Jun 13, 2013
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Among the consequences facing U.S. President Barack Obama if he decides against arming Syria’s rebels is that Arab and European states may step in more aggressively, perhaps further fracturing rebel forces.
Having watched government forces seize the strategic town of Qusair from the rebels last week, Obama’s senior national security advisers have held a series of meetings on what more, if anything, they are willing to do to help the opposition.
Jun 10, 2013
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States could decide as early as this week whether to arm Syrian rebels, U.S. officials said on Monday, as Secretary of State John Kerry put off a Middle East trip to attend meetings on the subject.
The meetings are taking place as the battlefield has tilted against the rebels in the Syrian civil war as Lebanese Hezbollah has entered the fray on the side of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, helping his forces retake the strategic town of Qusair last week.
Jun 10, 2013
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States could make a decision as early as this week on whether to arm Syrian rebels, U.S. officials said on Monday, as U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry put off a Middle East trip to attend meetings on the subject.
However, the U.S. government has debated for months whether to provide weaponry to the rebels in their civil war against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s forces and has so far decided against.
Jun 5, 2013
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Samantha Power, who won a Pulitzer Prize for her study of U.S. failure to prevent genocide and is seen as an advocate of an activist U.S. foreign policy, would get a bigger platform for her views as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.
The former journalist, Harvard University professor and White House national security staffer was chosen on Wednesday to serve in the high-profile post as U.S. President Barack Obama weighs whether to do more to end Syria’s civil war.
Jun 2, 2013
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Four months into his term, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is trying, simultaneously, to end two of the world’s most intractable conflicts: the Syrian civil war and the struggle between Israel and the Palestinians.
The two issues, according to an aide, have consumed the vast majority of Kerry’s time and energy – he has already flown more than 100,000 miles to 23 countries, including four trips to Israel – since he took office February 1.
Jun 2, 2013
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Four months into his term, Secretary of State John Kerry is trying, simultaneously, to end two of the world’s most intractable conflicts: the Syrian civil war and the struggle between Israel and the Palestinians.
The two issues, according to an aide, have consumed the vast majority of Kerry’s time and energy – he has already flown more than 100,000 miles to 23 countries, including four trips to Israel – since he took office February 1.
May 28, 2013
PARIS (Reuters) – Holding a conference to end Syria’s civil war will be a “tall order”, Russia’s foreign minister said on Monday after talks with his U.S. counterpart, but he saw some chance of success.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said they would do their utmost to bring Syria’s warring parties to the table, as fighting intensified and new allegations of chemical weapons use surfaced.
May 27, 2013
PARIS (Reuters) – The U.S. and Russian foreign ministers met on Monday to discuss a planned conference aimed at ending Syria’s civil war against a backdrop of widening regional violence and new allegations of chemical weapons use.
John Kerry and Sergey Lavrov began one-on-one discussions in Paris, a U.S. official said, with such issues as when to hold the meeting on Syria, how to bring the warring parties to the table and whether to include Iran all likely to be on the table.
May 26, 2013
DEAD SEA, Jordan (Reuters) – Secretary of State John Kerry sketched out a plan on Sunday to spur Palestinian growth with up to $4 billion in private investment, but did not say where the money would come from.
Kerry drew a picture of prosperity in the West Bank that could spread to Israel and Jordan, while acknowledging it would not fully materialize without movement toward peace between Israel and the Palestinians.
May 25, 2013
ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) – Secretary of State John Kerry urged Egypt to act swiftly on economic reforms to secure a $4.8 billion International Monetary Fund loan, saying the measures were needed to get further aid from the U.S. Congress, an American official said.
Kerry met Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi for about an hour on the sidelines of an African Union summit on Saturday, discussing Syria’s civil war, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, human rights in Egypt and the country’s faltering economy, the official said.