Tag Archives: diplomacy

Salon reports: Australian media confirms that Trump “yelled” during the call in an attempt to bully the prime minister. Australia’s Nine News reported that Turnbull responded to the erratic behavior by saying: “You’re a businessman. I’m a businessman. A deal is a deal.” Twenty-five minutes into the phone call, which was originally scheduled to last an hour, Trump reportedly hung …

Raw Story reports: An editorial in the state-run news outlet Global Times of China is literally mocking U.S. President-elect Donald Trump. “Trump’s thinking about China is becoming increasingly clear: He wants China to make huge economic and trade concessions to the U.S. To achieve that, he is willing to stir certain calm areas in China-U.S. relations, including treating the Taiwan …

Bloomberg reports: U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May sent her two most senior aides on a secret trip to the U.S. in an attempt to build bridges with President-elect Donald Trump after a frosty start to their relationship, and top aides to both leaders continue to meet. May’s joint chiefs of staff, Nick Timothy and Fiona Hill, flew across the Atlantic …

CNN reports: Russian President Vladimir Putin said Friday that Moscow will not expel American diplomats in response to US sanctions against Russia, according to Russian state media. The Russian Foreign Ministry had earlier recommended the Kremlin send home 35 US diplomats in response to a similar move by Washington on Thursday. But Putin said he would not take immediate action, …

RT.com reports: The new US sanctions against Russia are another manifestation of the unpredictable and aggressive foreign policy by the Obama administration, Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin press-secretary, said. “In our point of view such actions of the US current administration are a manifestation of an unpredictable and even aggressive foreign policy,” Peskov told the journalists. “We regret the fact that …

Politico reports: Kuwait’s ambassador to the United States is denying a report that he was pressured by associates of Donald Trump to host a major celebration at the president-elect’s hotel in Washington instead of its usual venue, the Four Seasons. Salem Al-Sabah said he decided to schedule Kuwait’s National Day event on Feb. 25 at the Trump hotel because he’d …

NBC News reports: China expressed “serious concern” Monday after President-elect Donald Trump suggested he might tear up the basis for decades of bilateral relations between Washington and Beijing. Trump said Sunday that he could do away with the so-called “one-China” policy — an agreement by the United States to effectively side with China in its sovereignty dispute with the self-proclaimed …

CNN reports: China’s foreign ministry said Saturday it has lodged a complaint with the United States over a controversial phone call between President-elect Donald Trump and Taiwan’s President that has overturned decades of diplomatic protocol. China views Taiwan as a renegade province and, since 1979, the US has acknowledged Beijing’s claim that Taiwan is part of China, with US-China relations …

The Associated Press reports: President Rodrigo Duterte said Saturday Donald Trump wished his deadly crackdown on illegal drugs would succeed during a telephone call, and he assured the U.S. president-elect the Philippines would maintain its ties with America — a departure from Duterte’s hostility toward the Obama administration. Duterte called to congratulate Trump late Friday in their first talk that …

Business Insider reports: President-elect Trump spoke with the president of Taiwan by phone on Friday, the Financial Times reported, in a move likely to infuriate Beijing and hinder US-China relations. Trump’s spokesperson Hope Hicks confirmed the phone call in an email on Friday. “President-elect Trump spoke with President Tsai Ing-wen of Taiwan, who offered her congratulations,” according to a readout …

The Hill reports: President-elect Donald Trump said Monday he will reverse President Obama’s thaw with Cuba if the island nation’s government does not make reforms. Trump is pledging to follow through on a campaign promise to undo Obama’s decision to open diplomatic and commercial ties with Cuba if the communist government doesn’t adopt changes. The statement comes less than three …

“At this time of Fidel Castro’s passing, we extend a hand of friendship to the Cuban people. We know that this moment fills Cubans – in Cuba and in the United States – with powerful emotions, recalling the countless ways in which Fidel Castro altered the course of individual lives, families, and of the Cuban nation. History will record and …

The Charleston Post and Courier reports: President-elect Donald Trump is picking South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley to become his U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, The Post and Courier has learned. The move, expected Wednesday, continues the steep political rise of the daughter of Indian immigrants that started six years ago when the Bamberg native was elected as South Carolina’s …

Law Newz reports: Steven Schooner, a law professor at George Washington University, raised serious legal concerns about Donald Trump and his ongoing interest in Trump International Hotel in Washington D.C., especially after a report in The Washington Post that said foreign diplomats felt pressure to stay there. He’s not the only legal expert to raise constitutional questions. The Trump Organization …

The Daily Mirror reports: Donald Trump has raised eyebrows by extending a bizarrely un-Presidential invitation to Theresa May. “If you travel to the US you should let me know” he told the British Prime Minister in their first phone call, according to a transcript leaked to The Times. Overseas visits by the Prime Minister aren’t exactly spontaneous – they cost …

From a lengthy piece published today by Politico Magazine: Can we rely on Trump to act with diligence, competence, diplomatic skill, reason and restraint? The verdict of a plurality of the electorate who voted for Clinton and of the vast majority of foreign policy experts is one of profound doubt that he can handle the pressure. He has proved himself …

CNN reports: When JetBlue Flight 387 touched down Wednesday in Cuba, it was the first direct commercial flight between the US and the island in over a half-century. The Fort Lauderdale, Florida, to Santa Clara, Cuba, flight is the latest symbol of the thawing of relations between the former Cold War adversaries, who restored diplomatic ties in 2015. Until now, …

The Guardian reports:  The Philippines’ firebrand President Rodrigo Duterte has sparked a fresh diplomatic row with his colourful language, calling the US ambassador “gay” in comments that prompted Washington to summon Manila’s envoy to complain. In the latest of series of tirades, Duterte used a local Tagalog language homophobic slur to express his displeasure with US Ambassador Philip Goldberg in …

As always, Trump is being advised by the “best people.” The Telegraph reports: Donald Trump has savaged Japan, one of America’s closest allies, stating that if the US is attacked, all Japan would do is “sit home and watch Sony television”. He expressed his frustration that the US is bound by treaty to defend the Asian nation but that if …

From the Washington Blade: The Vatican announced on Monday that Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of Cardinal Nicolás de Jesús López Rodríguez of the Archbishop of Santo Domingo. The Holy See said in a statement that the pontiff has named Monsignor Francisco Ozoria Acosta of the Diocese of San Pedro de Macorís as López’s successor. López has repeatedly used …