Page 10 - Antony Blinken

Support for Niger at risk as military takeover threatens stability: Blinken

Political instability in Niger resulting from a military takeover that deposed the president this week threatens the economic support provided by Washington to the African nation, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said on Saturday. Members of the Niger military announced on Wednesday they had deposed democratically elected President Mohamed Bazoum and on Friday named Gen. Abdourahmane Tchiani as the country's new leader, adding Niger to a growing list of military regimes in West Africa's Sahel region. Blinken, who is in Australia as part of a Pacific tour, said the continued security and economic arrangements that Niger has with the US hinged on the release of Bazoum and the immediate restoration of the democratic order in Niger. Our economic and security partnership with Niger which is significant, hundreds of millions of dollars depends on the continuation of the democratic governance and constitutional order that has been disrupted by the actions in the last few days, Blink

US ties with Niger to depend on democratic governance, rule of law: Blinken

Blinken also conveyed the unwavering support of the United States for President Mohamed Bazoum and Niger's democracy

India-US indispensable partners, working closely on more issues: Blinken

The relationship between India and the US has transformed in the last two-and-half years making them indispensable partners, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said. Speaking at a luncheon hosted in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's honour at the White House on Friday, he said from semiconductors to space and from education to food security, India and the US are working closely together on more issues than ever. Modi is on a State Visit to the US from June 21-24 at the invitation of President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden. "During the last two-and-a-half years, we have transformed the relationship between our countries. We are working closely together on more issues than ever before. From semiconductors to space, from education to food security. The energy, ambition, and potential of our cooperation are boundless," Blinken said. "The US and India have become, as the prime minister has put it, indispensable partners," he said and added that this "partnership, President Bide

A day after Blinken's China visit, Joe Biden calls Xi Jinping a 'dictator'

Joe Biden said Xi Jinping was embarrassed after an alleged Chinese spy balloon was shot down by the US

Blinken meets Ukrainian foreign minister, underscores support for Kyiv

United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken, met his Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba in London during his visit to the UK and underscored Washington DC support for Kyiv's economic recovery

Xi Jinping hails 'progress' as he meets Blinken during rare China trip

The two delegations then faced each other across a long conference table bedecked with pink lotus flowers, with Xi at the head and Blinken just to his right

Blinken meets China President Xi in bid to ease soaring US-China tensions

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday as he wrapped up a two-day high-stakes visit to Beijing aimed at easing soaring tensions between the countries. The meeting at the Great Hall of the People had been expected and was seen as key to the success of the trip, but neither side confirmed it would happen until a State Department official announced it just an hour beforehand. A snub by the Chinese leader would have been a major setback to the effort to restore and maintain communications at senior levels. In earlier meetings between Blinken and senior Chinese officials, the two sides expressed willingness to talk but showed little inclination to bend on hardened positions. Blinken is the highest-level U.S. official to visit China since President Joe Biden took office, and the first secretary of state to make the trip in five years. His visit is expected to usher in a new round of visits by senior U.S. and Chinese officials, possibly includi

Blinken begins talks in Beijing on mission to ease US-China tensions

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has opened a second and final day of critical meetings with senior Chinese officials as the two sides expressed willingness to talk but showed little inclination to bend on hardened positions that have sent tensions soaring. Blinken was meeting Monday morning with China's top diplomat Wang Yi and an encounter with President Xi Jinping was still in the cards before he departs in the late evening. Neither Blinken nor Wang made any comment to reporters as they greeted each other and sat for their discussion. In the first round of talks on Sunday, Blinken met for nearly six hours with Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang after which both countries said they had agreed to continue high-level discussions. However, there was no sign that any of the most fractious issues between them were closer to resolution. The two sides both said Qin had accepted an invitation from Blinken to visit Washington but Beijing made clear that the China-U.S. relationship is a

Blinken stresses on better US-China communications as he heads to Beijing

Shortly before setting out for Beijing, Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Friday emphasised the importance of the US and China establishing better lines of communication. He will be the highest-ranking member of the Biden administration to visit China. The US wants to make sure that the competition we have with China doesn't veer into conflict due to avoidable misunderstandings, Blinken told reporters in Washington. Blinken, speaking alongside Singapore Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan, said his China trip is the outgrowth of a meeting in Bali last year between Presidents Xi Jinping and Joe Biden. The two agreed that China and the United States, the world's biggest two economies and increasingly top rivals for global influence, must maintain contacts and and take steps to avoid unintended conflicts. Blinken's trip came within a day of happening in February but was delayed by the diplomatic and political tumult brought on by the discovery of what the US says was a Chinese spy

China's foreign min airs concerns in call with Blinken ahead of visit

United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang shared concerns on a phone call Wednesday ahead of a planned visit by the U.S. official to China meant to shore up relations. Spoke tonight with PRC State Councilor and Foreign Minister Qin Gang by phone, Blinken's official Twitter account read. Discussed ongoing efforts to maintain open channels of communication as well as bilateral and global issues. The Chinese foreign ministry said in a statement on one of its social media pages that Qin urged the United States to respect China's core concerns such as the issue of Taiwan's self-rule, stop interfering in China's internal affairs, and stop harming China's sovereignty, security and development interests in the name of competition. Qin noted China-U.S. ties have encountered new difficulties and challenges since the beginning of the year, and the two sides' responsibility is to work together to properly manage differences, promote exchanges and ...

PM Narendra Modi to visit US from June 21 to 25: What is a state visit?

The last state visit to the US was made by the former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh between November 23 and 25, 2009

Blinken talks of 'reducing strategic dependencies' ahead of Modi visit

"Central to all of this cooperation is diversifying and deepening our supply chains with trusted countries, also reducing strategic dependencies," he said

Blinken to travel to China next week as Biden admin pushes to improve ties

Secretary of State Antony Blinken is planning to travel to China this month as the Biden administration pushes to improve badly deteriorated ties with the Chinese. U.S. officials say Blinken expects to be in Beijing on June 18 for meetings with senior Chinese officials, including with Foreign Minister Qin Gang and possibly President Xi Jinping. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because neither the State Department nor the Chinese foreign ministry have yet confirmed the trip. The visit, which was agreed between Xi and President Joe Biden last year at a meeting in Bali, had been initially planned for February but was postponed after the spy balloon incident in which the U.S. shot down a Chinese aircraft that Beijing insisted was a weather balloon that had strayed off course. Since then, there have been contacts between the U.S. and China, but they have been rare as tensions have risen over China's conduct in the South China Sea, aggressive actions toward Taiwan and suppor

US' Antony Blinken announces $150M aid for Syria, Iraq at Saudi conference

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Thursday that the U.S. would provide nearly USD 150 million in aid for areas in Syria and Iraq that were liberated from the Isamic State extremist group. He spoke at a ministerial conference hosted by Saudi Arabia on combatting the group, which no longer controls any territory but whose affiliates still carry out attacks across Africa, Asia and the Middle East. The Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS includes more than 80 countries and continues to coordinate action against the extremist group, which at its height controlled large parts of Syria and Iraq. Blinken said the U.S. pledge is part of new funding amounting to more than USD 600 million. Poor security and humanitarian conditions. Lack of economic opportunity. These are the fuel for the kind of desperation on which ISIS feeds and recruits, he said, using a common acronym for the extremist group. So we have to stay committed to our stabilisation goals. Blinken co-hosted the conference as pa

No Ukraine cease-fire without deal that includes Russia withdrawal: Blinken

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Friday that there can be no cease-fire in the war in Ukraine unless it is part of a just and lasting peace deal that includes Russia's military withdrawal. Blinken said that a cease-fire that simply freezes current lines in place - and enables Putin to consolidate control over the territory he has seized, and rest, rearm, and reattack - that is not a just and lasting peace. Russia must also pay a share of Ukraine's reconstruction and be held accountable for launching its full-scale invasion of its neighbour in February 2022, Blinken said in a speech during a visit to Finland, which recently joined NATO and shares a long border with Russia. Allowing Moscow to keep the one-fifth of Ukraine territory it has occupied would send the wrong message to Russia and to other would-be aggressors around the world, according to Blinken. Washington is ready to support peace efforts by other countries, including recent overtures from China and Brazil, h

Modi's visit will celebrate deep partnership between India and US: Blinken

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the US next month will celebrate the "deep partnership" between the two countries, America's top diplomat said on Sunday as he met his Indian counterpart S Jaishankar here. Modi will embark on his state visit to the US next month on an invitation by President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden. The US president and the First Lady will also host Modi at a state dinner on June 22. His visit to the US comes ahead of the G20 Summit being hosted by India in September. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he had a "great discussion" with External Affairs Minister Jaishankar on the margins of the G7 summit. "We look forward to hosting Indian Prime Minister @NarendraModi in June, whose visit will celebrate the deep partnership between the United States and India," Blinken tweeted on Sunday. Jaishankar thanked Blinken and said he was looking forward to the visit. "Thanks @SecBlinken. Was great to catch up! Looking forward to PM @narendramodi's

China warns against 'geopolitical games'; Blinken to visit Papua New Guinea

China on Friday warned against the introduction of geopolitical games in the South Pacific following the announcement that U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will visit Papua New Guinea next week. The U.S. opted to send Blinken after President Joe Biden cancelled what was to have been a historic stop in Papua New Guinea as well as a visit to Australia for a meeting of leaders of the so-called Quad partnership so he can focus on debt limit talks in Washington. The administration has made putting a greater focus on the Pacific region central to its global outreach, largely to counter China's growing influence there. China has no objection to normal exchanges and cooperation between relevant parties and Pacific Island countries, and has always advocated that the international community should pay more attention to and support the development and revitalisation of the island countries, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said at a daily briefing. However, Wang added, We also

US-India partnership one of most consequential relations: US Dept of State

"PM Modi's visit is an opportunity to deepen some of these partnerships," he added

US-China shares deeply complicated, consequential relationship: Blinken

The United States has a very deeply complicated and consequential relationship with China, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Tuesday, adding that engagement between the two countries is the key. He also said that it is in the interest of the US and China to establish and strengthen their lines of communication -- something that the rest of the world "expects us to do". "What we have communicated to our colleagues in the government in Beijing is the importance from our perspective in engagement, precisely because we have a deeply complicated and also consequential relationship that is important to people in the United States and China," Blinken told reporters at a news conference along with his British counterpart Foreign Secretary James Cleverly. "But beyond that around the world; that our two presidents agreed when they met in Bali at the end of last year that it would be important to establish and strengthen our lines of communication; and that we believe that that's in our .

Blinken intends to go to China as soon as conditions allow: US State dept

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken intends to travel to China as soon as the conditions allow, his spokesperson said Monday. Blinken was scheduled to travel to China early this year. This was cancelled days before his visit after the US detected a Chinese spy balloon in its skies. "He intends to go, and he intends to go as soon as conditions allow and we're able to get that trip back on the books," State Department's Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel told reporters at his daily news conference. Earlier in the day, US Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns met Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang in Beijing. "We maintain important lines of communications with a number of officials across the PRC (People's Republic of China). Obviously, that will relate to the respective individual and who their appropriate counterpart was. As you know, when Secretary Blinken was secretary and obviously when Foreign Minister Qin Gang was ambassador to the United States, they had a number of opportunities to