No Sign of China Backing Off Its Rhetorical Support For Russia

Two weeks after President Biden urged Chinese President Xi Jinping in a video call not to support Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine and warned that doing so would come at a cost, Beijing on Wednesday reaffirmed that cooperation between China and Russia knows no limits, including in their joint “opposition to hegemony.”  Read

Amid Calls to Remove Russia From UN Human Rights Council, State Dep’t Has No ‘Action to Preview at This Time’

Amid growing calls to have Russia expelled from the U.N. Human Rights Council, a State Department spokesperson said Wednesday the U.S. was looking at a range of options relating to Russia’s participation in international forums, but had no “action to preview at this time.”  Read

Senators To US Ambassador: Initiate Vote to Expel Russia From UN Human Rights Council

Calls to have Russia expelled from the U.N. Human Rights Council over its invasion of Ukraine received a boost Tuesday when a dozen members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee urged the Biden administration to introduce a resolution to have the U.N. General Assembly vote on the matter.  Read

Israeli PM, After Third Deadly Terror Attack in a Week: ‘They Will Not Break Us’

The Israeli government raised its threat level Tuesday after a Palestinian gunman shot dead five people in the third deadly terror attack in a week, amid concerns of more violence to come during the looming Islamic fast month of Ramadan.  Read

UAE Minister: Deepening Israeli-Arab Relationships Is the Way to Counter Hate, Incitement and Terror

As an unprecedented meeting of the top diplomats of Israel, the United States, and four Arab nations ended on Monday, the UAE’s foreign minister spoke of how the normalization accords have sparked a deep desire among Arabs and Israelis to learn more about each other.  Read

Standoff: G7 Rejects Putin’s Demand for Gas Payments in Rubles; Russia Warns ‘No Payment, No Gas’

A standoff between Russia and the world’s leading democratic economies looms large, as the G7 refuses to accede to Moscow’s demand that Europe pay for Russian natural gas in rubles, and Russia counters that it is not going to send its gas to Europe for free.  Read

Israel FM on Biden’s Consulate Plan: ‘Jerusalem Is the Capital of Israel, And Israel Alone’

Palestinian Authority chairman Mahmoud Abbas on Sunday raised with Secretary of State Antony Blinken the administration’s long-delayed pledge to reopen a Palestinian-focused consulate in Jerusalem, hours after Blinken’s Israeli counterpart restated his government’s opposition to the plan.  Read

Senior Senate Republican on Biden’s Putin Remark: ‘Please, Mr. President, Stay on Script’

As Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Washington’s ambassador to NATO on Sunday continued the administration’s damage-control effort after President Biden’s comment that President Vladimir Putin “cannot remain in power,” a senior Senate Republican urged the president to “stay on script.” Read

Biden, Annoyed: ‘Sanctions Never Deter. You Keep Talking About That.’ So Did the White House, Repeatedly

White House officials have repeatedly stated over recent months that the purpose of threatening sanctions against the Russian government as it appeared to be preparing to invade Ukraine was one of “deterrence.”  Read

Biden: Expel Russia From G20 or Invite Ukraine As Observer; No Word on Boycotting Summit

President Biden said Thursday he thinks Russia should be expelled from the G20, but that if doing so proves not possible, then Ukraine should be invited to the club’s summit as an observer.  Read

Kim Jong Un, With ‘Deep Insight Into the Ever-Changing International Political Situation,’ Tests ICBM

At a time when global attention is focused on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and accompanying nuclear threats, North Korea has carried out what appears to be its most significant test ever of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM).  Read

Iranian Women Ask, Why Is the UN Installing Their Oppressor As a Global Guardian of Gender Equality?

The Iranian regime on Friday joins the United Nation’s top gender equality body for a four-year term, the outcome of a controversial secret ballot election last spring in which at least a dozen liberal democracies voted for Iran.  Read

Poland’s Forceful Response to Ukraine Invasion Angers Moscow Ahead of Biden's Visit

During his planned visit to Poland on Friday, President Joe Biden will get a firsthand look at the NATO ally most significantly impacted by President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of neighboring Ukraine.  Read

Israel, Egypt, UAE Hold Unprecedented Meeting As Iran Nuclear Talks Near Finalization

The State Department said on Tuesday it welcomed an unprecedented summit between Israel, Egypt, and the United Arab Emirates. Among the shared concerns that brought the three Mideast U.S. allies together was how a revived Iran nuclear deal, which the Biden administration is working to achieve, could strengthen a common foe.  Read

EU Moves Ahead With ‘Rapid Reaction Force’ Proposal; Says It’s ‘Complementary to NATO’

As President Biden prepares to fly to Brussels for talks dominated by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the European Union is moving forward with plans to establish a 5,000-strong rapid reaction force to be deploy quickly in crisis situations beyond its borders.  Read

UN Chief Links Fossil Fuel Use to Nuclear Annihilation: ‘Sleepwalking to Climate Catastrophe’

 The impact of Russia’s war in Ukraine, as countries seek alternatives to Russian energy supplies, has “major implications for the global climate agenda,” U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Monday, fretting that policies designed to curb fossil fuel use will fall by the wayside.  Read

Kremlin Shifts From Calling Biden Irritable and Forgetful to Warning of Breach in Ties

Over the course of the weekend, Russia’s response to President Biden’s criticism of President Vladimir Putin over the invasion of Ukraine shifted from a dismissive jibe to a warning that a breach in relations is imminent.  Read

Pro-Kremlin Paper Says It Was Hacked After Reporting 9,861 Russian Troops Killed in Ukraine War

A pro-Kremlin Russian newspaper said Monday that information appearing on its website claiming that almost 10,000 Russian troops have been killed in the invasion of Ukraine was the result of a hack.  Read

After Biden-Xi Call, Russia’s Lavrov Predicts Moscow-Beijing ‘Engagement Will Strengthen’

Cooperation between Russia and China will only increase, because the West is disrupting the foundations of the international system, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said at the weekend, after President Biden in a video call urged Chinese President Xi Jinping not to support Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.  Read

U.S. Ambassador to U.N. Says No U.S. Troops Will Join Proposed Ukraine Peacekeeping Mission

Ahead of an extraordinary NATO summit where Poland is expected to propose a peacekeeping operation in Ukraine, U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Linda Thomas-Greenfield said Sunday the U.S. would not provide troops for any such mission.  Read

Russia Denies Its Troops Are Targeting Ukrainian Cities As U.S. Calls Out War Crimes

Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday backed President Biden’s view on war crimes being committed by Russia in Ukraine, as Moscow continued to accuse Ukrainian forces of responsibility for an attack on a theater sheltering hundreds of people displaced by the fighting.  Read

Blinken: Biden Will Tell Xi Jinping That China Will Face ‘Costs’ If It Supports Putin’s War

President Biden will tell Chinese President Xi Jinping during their phone call on Friday that if China takes any steps to help Russia’s war against Ukraine, it will face consequences.  Read

NATO Chief Foresees ‘Substantially More Forces in the Eastern Part of the Alliance’

An extraordinary NATO summit next week will lay the groundwork for a drive to “reset NATO’s deterrence and defense” on land, sea, and air in the face of Russia’s aggression and a new security environment, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said on Wednesday.  Read

Putin Says West’s Goal Is ‘Destruction of Russia’; Russians Who Oppose Him Will Be 'Spit' Out

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday accused the “collective West” of conspiring to destroy Russia, painted his invasion of Ukraine as a noble campaign against what he called “the pro-Nazi Kyiv regime,” and issued a chilling warning to Russians with Western links or leanings.  Read

Biden on Putin: ‘Oh, I Think He Is a War Criminal’

The Kremlin on Wednesday denounced as “unforgivable and unacceptable” President Biden’s comment that he regards Russian President Vladimir Putin as a “war criminal.”  Read

Poland Wants to Take Russia’s Place in the G20

On the day Russia said it was withdrawing from the Council of Europe – preempting a move to expel it – a Polish government minister discussed with U.S. officials a proposal to kick Russia out of the G20, allowing Poland to take its place.  Read

State Dept: Russia Can’t Use Iran Nuclear Deal As ‘Escape Hatch’ to Avoid Sanctions

A revived Iran nuclear agreement would not be “an escape hatch” to allow Russia to avoid sanctions imposed because of its invasion of Ukraine, State Department spokesman Ned Price said on Tuesday.  Read

Official: Administration Has ‘Deep Concerns About China’s Alignment With Russia at This Time’

National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan made clear during talks with his Chinese counterpart on Monday that the U.S. has “deep concerns about China’s alignment with Russia at this time.”  Read

49 GOP Senators to Biden: Any Iran Deal Lacking Strong Bipartisan Support ‘Will Not Survive’

Virtually the entire Senate Republican Conference has warned President Biden that an Iran nuclear deal that does not have broad congressional support will share the fate of its predecessor.  Read

Biden: US Troops Entering Ukraine With Offensive Equipment Will Mean WWIII; ‘Don’t Kid a Kidder’

The U.S. has rallied democracies to stand up to Russia’s aggression in Ukraine, but sending U.S. pilots or crews into Ukraine with offensive equipment will lead to World War III, President Biden said on Friday.  Read

Ukrainian Foreign Minister: ‘We Need Planes to Save Lives of Our People’

Ukraine’s foreign minister said Sunday his government still does not understand the resistance to providing it with fighter jets, which he said remain the “most pressing” requirement as it faces the Russian military onslaught.  Read

Biden Administration Draws Scorn for Saying Iranian Missiles Were Not Targeting US Consulate in Iraq

The Biden administration’s assertion that an Iranian ballistic missile attack on Erbil in northern Iraq had not targeted a U.S. Consulate under construction there prompted a scornful response from Senate Republicans, one of whom suggested the administration was “living in an alternative universe.”  Read

INTERPOL Says It Can’t Suspend Russia, But Is Moving to Counter Abuse of Its Systems

Under pressure from the U.S. and its allies to suspend Russia’s access to its systems, INTERPOL says it is placing safeguards on Moscow’s use of its “diffusion” tool, while reiterating that its constitution has no provision for suspending or excluding a member.  Read

Cotton: If the US Blinks ‘Every Time Vladimir Putin Says Boo, He’s Not Going to Stop in Ukraine’

Republican senators urged President Biden on Thursday to reverse course on providing fighter jets to Ukraine, with some accusing the administration and Pentagon of making misleading claims about the warplanes’ effectiveness and the risks posed by facilitating the transfer.  Read

Pentagon: Russian Claims of US-Ukrainian Bio-Weapons Facilities Are ‘Absurd,’ ‘Malarky’

Both the State and Defense Departments on Wednesday rejected Russian allegations that the U.S. has been working on biological weapons facilities in Ukraine, and a Department of Defense spokesman said the claims were “malarky” and not worth “a drop of ink.”  Read

‘You’re Not Ruling Out Buying Oil From The Tyrant Maduro?’ Nuland: ‘I Will Come Back To You On That’

A senior State Department official declined to rule out the possibility the U.S. could drop oil sanctions on Venezuela to offset the effects of President Biden's ban on Russian imports, but White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said Wednesday she had “nothing to preview or predict” on the matter.  Read

UN Denies Its Staffers Were Told to Refer to Putin's War As 'Conflict' or 'Military Offensive,' Not 'Invasion' or 'War'

United Nations officials on Tuesday denied that instructions had been sent to staff globally not to use certain words with reference to President Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine – specifically, the words” invasion” and “war” – and pointed to examples of senior U.N. leaders themselves using such terms.  Read

Pentagon Shoots Down Polish Offer to Send Warplanes for Ukraine to a U.S. Base in Germany

The Pentagon on Tuesday dismissed as not “tenable” a Polish plan to send its MiG fighter jets – which Ukraine wants to use to defend its airspace from Russia – to an American airbase in Germany and “place them at the disposal of the government of the United States of America.”  Read

Moscow Warns of $300/Barrel Oil; Says Western Leaders Should Tell Citizens ‘What Awaits Them’

A senior Russian official said Monday that calls in the West to stop buying Russian oil would be disastrous for the global market, causing prices to hit $300 a barrel.  Read

German Chancellor Says Europe Can’t Stop Russian Energy Imports Right Now

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Monday that the decision to exempt Russian energy supplies from sanctions imposed in response to President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine had been a deliberate one, and that the flow should continue.  Read

Senior Democrat Blasts Administration’s Reported Attempts to Secure Oil From Maduro Regime

Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Menendez on Monday slammed the Biden administration’s tentative outreach to Venezuela’s leftist Maduro regime, saying the U.S. should not breath new life into the reign of a man he called “a cancer to our hemisphere.”  Read

Blinken: Sanctions on Russia ‘Have Nothing to Do With the Iran Nuclear Deal’

As talks on salvaging the Iran nuclear deal edge closer to an agreement, Russia wants guarantees from the U.S. that the raft of sanctions targeting Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine will not impact Russia-Iran economic ties.  Read

Blinken: US in ‘Active’ Talks With European Allies About Banning Russian Oil Imports

The United States is having “very active discussions” with its European allies about banning the importing of Russian oil, while “at the same time maintaining a steady global supply of oil,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Sunday.  Read

Russia Has Abused INTERPOL For Years; Now Critics Want It Suspended

Amid international moves to punish Russia over the invasion of Ukraine, Canada has joined Britain in calling for Russia’s suspension from INTERPOL, the international policy agency whose fugitive-location tools the Kremlin has long been accused of abusing for political ends.  Read

China Rejects ‘Despicable’ Claims It Had Advance Knowledge of Ukraine Invasion: ‘Fake News’

Beijing’s foreign ministry on Thursday dismissed as “fake news” reports claiming senior Chinese officials had asked Russian President Vladimir Putin not to invade Ukraine until the Winter Olympics were over.  Read

Russian Shelling Sparks Fire at Europe’s Largest Nuclear Power Plant; Zelensky: ‘Europe Needs to Wake Up’

Russian forces shelled Europe’s biggest nuclear power plant early on Friday, igniting a fire and prompting the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to appeal for an end to the assault and to warn of “severe danger” if the reactors were struck.  Read

Pentagon: Delaying ICBM Test Is Prudent; Won’t ‘Change Our Strategic Deterrent Posture One Bit’

Three days after President Vladimir Putin ordered Russian nuclear deterrent forces to be placed on heightened alert, the Pentagon said on Wednesday it was postponing a long-planned test launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile, to ensure that the action was not misinterpreted by the Russians.  Read

UN General Assembly Passes Resolution Condemning Russia’s War, But Taking No Action

 In a non-binding but symbolic message to Russia, the U.N. General Assembly on Wednesday passed by 141 votes to five a resolution condemning President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine and demanding the withdrawal of his forces from Ukrainian territory.  Read

Biden on Coordinated Allied Response to Putin’s War: ‘He Has No Idea What’s Coming’

Highlighting the coordinated raft of punitive measures directed at Russia over its war on Ukraine, President Biden in his first State of the Union address announced that the U.S. will like its allies shut off its airspace to Russian aircraft and – in an ad-libbed addition to his prepared speech – said that Vladimir Putin “has no idea what’s coming.”  Read

Blinken: Should Russia Be Allowed to Remain a Member of UN Human Rights Council?

Meeting under the shadow of the war in Ukraine, the U.N. Human Rights Council on Tuesday heard Secretary of State Antony Blinken question whether Russia should be allowed to remain a member, hours after dozens of diplomats walked out in protest as the Russian foreign minister prepared to speak. Read

Russian Ambassador Challenged on ‘Nazi’ Narrative: ‘Ukraine Has a Jewish President’

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s stated goal of “denazifying” Ukraine came up – again – during a press briefing in New York on Monday, when a reporter told Russian U.N. Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia that it “beggars belief that you are talking about Nazis” in a country with a Jewish president.  Read

Ukraine’s UN Ambassador Invites Russian Counterpart to ‘Pray For Salvation’

Ukraine’s U.N. ambassador during a Security Council meeting on Monday called for a moment of silence for lives lost in President Vladimir Putin’s war against his country, and suggested that his Russian counterpart use the opportunity to “pray for salvation.”  Read

Russian Ambassador Takes Call During Press Briefing, Learns 12 of His ‘Diplomats’ Are Being Expelled

Russian Ambassador to the U.N. Vassily Nebenzia was briefing reporters in New York on Monday when interrupted by a phone call informing him the U.S. was expelling 12 members of his mission.  Read