Section: Voice of America (USA)
OSCE Chairman Calls for Revitalized Nagorno-Karabakh Peace Process
Austria’s top diplomat on Friday called on both sides of the conflict in Azerbaijan’s autonomous breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh to renew the political settlement process. Marking the first anniversary of deadly clashes in the Azeri region, which is populated mostly by ethnic Armenians, Austrian Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz,...
Poland Expects to Sign Patriot Missile Deal With US Firm
Poland’s defense minster said Friday that he expected to sign a multibillion-dollar deal with U.S. firm Raytheon to buy eight Patriot missile defense systems this year. Antoni Macierewicz told reporters in Warsaw that the $7.6 billion deal was necessary in light of what he called “a growing threat from the East.” Poland has...
Russian Prosecutors Move to Block Online Calls for Protests
Russian prosecutors moved Friday to block calls on social networks for more street protests in Moscow and other Russian cities following a wave of rallies that have cast a new challenge to the Kremlin. Tens of thousands of demonstrators turned out in Moscow and other cities Sunday to rally against official corruption in the largest outpouring of...
Russian Submarines Match Cold War-era Patrol Intensity
Russian submarines have increased combat patrols to the level last seen during the Cold War, the navy chief said Friday. Adm. Vladimir Korolyov said that Russian submarine crews spent more than 3,000 days on patrol last year, matching the Soviet-era operational tempo. “It’s an excellent level,” he said in remarks carried by state RIA...
US Secretary of State to Discuss Russian ‘Aggression’ With NATO
U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson says he will discuss “Russia’s aggression in Ukraine” when he meets with NATO allies Friday. Upon arrival in Brussels, the top U.S. diplomat said he sees three important areas to discuss: NATO’s resources for its mission, the organization’s fight against terrorism, including Islamic State,...
Cargo Vessels Evade Detection, Raising Fears of Huge Trafficking Operations
Hundreds of ships are switching off their tracking devices and taking unexplained routes, raising concern the trafficking of arms, migrants and drugs is going undetected. Ninety percent of the world’s trade is carried by sea. Every vessel has an identification number administered by the United Nations’ International Maritime...
Tillerson Meets Turkey Leaders, Discusses IS
U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson met Thursday in Ankara with Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim, opening an overseas trip that comes as the U.S. examines its next steps in the campaign to defeat Islamic State militants and stabilize the refugee crisis with allies in the region. Tillerson was also scheduled to meet with President Recep...
Counterterror Efforts High on Agenda in Tillerson’s Meetings with Turkey, NATO
The United States is examining its next steps in the campaign to defeat Islamic State militants and stabilize the refugee crisis with regional allies, as Secretary of State Rex Tillerson embarks on trips to Turkey and NATO headquarters this week. The top U.S. diplomat will press NATO allies to demonstrate a clear path to increase defense...
US Senate Set to Ratify Montenegro as NATO Member
The U.S. Senate is set to ratify Montenegro’s admission into the NATO alliance, an event many lawmakers viewed through the lens of a deepening struggle between Western nations and Russia. “This is more than the accession or non-accession of a small, 650,000-person nation,” said the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Republican...
EU Top Court Upholds Sanctions Against Russia’s Rosneft
Europe’s top court on Tuesday upheld European Union sanctions on Russia over the Ukraine conflict, including on its largest oil group Rosneft, in a ruling that asserts the court’s jurisdiction over the bloc’s foreign policy. The EU slapped sanctions on Russia after it annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014 and stepped them up as...
