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Blinken’s conditional nod for Lavrov’s invitation

Tensions over Ukraine have increased in recent months, with Russia and NATO accusing each other of amassing troops on the Russian-Ukrainian border…reports Asian Lite News

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has proposed dates for holding a meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, late next week, who accepted it if Russia does not invade Ukraine, local media reported.

Taking to Twitter, State Department’s Spokesperson Ned Price said that the Russians have responded with proposed dates for late next week, which we are accepting, provided there is no further Russian invasion of Ukraine.

He stated that if Russia does invade in the coming days, it will make clear they were never serious about diplomacy.

“We will continue to coordinate with our Allies and partners and push for further engagements with Russia through the @NATO-Russia Council and @OSCE.”, he added.

US Secretary of State, noted in his remarks at the United Nations Security Council earlier today that, because the US believes the only responsible way to resolve this crisis is through diplomacy and dialogue, he had proposed to meet Foreign Minister Lavrov in Europe next week, as per Price.

Tensions over Ukraine have increased in recent months, with Russia and NATO accusing each other of amassing troops on the Russian-Ukrainian border.

The United States and Ukraine accuse Russia of preparing to invade. Meanwhile, Moscow denies the claims and maintains that it has no intention of attacking any country.

The conflict in Donbas between Ukraine’s government and the breakaway of Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics has been going on since 2014. The Minsk Agreements, designed to find a political resolution to the conflict, was negotiated by the leaders of France, Germany, Russia, and Ukraine — the Normandy group — in February 2015. However, the agreement has so far not been observed and sporadic clashes continue. (ANI)

ALSO READ: Russia not happy with US response to security concerns

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Blinken warns of ‘other options’ on Iran nuke issue

Blinken reiterated that diplomacy is the most effective way to ensure that Iran would not develop a nuclear weapon….reports Asian Lite News

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has warned that Washington would turn to “other options” if diplomacy fails to curb Iran’s nuclear program, saying “time is running short”.

Blinken on Wednesday met with his counterparts of Israel and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in the State Department over bilateral and trilateral cooperation as well as regional security issues, including Iran, reports Xinhua news agency.

During a joint press conference after their trilateral meeting, Blinken reiterated that diplomacy is the most effective way to ensure that Iran would not develop a nuclear weapon.

“We are prepared to turn to other options if Iran doesn’t change course,” he said.

The US and Iranian officials began indirect talks in Vienna this April to restore the 2015 nuclear agreement, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

The two sides still have significant differences after six rounds of negotiations, which have been suspended since June.

“I’m not going to put a specific date on it, but with every passing day and Iran’s refusal to engage in good faith, the runway gets short,” he said.

Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid told reporters that the concern about Iran’s nuclear capability was at the centre of his visit.

“Israel reserves the right to act at any given moment in any way” to stop Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon, he said.

The former Donald Trump administration withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal in May 2018 and unilaterally re-imposed old and new sanctions on Iran.

In response, Iran has gradually stopped implementing parts of its commitments to the deal since May 2019.

On Tuesday, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian said Tehran’s actions “will be commensurate with the steps of other parties” in future talks aimed at reviving the nuclear deal.

The Wednesday meeting of the top diplomats came shortly after the first anniversary of the normalisation between Israel and the UAE, which was brokered by the US last summer.

UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan said at the press conference that he would soon visit Israel at Lapid’s invitation, calling for new areas of cooperation between two countries.

The three countries are launching two trilateral working groups on religious coexistence and water and energy issues, according to Blinken.

He also reaffirmed that the Joe Biden administration supports a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians and will move forward with its plan to reopen a consulate in Jerusalem to deepen ties with the Palestinians, a move that the Israeli government opposed.

ALSO READ: Blinken to host UAE, Israeli foreign ministers

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Blinken Remembers Message of Non-Violence on Gandhi Jayanti

We join our friends in India and around the world to celebrate the 152nd birthday of Mahatma Gandhi, Secretary Antony Blinken said, reports Asian Lite News

On the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti, US Secretary Antony Blinken on Saturday remembered Mahatma Gandhi and said that his message of non-violence, and tolerance are still relevant today.

“We join our friends in India and around the world to celebrate the 152nd birthday of Mahatma Gandhi. As @POTUS (US President Joe Biden) said, We’re all reminded that his message of non-violence, respect, [and] tolerance matters today, maybe more than it ever has,” Blinken tweeted.

Last month, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during his US visit had said the Mahatma’s ‘trusteeship’ concept would be important for our planet in times to come. This statement was made after President Joe Biden mentioned Gandhi Jayanti.

“President Joe Biden mentioned Gandhiji’s Jayanti. Mahatma Gandhi always used to talk about trusteeship of the planet, a concept which is important for our planet in times to come,” PM Modi had said during the bilateral talks with Biden at the Oval office.

Born on October 2, 1869, in Porbandar town of Gujarat, Mahatma Gandhi or Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi adopted a non-violent resistance and was at the forefront of the freedom struggle against colonial British rule.

Gandhi’s birth anniversary is celebrated as the International Day of Non-Violence. Several events are held in India and across the world to mark the occasion. (ANI)

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EAS central for US visions for open Indo-Pacific, says Blinken

Aside from this, Secretary Blinken stressed the US commitment to leading the global response to the COVID-19 pandemic….reports Asian Lite News

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday said East Asia Summit (EAS) is central for the US visions for a free and open Indo-Pacific and peace and prosperity.

The US is expanding its strategic partnership with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and is committed to supporting the prosperity of our ASEAN partners, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said.

“Had a good meeting with my counterparts of the East Asia Summit nations. The EAS is central to the US vision for a free and open Indo-Pacific and peace and prosperity in the region,” he tweeted.

The US State Secretary and ASEAN foreign ministers also discussed pressing regional and international challenges, including combatting the COVID-19 pandemic, acting boldly against the climate crisis, strengthening human capital development, and the urgency of action on Myanmar.

Aside from this, Secretary Blinken stressed the US commitment to leading the global response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“This includes providing more than 500 million safe and effective vaccine doses to Gavi for distribution by COVAX to 92 low and middle-income countries around the world and to the African Union in addition to a USD 2 billion contribution to Gavi, the global vaccine initiative, in support of COVAX, making the United States the single largest contributor to the international response to COVID-19.”

Blinken noted that, to date, the United States has donated more than 23 million vaccine doses and nearly USD 160 million in assistance to ASEAN member states to combat COVID-19, Price said. (ANI)

ALSO READ: US wants Pakistan to keep border open for Afghan refugees

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China lashes out at Blinken’s meeting with Tibetan monk

US top diplomat met on Wednesday Geshe Dorji Damdul, current director of Tibet House in New Delhi, what was seen as a big political message to China….reports Asian Lite News

China on Thursday opposed contact between foreign officials and the Dalai Lama after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with a Tibetan Buddhist monk during his India visit.

US top diplomat met on Wednesday Geshe Dorji Damdul, current director of Tibet House in New Delhi, what was seen as a big political message to China.

Damdul, the former interpreter of Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama, was a part of a group of civil society leaders who met US Secretary of State during his two-day visit to India. Damdul is a director of Tibet House, which was founded in 1965 by the Dalai Lama to preserve and disseminate the unique cultural heritage of Tibet.

During a presser on Thursday, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Zhao Lijian said the contact between the US side and the Dalai clique goes against the US promise to recognising Tibet as being part of China.

“China firmly opposes any form of contact between foreign officials and the Dalai Lama. Any form of contact between the US side and the Dalai clique is a violation of the US commitment to acknowledging Tibet being part of China, to not supporting ‘Tibetan Independence’, and to not supporting attempts to separate China,” Lijian said.

The spokesperson further said that the US side should “stop meddling” in China’s internal affairs under the pretext of Tibetan affairs, and offer no support to the “Tibetan independence” forces.

The meet is expectedly irked Beijing, which considers Tibet as an integral part of China. The meeting took place in the backdrop of strained Beijing and Washington ties.

Meanwhile, Blinken after the meeting civil society leaders, including the Tibetan monk, said that US-India share a commitment to democratic values, which is the bedrock of their relationship.

“I was pleased to meet civil society leaders today. The US and India share a commitment to democratic values; this is part of the bedrock of our relationship and reflective of India’s pluralistic society and history of harmony. Civil society helps advance these values,” Blinken had tweeted. (ANI)

ALSO READ: Every democracy is work in progress, says Blinken

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Quad partnership ‘sets the tone’ for Blinken’s India visit

Blinken is scheduled to travel to New Delhi and Kuwait on July 26-29 and will meet India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his two day visit starting July 27, reports Nikhila Natarajan

The US government is pointing to the first leader level Quad summit earlier this year to headline its “high priority” status for the US-India partnership, ahead of Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s visit to India next week to discuss China, the coronavirus response and Afghanistan.

Blinken is scheduled to travel to New Delhi and Kuwait on July 26-29 and will meet India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his two day visit starting July 27. This is Blinken’s first visit to India after assuming charge as US Secretary of State and comes barely a month ahead of US military withdrawal from Afghanistan.

ALSO READ – US bombs Taliban camps to help Afghan forces

“I think it’s fair to say that we see the relationship continuing at a very high level and India will, of course, remain an incredibly important partner. We’re going to continue pursuing our global comprehensive strategic partnership,” Dean Thompson, the top US diplomat for South and Central Asia, told reporters Friday.

Blinken
India’s External Affairs Minister Dr S. Jaishankar meets US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in London

The US Secretary of State will be seeking India’s support in a “stable and secure” Afghanistan, Thompson said. The US launched multiple airstrikes this week in support of Afghan government forces fighting the Taliban. The Biden administration has not said whether it will continue that support after the pullout is complete, on August 31.

In response to questions on the Trump-Modi vs Biden-Modi relationship, Thompson said the Quad partnership “sets the tone” for what the US thinks it can achieve and accomplish with India as well as the other Quad partners Australia and Japan.

Leaders from Australia, India, Japan, and the United States – the so-called Quad- met virtually on March 12 this year and declared a new era for Indo-Pacific competition and collaboration. It was the first leader level summit for the grouping at a time when China continues to expand its clout in the Indo Pacific.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi with US President (then Vice President) Joe Biden.

“You know, the relationship with India is a strong one it has, has endured through administrations of all colors and stripes in the US and will continue to do so,” noted Thompson. “So we’re looking forward to this opportunity for the Secretary to talk with Prime Minister Modi.”

Blinken is said to be considering an in person meeting of the Quad by year end — but details about timing and format are still unclear.

After the India visit, Blinken travels to Kuwait. Thousands of Afghans who worked for the US are hoping to be relocated there and in Qatar before the US military withdrawal from Afghanistan is through.

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US govt repeats warning to China against attack on Philippine forces

Secretary of State Antony Blinken made the comment in a written statement marking the fifth anniversary of a ruling by an arbitration tribunal repudiating China’s vast territorial claims…reports Asian Lite News

The United States on Sunday repeated a warning to China that an attack on Philippine armed forces in the South China Sea would trigger a 1951 U.S.-Philippines mutual defense treaty.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken made the comment in a written statement marking the fifth anniversary of a ruling by an arbitration tribunal repudiating China’s vast territorial claims in the South China Sea.

China – which lays claim to most of the waters within a so-called Nine Dash Line, which is also contested by Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam – reiterated on Friday that Beijing did not accept the ruling.

“The United States reaffirms its July 13, 2020 policy regarding maritime claims in the South China Sea,” Blinken said, referring to the rejection by former President Donald Trump’s administration of China’s claims to offshore resources in most of the South China Sea.

“We also reaffirm that an armed attack on Philippine armed forces, public vessels, or aircraft in the South China Sea would invoke U.S. mutual defense commitments under Article IV of the 1951 U.S.-Philippines Mutual Defense Treaty,” Blinken added.

That article of the treaty says in part that “each Party recognizes that an armed attack in the Pacific area on either of the Parties would be dangerous to its own peace and safety and declares that it would act to meet the common dangers in accordance with its constitutional processes.”

Blinken has made the point before, including during an April 8 conversation with the Philippine foreign minister in which the State Department said he “reaffirmed the applicability” of the treaty to the South China Sea.

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Blinken meets Uyghur internment camp survivors

Early this year, the US became the first country in the world to declare the Chinese actions in Xinjiang as “genocide….reports Asian Lite News

Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday virtually met Uyghur internment camp survivors, and relatives of individuals detained in Xinjiang, and expressed Washington’s commitment to pressure China to halt ongoing genocide against the Uyghurs minority.

The State Department said Blinken wanted to hear directly from the seven former detainees, relatives of others and advocate about conditions that they and the Uyghur community more broadly face.

“Today Secretary Blinken met with seven Uyghur internment camp survivors, advocates, and relatives of individuals detained in Xinjiang to express the United States’ commitment to work with allies and partners in calling for an end to the People’s Republic of China (PRC)’s ongoing crimes against humanity and genocide against Uyghurs and members of other ethnic and religious minority groups in Xinjiang,” said State Department spokesperson Ned Price.

China has been rebuked globally for cracking down on Uyghur Muslims by sending them to mass detention camps, interfering in their religious activities and sending members of the community to undergo some form of forcible re-education or indoctrination.

Uyghur

ALSO READ: China accuses US of posing biggest cybersecurity threat

Early this year, the US became the first country in the world to declare the Chinese actions in Xinjiang as “genocide.

Recently, US State Department released its 2021 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) placing China among the worst countries in human trafficking following its increasing repression of Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities in Xinjiang.

The report accused China of using surveillance technologies and criminal charges to abduct and detain more than one million Muslims, including Uyghurs, ethnic Hui, ethnic Kazakhs, and more, in up to 1,200 state-run internment camps.

The United States will continue to place human rights at the forefront of our China policy and will always support the voices of activists, survivors, and family members of victims who courageously speak out against these atrocities, said the spokesperson. (ANI)

ALSO READ: Blinken discusses Afghan peace with Uzbek, Tajik counterparts

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Lapid tells Blinken of concerns on Iran

This was the first face-to-face meeting between the two top diplomats since Israel’s new government was sworn in two weeks ago….reports Asian Lite News

Israel Foreign Minister Yair Lapid told his US counterpart Antony Blinken that the country has serious reservations about the Iran nuclear deal being put together in Vienna, according to media reports.

This was the first face-to-face meeting between the two top diplomats since Israel’s new government was sworn in two weeks ago.

During the meeting, Secretary Blinken and Foreign Minister Lapid said they would also discuss Israel’s normalisation accords with Gulf Arab states, according to reports.

Blinken said the US supports Israel’s normalisation accords, but they cannot be a substitute for engaging in issues between Israelis and Palestinians.

Blinken also said he would also be raising the issue of humanitarian assistance into Gaza.

Meawhile, Lapid said the way to disagreement regarding Iran nuclear deal is through direct conversations, not in press conferences, it was reported.

“In the past few years, mistakes were made. Israel’s bipartisan standing was hurt and we will fix those mistakes together,” reports quoted Lapid as saying.

Meanwhile, Abbas Araqchi, Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator, has said that it is time for the parties involved in the negotiations aimed at reviving the 2015 nuclear deal to take “tough” decisions after “enough” discussions.

“There are a number of pending issues that have been sufficiently negotiated, and it is time for countries to decide,” the senior diplomat told the official Islamic Consultative Assembly News Agency on Sunday, after a meeting with MPs earlier in the day.

Tehran, he added, has already taken its “tough decision” when it decided to stay in the nuclear agreement after the US under former President Donald Trump unilaterally quit it in May 2018, and then reimposed sanctions on Iran.

It was Iran’s “big and difficult” decision that has allowed so far to preserve the deal, formally known as Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), Araqchi said.

Now it is time for Iran’s counterparts to take their “tough decisions” after six rounds of meetings of the JCPOA Joint Commission, he added.

On Saturday, the spokesman for Iran’s Foreign Ministry Saeed Khatibzadeh said the country will not negotiate endlessly, and urged the US to abandon the “failed legacy” of Trump.

ALSO READ: ‘Iran should not be playing brinksmanship on IAEA pact’

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Blinken pledges visas for Afghans who helped US

Blinken said the US is looking at “every option” to help the Afghan employees, including interpreters, drivers etc who may become victims of the Taliban…reports Asian Lite News

Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday pledged to speed up immigration visas for Afghans who worked closely with US forces, media reported.

During a testimony before the House Foreign Affairs Committee, a Republican lawmaker warned that those Afghans will be targeted by the Taliban once the US completes troop drawdown from the war-torn country.

Blinken said the US is looking at “every option” to help the Afghan employees, including interpreters, drivers etc who may become victims of the Taliban as soon as US troops depart, it was reported.

Blinken said a backlog of immigration applications is being cleared, and he asked Congress to raise a cap on special immigrant visas for Afghans by 8,000 slots, it was reported.

There’s now a congressionally mandated cap of 26,000 slots under the Special Immigrant Visa program, which lets Afghans apply for visas if they can show their lives may be in danger for having worked for the US.

Meanwhile, Blinken also said that it remained unclear if Iran is willing to take steps to return to compliance with the 2015 landmark nuclear deal.

Taliban

“We’ve been engaged in indirect conversations for the last couple of months, and it remains unclear whether Iran is willing and prepared to do what it needs to do to come back into compliance,” Blinken told a hearing of the House Foreign Affairs Committee .

“We’re not even at the stage of returning to compliance for compliance,” he said.

“We don’t know if that’s actually going to happen.”

Blinken made similar comments in an interview in late May, reports Xinhua news agency.

The US and Iran have held five rounds of indirect negotiations in the Austrian capital of Vienna since April 6 aimed at reviving the nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

Blinken’s words were met with an immediate response from Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif.

In a tweet, Zarif said that “it remains unclear whether @POTUS (President Joe Biden) and @SecBlinken are ready to bury the failed ‘maximum pressure’ policy of Trump and cease using economic terrorism as bargaining ‘leverage'”.

The US government under former President Donald Trump withdrew from the JCPOA in May 2018 and unilaterally re-imposed sanctions on Iran.

In response, Iran gradually stopped implementing parts of its JCPOA commitments from May 2019.

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