White House proposes drastic cuts to State Department and funding for UN, NATO and other groups

WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House’s Office of Management and Budget has proposed gutting the State Department’s budget by almost 50%, closing a number of overseas diplomatic missions, slashing the number of diplomatic staff, and eliminating funding for nearly all international organizations, including the United Nations, many of its agencies and for NATO headquarters, officials said. The proposal, which was presented to the State Department last week and is still in a highly preliminary phase, is not expected to pass muster with either the department’s leadership or Congress, which will…

Read More...

Turkey, Hungary unmoved as U.S. presses Sweden’s NATO bid ‘without delay’

The White House stepped up its lobbying for Sweden’s pending membership in NATO on Wednesday as objections from Turkey and Hungary cast doubt on whether the Scandinavian country can join the military alliance before Mr. Biden and other NATO leaders meet in Lithuania in mid-July. The Washington Times stories: White House

Read More...

Russia’s nuclear threats will top agenda for Biden at NATO summit in Brussels

Russia’s threat of a nuclear attack will be among the key topics discussed by President Biden and U.S. allies during the NATO summit this week, national security adviser Jake Sullivan said Wednesday. A Kremlin spokesperson said this week that Russian President Vladimir Putin could use nuclear weapons if he perceived … The Washington Times stories: White House

Read More...

China’s Vice Foreign Minister criticized NATO for war in Ukraine

A senior Chinese official on Saturday blamed NATO for Russia’s assault on Ukraine and criticized western sanctions on Moscow. In his remarks during a security and strategy forum China’s Vice Foreign Minister Le Yucheng said the root cause of the war in Ukraine “lies in the Cold War mentality of … The Washington Times stories: White House

Read More...