Latest news with #ForeignRelationsCommittee
Iraqi News
3 days ago
- Politics
- Iraqi News
Al-Sudani to Senator Rosen: Iraq Needs a Comprehensive Vision Given Scale of Economic Transformation
Baghdad – INA Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani stressed to Senator Jacky Rosen, a member of the Armed Services Committee and the Foreign Relations Committee in the US Congress, on Saturday the necessity of building a comprehensive vision for Iraq in light of the scale of the economic and development transformation taking place in Iraq. The Prime Minister's Media Office stated in a statement received by the Iraqi News Agency (INA), "Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani received Senator Jacky Rosen, a member of the Armed Services Committee and the Foreign Relations Committee in the US Congress, and her accompanying delegation, in the presence of the Charge d'Affaires of the US Embassy in Iraq. The statement added that "the meeting discussed overall Iraqi-American relations and ways to strengthen them, serving common interests, Iraq's progress in economic recovery, and ensuring regional stability." According to the statement, al-Sudani highlighted "the importance of deepening relations with the United States in various fields, continuing bilateral dialogue based on mutual respect, affirming Iraq's sovereignty and shared values, within the framework of the agreements and strategic partnership between the two friendly countries." He also highlighted "the need to build a comprehensive vision for Iraq in light of the scale of the economic and development transformation taking place in Iraq." For her part, Senator Rosen affirmed "her country's keenness to build sustainable relations with Iraq," praising "the progress witnessed in Baghdad and other Iraqi cities, and the Iraqi government's ability to avoid regional conflicts, which confirms the pivotal role that Iraq is undertaking, and its increasing importance in the region.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Vladimir Putin Is Playing Trump Like a Fiddle
In an unsurprising development, President Trump has failed to stop any of the death and destruction caused by Russia's war on Ukraine—a conflict he promised to end 'in 24 hours' on the campaign trail. A report from The New York Times documents how Trump's 'embrace' of Putin and the Kremlin, previously unheard of from a Republican, has only resulted in Russia doubling down on its aggression. The only new developments are negative, as Trump verbalized his frustration with Putin's continual refusal to commit to a ceasefire deal after Russia carried out its largest bombing campaign in Ukraine to date last weekend. 'What Vladimir Putin doesn't realize is that if it weren't for me, lots of really bad things would have already happened to Russia, and I mean REALLY BAD,' Trump wrote on Truth Social Tuesday night. 'He's playing with fire!' Trump has even floated placing sanctions on Putin. Trump would have you believe that he and Putin go way back. The 2016 Russian investigations seemed to give Trump the idea that he had a real connection with the Kremlin. After leaving office, he constantly heaped praise on Putin's invasion of Ukraine and when he returned to the White House, he eliminated the Justice Department office responsible for collecting evidence of Russian war crimes for international court prosecution. Now Putin is ignoring Trump and committing more war crimes. 'The president is the last one to figure out that Vladimir Putin doesn't want a peace deal, that he's playing for time, and he's been playing the president, and it's about time the president wakes up and understands that,' said New Hampshire Senator Jeanne Shaheen, the highest ranking Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee. Trump has been thoroughly outwitted and out-strongmanned here. The least he can do is continue to acknowledge that and provide Ukraine with the actual material and political support they need, rather than berating their president like a child. 'It does sound like from his various comments that Trump is starting to understand what was clear from the beginning of all of this, which is Russia is the problem here,' the Center for a New American Security's Richard Fontaine told the Times. 'Russia is the obstacle, Russia is the reason this war started in the first place, not Ukraine.'
Shafaq News
5 days ago
- Politics
- Shafaq News
Iraqi Parliament dismisses US lawmakers' claims of Iranian influence
Shafaq News/ The Iraqi Parliament's Foreign Relations Committee on Thursday rejected recent accusations by members of the US Congress alleging Iranian influence over Iraq's political and security institutions. Two Republican lawmakers had called for a 'comprehensive reassessment' of US–Iraq relations and urged the suspension of all American assistance to the Iraqi government until what they described as 'serious steps' are taken to reduce Iranian involvement. Committee member MP Mukhtar al-Moussawi told Shafaq News that such calls are not new and do not reflect the official position of the US administration. 'These are media-driven appeals that lack any real substance,' he said. 'There is no Iranian hegemony over Iraq,' al-Moussawi stressed. 'Iraq's decisions and its relationship with Iran are similar to its relations with other countries in the region and around the world.' He asserted that the US seeks strong relations with Iraq due to its strategic importance, and there is no indication of any intention to impose sanctions. 'Ties between Baghdad and Washington are progressing across multiple levels and will not be affected by suspicious appeals from certain hardline figures in the US Congress.'
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Sen. Curtis introduces bill addressing gang violence in Haiti
Sen. John Curtis joined colleagues on the Foreign Relations Committee in introducing a bipartisan bill to address gang violence in Haiti. As chair of the Foreign Relations Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere, Curtis was joined by Sen. Jeanne Shaheen D-N.H., ranking member of the Foreign Relations Committee, and committee members Sens. Rick Scott, R-Fla., Tim Kaine, D-Va., and Chris Coons, D-Del., in introducing the Haiti Criminal Collusion Transparency Act. 'This bipartisan bill is a meaningful and logical next step towards addressing and preventing criminal collusion and violence in Haiti,' Shaheen said. 'The ongoing gang violence has displaced more than a million Haitians — including women and children, creating a dire humanitarian catastrophe mere hundreds of miles from U.S. shores," she added. The bill would 'mandate sanctions against Haitian gangs, armed criminal actors, and their political and economic enablers.' It would also require interagency cooperation in identifying and reporting criminal collusion and threats to U.S. national interests. 'Haiti's deteriorating security situation threatens America's national interests in the region,' Curtis said. 'By mandating targeted, strategic sanctions on Haitian political and economic elites who are colluding with criminal gangs, our bipartisan legislation will help address a growing humanitarian, economic, and national security crisis.' There are a few key provisions of the Haiti Criminal Collusion Transparency Act. The bill would mandate sanctions against Haitian gangs as well as political and economic elites who enable the gangs. It would also require in-depth interagency reporting on the scale and nature of criminal collusion in the country, including identification of the most prominent gangs in Haiti and the elites with significant ties to the gangs. This legislation would also require 'an assessment of threats to U.S. national interests, democratic governance in the country and the provision of assistance to the Haitian government caused by criminal collusion between gangs and elites,' per the release. 'Americans are safer and more prosperous when Haiti is stable and secure,' Coons said. In April, the ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Rep. Gregory Meeks, D-N.Y., introduced companion legislation in the House.
E&E News
20-05-2025
- Business
- E&E News
US needs ‘to be at the table' to determine energy's future — Rubio
Secretary of State Marco Rubio hinted Tuesday that the future of U.S. climate engagement will shift to energy production, in part to deal with the growth of artificial intelligence, a priority for the Trump administration. 'AI development alone is going to put a strain on the amount of energy it is going to take to produce AI and AI-driven innovations,' he told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee during a budget hearing. Those rising energy demands are going to allow countries with the ability to provide energy an 'enormous opportunity' to be leaders, Rubio said. But it's going to put a strain on everyone else. Advertisement 'So we need to be at the table to have conversations about not just what our role in energy is, but how we help invest or partner with countries that have a supply of energy,' he said.
