US Secretary of State

Russia, US Swap Prisoners in Push for Closer Ties 

A Los Angeles-based ballet dancer released by Russia as part of a prisoner swap landed safely in the United States Thursday night, the second swap under President Donald Trump as Moscow and Washington push to rebuild ties. Ksenia Karelina, a US-Russian dual national convicted in Russia of "treason" over a one-time donation worth around ...

US Will Not let Greenland 'Become Dependent on China': Rubio

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Friday Washington respected the self-determination of Greenlanders but was not going to allow the resource-rich autonomous Danish region to become dependent on China. President Donald Trump has repeatedly said he wants to take over the Arctic island for security reasons –  to the anger of Copenhagen, a ...

Rubio Says US Committed to NATO - But Tells Allies to Spend More

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told nervous NATO members on Thursday that Washington remained committed to the alliance, but said they must agree to massively ramp up their spending targets for defense. President Donald Trump has rattled Europe by casting doubt on his willingness to defend all allies, and by reaching out to Russia over the war ...

Trump-Era Official Sought to End US Aid to Lebanon

According to an email reviewed by Reuters, a Trump administration official overseeing USAID sought to phase out US aid to Lebanon, arguing that the country had developed an "odd dependency" on American assistance. In a February 16 directive seen by Reuters, acting USAID deputy administrator Peter Marocco instructed officials to draft a memo ...

Rubio Says Not Going to Discuss How to 'Take Over Canada' at G7

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he would not raise Canada's sovereignty when he visits Quebec later on Wednesday, for Group of Seven talks, despite taunts by President Donald Trump. "We're going to be focused in the G7 and all of those things," he said, mentioning the war in Ukraine. "That's what the meeting is ...

83% of USAID programs to be scrapped, according to Rubio

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Monday the United States was cancelling 83 percent of programs at USAID, as the Trump administration guts spending not aligned with its "America First" agenda. The US Agency for International Development (USAID) distributes humanitarian aid around the world, with health and emergency programs in around 120 ...

Russia, US Diplomats Meet in Istanbul for Embassy Talks

Russian and US officials met in Istanbul on Thursday for talks on resolving embassy issues as the two countries aimed to restore ties, Russian news agencies reported. The talks are being held at the US consul general's residence and come after this month's first high-level meeting between the two nuclear powers since the start of Russia's Ukraine ...

Pope Suffers Respiratory Attack, Condition Critical

Pope Francis's condition "continues to be critical", the Vatican said Saturday, saying the 88-year-old was alert but had suffered a respiratory attack that required "high-flow oxygen", and also blood transfusions. "At the moment the prognosis is reserved," it said, as the head of the Catholic Church prepared to spend his ninth night in Rome's ...

Russia Tells US It Opposes Any NATO Member Sending Troops to Ukraine

Russia told the United States in talks on Tuesday that it opposed any NATO member sending troops to Ukraine as part of a ceasefire, Moscow's foreign minister said. "The appearance of troops of armed forces from the same NATO countries, whether under a foreign flag, under the flag of the European Union or under national flags, does not ...

Marco Rubio in Israel on First Leg of Mideast Tour

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Israel's prime minister in Jerusalem on Sunday for talks on the Gaza ceasefire, launching a Middle East tour a day after the latest hostage-prisoner exchange. On his first visit to the region as Washington's top diplomat, Rubio is expected to push US President Donald Trump's widely condemned ...

Trump Wants to Jail American Citizens in Salvador

President Donald Trump on Tuesday backed an offer by El Salvador to take in prisoners -- including US citizens -- despite clear legal problems with such an outsourcing under American law. "If we had the legal right to do it, I would do it in a heartbeat," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. "It's no different than our prison system, except ...

Rubio to make debut in Panama as Trump threatens to take canal

Marco Rubio heads Saturday to Panama on his debut trip abroad as US Secretary of State as he looks for how to follow up on President Donald Trump's extraordinary threat to seize the Panama Canal. Rubio's travel comes the same day that Trump's promised tariffs on the three largest US trading partners -- Canada, Mexico and China -- are set to come ...