Section: Africa&ME
EU top diplomat discusses Russia, Iran nuclear deal with Tillerson
In their first meeting, the European Union’s foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini and US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson spoke “at length” about terrorism, Russia, the Iran nuclear deal and Ukraine, the EU said in a statement. Mogherini is in Washington on Thursday and Friday, for the first time since Donald Trump became president. She...
Baltic States Seek More NATO Help Ahead of Russian Exercise
The Baltic states will press the United States and NATO to take additional security measures in the region ahead of a large Russian military exercise planned for September, Lithuania’s president said on Thursday. NATO has already started to deploy four battle groups of about 1,000 soldiers each to the Baltic states and Poland, part of...
Some Republican Senators Want Trump to Take Tough Stance on Russia
Nine Republican senators have signed a letter calling on President Donald Trump to take a tough stance when dealing with Russia, though they did encourage the president to “seek common ground.” The letter, spearheaded by Senator Corey Gardner and signed by several other high-profile Republicans, including John Cornyn and Lindsey Graham, said it...
UK, France Scramble Jets to Monitor Russian Bombers Near Their Airspace
Britain said Thursday that it had scrambled an unspecified number of Typhoon aircraft to monitor two Russian Blackjack bombers that flew near British airspace. The incident was the latest example of Russian jets flying near to Britain, often as a way of testing the response time of their British counterparts. “We can confirm that quick...
Putin orders Russia’s air force to prepare for a ‘time of war’ — and NATO doesn’t stand a chance right now
Russian President Vladimir Putin has again scrambled his jets in a snap military drill meant to prepare his air force for a "time of war." “In accordance with the decision by the Armed Forces Supreme Commander, a snap check of the Aerospace Forces began to evaluate readiness of the control agencies and troops to carry out combat...
NATO backs Ukraine as clashes surge
The recent fighting was the worst in two years, with OSCE monitors reporting more than 10,000 violations of the Minsk ceasefire accords on one day, she said. …read more Source: World...
Trump to attend Nato summit in unfinished HQ
Nato will host a summit of leaders including US President Donald Trump in May at its new Brussels headquarters, even though it will not be ready by then, sources said on Thursday. Security and IT systems at the $1.2bn headquarters in the Belgian capital are behind schedule and so the transatlantic military alliance will only properly move in come...
Signatures that triggered EU-Ukraine referendum not vetted: Dutch govt
The authenticity of more than 400,000 signatures gathered by activists in the Netherlands to trigger last year’s referendum on the European Union treaty with Ukraine was never verified, it emerged Thursday …read more Source: The Daily...
Report: Moscow Sees Threat in NATO Deployment
Russia views the deployment of NATO troops and military hardware to the Baltic states, Poland and Germany as a threat and has no information about how and when the deployment will end, the RIA news agency reported Thursday. RIA cited Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexei Meshkov as saying Moscow was watching closely and would ensure that its own...
Kremlin says east Ukraine unlikely to be part of deal with Trump
MOSCOW (Reuters) – The Kremlin said on Thursday it was unlikely that the situation in eastern Ukraine, where pro-Russian separatists are ranged against the Ukrainian army, would be part of any deal with U.S. President Donald Trump. …read more Source: Libya...
