Top US diplomat Antony Blinken on Wednesday pressed Turkey‘s foreign minister over a Russian air defence system and Ankara’s withdrawal from a treaty on violence against women. “Secretary Blinken urged Turkey not to retain the Russian S-400 air defence system,” the State Department said, after talks on the sidelines of a NATO meeting in Brussels. … Read more
Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin has said that the US will not undertake a hasty or disorderly withdrawal of its troops from Afghanistan, stressing that violence must decrease now in the war-torn country and more progress is needed in the Afghan-led negotiations. The US and the Taliban reached an agreement in February 2020 that called for … Read more
UNITED NATIONS: The first-ever treaty to ban nuclear weapons entered into force on Friday, hailed as a historic step to rid the world of its deadliest weapons but strongly opposed by the world’s nuclear-armed nations. The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons is now part of international law, culminating a decades-long campaign aimed at … Read more
Russia’s tightening embrace of embattled Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko is raising concerns at NATO that the balance of military power in the alliance’s weak northeast corner could tip further in the Kremlin’s favor. Western capitals have lambasted Mr. Lukashenko, who has ruled Belarus for 26 years, for declaring himself the winner of a disputed election … Read more
CAIRO: The US Embassy in Libya said Libyan commander Khalifa Hifter agreed to reopen key oil fields and terminals no later than Saturday, a move that could advance talks between the country’s warring sides closer to a political settlement to the yearslong conflict. Powerful tribes in eastern Libya loyal to Hifter have kept export terminals … Read more
WASHINGTON: The United States seeks to formalise its closer defence ties with countries of the India-Pacific region — India, Japan and Australia — similar to something like the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) with an aim to counter China, US Deputy Secretary of State Stephen Biegun said on Monday. He said that Washington’s aim is … Read more