Category Archives: US foreign policy

Pentagon stopped Ukraine military aid shipments in February without Trump’s approval

Posted on by

Order to cancel 11 military aid flights – which were quickly reinstated – originated in defense head Pete Hegseth’s office

Roughly a week after Donald Trump started his second term as president, the US military issued an order to three freight airlines operating out of Dover air force base in Delaware and a US base in Qatar: stop 11 flights loaded with artillery shells and other weaponry that were bound for Ukraine.

In a matter of hours, frantic questions reached Washington from Ukrainians in Kyiv and from officials in Poland, where the shipments were coordinated. Who had ordered the US Transportation Command, known as TransCom, to halt the flights? Was it a permanent pause on all aid? Or just some?

Continue reading...

Trump and Carney to meet at White House in closely watched encounter

Posted on by

Vibe at meeting could hint at future relationship between the two countries and their two leaders

Canada’s prime minister, Mark Carney, was due to meet with the US president, Donald Trump, on Tuesday in a closely watched encounter at the White House that could hint at the future relationship between the two countries and their two leaders.

Over the weekend, Trump said it was “highly unlikely” he would use military force to annex Canada, a key trading partner and political ally. In recent months, the president has repeatedly threatened to use economic coercion to weaken Canada to the point that it accedes to Trump’s wish to make it the 51st state.

Continue reading...

Mike Pence rebukes Trump over tariffs and ‘wavering’ support for Ukraine

Posted on by

Former vice-president says tariffs ‘not a win for the American people’ and predicts public pressure will grow

Donald Trump’s tariffs policy will trigger a “price shock” and possible shortages, and lead to public pressure on him to change his approach, the former vice-president Mike Pence has said.

In one of his most wide-ranging critiques yet on the policies of the president he used to serve, Pence, speaking to CNN, derided the White House’s “wavering” support for Ukraine and declared – in direct contradiction of repeated assurances from Trump – that President Vladimir Putin of Russia “doesn’t want peace”.

Continue reading...

Mexico’s president tries to defuse fears of US military intervention

Posted on by

Sheinbaum emphasises communication with Trump ‘very good’ after rejecting offer to send US troops into Mexico

A sharp exchange of statements over the weekend has heightened concerns in Mexico that Donald Trump may push for a US military presence in its territory to fight drug trafficking.

The Mexican president, Claudia Sheinbaum, sought to defuse the situation in her daily press conference on Monday, emphasising that communication between the two leaders had been “very good” so far.

Continue reading...

Germany hits back at Marco Rubio after he panned labeling of AfD as ‘extremist’

Posted on by

Far-right German party was labeled a ‘confirmed rightwing extremist group’ by country’s domestic intelligence service

Germany’s foreign ministry has hit back at the US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, following his criticism of Germany’s decision to label the far-right Alternative für Deutschland party as a “confirmed rightwing extremist group”.

On Thursday, Rubio took to X and wrote: “Germany just gave its spy agency new powers to surveil the opposition. That’s not democracy – it’s tyranny in disguise. What is truly extremist is not the popular AfD – which took second in the recent election – but rather the establishment’s deadly open border immigration policies that the AfD opposes.”

Continue reading...

Cautious optimism in Ukraine over minerals deal with Trump

Posted on by

While details remain to be finalised, Zelenskyy may have have secured a better agreement than first seemed likely

There is cautious optimism in Kyiv over the terms of the long-discussed US-Ukraine minerals deal, signed on Wednesday, which appear to be more advantageous for Ukraine than most had expected.

Many details are still to be finalised and will be written into a yet-to-be-signed further technical agreement, suggesting that the long saga over the deal may not be quite over. But Ukrainian analysts have noted that Kyiv has apparently been able to extract some major concessions, despite Donald Trump’s repeated claim that Ukraine “has no cards” to play.

Continue reading...

Carney gave a eulogy for Canada’s old relationship with the US. Now he must redefine it

Posted on by

Prime minister pledges to reduce country’s reliance on US trade – but must navigate competing visions for the future

In his victory speech early on Tuesday, Mark Carney wasted little time calling for a dramatic reshaping of his government’s relationship with the United States, arguing that threats from Donald Trump cast doubt Canada’s ability to function as a “free, sovereign, and ambitious” nation.

The former central banker and investment executive had for months focused his electoral campaign on the threats from Canada’s largest trading partner and longtime political ally.

Continue reading...

Trump’s first 100 days supercharged a global ‘freefall of rights’, says Amnesty

Posted on by

World now in era of repressive regimes’ impunity, climate inaction and unchecked corporate power, says report

The first 100 days of Donald Trump’s presidency have “supercharged” a global rollback of human rights, pushing the world towards an authoritarian era defined by impunity and unchecked corporate power, Amnesty International warns today.

In its annual report on the state of human rights in 150 countries, the organisation said the immediate ramifications of Trump’s second term had been the undermining of decades of progress and the emboldening of authoritarian leaders.

Continue reading...

Trump promised peace but brings rapid increase in civilian casualties to Yemen | Dan Sabbagh

Posted on by

Escalation from US military suggests previous restraints on causing civilian casualties have been relaxed

“I am the candidate of peace,” Donald Trump declared on the campaign trail last November. Three months into his presidency, not only is the war in Ukraine continuing and the war in Gaza restarted, but in Yemen, the number of civilian casualties caused by US bombing is rapidly and deliberately escalating.

Sixty-eight were killed overnight, the Houthis said, when the US military bombed a detention centre holding African migrants in Saada, north-west Yemen, as part of a campaign against the rebel group. In the words of the US Central Command (Centcom), its purpose is to “restore freedom of navigation” in the Red Sea and, most significantly, “American deterrence”.

Continue reading...

US treasury secretary says ‘there is a path’ with China over tariff negotiations

Posted on by

‘The Chinese will see this high tariff level is unsustainable for their business,’ says Scott Bessent

The US treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, said “there is a path” to an agreement with China over tariffs after he had interactions with his Chinese counterparts last week in Washington.

“I had interaction with my Chinese counterparts, but it was more on the traditional things like financial stability, global economic early warnings,” Bessent told ABC News’s This Week on Sunday, explaining that he spoke to the Chinese during International Monetary Fund meetings in Washington. “I don’t know if President Trump has spoken with President Xi,” he added.

Continue reading...

Americans, including Republicans, losing faith in Trump, new polls reveal

Posted on by

Trump scores poorly on economy and immigration as some fear he is ‘exceeding powers’ and focussed on wrong issues

Americans, including some Republicans, are losing faith in Donald Trump across a range of key issues, according to polling released this week. One survey found a majority describing the president’s second stint in the White House so far as “scary”.

Along with poor ratings on the economy and Trump’s immigration policy, a survey released on Saturday found that only 24% of Americans believe Trump has focussed on the right priorities as president.

Continue reading...

A carve-up in gift wrapping: Trump’s peace plan puts the sacrifice on Ukraine

Posted on by

Redolent of old great power thinking, Trump’s Crimea giveaway could usher a return to international lawlessness

“Crimea will stay with Russia,” Donald Trump told Time magazine in a largely sympathetic profile on Friday. And with that statement, the US president made clear that he wanted to carve up another country, Ukraine, and so legitimise the forcible seizure of land made by Moscow 11 years ago.

From reading the transcript of the interview, Trump’s thinking is hardly coherent. Crimea, he says, wouldn’t have been seized if he had been president in 2014, but “it was handed to them by Barack Hussein Obama” and now Crimea has “been with them [Russia] for a long time” – so it is time to accept the seizure.

Continue reading...

Pope’s funeral a diplomatic minefield as Trump sets fire to US alliances

Posted on by

President’s international engagements have set stage for explosive confrontations and Pope Francis’s funeral comes at an especially fraught moment

A spectre is haunting Europe: the spectre of Donald Trump flying to the Vatican this weekend and publicly feuding with international leaders in front of St Peter’s Basilica in the midst of the sombre rituals and rites that will mark the funeral of Pope Francis.

The US leader’s first international trip of his second term comes at one of the most politically fractious and fraught moments in recent memory, as his “America first” project sets fire to US alliances and trade relationships around the world. Between international tariffs, the wars in Ukraine and in Gaza, the Trump team’s open antipathy toward Europe and its hard line on immigration from Central and South America, the papal funeral could prove to be a minefield of international diplomacy.

Continue reading...

Trump envoy meets Putin hours after Moscow killing of Russian general

Posted on by

Russian official calls talks with Steve Witkoff ‘quite useful’ as investigation launched into suspected Ukrainian bombing

Donald Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff has met Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin for high-stakes peace talks, hours after a senior Russian military official was killed in a car explosion near Moscow.

Trump has played up Witkoff’s visit – his fourth to Russia in recent months – claiming a deal on ending the war in Ukraine was within reach. “The next few days are going to be very important. Meetings are taking place right now,” Trump told reporters on Thursday. “I think we’re going to make a deal … I think we’re getting very close.”

Continue reading...

‘Vladimir, stop!’ Trump in rare rebuke to Putin as Kyiv attack toll rises to 12

Posted on by

Intervention comes as US president makes renewed push to end war, reportedly on terms favourable to Moscow

Donald Trump has issued a rare rebuke to Moscow for an air attack that killed 12 people in Kyiv, telling the Russian president in a social media post: “Vladimir, STOP!”

The US president’s remarks come as he makes a renewed push to end the Ukraine war, reportedly on terms favourable to Russia that include recognition of Moscow’s 2014 annexation of Crimea, something the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, has said he cannot accept.

Continue reading...

Dutton refuses to specify what Coalition’s $21bn of pledged defence spending would be used on

Posted on by

Opposition leader insists costings will be released prior to the election as Andrew Hastie says ‘America-first’ US means Australia’s defence must be prioritised

The opposition leader, Peter Dutton, has refused to specify where an additional $21bn in pledged defence spending would be allocated, nor where the money would come from, committing only to releasing the Coalition’s costings before the 3 May election.

After announcing the Coalition’s policy to spend an additional $21bn over five years, lifting defence spending to 2.5% of GDP, Dutton was questioned over where the money would come from and what specific capabilities it would be directed to.

Continue reading...

Marco Rubio announces sweeping reorganisation of US state department

Posted on by

Secretary of state says overhaul of department will close a number of overseas missions and reduce staff

The secretary of state, Marco Rubio, has proposed a sweeping reorganisation of the US state department as part of what he called an effort to reform it amid criticism from the Trump White House over the execution of US diplomacy.

If approved, the reorganisation would cut more than 700 positions and eliminate 132 of 734 offices, according to state department officials. But those officials also stressed that the plan, which was suddenly announced on Tuesday, remained a proposal and would not lead to immediate layoffs or cuts.

Continue reading...

Zelenskyy dismisses Putin ceasefire as ‘PR’ and says Russian attacks continue

Posted on by

Ukraine reports drone and artillery strikes over Easter weekend, while Moscow also claims ceasefire breaches by Kyiv

Volodymyr Zelenskyy has dismissed Vladimir Putin’s Easter ceasefire as a fake “PR” exercise and said Russian troops had continued their drone and artillery attacks across many parts of the frontline.

Citing a report from Ukraine’s commander-in-chief, Oleksandr Syrskyi, Zelenskyy said Russia was still using heavy weapons and since 10am on Sunday an increase in Russian shelling had been observed.

Continue reading...

Moscow may gain key role in Iran nuclear deal as US talks progress

Posted on by

Russia touted as possible destination for Iran’s uranium stockpile and could also act as arbiter of deal breaches

Russia could play a key role in a deal on the future of Iran’s nuclear programme, with Moscow being touted not only as a possible destination for Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium, but also as a possible arbiter of deal breaches.

Donald Trump, who abandoned a 2015 nuclear pact between Tehran and world powers in 2018 during his first term, has threatened to attack Iran unless it reaches a new deal swiftly that would prevent it from developing a nuclear weapon.

Continue reading...

Iranian minister says nuclear deal possible if US does not make ‘unrealistic demands’

Posted on by

Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araqchi, and US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff will resume talks in Rome on Saturday

Iran’s top negotiator believes reaching an agreement on its nuclear programme with the US is possible as long as Washington is realistic, as the two sides prepare to resume talks in Rome on Saturday.

Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araqchi, and the US Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, will begin indirect negotiations through mediators from Oman, after their first round in Muscat, which both sides described as constructive.

Continue reading...