Category Archives: Antony Blinken

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 may restrict visas for Ugandan officials in wake of anti-LGBTQ+ laws

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Antony Blinken says he’s looking to ‘promote accountability’ for Ugandan officials who have violated rights of LGBTQ+ people

The US may restrict visas issued to Ugandan officials in its latest condemnation to the African country’s enactment of stringent – and highly controversial – anti-LGBTQ+ laws.

Antony Blinken, the US secretary of state, said that Joe Biden’s White House is “deeply troubled” by the Anti-Homosexuality Act, which was signed into law by Yoweri Museveni, Uganda’s president, on Monday. Blinken said that he was looking to “promote accountability” for Ugandan officials who have violated the rights of LGBTQ+ people, with possible measures including the curtailment of visas.

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Sudanese Armed Forces and Rapid Support Forces agree ceasefire, says Blinken

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Secretary of state offers US support for plans to set up committee to negotiate peace deal after three-day pause in hostilities

The two opposing forces in Sudan’s civil war have agreed a three-day ceasefire, according to the US secretary of state, Antony Blinken.

“Following intense negotiation over the past 48 hours, the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have agreed to implement a nationwide ceasefire starting at midnight on 24 April, to last for 72 hours,” Blinken said in a written statement on Monday issued two hours before the ceasefire was due to start.

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Humanitarian aid ‘impossible’ as fighting in Sudan traps millions

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Hopes of 24-hour ceasefire to evacuate civilians and wounded after US secretary of state intervenes

Fighting continued in Sudan hours after an internationally brokered truce was supposed to have come into effect, as forces loyal to dueling generals battled for key locations in the capital and accused each other of violating the cease-fire.

At least 185 people have been killed and more than 1,800 injured in more than four days of fighting that has pitted army units loyal to Gen Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the head of Sudan’s transitional governing sovereign council, and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), led by Gen Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti, who is deputy head of the council. Their power struggle has derailed a shift to civilian rule and raised fears of a wider conflict.

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Blinken warns Sudan’s rivals as US diplomatic convoy comes under fire

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Secretary of state condemns apparent attack by fighters linked to paramilitary RSF after days of deadly clashes

A US diplomatic convoy came under fire in Sudan in an apparent attack by fighters associated with Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, the US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, has said, in an incident he described as “reckless” and “irresponsible”.

The incident on Monday prompted a direct warning from Blinken, who separately telephoned the RSF leader Gen Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti, and Sudan’s army chief, Gen Abdel Fatah al-Burhan, to tell them any danger posed to American diplomats was unacceptable.

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Sudan violence escalates as rival factions reject ceasefire calls

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Neither side shows any willingness to heed appeals from US, UK, African Union and Arab states as death toll nears 200

Rival government factions in Sudan have rejected calls for a ceasefire and intensified their battle for control of the vast and strategically important country as diplomatic efforts to end the conflict gather momentum.

At least 185 people have been killed and more than 1,800 injured, UN envoy Volker Perthes said as clashes have spread since Saturday, when violence erupted between army units loyal to Gen Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the head of Sudan’s transitional governing Sovereign Council, and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), led by Gen Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti, who is deputy head of the council.

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US looks to boost ties in Vietnam as China reportedly stalls Blinken visit

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Secretary of state to break ground on new US embassy while Hanoi reluctant to antagonise its powerful neighbour

China has reportedly refused to reschedule a visit from the US secretary of state, as Antony Blinken kicked off a trip to Vietnam, a crucial South-east Asian trade partner that Washington is looking to bolster ties with as it works to balance Beijing’s growing assertiveness in the region and beyond.

In his first visit to the country as the top US diplomat, Blinken will meet with top Vietnamese officials, including Vietnam’s general secretary, Nguyen Phu Trong, and formally break ground on Saturday on a new US embassy compound in Hanoi. On Sunday he travels to Japan for a meeting of the Group of Seven wealthy nations.

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US declares journalist Evan Gershkovich wrongfully detained by Moscow

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The Wall Street Journal reporter was imprisoned by Russian authorities for espionage

The US state department has officially designated Evan Gershkovich, the Wall Street Journal reporter imprisoned in Russia, as being wrongfully detained, signalling that Washington views the espionage charges against him as bogus and that he is being held as a hostage.

“Journalism is not a crime. We condemn the Kremlin’s continued repression of independent voices in Russia and its ongoing war against the truth,” the state department spokesman, Vedant Patel, said in a statement announcing the designation. “The US government will provide all appropriate support to Mr Gershkovich and his family. We call for the Russian Federation to immediately release Mr Gershkovich.”

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Antony Blinken urges Russia to release US journalist in call with Sergei Lavrov

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Russian foreign minister rejects request and says US must not ‘make a fuss’ over arrest of Evan Gershkovich

Antony Blinken, the US secretary of state, called for Russia to free the detained American journalist Evan Gershkovich in a rare phone call with his Moscow counterpart since the start of the war in Ukraine.

The American’s plea was rejected by Sergei Lavrov, who responded by saying that US officials and media outlets must “not make a fuss” or try to politicise the plight of the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reporter.

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Ukraine war has ‘profound impact’ on Asia, Blinken says, with eye on China’s ambitions

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Beijing is watching ‘very carefully’ how world responds to Russian aggression, says US secretary of state

US secretary of state Antony Blinken has warned that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has a “profound impact” on Asia, saying that China is watching “very carefully” how Washington and the world respond to Vladimir Putin’s war.

Speaking on the heels of a visit to Moscow by Chinese president Xi Jinping, Blinken told a Senate foreign relations hearing that if Russia was allowed to attack its neighbour with impunity, it would “open a Pandora’s box” for would-be aggressors and lead to a “world of conflict”.

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Blinken’s Moscow policy criticized by envoy who helped free Brittney Griner

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Secretary of state’s reluctance to speak to Russian counterpart impedes US, says envoy who helped arrange WNBA star’s release

A former US diplomat who participated in efforts to free the WNBA star Brittney Griner from jail in Russia has harshly criticised the US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, and the Biden administration over their approach to diplomacy with Moscow.

Cameron Hume, a career diplomat who was an ambassador under Bill Clinton, George W Bush and Barack Obama, said: “For a secretary of state to not want to even get body language or two words from Sergei Lavrov about the situation in Moscow, in the Kremlin, in the people who are close to [Vladimir] Putin, during a time of war was striking to me.

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Russia accuses west at G20 of blackmail and claims it has China’s support

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Stormy meeting in Delhi breaks up without joint statement as west and Moscow spar over Ukraine

Russia has accused the west of blackmail and threats and claimed it had China’s support for its position at a stormy meeting of G20 foreign ministers in India, dominated by the war in Ukraine.

The event broke up with no joint communique, only a summary of the meeting prepared by the host, India, the group’s current chair.

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US attempts to win over UN members who are neutral on war in Ukraine

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US secretary of state warns peace plan proposed by China draws ‘false equivalence’ by calling on both sides to stop fighting

The US has launched a fresh bid to win over abstaining and neutral states by urging them not to be fooled by Russian calls for a temporary or unconditional ceasefire in Ukraine, warning that a peace plan proposed by China drew “false equivalence” by calling on both sides to stop fighting.

US secretary of state Antony Blinken was speaking at a highly charged meeting of the UN security council where he reminded his fellow diplomats that the Russian envoy only a year ago had dismissed his warnings that Moscow was about to launch an invasion of Ukraine.

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Blinken meets with China’s top diplomat after US shoots down balloon

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Secretary of state says he condemned surveillance in first high-level contact between countries since incident

Antony Blinken, the US secretary of state, met with China’s top diplomat, Wang Yi, on Saturday in Munich in the first senior-level contact between the two countries since the American military shot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon off the coast of South Carolina on 4 February.

In a tweet on Saturday, Blinken said, “Just met with the PRC’s top diplomat, Wang Yi. I condemned the incursion of the PRC surveillance balloon and stressed it must never happen again.”

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China calls for calm amid growing row with US over suspected spy balloons

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Beijing says it will ‘not accept any groundless conjecture’ after balloons spotted over US and Latin America

China has called for calm amid a growing diplomatic row with the US over suspected spy balloons.

It comes after the US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, indefinitely postponed a planned visit to Beijing after a large balloon was spotted in US airspace.

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Second spy balloon spotted over Latin America, says Pentagon, as Blinken postpones China trip

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Secretary of state calls the incident in US airspace a ‘clear violation of US sovereignty and international law’

A second Chinese spy balloon was reportedly flying over Latin America, according to the Pentagon, in comments that came as the US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, postponed a visit to China after the intrusion of a separate high-altitude Chinese balloon into US airspace.

“We are seeing reports of a balloon transiting Latin America,” Pentagon spokesperson Pat Ryder said, a day after the first craft was spotted over US skies. “We now assess it is another Chinese surveillance balloon.”

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US secretary of state postpones China visit after spy balloon flies over Montana

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Antony Blinken delays trip, as China claims balloon was for ‘meteorological’ purposes and was blown off course

The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, has postponed a planned visit to China this weekend after the intrusion of a high-altitude Chinese balloon into US airspace.

China had apologised for the incident, claiming it had been a weather balloon which had been blown off course, but US officials made clear they did not believe that explanation and the Pentagon restated its assessment it was a surveillance aircraft, adding that by midday Friday it had changed course and was over the centre of the country.

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US opens embassy in Solomon Islands after 30-year absence to counter China

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Move comes amid concerns about Beijing’s military ambitions in Indo-Pacific region after it struck a security pact with Solomons last year

The United States has opened an embassy in Solomon Islands after a 30-year absence as it seeks to boost diplomatic relations in the Pacific as a counter to China.

The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, announced the news late on Wednesday, saying that “more than any other part of the world, the Indo-Pacific region – including the Pacific Islands – will shape the world’s trajectory in the 21st century”.

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Antony Blinken ends Middle East tour with no breakthrough

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US secretary of state says it is up to Israelis and Palestinians to find way to end recent violence

The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, has finished his Middle East tour with no breakthrough in reducing tensions between Israelis and Palestinians, saying that it was “fundamentally up to them” to end the violence after days of bloodshed.

Blinken said he had heard “deep concern about the current trajectory” during meetings in Israel and the occupied West Bank but, beyond calling for a “de-escalation”, he offered no new US initiative.

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Blinken calls for calm on Jerusalem visit amid days of Israeli-Palestinian violence

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US secretary of state meets Israel’s prime minister and reaffirms support for two-state solution

The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, has called for calm after days of violence between Israel and the Palestinians, as he visited Jerusalem for talks with the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.

A Palestinian man died on Monday after an altercation with Israeli troops, as violence in the region continued to spiral.

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