China Joins Russia in Blocking Consensus at G20 Meeting Over the War in Ukraine

As China seeks to present itself as a neutral mediator in what it calls the “Ukraine crisis,” it has once again sided with Russia, joining Moscow at a G20 finance ministers’ meeting in refusing to back a statement condemning the invasion.  Read

China to UN Rights Council: ‘There is No One-Size-Fits-All Model in the Protection of Human Rights’

 As the U.N. Human Rights Council began a five-week session in Geneva on Monday, the foreign ministers of China and Iran contended that human rights should be viewed in the light of each country’s particular context and circumstances.  Read

GOP Presidential Hopeful Nikki Haley: No More US Taxpayer Dollars to ‘Our Enemies’

Republican 2024 presidential candidate Nikki Haley said on Sunday that as president, she would ensure that U.S. taxpayer dollars are no longer sent to foreign governments whose policies make them America’s “enemies.”  Read

McCaul: DOE Now Backs ‘What Common Sense Told Us’ About ‘Lab-Leak’ COVID Origin Theory

House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul (R-Texas) said on Sunday he has requested a full briefing from the administration on the evidence that led the U.S. Department of Energy to join several other government agencies that now view a Chinese laboratory leak as the likeliest origin of the virus causing COVID-19.  Read

CCP: US Claims About Beijing Arming Russia Aim to Hinder Our Ukraine ‘Peace’ Plan

Reacting to Washington’s dismissive response to its Ukraine “political settlement” initiative, a Chinese Communist Party newspaper said on Sunday that U.S. claims about Beijing considering providing lethal aid to Russia were designed to hinder China’s attempts to “promote peace.”  Read

China Releases its Touted Ukraine ‘Political Settlement’ Paper; No Call on Russia to Withdraw Troops

 China has released a document outlining its proposals for a “political settlement of the Ukraine crisis,” presenting itself as a responsible player ready to act constructively to achieve an end to the conflict.  Read

In UN Vote on Ukraine Invasion Anniversary, Russia Loses Support of Two-Thirds of the ‘Global South’

 In a resounding if symbolic message to the Kremlin, the U.N. General Assembly on Thursday passed by a significant margin a resolution demanding that Russia “immediately, completely and unconditionally withdraw all of its military forces from the territory of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders.”  Read

Putin’s Ally Belarus Says UN Resolution on Ukraine ‘Invasion’ Is ‘Not in Line With Reality’

As the U.N. General Assembly on Wednesday began a two-day meeting expected to end with a vote on a resolution on Russia’s year-long war in Ukraine, Moscow’s close ally Belarus called for amendments to the draft, including dropping a reference to a full-fledged Russian “invasion.”  Read

Putin Discusses ‘New Levels of Cooperation’ With China’s Top Foreign Affairs Official

On a day when the West sought to rally support at the U.N. for a unified stance against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine a year ago, President Vladimir Putin hosted China’s top diplomat at the Kremlin on Wednesday, and hailed “new levels of co-operation” between the two permanent members of the Security Council.  Read

Biden in 1997 Scoffed at Idea That NATO Expansion Could Push Russia Closer to China and Iran

Twenty-six years ago, then-Senator Joe Biden ridiculed the notion that Russia might respond to NATO’s eastward enlargement by drawing closer to China or Iran. Read

Russia Wants Further Investigation Into Pipeline Sabotage; US Says It’s Trying to Divert Attention From Ukraine

Russia took its allegations of a U.S. plot to blow up the Nord Stream undersea natural gas pipelines to the U.N. Security Council on Tuesday, calling for an independent international inquiry, and dismissing European investigations as cover-up attempts designed to protect the United States.  Read

US Envoy: In 2017 (Under Trump), U.N. Security Council Rapped N. Korean Missile Launches, Stopping Provocations for 5 Years

With Russia and China on Monday again shielding North Korea from a U.N. Security Council response to its latest missile launch, the U.S. representative noted that “the last time the council sent a strong, united message” – in 2017 – Kim Jong Un’s regime had not carried out provocative actions for almost five years.  Read

Israel’s U.N. Envoy Marks Silence for Terror Victims, Including Two Small Boys; No One Else Stands

Israel’s U.N. ambassador paid tribute during a U.N. Security Council meeting on Monday to victims of recent Palestinian terror attacks, but when he stood to mark a period of silence in their memory, no other council delegation joined him.  Read

As Top CCP Official Visits Moscow, EU Warns China That Supporting Russia Would Be ‘Red Line’

 European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said on Monday that he told China’s top diplomat at the weekend that any Chinese military assistance to Russia’s war on Ukraine would be “a red line” – the same expression used a day earlier by a senior U.S. diplomat.  Read

Medvedev Says Biden Got ‘Security Guarantees’ Ahead of Unannounced Trip to Kyiv

Former Russian president and close Putin ally Dimitry Medvedev said Monday President Biden had received “security guarantees” ahead of his unannounced trip to Kyiv. The White House said it notified Moscow ahead of the visit “for deconfliction purposes.”  Read

After US Accuses Russia of ‘Crimes Against Humanity’ in Ukraine, Is a ‘Genocide’ Determination Next?

Days before the first anniversary of Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, Secretary of State Antony Blinken confirmed at the weekend a formal determination that Russian troops and officials have committed “crimes against humanity” in the country – and he did not rule out the possibility that a “genocide” determination may be next.  Read

Blinken Tells China Not to Send Weapons For Russia’s Ukraine War; Beijing Rejects US ‘Finger-Pointing’

Secretary of State Antony Blinken raised concerns with China’s top diplomat at the weekend that Beijing is considering providing weapons to aid Russia’s war on Ukraine. The response was a blunt if vague denial together with an insinuation that it is the U.S. that seeks to “profit” from the conflict.  Read

Blinken: Beijing Offered ‘No Apology’ Over Spy Balloon; China Calls Shootdown ‘Hysterical’

China’s top diplomat offered no apology over a suspected spy balloon that traversed U.S. airspace for almost a week, according to Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who said that he made clear during a weekend meeting with Wang Yi that “this must not happen again.”  Read

Blinken, Top CCP Official May Meet in Munich, Amid Tensions Over Balloon and Ukraine War

Beijing’s top diplomat is on a week-long European tour that may include an interaction with Secretary of State Antony Blinken when both attend a security conference in Germany, two weeks after Blinken abruptly canceled a trip to Beijing due to the Chinese spy balloon episode.  Read

China Slams Congress for Balloon Resolutions; Sanctions Firms That Made the Shootdown Jet and Missile

Beijing on Thursday blasted U.S. lawmakers for passing resolutions condemning the Chinese Communist Party over the spy balloon incursion, and called on Congress to “stop smearing China, and stop taking actions that may escalate the situation.”  Read

State Dep’t: Lavrov’s Claims that the West is Monopolizing Global Affairs ‘Just More Hot Air’

 Russia’s accusations that the West is trying to monopolize global affairs are “just more hot air,” State Department spokesman Ned Price said on Wednesday. What Moscow is taking issue with – the rules-based international order – is something all U.N. member-states are bound to uphold, he added.  Read

UN Report: Al-Qaeda’s New ‘De Facto and Uncontested’ Leader is Based in Iran

 A U.N. Security Council report this week identified an Iran-based senior al-Qaeda fugitive from U.S. justice as a likely, though not yet confirmed, new leader of the terrorist group. Read

NORAD Intercepts Russian Strategic Bombers Near Alaska; ‘Not a Threat’

U.S. Air Force fighters were scrambled on Monday to intercept four Russian planes, including nuclear-capable bombers near Alaska, the North American Aerospace Defense Command reported on Tuesday.  Read

Palestinians Want UN to Condemn Israel for Settlement Plans Already Criticized by Biden Administration

The Palestinian Authority is seeking a U.N. Security Council resolution condemning Israel over new settlement expansion plans – a response to recent terror attacks – at a time when Israel is under fire from the U.S. and other allies over the move.  Read

Iran’s President Heads to China to Deepen Partnership ‘Against Hegemony’

Iran’s U.S.-sanctioned president begins his first official visit to China on Tuesday, at a time when Tehran and Beijing are strengthening ties with each other – and with Moscow – in a deepening partnership against what they view as U.S. hegemony.  Read

Austin Cites ‘Route’ Taken by Flying Objects in Decision to Shoot Them Down

Three high-altitude flying objects shot down by the U.S. Air Force in recent days were not a “military threat to anyone on the ground” but did pose a risk to civil aviation “and potentially an intelligence collection threat,” Defense Secretary Gen. Lloyd Austin said on Monday.  Read

UN: Assad Regime Has Agreed to Two More Crossings on Turkey-Syria Border For Quake Relief

 The Assad regime has agreed to allow the U.N. to use two more crossings on the Turkey-Syria border to get aid to millions affected by the recent earthquakes in rebel-held northwestern Syria, U.N. secretary-general Antonio Guterres confirmed on Monday.  Read

Airborne Objects Shot Down Over Alaska, Canada Believed to Have Been Balloons, Says Schumer

The administration believes that two unmanned objects shot down by the U.S. Air Force over Alaska on Friday and western Canada on Saturday were balloons, but “much smaller” ones than the Chinese spy balloon downed of South Carolina on February 4, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said on Sunday.  Read

McCaul: China Used Balloon to Spy on Key Nuclear Sites, Prep for Potential Conflict Over Taiwan

The Chinese surveillance balloon shot down by the U.S. Air Force on February 4 “went over three of our most sensitive nuclear sites,” on a mission to obtain intelligence on the U.S. nuclear capability in preparation for a potential future conflict over Taiwan, Foreign Affairs Committee chairman Michael McCaul (R-Texas) charged on Sunday.  Read

Another One: US Air Force Downs a Second ‘Unidentified Unmanned Object’ in Two Days, Over Canada’s Yukon

For the second time in two days, U.S. fighter jets on Saturday shot down another unidentified object over North America, this time over Canada’s far northwestern Yukon, according to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.  Read

First UN Aid Reaches Quake-Hit Northern Syria, Delayed by Damage and Political Constraints

Three days after devastating earthquakes struck Turkey and Syria, the first U.N. aid convoy was able to cross from Turkey into northwest Syria on Thursday through the only border crossing authorized for aid delivery by a U.N. Security Council bitterly divided over the Syrian civil war.  Read

Administration Denies Claims US Blew Up Nord Stream Pipelines; Kremlin Says Take Them Seriously

The White House has dismissed as “complete fiction” a report by investigative journalist Seymour Hersh alleging that the U.S. was responsible for the sabotaging of the Nord Stream gas pipelines under the Baltic Sea last September, but the Kremlin said Thursday it must be taken seriously.  Read

Roger Waters Advised to ‘Keep Strumming the Guitar’ After Addressing UN at Russia’s Invitation

 Outspoken British rock musician Roger Waters attracted fresh controversy Wednesday after accepting a Russian invitation to address a U.N. Security Council meeting on Ukraine.  Read

Blinken: Chinese Spy Balloons Have Operated Over Countries on Five Continents

Chinese spy balloons have violated countries’ sovereignty on five continents, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Wednesday, adding that the U.S. government has already begun discussing last week’s incursion over the United States with dozens of other countries.  Read

Biden Inexplicably Shouts About Chinese Leader, in an Address Light on Foreign Policy

In a State of the Union address that was otherwise almost entirely devoid of foreign policy, President Biden on Tuesday night did devote several hundred words to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and to the challenges posed by China.  Read

Admiral: ‘We Should Never Give China a Pass’ Over Its Responsibility for the Fentanyl Crisis

 Ahead of a State of the Union address in which President Biden called for a “major surge” to tackle the deadly opioid epidemic, a U.S. Navy admiral and former U.S. Pacific Command commander said Tuesday the U.S. “should never give China a pass” over its responsibility for the fentanyl crisis.  Read

Biden Heckled Over Fentanyl Epidemic: ‘It’s Your Fault!’

 Republicans heckled President Biden when he raised the fentanyl crisis during his State of the Union on Tuesday night, drawing attention to the flow of the deadly synthetic opioid over the insecure southwest border and to China’s role in its production.  Read

NORAD Chief: US Military ‘Did Not Detect’ Chinese Spy Balloons During Trump Years; ‘Domain Awareness Gap’

The head of the U.S. military command responsible for countering airborne threats to North America said on Monday that it had not detected Chinese spy balloons that reportedly flew over the United States prior to last week’s incident.  Read

State Dep’t: US Aid for Syrian Quake Victims Won’t Go Through a Regime ‘That Has Brutalized Its People’

U.S. assistance for Syrians affected in Monday’s powerful earthquake in Turkey will be channeled through “humanitarian partners,” not the Assad regime whose legitimacy the U.S. government does not recognize. Read

Hostilities Set Aside As Rivals Offer Help After Deadly Quake in Turkey, Syria

As countries scramble to support rescue and aid efforts in southeastern Turkey and northern Syria, the tragedy resulting from Monday’s 7.8-magnitude earthquake has provided opportunities for some unlikely offers of assistance in a region marked by long-held, deep hostilities. Read

Beijing Slams Balloon Shootdown; Warns PLA Will Act When Faced With ‘Similar Situations’

The Chinese foreign and defense ministries on Sunday condemned the U.S. decision to shoot down what the Pentagon described as a Chinese spy balloon, and hinted that the People’s Liberation Army would respond in kind to future U.S. encroachments into its airspace.  Read

US Ready to Provide Help After Earthquake Kills Hundreds in Turkey, Syria

Hundreds of people in Turkey and Syria have been killed after a 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck in southeastern Turkey early on Monday morning local time.  Read

Republicans: China’s Balloon Incursion Shows US Weakness; Biden Owes Americans ‘A Lot of Answers’

Following the weekend shoot-down of a Chinese surveillance balloon that drifted through U.S. airspace for days, senior Republicans said that while Beijing was trying to send a message of American weakness, President Biden had been hesitant to take actions that could be seen as provocative.  Read

Jordan’s King Warmly Welcomed in DC; No Mention of Dispute Over Extraditing Fugitive Terrorist

 Jordan’s King Abdullah II received a warm welcome in Washington on Thursday, although there was no public indication that he was pressed on his country’s ongoing refusal to extradite an indicted fugitive, wanted for a bombing 22 years ago in which American citizens were killed. Read

Senators in Bipartisan Push to Block F-16 Sale to Turkey, Unless It Relents on NATO Admissions

President Biden’s plan to sell F-16 fighter jets to Turkey faced another potential roadblock on Thursday when 27 U.S. senators, most of them Democrats, informed him in a letter that if Ankara does not stop blocking Sweden and Finland’s entry into NATO, Congress will not support the sale.  Read

US Condemns Release of Sudanese Militant on Death Row for Murder of USAID Employees

The State Department on Wednesday condemned a reported decision by Sudan’s Supreme Court to order the release of the last of four militants convicted for the 2008 murders of two USAID employees, an attack claimed at the time by radical Islamist groups.  Read

North Korea Threatens U.S. Again, Says Situation ‘Has Reached an Extreme Red-Line’

North Korea accused the United States on Thursday of seeking to “ignite an all-out showdown” on the peninsula, where it said the military and political situation “has reached an extreme red-line.”  Read

Blinken Thanks Abbas, Who Has Yet to Condemn Jerusalem Attack, For ‘Resolute Stance Against Terrorism’

 Palestinian Authority chairman Mahmoud Abbas told Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday that “the Israeli government is responsible for what’s happening these days,” laying out a litany of complaints about Israeli policies but making no reference to a deadly Palestinian terrorist attack near a Jerusalem synagogue on Friday night.  Read

State Dep’t. Can’t Certify That Russia Is Keeping Nuclear Warheads Below Agreed-To Limits

The U.S. government cannot certify that Russia is complying with its New START Treaty obligations, the State Department said on Tuesday, prompting concern on Capitol Hill about the status and future of the last remaining arms-control agreement between the world’s leading nuclear-armed states.  Read