Showing posts with label diplomatic relations. Show all posts
Showing posts with label diplomatic relations. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 04, 2011
Sunday, May 01, 2011
BBC: The Libyan ambassador to the UK has been expelled following attacks on British embassy premises in Tripoli.Foreign missions in Libya's capital have been targeted by crowds angry at reports that a Nato air strike had killed a son of Col Muammar Gaddafi.
A BBC team there said the UK embassy building had been completely burnt out.
The foreign secretary said the Gaddafi regime had failed in its duty to protect it and that Omar Jelban had been given 24 hours to leave the UK.
Meanwhile, the United Nations announced it was withdrawing all its international staff from Tripoli after some of its facilities in the city were also attacked by angry crowds.
UK Foreign Secretary William Hague said: "The Vienna Convention requires the Gaddafi regime to protect diplomatic missions in Tripoli.
"By failing to do so that regime has once again breached its international responsibilities and obligations. I take the failure to protect such premises very seriously indeed."
The UK currently has no diplomats in the Libyan capital.
Foreign Office minister Alistair Burt said official lines of communication with Col Gaddafi's government would remain open, as other Libyan officials would stay in its UK embassy after the ambassador's departure. (+ video) » | Sunday, May 01, 2011
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
RADIO FREE EUROPE / RADIO LIBERTY: The 2,400 kilometers or so separating Cairo from Tehran might have been enough to keep relations at arm's length. But for the past three decades, the realities of geography dividing Egypt and Iran have been stretched into a yawning chasm by the shadow of one Khalid Islambouli.The Islamist army officer who assassinated Egyptian President Anwar Sadat in 1981 in revenge for signing the Camp David Accords with Israel has long stood as a symbol of the political and ideological divide between the two countries. Executed along with three co-conspirators for the crime the following year, Islambouli acquired pariah status in Egypt -- an embodiment of the perils lurking behind Islamic radicalism.
In Iran, by contrast, he is renowned as a hero and a martyr, a privilege reflected in a massive mural painting in central Tehran. One of the capital's most prestigious streets also bears his name, in what Egyptian officials have regarded as a provocation and a block to restoring long-severed diplomatic ties.
Now, however, the ghost of Islambouli is close to being laid to rest.
'Expansion Of Ties'
In what may be a blow to the interests of Israel and the United States, Egypt has declared itself ready to re-establish links with Tehran in the wake of February's overthrow of former President Hosni Mubarak, who saw Iran's Islamic regime as a bitter foe.
The new Egyptian foreign minister, Nabil Al-Arabi, signaled a thaw on March 30 when he voiced hopes for an "expansion of ties" with Iran. His comments came a month after Egypt -- in the wake of Mubarak's departure -- set Western alarm bells ringing by allowing Iranian naval ships to sail through the Suez Canal for the first time in 30 years.
Reasons to be wary were compounded this month by the Egyptian Foreign Ministry's spokesman, Mehna Bakhoum, who declared: "We are prepared to take a different view of Iran. The former regime used to see Iran as an enemy, but we don't."
The warm words have been reciprocated by Tehran, where the Foreign Ministry has confirmed it is preparing to appoint its first ambassador to Cairo since links were cut in 1979.
The contrast could hardly be greater with the tone set by Mubarak who, according to a U.S. diplomatic cable released by WikiLeaks, told Senator John Kerry that the Iranians "are big fat liars and justify their lies because they believe it is for a higher purpose." » | Robert Tait | Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
BBC: The UK has taken steps to expel five Libyan diplomats, Foreign Secretary William Hague has said.
Updating MPs, Mr Hague said the five - which include the military attache - "could pose a threat" to UK security.
Meanwhile, David Cameron said the UK was not ruling out providing arms to rebels in "certain circumstances" but no decision had yet been taken.
Shadow foreign secretary Douglas Alexander questioned the legality and "advisability" of such a move.
The rebels are continuing to lose ground to forces loyal to Colonel Gaddafi and are retreating from their former strongholds along the eastern coast of Libya.
Earlier, the prime minister's official spokesman rejected suggestions the UK's stance on the possibility of supplying weapons to them had shifted in recent weeks.
'Grave concern'
The coalition military action is aimed at enforcing a no-fly zone over Libya and protecting civilians from attacks by forces loyal to its leader Col Gaddafi. It has denied air strikes are meant to provide cover for a rebel advance.
The foreign secretary's statement came after the allies held a summit in London on Tuesday to discuss Libya's future.
Mr Hague said: "To underline our grave concern at the [Gaddafi] regime's behaviour, I can announce to the House that we have today taken steps to expel five diplomats at the Libyan embassy in London, including the military attache.
"The government also judged that, were these individuals to remain in Britain, they could pose a threat to our security." (+ video) » | Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Egypt is recalling its Vatican envoy for consultations over remarks by Pope Benedict XVI on Coptic Christians seen as an "interference" in its affairs, the foreign ministry said on Tuesday.
The action follows "new statements from the Vatican concerning Egypt which are considered by Egypt as unacceptable interference in its internal affairs," the ministry spokesman said in an apparent reference to remarks concerning Copts.
The pontiff has expressed repeatedly his solidarity with the Copts and called on world leaders to protect them in the aftermath of a New Year's Day church bombing that killed 21 people as worshippers emerged from midnight mass in Alexandria.
A day after the attack on the Al-Qiddissin (The Saints) church, the pope appealed for the "concrete and constant engagement of leaders of nations," in what he termed a "difficult mission".
At his New Year's Day mass, Benedict underscored that "humanity cannot display resignation in the face of negative forces of selfishness and violence, it cannot get accustomed to conflicts which claim victims and endanger the future of people."
On Sunday Benedict again voiced solidarity with Egypt's Copts – two days after they marked their Christmas, celebrated on January 7.
"I salute the Coptic faithful present here to whom I renew my expression of closeness," the pope told thousands of people gathered in Saint Peter's Square. >>> | Tuesday, January 11, 2011
MAIL ONLINE: Barack Obama has declared that France is America’s greatest ally, undermining Britain’s Special Relationship with the U.S.
The President risked offending British troops in Afghanistan by saying that French president Nicolas Sarkozy is a ‘stronger friend’ than David Cameron.
The remarks, during a White House appearance with Mr Sarkozy, will reinforce the widely-held view in British diplomatic circles that Mr Obama has less interest in the Special Relationship than any other recent American leader.
Mr Obama said: 'We don’t have a stronger friend and stronger ally than Nicolas Sarkozy, and the French people.'
The comments follow a pattern of coldness towards the UK. When Gordon Brown was prime minister, Mr Obama snubbed his requests for meetings in the U.S.
He also denounced Britain during his inauguration speech.
The UK has lost nearly 350 troops in the war against the Taliban – seven times as many as France.
And there are more than 10,000 British soldiers serving in Helmand province, compared with just 3,850 Frenchmen.Mr Obama's stance was swiftly condemned in Westminster. >>> Tim Shipman | Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Monday, December 20, 2010
TORONTO SUN: TEHRAN - A committee in Iran’s parliament voted on Sunday to cut diplomatic relations with Britain, a day after President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called for “cooperation“ with major powers.
The decision by parliament’s national security and foreign policy committee, reported by the semi-official Fars news agency, follows criticism by Britain’s ambassador to Tehran of Iran’s human rights record.
“After voting by the members of the committee, it was decided to have diplomatic relations completely severed with Britain,” Fars quoted lawmaker Mohammad Karami-rad as saying.
If the motion is backed by the full parliament it would put pressure on the government to downgrade relations with Britain at a time when a new foreign minister has called for “positive interaction””with the European Union. >>> Reuters | Sunday, December 19, 2010
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
THE TELEGRAPH: French President Nicolas Sarkozy's wife Carla Bruni's alleged rivalry with Michelle Obama has strained relations between the French and US presidential couples.
The author of "Carla: A Secret Life" - a biography chronicling her transformation from an allegedly tempestuous man-eater into an apparent model spouse - suggests Carla Bruni-Sarkozy has become something of a political liability for her husband.
Besma Lahouri says Mrs Bruni-Sarkozy's image of distant, well-heeled perfection has kept her at arm's length from the French people.
At a time when the conservative president's popularity has plummeted, and he is being criticised for raising the retirement age and cracking down on Eastern European Gypsy immigrants, having a more accessible first lady might soften his image, she said.
"The French don't know their first lady, and her worries seem to them very far removed from their own," Lahouri. >>> The Telegraph’s Foreign Staff | Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Wednesday, June 09, 2010
ADN KRONOS INTERNATIONAL: Istanbul - Turkey signed an agreement to establish closer links with the Palestinian National Authority on Monday. Foreign ministers representing Turkey and the Palestinians signed the agreement as Turkish president Abdullah Gul and president of the Palestinian Authority Mahmoud Abbas were to meet at a conference in Istanbul.
The agreement was signed by Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu and his Palestinian counterpart Riyad El-Maliki and aims to create a framework for Turkey's aid and support to the Palestinian state, Turkish media reports said.
A joint committee will convene at least twice every year in order to determine areas of cooperation and lay down action plans. >>> AKI | Monday, June 07, 2010
Wednesday, June 02, 2010
HAARETZ: Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutogu [sic] says future of Turkish-Israeli relationship depends on Israel's attitude.
Turkey said on Wednesday it was ready to normalize ties with Israel if the Jewish state lifts a blockade on Gaza and said "it was time calm replaces anger" in the wake of Israel's deadly raid on a Turkish-backed flotilla.
Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutogu, in Ankara after a visit to the United States to discuss the diplomatic crisis, also told a news conference that the future of Turkish-Israeli ties depended on Israel's attitude. Turkey recalled its ambassador to Israel following Monday's storming of Gaza bound aid ships. >>> Reuters | Wednesday, June 02, 2010
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
THE TELEGRAPH: Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state, is planning to telephone Benjamin Netanyahu, the Isreali prime minister, in an effort to ease a bitter diplomatic feud.
US officials said the call would be made in the next 24 hours, as the Obama administration awaits Mr Netanyahu's response to its complaints over Israeli settlement policy, which has provoked the deepest US-Israel row in years.
But in a possible sign that it wants to stop the row widening, the administration also said the dispute was a disagreement between friends which would not shatter the "unbreakable bond" between the allies.
Uncertainty over US-Israeli relations unfolded amid rising regional tensions, as hundreds of Palestinians clashed with Israeli security forces in east Jerusalem in the worst rioting in years.
The row erupted when Washington, frustrated over a lack of success for its peace brokering, reacted angrily last week to an Israeli announcement that 1,600 new settler homes would be built in annexed east Jerusalem.
The move came at the moment the United States had convinced the Palestinians to take part in indirect "proximity" talks with the Israelis, and during a visit to Jerusalem by Vice President Joe Biden.
State Department spokesman Philip Crowley told reporters he expected a conversation "very soon" between Mrs Clinton and Mr Netanyahu. >>> | Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Monday, March 15, 2010
TIMES ONLINE: The White House is refusing to back down today in a bitter dispute with Israel over settlements in Jerusalem that has stalled peace talks, split Jewish lobbyists in Washington and which the Pentagon believes is threatening the lives of American soldiers in the broader Middle East.
As Palestinians threatened to boycott future talks, the depth of the dispute was revealed when Michael Oren, Israel’s Ambassador to Washington, was quoted today warning that US-Israeli relations were “in their worst crisis since 1975 – a crisis of historic proportions”.
Still smarting over the announcement of new construction in East Jerusalem during the visit to Israel last week by Joe Biden, the US Vice-President, Hillary Clinton has called the move and its timing “insulting” towards the US.
Her remarks were echoed by senior White House officials at the weekend who spoke of Israel’s “affront” to Washington after Mr Biden’s effort to restart the peace process was sabotaged by the prospect of new Jewish settlements in districts claimed by Palestinians for their future capital.
Binyamin Netanyahu, the Israeli Prime Minister, has apologised for embarrassing Mr Biden but has given no sign of ordering a halt to the project to build 1,600 new homes in Ramat Shlomo, an East Jerusalem neighbourhood conquered by Israel in 1967.
Mrs Clinton extracted the promise of a ten-month freeze on Israeli settlement-building from Mr Netanyahu last year.
Washington sees the construction project as a betrayal of trust, but the American response appears to have been doubly emboldened by an extraordinary briefing given to the Pentagon in January by the staff of General David Petraeus, the top-ranking US military officer in the Middle East and Central Asia. >>> Giles Whittell, Washington | Monday, March 15, 2010
HAARETZ: Netanyahu: Israel will keep building in Jerusalem: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday said that Israel would continue to build in Jerusalem in the same way that it has over the last 42 years.
"The building in Jerusalem - and in all other places - will continue in the same way as has been customary over the last 42 years," said Netanyahu at a Likud party meeting. >>> Barak Ravid and Mazal Mualem, Haaretz Correspondents | Monday, March 15, 2010
YNET NEWS: Obama shows diplomatic sensitivity worldwide, with the exception of Israel
One reprimand by Hillary Clinton, a half-threatening tone from the Obama Administration’s direction, and there we have the Diaspora Jew hidden in the genetic code of all of us breaking out fearfully.
Now you will say that the Netanyahu government shot itself in the foot, and that during such a significant visit on behalf of our master it allowed the community’s bureaucrats to run wild. You will say that the crisis is unbearable and that the Americans are fed up with the Mideast’s harsh realities.
You will then cry out: Jews, the future is bleak and, heaven forbid, the masters across the ocean may undermine loan guarantees and aid funds to the shtetl we established here.
Yet with all these words, secret government sessions, and apologies, someone may forget that after all we are dealing with a sovereign Jewish State here. A state allowed to declare that Jerusalem is its capital and allowed to plan construction on days and at sites the current US Administration is not comfortable with. >>> Yoaz Hendel | Monday, March 15, 2010
YNET NEWS: Moshe Dann pleased that Biden, Clinton emerged from Obama's closet hatred of Israel
If delusion is one of the most dangerous pitfalls of diplomacy, then, paradoxically, recent criticism of Israel by Vice President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is a blessing in disguise.
Condemning a routine announcement of Israeli plans to build a new neighborhood in Jerusalem, Biden fired the first shot. Clinton added that "it was not only an insult to Biden, but an insult to the United States."
Such fiery attacks on Israel are sharp contrasts to pledges of love and loyalty, rhetoric meant to anesthetize Israelis against the reality of American policy and intentions.
We should all breathe a sigh of relief, not only that these agents of PLO policies – that Jerusalem is negotiable – have left, but that it's out in the open.
Prime Minister Netanyahu avoided the first salvo by excusing and apologizing for the "untimely" announcement. Actually, the timing was perfect. It exposed the real purpose of Biden's visit and President Barack Hussein Obama's direction.
But Netanyahu cannot avoid Clinton's pot shots, which struck at the spinal nerve of the relationship between Israel and the US. As she put it, this was not a dispute over policy, but a deliberate attempt to humiliate the United States of America.
It was not the planned official dedication of a square and monument in Ramallah – during Biden's visit - to a terrorist who had murdered Israelis that offended Ms. Clinton, but plans to build apartments for Jews.
Concessions a display of weakness
Supporters of Israel should rejoice that Biden and Clinton have emerged from Obama's closet hatred of Israel. >>> Moshe Dann | Monday, March 15, 2010
The author is a writer and journalist in Jerusalem
YNET NEWS: Wall Street Journal: Why is Obama against Israel? : Day after political journalist Thomas Friedman slams Israel for authorizing east Jerusalem building, economic newspaper sides with Israel, criticizes Obama's foreign policy: 'When it comes to Israel, no trouble raising pitch' >>> Ynet | Monday, March 15, 2010
YNET NEWS: Senior PLO member warns building in east J'lem will lead to intifada: After Netanyahu vows to continue east Jerusalem construction, Qureia says, 'If Israel continues these practices, another uprising will break out'; Egyptian FM calls Israel's actions 'attempt to suffocate the Palestinians'. Dozens of Palestinians riot north of Jerusalem >>> Ali Waked and agencies | Monday, March 15, 2010
Related:
US Diplomatic Rift with Israel Widens After Settler Plan >>>Adrian Blomfield in Jerusalem | Sunday, March 14, 2010
Several related articles (auch auf Deutsch) >>>
THE TELEGRAPH: The United States thwarted an Israeli attempt to play down a diplomatic rift between the two countries on Sunday by renewing its condemnation of plans to build new settler homes in occupied East Jerusalem.
After days of uncharacteristically caustic criticism from Washington, Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, suggested that claims of a crisis between the Jewish state and its superpower patron were overblown.
“I suggest not to get carried away and to calm down,” Mr Netanyahu told his cabinet.
“We look at this morning’s newspapers and read all kinds of comments and analysis,” he said. “First of all, I suggest that we don’t get carried away. We know how to deal with these situations.”
Yet the prime minister's display of confidence rapidly began to appear misplaced. Within hours, a senior aide to President Barack Obama indicated that displeasure over Israel's actions during last week's visit to the Holy Land by Joe Biden, the US vice president, had far from dissipated.
"This was an affront, it was an insult but most importantly it undermined this very fragile effort to bring peace to that region," David Axelrod, Mr Obama's most senior political adviser, told NBC news. "This was not the right way to behave." >>> Adrian Blomfield in Jerusalem | Sunday, March 14, 2010
BBC: Ties between Israel and US 'worst in 35 years': Israel's ambassador to the US has said that relations between the two countries face their worst crisis for 35 years, Israeli media have reported. >>> | Monday, March 15, 2010
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
THE TELEGRAPH: A group of Iranian MPs is demanding that the country cut its diplomatic ties with Britain in a sign of the country's deteriorating relations with the West.
The proposal, backed by up to 40 members of the Iranian parliament, came as Iran continued to accuse America and Israel of orchestrating the murder of a nuclear physicist on Tuesday.
Iranian leaders regularly accuse Britain of being the "Little Satan" to the American "Great Satan". They have also been particularly enraged by the leading role the Foreign Office has played in both urging sanctions over the country's nuclear programme and in protesting at the treatment of pro-opposition demonstrators following last year's presidential election.
The Iranian Speaker, Ari Larijani, said international relations were the responsibility of foreign policy and national security commission.
The commission described the proposal as "hasty" but said it would consider it.
Meanwhile more evidence has emerged of the links forged between the murdered physicist, Dr Moussad Ali-Mohammadi, and opposition groups.
Friends said he had been a committed supporter of the revolution but had been driven into the arms of the reform movement by the treatment of universities and students by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. >>> Richard Spencer, Middle East Correspondent | Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Saturday, March 07, 2009
DIE PRESSE: Grund für den Abbruch waren Aussagen einer Politikers, der Iran hätte Souveränität über Bahrain. Marokko hat sich schon in der Vergangenheit solidarisch mit Bahrain gezeigt.
Marokko hat im Zusammenhang mit Äußerungen eines iranischen Politikers zur Souveränität Bahrains die diplomatischen Beziehungen zu Teheran abgebrochen. Dies berichtete die marokkanische Nachrichtenagentur MAP am Freitag in Rabat. Aus dem Iran lag zunächst keine Reaktion vor.
Anfang Februar hatte ein konservativer iranischer Politiker laut Medienberichten erklärt, der Iran habe Souveränität über das Scheichtum und damit eine diplomatische Krise ausgelöst. Verschiedene arabische Länder hatten sich seitdem mit Bahrain solidarisiert. >>> Ag | Freitag, 6. März 2009
CHICAGO TRIBUNE: Morocco Cuts Off Diplomatic Relations with Iran, Accusing Tehran of Spreading Shia Islam
RABAT, Morocco — Morocco cut off diplomatic relations with Iran on Friday, accusing Tehran in a rare public spat of trying to spread Shia Islam in this Sunni Arab kingdom. The tensions were compounded by recent Iranian comments toward Sunni-led Bahrain that have raised hackles in the Arab world, Morocco's Foreign Ministry said. The ministry accused largely Shiite Iran's Embassy in Rabat of trying to "alter the religious fundamentals of the kingdom" and threaten Morocco's religious unity. The ministry, in a statement, called Iran's actions "intolerable interference in the internal affairs of the kingdom." >>> By Alfred de Montesquiou | Associated Press Writer | Friday, March 6, 2009
The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Taschenbuch) – Deutschland & Österreich >>>
The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Gebundene Ausgabe) – Deutschland & Österreich >>>
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