New York, US: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called Wednesday on Syria’s triumphant HTS rebels to follow through on promises of inclusion, saying it can learn a lesson from the isolation of Afghanistan’s Taliban. The Islamist movement rooted in Al-Qaeda and supported by Turkey has promised to protect minorities since its lightning offensive toppled…
Washington: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday that President-elect Donald Trump had a window to negotiate with Iran, saying the development of a nuclear weapon by Tehran was not inevitable. The outgoing top US diplomat acknowledged that the cleric-run state may be more seriously considering a nuclear weapon after military setbacks in the…
The United States said Saturday it had made contact with Syria’s victorious Hayat Tahrir al-Sham rebels, as Western and Arab states along with Turkey jointly voiced support for a united, peaceful Syria. Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s comment on “direct contact” with the HTS rebels came despite the United States having designated the group as…
Baghdad, Iraq: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met Iraq’s prime minister on Friday in an unannounced visit as he seeks to coordinate a regional approach to Syria following the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad. The top US diplomat flew to Baghdad from the Turkish capital Ankara and headed into talks with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed…
Washington: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday that Syrian civilians need to be protected after Ankara-backed Islamists overthrew the Damascus government. The top US diplomat met late Thursday for more than an hour with Erdogan at a lounge at the airport of the capital Ankara, moments after…
Vienna: Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his outgoing US counterpart Antony Blinken are due to face off over the war in Ukraine on Thursday at an annual meeting of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in Malta. While Ukraine will be the dominant political issue, the meeting is due to formally…
