Page 4 - Antony Blinken

Blinken highlights support for Ukraine in case US backs away under Trump

Ukraine is on its way to being able to "stand on its own feet" militarily, Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said, noting that more than 20 other countries have pledged to maintain their own military and financial aid to the country even if the US were to withdraw its support under a different president. Blinken for the first time directly addressed the possibility that former President Donald Trump could win the November election and back away from commitments to Ukraine. The US, under President Joe Biden, has been the most important supporter of Ukraine's more than two-year battle against invading Russian forces. Trump's public comments have varied between criticizing U.S. backing for Ukraine's defense and supporting it, while his running mate, Sen. JD Vance, has been a leader of Republican efforts to block what have been billions in US military and financial assistance to Ukraine since Russia invaded in 2022. Concerns among Ukraine and its supporters that the country could lo

Working to break down silos between Europe, Asia, US, says Blinken

The Joe Biden administration is working to break down the silos between Europe, Asia and the United States, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Wednesday on the sidelines of the NATO summit here, wherein America's Indo-Pacific partners -- Australia, Japan, South Korea and New Zealand -- have also been invited to participate. In fact, this is the third time in a row that the US has invited its Indo-Pacific partners. It is a reflection of the fact that their theatres of work together are linked. "May be this was crystallised by Ukraine, when Prime Minister (Fumio) Kishida of Japan said that what is happening in Europe today could be happening in East Asia tomorrow. "When Russia committed its aggression, its renewed aggression against Ukraine, and Japan stood up, South Korea stood up, Australia, New Zealand, this was a reflection of that recognition that these challenges are linked. And when democracies stand together, whether they are in Europe, Asia or elsewhere, we are going t

Rise in anti-conversion laws, hate speech in India concerning: Blinken

There has been a "concerning increase" in anti-conversion laws, hate speech, and demolitions of homes and places of worship for members of minority faith communities in India, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said. In his remarks at the release of the annual State Department report on international religious freedom, Blinken said on Wednesday that at the same time, people around the world are also working hard to protect religious freedom. The report stated that senior US officials continued to raise concerns about religious freedom issues with their Indian counterparts in 2023. "In India, we see a concerning increase in anti-conversion laws, hate speech, demolitions of homes and places of worship for members of minority faith communities. At the same time, people around the world are also working hard to protect religious freedom," the secretary of state said. Ten of 28 states have laws restricting religious conversions for all faiths. Some of these states also impose ...

Blinken says Netanyahu agrees to ceasefire plan for Israel-Hamas war

Later on Tuesday during a stop in neighboring Jordan, Blinken pledged more than $400 million in US assistance for Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank and the broader region

Blinken pushes Israel on postwar Gaza plans as pressure mounts on Hamas

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged top Israeli officials on Monday to accept and implement a plan for postwar Gaza as he pushed for more international pressure on Hamas to agree to a cease-fire proposal newly endorsed by the UN Security Council. On his latest urgent mission to the Middle East his eighth since the Israel-Hamas war began in October Blinken met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant after talks in Cairo with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi to push the proposal, which faces new uncertainty following Israel's hostage rescue operation that killed many Palestinians and turmoil in Netanyahu's government. Blinken told Netanyahu that the United States and other world leaders will stand behind the comprehensive proposal outlined by President Biden that would lead to an immediate cease-fire in Gaza, the release of all hostages, and a significant and sustained increase in humanitarian assistance for distribution ...

Blinken back in Mideast as Israel-Hamas ceasefire proposal hangs in balance

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken returns to the Middle East this week as a proposed Israel-Hamas cease-fire deal hangs in the balance after the dramatic rescue of four Israeli hostages held in Gaza in a major military raid and turmoil in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government. With no firm response yet from Hamas to the proposal received 10 days ago, Blinken on Monday will start his eighth diplomatic mission to the region since the conflict began in October. He will meet with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi in Cairo before travelling to Israel, Jordan and Qatar. While President Joe Biden, Blinken and other US officials have praised the hostage rescue, the operation resulted in the deaths of a large number of Palestinian civilians that may complicate the cease-fire push by emboldening Israel and hardening Hamas' resolve to carry on fighting in the war it initiated with its October 7 attacks in Israel. It's hard to say how Hamas will process this particular ...

Blinken to push Gaza cease-fire proposal in eighth West Asia trip

Secretary of State Antony Blinken will push for a breakthrough on President Joe Biden's cease-fire proposal when he returns to the Middle East next week on his eighth diplomatic mission to the region since the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza began in October, the State Department said Friday. Blinken, who is currently in France accompanying Biden on a state visit timed to the 80th anniversary of the D-Day invasion during World War II, will fly from Paris to Cairo on Monday to meet Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and other officials before travelling to Israel, Jordan and Qatar, the department said. Blinken will then go to Italy to join Biden at the summit for the Group of Seven advanced economies. In all of his meetings, Blinken will emphasise the importance of Hamas accepting the proposal on the table, which is nearly identical to one Hamas endorsed last month and discuss how the cease-fire proposal would benefit both Israelis and Palestinians, State Department spokesman Matthew ..

Blinken calls top Israeli officials to discuss Gaza ceasefire deal

Blinken commended Israel for the proposal and emphasized that the onus is on Hamas to accept the deal

Blinken pledges $135 mn in US aid to Moldova to counter Russian influence

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday pledged USD 135 million in aid to Moldova for energy security and to counter Russian disinformation as the Western-leaning nation struggles to blunt Moscow's push for influence buoyed by recent successes in its war in neighboring Ukraine. Opening a short visit to eastern Europe with a stop in Chisinau before travelling to the Czech Republic, Blinken announced the assistance at a news conference with Moldovan President Maia Sandu. Before Wednesday, the US had provided Moldova with USD 774 million in financial aid since the Ukraine war began in February 2022, USD 300 million of which was earmarked for energy security. Blinken's trip, organised around a NATO foreign ministers meeting in Prague, comes amid concerns that Moldova and the former Soviet republic of Georgia are facing renewed threats from Russia. The trip comes two weeks after Blinken made an unannounced trip to Ukraine to reassure Kyiv of Washington's support in the face of

ICC arrest warrants on Israeli leaders extremely wrongheaded, says Blinken

He added that the administration was looking at "appropriate steps to take" on the prosecutor's decision, without commenting further

Ukrainian troops retreat, Zelenskyy postpones trips amid Russian offensive

Ukrainian forces withdrew from some parts of the country's northeast and battled Russian troops in other areas Wednesday, as President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's decision to postpone all his upcoming foreign trips underscored the seriousness of the threat his soldiers face. Against that grim backdrop, visiting U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken sought to reassure Ukraine of continuing American support, announcing a $2 billion arms deal. Most of the money comes from a package approved last month. The top diplomat's trip comes as Russian troops press a new offensive in Ukraine's Kharkiv region. It began last week, marking the most significant border incursion since the full-scale invasion began in 2022 and forcing thousands to flee their homes. In recent weeks, Moscow's forces have also sought to build on gains in the eastern region of Donetsk. Taken together, the developments mean the war has entered a critical stage for Ukraine's depleted army. Ukraine's General Staff reported late .

Israeli tanks push deeper into Rafah despite allies warning against it

A US official who declined to be identified told Reuters that Israel promised not to make a major move in Rafah without advising Washington

Blinken lands in Ukraine to express solidarity amid fierce Russian attacks

The previously undisclosed trip aims to show US solidarity with Ukraine as it struggles to fend off heavy Russian bombardment on its northeastern border

US Secy of State Blinken criticises Israel's conduct in war in Gaza

Secretary of State Antony Blinken has delivered some of the Biden administration's strongest public criticism yet of Israel's conduct of the war in Gaza, saying Israeli tactics have meant a horrible loss of life of innocent civilians but failed to neutralise Hamas leaders and fighters and could drive a lasting insurgency. In a pair of TV interviews, Blinken underscored that the United States believes Israeli forces should get out of Gaza, but also is waiting to see credible plans from Israel for security and governance in the territory after the war. Hamas has reemerged in parts of Gaza, Blinken said, and that heavy action by Israeli forces in the southern city of Rafah risks leaving America's closest Mideast ally holding the bag on an enduring insurgency." He said the United States has worked with Arab countries and others for weeks on developing credible plans for security, for governance, for rebuilding' in Gaza, but we haven't seen that come from Israel. ... We need to see that,

Antony Blinken urges Israel, Hamas to move ahead with ceasefire deal

The current round of talks appears to be serious, but the sides remain far apart on one key issue - whether the war should end as part of an emerging deal

Antony Blinken presses Hamas to accept new proposal for Gaza cease-fire

The United States stepped up pressure Monday for a cease-fire deal in Gaza as the secretary of state said a new proposal had been put to Hamas, whose officials were in Cairo talking to Egyptian mediators. Israeli airstrikes killed 26 people in Gaza's southernmost town of Rafah, according to hospital records. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, ahead of a visit to Israel this week, urged Hamas to accept the latest proposal, calling it extraordinarily generous on Israel's part. The terms were not made public. But according to an Egyptian official and Israeli media, Israel has softened its position, lowering the number of hostages it demands that Hamas free during the initial six-week phase of the cease-fire in return for the release of hundreds of Palestinians from Israeli prisons. One question is whether that will be enough to overcome Hamas concerns over the cease-fire's second phase. Hamas has demanded assurances that an eventual release of all hostages will bring a complete end

Israel truce proposal 'extraordinarily generous', says Antony Blinken

A source briefed on the talks said Israel's proposal entailed a deal for the release of fewer than 40 of the roughly 130 hostages believed to be still held in Gaza in exchange for freeing Palestinians

US envoy Blinken to visit Mideast again. What can he achieve this time?

Secretary of State Antony Blinken is returning to the Middle East on his seventh diplomatic mission to the region since the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza began more than six months ago, the State Department said Saturday. Blinken is traveling to Saudi Arabia on Monday, just two days since arriving back in Washington after a trip to China. Blinken will attend a World Economic Forum conference and meet with Arab foreign ministers in Riyadh, the Saudi capital. An Israeli foreign ministry official says Blinken will visit Israel on Tuesday, a stop not mentioned in the State Department's announcement about Blinken's itinerary. His latest Mideast trip, on the heels of meetings in China with President Xi Jinping and other high-ranking officials, comes as the war grinds on, with more than 34,000 Palestinians killed, hundreds of thousands displaced and a steadily worsening humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza. In the surprise attack by Hamas against Israel on Oct. 7 that triggered the war, about 1,200

Xi Jinping meets Antony Blinken, seeks US-China partnership over rivalry

Xi Jinping noted some progress since his meeting with US President Joe Biden, but stressed on continued efforts and addressing outstanding concerns

US and China spar with warnings about misunderstandings and miscalculations

The United States and China butted heads over a number of contentious bilateral, regional and global issues as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met Friday with senior Chinese officials and warned of the dangers of misunderstandings and miscalculations. Blinken's discussions started with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and then Public Security Minister Wang Xiaohong, who said Blinken would also see President Xi Jinping a meeting that had been expected but not previously announced by either said. A State Department official confirmed that Blinken would meet the president before leaving the country late Friday. Talks between the two sides have increased in recent months, even as differences have grown. Blinken and Wang underscored the importance of keeping lines of communication open, but they also lamented that divisions were becoming more serious in nature. They each underscored the importance of keeping lines of communication open but they also lamented persistent and ...