Page 2 - Antony Blinken

Taiwan's APEC envoy meets US President Biden, invites him to visit country

On Thursday, Taiwanese envoy held talks with US Secretary of State Blinken, where they discussed strengthening bilateral ties and ensuring peace and stability in the region

Blinken quotes Tagore at Diwali reception, hails South Asian contributions

Blinken emphasised the significance of South Asian culture in the United States, highlighting that the country derives strength from its diversity

US to add 1 mn visa slots in 2025, may reduce wait for Indian travelers

Tourist visa wait times in India are around 300-320 days, depending on the US consulate or embassy

Israel, Hezbollah exchange heavy violence as Blinken pushes for peace

The port is typically bustling - with fishermen, tourists and even U.N. peacekeepers on a break from deployments. Israel's evacuation orders this week have for the first time encompassed swathes

Blinken calls for Israel to seek peace deal amid stalled truce efforts

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday that Israel needs to pursue an enduring strategic success after its tactical victories against Hamas, urging it to seek a deal that would end the war in the Gaza Strip and bring back dozens of hostages. He spoke before travelling from Israel to Saudi Arabia on his 11th visit to the region since the outbreak of the war. Air raid sirens sounded in Tel Aviv shortly before his departure as Israel intercepted two projectiles fired from Lebanon, and a puff of smoke could be seen in the sky from Blinken's hotel. Israel has achieved most of the strategic objectives when it comes to Gaza," Blinken told reporters before boarding his plane. Now is the time to turn those successes into an enduring strategic success. There really are two things left to do: Get the hostages home and bring the war to an end with an understanding of what will follow, he said. No sign of a breakthrough after killing of Hamas leader The United States sees a new ...

US Secretary Blinken urges Israel to use opportunity to end war in Gaza

'The focus needs to be on getting the hostages home, ending this war and having a clear plan for what follows,' he said

Sirens echo across Tel Aviv as projectiles intercepted near Blinken's hotel

Air raid sirens echoed across Tel Aviv on Wednesday as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken prepared to end a visit. Smoke, apparently from an intercepted projectile, could be seen in the sky above the hotel where Blinken was staying. Blinken said Israel needs to pursue an enduring strategic success after its recent tactical victories against Hamas, urging it to seek a deal to end the war and bring back dozens of hostages before leaving for Saudi Arabia, as part of his 11th visit to the region since the start of the Israel-Hamas war. But both sides appear to be dug in. Netanyahu has pledged to annihilate Hamas and recover dozens of hostages held by the group. Hamas says it will only release the captives in return for a lasting cease-fire, a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and the release of Palestinian prisoners. On Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led militants blew holes in Israel's security fence and stormed in, killing some 1,200 people - mostly civilians - and abducting another 250. ...

Hezbollah fires rockets at Israel as Blinken returns to push for ceasefire

Experts say Hamas and Israel remain deeply at odds and are unlikely to make significant concessions before the Nov. 5 US presidential election, which could upend US policy

Oil prices fall as Blinken visits Israel, China's weak demand weighs

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Israel on Tuesday, the first stop on a Middle East tour in which he will seek to revive talks to end the Gaza war and defuse the spillover conflict

US Secy Blinken takes off in 11th attempt to reach Middle East ceasefire

President Joe Biden's decision to send Hochstein this week is signaling the urgency of a lasting cease-fire in Lebanon

Antony Blinken to make another push to defuse conflicts in West Asia

Blinken will discuss with regional leaders the importance of ending the war in Gaza, ways to chart a post-conflict plan for the Palestinian enclave

US sees window for new push to break deadlock in Lebanon, ease conflict

With Israel's sabotage and military operations in Lebanon taking out many of Hezbollah's senior leaders, some in Washington and elsewhere believe there may be a window for a new push to break the political deadlock in Lebanon to try to ease escalating war. To that end, Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke by phone separately Friday with acting Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati and parliament speaker Nabhi Berri about the need to resolve the situation, the State Department said. Earlier in the week, Blinken talked with his Saudi, Qatari and French counterparts about how a resolution particularly the election of a new Lebanese president might reduce tensions in the Middle East by getting Hezbollah to move its forces away from Israel's northern border to the line set out in a U.N. Security Council resolution ending the 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah. It's clear that the people of Lebanon have an interest, a strong interest, in the state asserting itself and taking ...

PM Modi expresses grief for Hurricane Milton victims to Blinken at ASEAN

Following that, he interacted with the Indian diaspora in Vientiane. He greeted Indian community members as they were excited to meet him outside the hotel in Laos

US concerned about China's risky sea actions, Blinken warns ASEAN

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told Southeast Asian leaders Friday that the US is concerned about China's increasingly dangerous and unlawful activities in the disputed South China Sea during an annual summit meeting, and pledged the US will continue to uphold freedom of navigation in the vital sea trade route. The 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations' meeting with Blinken followed a series of violent confrontations at sea between China and ASEAN members Philippines and Vietnam, which have fueled concerns that China's increasingly assertive actions in the waterways could spiral into a full-scale conflict. China, which claims almost the entire sea, has overlapping claims with ASEAN members Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei, as well as Taiwan. About a third of global trade transits through the sea, which is also rich in fishing stocks, gas and oil. Beijing has refused to recognize a 2016 international arbitration ruling by a U.N.-affiliated court in the .

US' top officials Blinken, Austin mourn Oct 7 attack on Israel by Hamas

Lloyd further expressed sorrow over the deaths of Palestinian civilians as well as the American citizens killed in the West Bank and Gaza Strip during the conflict

EAM Jaishankar meets Blinken, discuss bilateral co-op, West Asia, Ukraine

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met his US counterpart Antony Blinken here and held discussions covering deepening bilateral cooperation, the situation in West Asia, recent developments in the Indian sub-continent, the Indo-Pacific and Ukraine. Jaishankar - on his first visit to the US capital since the third Modi government took office - met Blinken on Tuesday at the Foggy Bottom headquarters of the US State Department. "Delighted to hold talks with @SecBlinken today in Washington DC. We followed up on the Delaware bilateral and Quad meetings. Our discussions also covered deepening bilateral cooperation, situation in West Asia, recent developments in the Indian subcontinent, the Indo-Pacific and Ukraine," Jaishankar said in a post on X. The minister was referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's recent bilateral meeting with US President Joe Biden. The US president hosted Modi at his Delaware residence for a bilateral meeting on September 21. They were later joined by lead

Totally unacceptable: Antony Blinken condemns Iran's attack on Israel

Blinken reaffirmed US support for Israel, stating that they would continue close communication with Israel moving forward

Jaishankar reaches Washington DC, to meet counterpart Antony Blinken

The think-tank said amid fast-paced global developments, India's bilateral ties with the US had grown more extensive

Blinken heads back to Mideast, this time without fanfare or visit to Israel

Secretary of State Antony Blinken heads to Egypt on Tuesday for his 10th trip to the Middle East since the war in Gaza began nearly a year ago, this one aimed partly at refining a proposal to present to Israel and Hamas for a cease-fire deal and release of hostages. Unlike in recent mediating missions, America's top diplomat this time is travelling without optimistic projections from the Biden administration of an expected breakthrough in the troubled negotiations. Notably, Blinken has no public plans to go to Israel to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on this trip. The Israeli leader's fiery public statements like his declaration that Israel would accept only total victory when Blinken was last in the region in June and some other unbudgeable demands have complicated earlier diplomacy. Blinken is going to Egypt for talks Wednesday with Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty and others, in a trip billed as focused both on American-Egyptian relations and Gaza ...

US announces over $700 mn in aid for Ukraine's energy grid, other projects

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced more than $700 million in aid for Ukraine Wednesday during a visit to Kyiv, aiming to bolster the energy grid that Russia has repeatedly pounded ahead of an expected difficult winter. At a news conference with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha and British Foreign Secretary David Lammy, Blinken said the assistance also would provide humanitarian support and pay for demining operations. The $325 million in energy support in the package will help repair and restore Ukraine's power generation facilities, provide emergency backup power and strengthen the physical security of energy infrastructure. Some $290 million will fund food, water, shelter, health care and education programs for Ukrainians in need in the country and refugees outside the country. The remaining $102 million will be used for mine-removal activities. Late last week, the US announced it was sending $250 million more in weapons to Ukraine, including air defence missi