Diplomacy Archives - Page 108 of 120

31 Mar

Russia to continue notifying US of ballistic missile launches

Moscow, March 31 (IANS) Russia will continue to exchange information with the US on its ballistic missile launches, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said. Russian media quoted Ryabkov as saying on Wednesday that Russia had halted all information exchanges with the US, following Moscow's decision to suspend its participation in the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START). On Thursday, Ryabkov clarified that Russia would adhere to the restrictions outlined in the treaty on a voluntary basis, and would continue to implement a 1988 bilateral agreement between the US and the Soviet Union that requires each side to notify of…

31 Mar

Turkey’s Parliament approves Finland’s NATO membership bid

Ankara, March 31 (IANS) Turkey's Parliament has officially approved Finland's bid to become the 31st member of the NATO. There were 276 votes in favour on Thursday for the Nordic nation to become a part of the military alliance, reports Turkey's state-run Anadolu News Agency. The vote means that all 30 current member states of NATO have now ratified Finland's accession, a requirement for it to join the alliance. Abandoning decades of military non-alignment after the launch of Russia's war on Ukraine last February, Finland and Sweden formally applied to join NATO in May. But Turkey, a NATO member for over…

26 Mar

Xi has succeeded in making Russia more dependent on China

New Delhi, March 26. Russian President Vladimir Putin is turning Russia into, in effect, a vassal state of China. Over time, as the power imbalance in the relationship continues to widen in China's favour, Moscow will find itself less and less able to chart an independent foreign policy or deviate from alignment with Beijing's interests, says Michaeal Schuman, non-resident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council's Global China Hub. That, of course, suits Chinese President Xi Jinping just fine, since he gets greater leverage over Moscow, Schuman said. Both sides got what they wanted out of the summit. Putin continues to benefit…

26 Mar

China-Russia bonhomie ominous for India’s global chip making dream

New Delhi, March 26 (IANS) As the US invests billions in local semiconductor manufacturing to end its dependence on China, the bonhomie between Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin can be seen as an effort by Beijing to somehow negotiate on raw materials needed in semiconductor manufacturing. Russia and Ukraine are major producers of two key materials used in semiconductor manufacturing - neon and palladium. Ukraine represents about 70 to 80 per cent of the global supply of neon, while Russia produces about 35 to 45 per cent of the world's palladium supply. For many years, chip…

25 Mar

Eric Garcetti officially sworn in as US Ambassador to India

New York, March 25 (IANS) Former Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti was officially sworn in as the US Ambassador to India by Vice President Kamala Harris at a ceremonial event. Garcetti was confirmed as the next US Ambassador earlier this month, ending a logjam that had left an important American mission abroad without a regular envoy for almost two years and his fate in the balance. The swearing-in ceremony on Friday was attended by Garcetti's close family members, including his wife and daughter, who held the Hebrew Bible. When asked about his new diplomatic assignment, the former Mayor said: "I cannot…

25 Mar

Algeria, France expected to end diplomatic row

Algiers, March 25 (IANS) Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune told his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron during a phone conversation that the country ambassador to Paris will soon rejoin his post, a move that will pave the way for warming up the bilateral ties after a diplomatic row. The Algerian Presidency said in a statement that Ambassador Said Moussi was recalled in early February after a Franco-Algerian activist had fled Algeria to France via Tunisia, reports Xinhua news agency. Tebboune and Macron discussed the activist during the talks on Friday, noting that "the two presidents agreed to strengthen communication between the administrations of…

25 Mar

UN 2023 Water Conference closes with bold action on new agenda

United Nations, March 25 (IANS) The UN 2023 Water Conference has concluded after adopting the Water Action Agenda, an action plan containing almost 700 commitments to protect "humanity's most precious global common good". From making better food choices to re-evaluating water as an economic driver and cultural treasure, the agenda lays out a series of game-changing commitments, reports Xinhua news agency. In his closing remarks at the conference, which ran from Wednesday through Friday, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called it an "ambitious vision". "Your dedication to action and transformation is propelling us towards a sustainable, equitable and inclusive water-secure future for…

25 Mar

UK, EU adopt new post-Brexit ‘Windsor Framework’ deal

London, March 25 (IANS) A new deal aimed at easing post-Brexit trade tensions in Northern Ireland was formally adopted by the UK and the European Union (EU), the two sides announced in a joint statement. British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly and European Commission Vice President Maros Sefcovic signed off the "Windsor Framework" deal during their meeting in London on Friday, reports Xinhua news agency. According to their joint statement, both the UK and the EU had taken a "positive approach" and "reaffirmed their intent" to use the framework to resolve any future trade issues. The content of the new deal was…

24 Mar

Finland’s president signs national NATO legislation

Helsinki, March 24 (IANS) Finland's President Sauli Niinisto has signed into law his country's accession to the NATO, which was ratified by parliament on March 1. This act formally sealed the Nordic country's historic bid to join the military alliance. Next, Finland will submit its NATO membership-related documents to the US administration once Turkey and Hungary ratify its membership bid, Xinhua news agency reported. Last Friday, during Niinisto's visit to Turkey, the country's President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, said that Ankara would begin the process of ratifying Finland's bid. According to Turkish media reports cited by the Finnish daily Helsingin Sanomat, the…

23 Mar

Far-right censure motion against Spanish govt defeated

Madrid, March 23 (IANS) The Spanish Congress, or the lower chamber of Parliament, has rejected a censure motion against Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez by the extreme right-wing Vox party. The 52 Vox representatives in the Congress voted in favour, along with Pablo Cambronero, a former member of the centre-right Ciudadanos party, reports Xinhua news agency. Meanwhile, there were 201 votes against and 91 abstentions. Members of Sanchez's coalition government, which is made up of his Socialist Party (PSOE) and the left-wing Unidas Podemos, voted against the motion. Deputies from the right-wing People's Party (PP), the main opposition force in Spain, abstained…