Category Archives: US foreign policy

Boris Johnson claims he ‘reminded’ Trump about key role in Ukraine aid

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Former British prime minister says in interview that Trump ‘played an important role’ in arming Ukraine and set an example

On his recent visit to the US, Boris Johnson “reminded” Donald Trump he “actually played an important role” in supporting and arming Ukraine against its Russian invaders, the former British prime minister said, adding that British aid to Kyiv was “enabled” by Trump’s example.

Johnson made the claim about the notoriously pro-Russian former president – and brushed off mention of Trump’s impeachment for blocking military aid to Ukraine – in an interview on One Decision, a podcast hosted by Sir Richard Dearlove, a former chief of the British intelligence service MI6, and the journalist Julia Macfarlane. The episode was released on Thursday.

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US releases footage of Russian fighter jets ‘harassing’ US drones over Syria

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US defence official accuses Russian military of ‘reckless behaviour’ by flying dangerously close and releasing flares during US mission against Islamic State

The US Air Force has released video footage it says shows Russian fighter jets flying dangerously close to several US drones over Syria on Wednesday, setting off flares and forcing the MQ-9 Reapers to take evasive manoeuvres.

US Air Forces Central said in a statement describing the scenes: “These events represent a new level of unprofessional and unsafe action by Russian air forces operating in Syria.”

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Biden ratchets up efforts to secure Sweden’s Nato membership ahead of key summit

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Work to persuade Turkey to drop its objections continues, as president meets with Sweden’s prime minister at White House

US President Joe Biden has told prime minister Ulf Kristersson of Sweden that he is “looking forward” to the country’s stalled Nato membership bid winning final approval, amid doubts that Turkey will withdraw its opposition in time for a major summit next week.

Speaking in the Oval Office on Wednesday, Biden said he wanted to reiterate that he “fully, fully supports Sweden’s membership in Nato” and was “anxiously looking forward” to the bid being ratified.

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Russia may be open to prisoner swap for jailed US reporter Evan Gershkovich

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Kremlin spokesman says there have been ‘certain contacts on the subject’ with the US but says any discussion will be held in secret

The Kremlin has suggested it could be open to a possible prisoner exchange involving jailed Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, but reaffirmed that such talks must be held away from the public eye.

Asked whether Monday’s consular visits to Gershkovich, who has been held behind bars in Moscow since March on charges of espionage, and Vladimir Dunaev, a Russian citizen in US custody on cybercrime charges, could potentially herald a prisoner swap, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow and Washington had touched on the issue.

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US warns against efforts to interfere with Guatemala election result

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Frontrunner Sandra Torres alleged votes were manipulated after centrist Bernardo Arevalo claimed surprise runner-up spot

The US has issued a warning over possible efforts to interfere with Guatemala’s presidential election result, after the country’s top court ordered ballots from the first-round vote be reviewed, setting up the potential for a recount.

US secretary of state Antony Blinken said Washington had endorsed findings from observers over the vote’s validity, and said undermining the outcome would be a “grave threat to democracy with far-reaching implications”.

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US Treasury secretary Janet Yellen to visit China to build ‘healthy’ ties with Beijing

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Yellen heads to Beijing this week in move one expert calls an attempt to ‘put some floor’ under strained economic ties

US Treasury secretary Janet Yellen will visit Beijing this week, marking the second trip by a cabinet official to China since ties between the world’s top two economies deteriorated earlier this year.

Yellen is expected to discuss with her counterparts the importance for both countries “to responsibly manage our relationship, communicate directly about areas of concern, and work together to address global challenges”, said the Treasury Department in a statement on Sunday.

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US set to rejoin Unesco after leaving during Trump presidency

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Biden committed to rejoining body to ‘counter Chinese influence’ after Trump administration pulled out over ‘anti-Israeli bias’

The US is set to rejoin Unesco this month after a four-year absence from the global cultural and educational body that the country abandoned during the Donald Trump presidency over what his administration called “anti-Israeli bias”.

The United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s reunion with the US came after a two-day special session held at the body’s headquarters in Paris.

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Russia-Ukraine war live: Russia reducing its presence at nuclear power plant, says Ukraine; Pope says war seems to have ‘no end’

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Ukraine’s military intelligence directorate warns that staff are leaving Zaporizhzhia as Moscow has mined power units; Pope Francis calls for peace

Overnight, the BBC has been reporting that recruitment continues at Wagner mercenary offices across Russia, despite the fallout from the weekend’s armed mutiny. It writes:

Using a Russian phone number, we called more than a dozen recruitment centres saying, if asked, that we were inquiring on behalf of a brother.

All those who replied confirmed that it was business as usual.

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US special envoy for Iran placed on leave while security clearance reviewed

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Robert Malley expects investigation ‘to be resolved favourably and soon’ in wake of inquiry reportedly assessing his handling of classified documents

The US special envoy for Iran, Robert Malley, has said his security clearance is being reviewed and he is on leave in the meantime.

“I have been informed that my security clearance is under review. I have not been provided any further information, but I expect the investigation to be resolved favourably and soon,” Malley, a key figure in efforts to revive the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, told Reuters, Axios and CNN on Thursday. “In the meantime, I am on leave.”

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US targets Wagner by sanctioning gold companies suspected of funding group

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‘The US will continue to target the Wagner group’s revenue streams to degrade its expansion and violence,’ US treasury says

The United States has taken fresh aim at Russia’s Wagner group, imposing sanctions on companies it accuses of engaging in illicit gold dealings to fund the mercenary force.

In a statement on Tuesday, the US treasury department said it slapped sanctions on four companies in the United Arab Emirates, Central African Republic and Russia it accused of being connected to the Wagner Group and its leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin.

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Biden says US played no role in Russia’s Wagner mutiny: ‘We were not involved’

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The short-lived rebellion by the mercenary group posed a serious challenge to Vladimir Putin’s rule in Russia

Joe Biden has described the Wagner mercenary group’s brief mutiny against the Russian government as part of an internal power struggle, in which he said the US played no role.

“We made clear that we were not involved. We had nothing to do with it,” Biden said during an event at the White House on Monday. “We’re going to keep assessing the fallout of this weekend’s events and the implications for Russia and Ukraine. But it’s still too early to reach a definitive conclusion about where this is going.”

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Wagner rebellion reveals ‘cracks’ in Putin government, says Blinken

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Secretary of state says mutiny may help Ukraine counteroffensive after Yevgeny Prigozhin calls off advance on Moscow

A day after renegade Wagner mercenaries almost sparked a civil war in Russia, the top US diplomat has said the uprising showed “real cracks” in Vladimir Putin’s government and may offer Ukraine a crucial advantage as it conducts a counteroffensive that could influence the outcome of the war.

Antony Blinken, the US secretary of state, said the upheaval triggered by the aborted advance on Moscow by Yevgeny Prigozhin’s Wagner mercenaries on Saturday was far from over. Neither Prigozhin nor Putin have been heard from since coming to a last-minute agreement on Saturday to avert clashes near Moscow between mercenaries and regular Russian troops.

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China reportedly rebukes US ambassador after Biden called Xi a ‘dictator’

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US president sought to play down the impact of his comments, saying ‘I don’t think it’s had any real consequence’

The Chinese government has reportedly reprimanded the US ambassador to China over comments made by President Joe Biden in which he referred to President Xi Jinping as a “dictator”.

Nicholas Burns received the diplomatic note hours after Biden made comments about Xi at a fundraiser in California, according to the Wall Street Journal, citing three unnamed US officials.

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Extra $6bn in US arms for Ukraine after ‘accounting error’

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Previous error doubles in size but will mean a boost in weapons, ammunition and other equipment to repel Russian forces

The Pentagon says it has overestimated the value of the weapons it has sent to Ukraine by $6.2bn – about double early estimates – resulting in a surplus that will be used for future security packages.

A detailed review of the accounting error found that the replacement cost was used rather than the book value of equipment that was pulled from stocks, said Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh.

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Antony Blinken and Xi Jinping hold ‘candid’ talks in Beijing

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Meeting between China’s president and US secretary of state takes place at time of heightened tension

The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, has wrapped up a rare trip to Beijing where he met China’s president, Xi Jinping, concluding a high-stakes visit aimed at stabilising spiralling relations.

Speaking at a press briefing in Beijing before his departure, Blinken said he had had “an important conversation” with Xi during the 35-minute encounter and stressed it was the responsibility of both countries to find a path forward.

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US ‘deeply troubled’ as Israel plans to approve thousands of homes in West Bank

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Palestinians condemn move and Washington calls for return to dialogue amid Israeli plans to give go-ahead to 4,560 housing units in occupied territory

The United States says it is “deeply troubled” by the Israeli government’s tabling of plans to approve thousands of building permits in the occupied West Bank and has called on Israel to return to dialogue aimed at de-escalation.

The plans for approval of 4,560 housing units in various areas of the West Bank were included on the agenda of Israel’s Supreme Planning Council that meets next week, although only 1,332 are up for final approval, with the remainder still going through the preliminary clearance process.

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Antony Blinken in China: all eyes on whether US secretary of state will meet Xi Jinping

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A meeting is yet to be confirmed, a day after ‘candid’ talks with China’s foreign minister, who said ties were at their lowest point since diplomatic relations began

Antony Blinken was greeted by China’s top diplomat on Monday, and will perhaps meet its president, on the final day of a rare visit aimed at trying to resurrect relations between Washington and Beijing from historic lows.

Neither Blinken nor Wang Yi made any comment to reporters as they greeted each other and sat for their discussion during what is the first visit by a US secretary of state to China in five years.

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Blinken will seek China’s cooperation in curbing fentanyl at high-stakes visit

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US secretary of state ‘held candid, substantive, and constructive talks,’ state department spokesperson says

US secretary of state Antony Blinken will seek China’s cooperation in curbing the production of the deadly synthetic opioid fentanyl during his two-day visit to Beijing, one of several contentious issues that the high-stakes diplomatic outreach will touch on.

Aides to Blinken have said the issue will feature prominently in discussions between US and Chinese officials during the trip as the US seeks China’s help in curbing Chinese manufacture of precursor chemicals used to create the drug that helped drive more than two-thirds of 100,000 American overdose deaths in each of the past two years.

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Antony Blinken begins China visit that spy balloon put off

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US secretary of state’s trip seeks to clear the air but issues such as Taiwan and Ukraine leave limited room for compromise

Antony Blinken has arrived in Beijing on the highest-level trip by a US official since 2018, with his aides signalling he was seeking to build lines of communication rather than secure any practical breakthrough agreements.

The expectations, set deliberately low for the two-day talks, allow room for the world’s two largest economies to air their differences over the Taiwan strait, technology, human rights and the war in Ukraine.

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US military will have ‘unimpeded’ access to Papua New Guinea bases under new security deal

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Deal signed last month gives US ‘exclusive use’ of parts of bases, as Palau PM says he has asked US to step up patrols after Chinese incursions into its waters

The US military can develop and operate out of bases in Papua New Guinea, according to a landmark security pact that is part of Washington’s efforts to outflank China in the Pacific.

The full text of the deal was tabled in Papua New Guinea’s parliament on Wednesday evening and obtained by AFP, shedding light on details that have been closely guarded since the pact was signed in May.

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