President Biden will visit Saudi Arabia in July on a trip that will include a meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, a senior administration official told reporters Monday night. The announcement that the president would meet Mohammed had been expected for weeks and has drawn scrutiny from human rights advocates and tacit approval…
Author: Laura Kelly
Biden trip to Middle East expected in July
President Biden is looking to visit the Middle East in July, a spokesperson for the National Security Council told The Hill on Wednesday. The White House has yet to publicly announce the trip. The spokesperson said that the administration had considered adding the Middle East visit onto the president’s trip to Europe in June, but…
House Dems ask Biden to prioritize oil, humanitarian issues ahead of potential Saudi meeting
The Democratic chairs of six House panels are asking President Biden to lay out a list of priorities ahead of a potential meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman that include addressing humanitarian issues in the kingdom and accountability in the death of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. The lawmakers wrote a letter to Biden dated…
US sanctions Bosnian president, official for threatening peace accords
The Biden administration on Monday issued sanctions against the president of Bosnia and Herzegovina for undermining democratic and peace efforts in the Western Balkans. The U.S. said that Marinko Čavara, president of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, has obstructed or threatened the implementation of the Dayton Peace Accords — the nearly three-decade-old framework for…
Biden doubles down on support for Ukraine, but shows limits
President Biden is once again ramping up U.S. support for Ukraine, vowing to send more advanced weapons to Kyiv with the express goal of helping the Ukrainians defeat the Russians. But the president is still exercising caution, reinforcing that his administration is not seeking a hot-war with Moscow or trying to depose Russian President Vladimir…
Ukraine assured US it will not strike within Russia
Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday said Ukraine has given the U.S. strict assurances that it would not use American-delivered heavy weapons for strikes within Russia, part of efforts to avoid a wider conflict between Moscow, Europe and the U.S. “Specifically with regard to weapons systems we provided, the Ukrainians have given us assurances that…
Navalny says he faces new charges that carry 15 years in prison
Jailed Russian opposition figure Alexey Navalny on Tuesday said he faces new charges that could add 15 years to what is already a near-decade sentence delivered by a Russian court. Western governments have widely condemned his arrest and sentence. In a Twitter thread posted on his account, Navalny said that he was formally charged with…
Navalny in prison: How a thorn in Putin’s side reaches the outside world
For one hour each week, imprisoned Russian dissident Alexey Navalny is allowed to send and receive messages with the outside world. Navalny’s hand-written missives are transmitted through his lawyer to his staff in exile in Vilnius, Lithuania, who work to share his calls for action against Russia’s war in Ukraine, expose Kremlin corruption and push…
5 takeaways from Blinken’s speech on U.S. confronting China
Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday said the U.S. will rally the global alliance supporting Ukraine’s defensive war against Russia to confront China’s global ambitions, calling it a “charged moment for the world.” “Beijing’s defense of President Putin’s war to erase Ukraine’s sovereignty and secure its sphere of influence in Europe should raise alarm…
Blinken to unveil ‘China House’ team at State Department to counter Beijing
Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday will announce the launching of a “China House” in the State Department, a team of diplomats across the agency that will coordinate U.S. policy to confront China on its global ambitions. The secretary will make the announcement on U.S. strategy during a wide-ranging speech on the Biden administration’s…