Latest news with #post-Soviet
Canada News.Net
15 hours ago
- Politics
- Canada News.Net
Officials: Russia strategy group disbanded amid Trump frustration
WASHINGTON, D.C.: A quiet shift inside the Trump administration has stalled a key diplomatic initiative aimed at pushing Russia toward peace talks with Ukraine. According to three U.S. officials, a working group formed earlier this year to explore ways to increase pressure on Moscow has been quietly shelved — a casualty of dwindling presidential interest and sweeping staff changes. Set up by high-ranking members of the White House National Security Council (NSC), the group included officials from the State Department, Pentagon, Treasury, and intelligence community. Its mission was to craft strategies for tightening the screws on Moscow and boosting U.S. leverage in negotiations. However, the group lost momentum by May, as President Donald Trump grew increasingly disillusioned with the pace of progress. "It lost steam toward the end because the president wasn't there," said one U.S. official familiar with the matter. "Instead of doing more, maybe he wanted to do less." The group's demise, which has not been previously reported, adds to growing concern in Europe about Trump's approach to Russia, particularly ahead of a key NATO summit this month. On June 16, speaking at the G7 in Canada, Trump repeated that removing Russia from the old G8 alliance had been a mistake. The final blow came about three weeks ago when most of the NSC's Ukraine team was dismissed in a broader White House shake-up. Among those removed was Andrew Peek, the top NSC official for Europe and Russia. Though it's unclear who ordered the effort to halt, officials say the scale of NSC personnel cuts made its continuation impractical. While the group never finalized its recommendations, officials say ideas on the table included economic deals to loosen post-Soviet countries' ties to Moscow, covert operations, and incentives for Kazakhstan to enforce sanctions better. The Kazakhstani embassy in Washington did not respond to a request for comment. The working group had emerged in March or April as some of Trump's advisers began questioning Putin's willingness to deal and hoped Trump might shift to a tougher stance. In late March, Trump told NBC News he was "furious" and "pissed off" at Putin's comments about Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. An April 1 NSC statement to Reuters cited "deep frustration with the Russian government over negotiations." But frustration eventually gave way to fatigue. Despite campaign promises to end the war on "day one," Trump has grown increasingly doubtful about his ability to deliver. Officials say he has recently floated abandoning U.S. mediation efforts altogether. Meanwhile, Trump has seen little success in other peace efforts, including in the Middle East, where tensions have escalated sharply between Iran and Israel. A March Reuters report also revealed that parts of the U.S. government had suspended work on countering Russian disinformation and sabotage.
Canada Standard
15 hours ago
- Politics
- Canada Standard
Trump admin quietly shutters Russia pressure group, sources say
WASHINGTON, D.C.: A quiet shift inside the Trump administration has stalled a key diplomatic initiative aimed at pushing Russia toward peace talks with Ukraine. According to three U.S. officials, a working group formed earlier this year to explore ways to increase pressure on Moscow has been quietly shelved — a casualty of dwindling presidential interest and sweeping staff changes. Set up by high-ranking members of the White House National Security Council (NSC), the group included officials from the State Department, Pentagon, Treasury, and intelligence community. Its mission was to craft strategies for tightening the screws on Moscow and boosting U.S. leverage in negotiations. However, the group lost momentum by May, as President Donald Trump grew increasingly disillusioned with the pace of progress. "It lost steam toward the end because the president wasn't there," said one U.S. official familiar with the matter. "Instead of doing more, maybe he wanted to do less." The group's demise, which has not been previously reported, adds to growing concern in Europe about Trump's approach to Russia, particularly ahead of a key NATO summit this month. On June 16, speaking at the G7 in Canada, Trump repeated that removing Russia from the old G8 alliance had been a mistake. The final blow came about three weeks ago when most of the NSC's Ukraine team was dismissed in a broader White House shake-up. Among those removed was Andrew Peek, the top NSC official for Europe and Russia. Though it's unclear who ordered the effort to halt, officials say the scale of NSC personnel cuts made its continuation impractical. While the group never finalized its recommendations, officials say ideas on the table included economic deals to loosen post-Soviet countries' ties to Moscow, covert operations, and incentives for Kazakhstan to enforce sanctions better. The Kazakhstani embassy in Washington did not respond to a request for comment. The working group had emerged in March or April as some of Trump's advisers began questioning Putin's willingness to deal and hoped Trump might shift to a tougher stance. In late March, Trump told NBC News he was "furious" and "pissed off" at Putin's comments about Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. An April 1 NSC statement to Reuters cited "deep frustration with the Russian government over negotiations." But frustration eventually gave way to fatigue. Despite campaign promises to end the war on "day one," Trump has grown increasingly doubtful about his ability to deliver. Officials say he has recently floated abandoning U.S. mediation efforts altogether. Meanwhile, Trump has seen little success in other peace efforts, including in the Middle East, where tensions have escalated sharply between Iran and Israel. A March Reuters report also revealed that parts of the U.S. government had suspended work on countering Russian disinformation and sabotage. The White House, Treasury, Pentagon, State Department, and the embassies of Russia and Ukraine all declined to comment.
Gulf Today
2 days ago
- Politics
- Gulf Today
Foreigners flee Iran to Azerbaijan, Turkey, Armenia
More than 700 foreigners living in Iran have crossed into neighbouring Azerbaijan and Armenia since Israel began striking the country last week, government officials in Baku and Yerevan said on Tuesday. The Caucasus countries border Iran's northwest, with the closest crossing into Azerbaijan around 500 kilometres from Tehran by road. 'Since the start of the military escalation between Israel and Iran, more than 600 citizens of 17 countries have been evacuated from Iran via Azerbaijan,' a government source told reporters on Tuesday. The evacuees, who crossed the border via the Astara checkpoint on the Caspian Sea coast, are being transported to Baku airport and 'flown to their home countries on international flights,' the source said. Among those evacuated are citizens of post-Soviet countries Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, along with others from Germany, Spain, Italy, Serbia, Romania, Portugal, the United States, China and Vietnam. Later on Tuesday, Azerbaijani foreign ministry spokesman Aykhan Hajizada told reporters that Baku 'is reviewing requests from more than 1,200 foreign nationals from 51 countries seeking to leave Iran' via Azerbaijan. 'Border-crossing permits are being arranged,' he added. Azerbaijan shut its land borders in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic and has kept them closed ever since. But the official said that 'in light of the evacuation need, Azerbaijan has temporarily opened its border for those leaving Iran.' India also evacuated 110 of its citizens from Iran through Armenia, Ani Badalyan, Yerevan's foreign ministry spokeswoman, told journalists. Meanwhile, Iran's ambassador to Armenia, Mehdi Sobhani, said 'many Iranian citizens who had previously been in Turkey and Russia have returned to Iran via Armenia.' 'Efforts are ongoing to facilitate the return of Iranian citizens amid flight cancellations,' Sobhani said in comments translated into Armenian at a news conference in Yerevan. Poland's foreign ministry said it would evacuate part of its embassy staff in Tehran via Baku. 'We have decided to evacuate or support the departure of staff who do not need to remain in the country, so-called non-essential personnel,' Deputy Foreign Minister Henryka Moscicka-Dendys told reporters. Agence France-Presse
Daily Tribune
3 days ago
- Politics
- Daily Tribune
Over 700 foreigners flee Iran to Azerbaijan, Armenia
AFP | More than 700 foreigners living in Iran have crossed into neighbouring Azerbaijan and Armenia since Israel began striking the country last week, government officials in Baku and Yerevan said Tuesday. The Caucasus countries border Iran's northwest, with the closest crossing into Azerbaijan around 500 kilometres (310 miles) from Tehran by road. "Since the start of the military escalation between Israel and Iran, more than 600 citizens of 17 countries have been evacuated from Iran via Azerbaijan," a government source told AFP on Tuesday. The evacuees, who crossed the border via the Astara checkpoint on the Caspian Sea coast, are being transported to Baku airport and "flown to their home countries on international flights", the source said. Among those evacuated are citizens of post-Soviet countries Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, along with others from Germany, Spain, Italy, Serbia, Romania, Portugal, the United States, the United Arab Emirates, China and Vietnam. Israel has launched waves of strikes on Iran since Friday, saying it aims to prevent Tehran from acquiring a nuclear weapon -- a goal Iran denies pursuing. The Israeli attacks have killed at least 224 people and wounded more than 1,000, according to an official toll released Sunday. In retaliation, Iran has carried out attacks that have killed at least 24 people in Israel since Friday, according to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office.
Observer
3 days ago
- Politics
- Observer
Over 700 foreigners flee Iran to Azerbaijan, Armenia
BAKU: More than 700 foreign nationals have crossed from Iran into neighbouring Azerbaijan and Armenia since Israel began striking the country last week, government officials in Baku and Yerevan said on Tuesday. The Caucasus countries border Iran's northwest, with the closest crossing into Azerbaijan around 500 kilometres from Tehran by road. 'Since the start of the military escalation between Israel and Iran, more than 600 citizens of 17 countries have been evacuated from Iran via Azerbaijan,' a government source said on Tuesday. The evacuees, who crossed the border via the Astara checkpoint on the Caspian Sea coast, are being transported to Baku airport and 'flown to their home countries on international flights', the source said. Among those evacuated are citizens of post-Soviet countries Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, as well as Germany, Spain, Italy, Serbia, Romania, Portugal, the United States, the United Arab Emirates, China and Vietnam. 'In light of the evacuation need, Azerbaijan has temporarily opened its border for those leaving Iran,' the official said. India also evacuated 110 of its citizens from Iran through Armenia, Ani Badalyan, Yerevan's foreign ministry spokeswoman, told journalists. Poland's foreign ministry said it would evacuate part of its embassy staff in Tehran via Baku. 'We have decided to evacuate or support the departure of staff who do not need to remain in the country, so-called non-essential personnel,' Deputy Foreign Minister Henryka Moscicka-Dendys told reporters. 'Our colleagues will try to reach the border with Azerbaijan,' she said, without specifying how many people were involved. Turkmenistan said it had also allowed the transit of around 120 people evacuated from Iran through its territory, mainly citizens of Central Asian countries. — AFP
