Author: Matthew Lee
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Madeleine Albright, 1st female US secretary of state, dies
WASHINGTON • Madeleine Albright, a child refugee from Nazi- and then Soviet-dominated eastern Europe who rose to become the 1st female U.S. secretary of state and a mentor to many current and former American statesmen and women, has died of cancer, her family said Wednesday. She was 84. A lifelong Democrat who nonetheless worked to…
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As Ukraine war rages, diplomats near Iran nuclear agreement
WASHINGTON • As the war in Ukraine rages on, diplomats trying to salvage the languishing 2015 Iran nuclear deal have been forging ahead with negotiations despite distractions caused by the conflict. They now appear to be near the cusp of a deal that would bring the U.S. back into the accord and bring Iran back…
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Breakdown of U.S.-Russia diplomacy runs deep, beyond Ukraine
WASHINGTON • Eyeing each other warily across negotiating tables, U.S. and Russian diplomats never much trusted each other. Yet even during the Cold War, they hashed out agreements on the biggest issues of the day. Now the fierce, mutual hostility over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine raises a critical question: Is U.S.-Russian diplomacy effectively dead? The…
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U.S., Russia show no sign of relenting ahead of Ukraine talks
KYIV, Ukraine • With critical talks approaching, the United States and Russia on Wednesday showed no sign either will relent from entrenched positions on Ukraine that have raised fears of a Russian invasion and a new war in Europe. Speaking in Kyiv, Secretary of State Antony Blinken accused Russia of planning to reinforce the more…
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France, EU furious with Biden over being excluded in new security deal
WASHINGTON • President Joe Biden’s summer of love with Europe appears to have come to an abrupt end. After promising European leaders that “America is back” and that multilateral diplomacy would guide U.S. foreign policy, Biden has angered numerous allies with a go-it-alone approach on key issues, the latest being a new security initiative for…
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White House: North Korea conducted short-range missile test
WASHINGTON • North Korea fired short-range missiles this past weekend, just days after the sister of Kim Jong Un threatened the United States and South Korea for holding joint military exercises. The missile tests were confirmed by two senior Biden administration officials who briefed reporters on condition of anonymity. They come as North Korea has…
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U.S.-Russia ties nosedive after Biden-Putin tit-for-tat
MOSCOW • U.S.-Russia ties nosedived on Thursday after Russian leader Vladimir Putin shot back at President Joe Biden’s description of him as a killer. The back and forth underscored Biden’s desire to distance himself from former President Donald Trump’s perceived softness on Putin despite actions his administration took against Russia. Although Biden agreed to extend…
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Biden strikes tough tone on Russia in diplomatic push
WASHINGTON • President Joe Biden on Thursday said the days of the U.S. “rolling over” to Russian President Vladimir Putin are gone as he called for the immediate release of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny. During his first visit to the State Department as president, Biden issued his strongest condemnation of Putin as large protests…
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U.S. plans sale of F-35 fighter jets to UAE in $23B arms deal
WASHINGTON • The Trump administration formally notified Congress on Tuesday that it plans to sell 50 stealth F-35 fighter jets to the United Arab Emirates as part of a broader arms deal worth $23 billion aimed at deterring potential threats from Iran despite concern in Israel. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said he had authorized…
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Trump: Israeli pacts with 2 Arab states signal ‘new’ Mideast
WASHINGTON • Israel on Tuesday signed historic diplomatic pacts with two Gulf Arab states at a White House ceremony that President Donald Trump declared will mark the “dawn of a new Middle East,” casting himself as an international peacemaker at the height of his reelection campaign. The bilateral agreements formalize the normalization of Israel’s thawing…