to …
Read More »Blinken meets Russia’s Lavrov on Ukraine, warns of ‘severe costs’
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned Moscow of the “severe costs” Russia would pay if it invaded Ukraine, urging his Russian counterpart on Thursday to seek a diplomatic exit from the crisis. Blinken delivered the warning to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov at what he called a “candid” meeting …
Read More »Biden top aides discouraged abrupt Afghanistan pullout, book says
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin pushed for a slower drawdown to encourage negotiations between the Taliban and the Afghan government, according to “Peril.” President Joe Biden’s top cabinet members unsuccessfully tried to dissuade him from pulling all US troops from Afghanistan, hoping he would …
Read More »Top Democrat on Senate committee slams Biden admin, US withdrawal from Afghanistan
“A full accounting of the US response to this crisis is not complete without the Pentagon, especially when it comes to understanding the complete collapse of the US-trained and funded Afghan military,” Menendez said. The top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Tuesday blasted the Biden administration over its …
Read More »First post-evacuation flight from Afghanistan lands in Qatar after Taliban approval
On Wednesday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken criticized the Taliban and revealed that they were not allowing charter flights to evacuate US citizens and at-risk Afghans to depart the airport. The Taliban allowed a flight of foreigners, including American citizens, to finally depart Afghanistan on Thursday after the top …
Read More »US Secretary Blinken to testify in front of Senate committee on Afghanistan
Republicans and Democrats have criticized the embarrassing manner in which the US abruptly vacated a key airbase and withdrew its military forces at the direction of Biden. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will appear in front of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee next week to testify and be questioned …
Read More »After messy pullout, Blinken to intensify Afghanistan diplomacy in Qatar, Germany
A week after declaring America’s “new chapter” of engagement with Afghanistan, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will aim to form a united front with allies this week on how to tackle the Taliban and ensure continued support for the U.S. bid to help evacuate Americans and at-risk Afghans who …
Read More »Only 300 American citizens left to be evacuated from Afghanistan: Blinken
Only 300 American citizens still in Afghanistan are seeking to leave the country, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Sunday, just days ahead of the US deadline for evacuations. “We are down to a population of 300 or fewer Americans who are still on the ground there, and we …
Read More »Al-Qaeda Not ‘Gone’ From Afghanistan Despite Biden’s Claims: Blinken
On Friday, US President Joe Biden questioned a rationale for staying in Afghanistan amid a barrage of criticism towards the West’s hasty withdrawal from the country that resulted in the Taliban’s takeover. “What interest do we have in Afghanistan at this point with al Qaeda gone?” the president said, raising …
Read More »Blinken expresses US concern about China’s growing nuclear arsenal
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken expressed deep concern about China’s growing nuclear arsenal during a meeting with foreign ministers of Asian countries and partner nations, the State Department said on Friday. Addressing a virtual meeting of the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), which groups more than two dozen countries, Blinken …
Read More »US top diplomat Antony Blinken to visit India, Kuwait next week
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will travel to India next week, the State Department said on Friday, in the top US diplomat’s first visit to the world’s largest democracy and an important US ally in Asia. Blinken will also visit Kuwait and meet senior officials there at the end …
Read More »Very hard to rejoin JCPOA if Vienna talks drag on: US warns Iran
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has warned Iran that it will become “very hard” to return to the 2015 nuclear agreement if negotiations in Vienna on a potential revival of the multilateral deal continue without progress.
Read More »Syria rejects Blinken’s remarks on occupied Golan Heights
Syria has categorically rejected remarks by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken about the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, reiterating that the land was and will remain a “Syrian Arab” territory. “The Syrian Arab Republic absolutely rejects the statements of the US Secretary of State regarding the occupied Syrian Golan which come …
Read More »