John Kerry – European Affairs Magazine

Al-Sisi participated in a “secret summit” between Netanyahu, John Kerry and Arab leaders

21 Febbraio 2017 BreakingNews @en di

The Egyptian presidency issued a statement on Sunday to comment on recently published press reports suggesting that President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi participated in a “secret summit” between Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, former US secretary of state John Kerry, and Arab leaders. While not denying participation in the meeting, the presidency said that “Egypt spares no efforts to reach a just and permanent solution to the Palestinian issue, based on the two-state solution and the Palestinians’ right to establish an independent state along the June 4, 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital, without any political outbidding”. On Sunday, Israeli news website Haaretz published an exclusive report stating that Netanyahu took part in a secret summit in Aqaba a year ago. Participants allegedly included Kerry, Al-Sisi, and King of Jordan Abdullah II. The report said that Kerry’s proposal was rejected by Netanyahu but was supported by the two Arab leaders. The proposal reportedly included the recognition of the Jewish state and the renewal of talks with the Palestinians with support of the Arab countries.

Tillerson intends to keep a low profile unlike the President Trump

20 Febbraio 2017 BreakingNews @en di

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is proving very fond of the spotlight, unlike the President Trump who loves the media attention, Tillerson has already made it clear to senior officials of the State Department that it intends to keep a low profile, in sharp contrast with his predecessor John Kerry who often spoke to the press. The style of Tillerson has seen in his first commitment of great importance, the G20 in Germany, where he got to meet several foreign Ministers, in particularly had reassured Japan and South Korea about the US commitment against Korea North in the Pacifc area. The Choose of a low profile, however, causes problems to journalists, who can not read well the moves of Tillerson, but also to his colleagues, in fact, france Minister of Foregin Affairs Jean-Marc Ayrault after meeting with Secretary of State during the G20 has called “vague” his positions, especially regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

US Secretary of State Kerry and Russia Foreign Minister Lavrov talked about Russia’s renewed fighting in Aleppo

26 Ottobre 2016 BreakingNews @en di

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry told Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on October 24 that he is concerned about renewed fighting in the Syrian city of Aleppo after a break of several days, according to the State Department. Lavrov and Kerry discussed the situation in Syria in a phone call and agreed that experts from several countries meeting in Geneva would continue searching for ways to resolve the Aleppo crisis, the department said. During the call, Kerry expressed concern about the renewal of attacks on Aleppo by Syrian government forces and Russian warplanes after a pause in the fighting last week, State Department spokesman John Kirby said. He noted that humanitarian aid had still not made it through to people under siege in Aleppo, because Russia and Syria failed to provide security guarantees to the UN during the pause.

Saudi Arabia will play a major role in trying to solve the Libyan crisis

26 Ottobre 2016 BreakingNews @en di

Saudi Arabia is expected to take a major role in trying to solve the Libyan crisis, inviting key players from all sides of the divide to a meeting aimed at ending it. Riyadh is still undecided, though, on the location of the meeting, a prominent source in Riyadh very close to the Saudi authorities has told. Five days ago, following talks in Washington with Saudi Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubeir, US Secretary of State John Kerry said there had been discussions on “a multinational group meeting of the main stakeholders somewhere in the next 10 to 12 days”. The aim was “to take certain key steps that could actually strengthen the ability of government to be able to serve the people of Libya”. Both the Americans and the Saudis had also agreed on the need for a united fight in Libya against the so-called Islamic State. According to the Saudi source, Riyadh now feels to become fully involved.