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"US using rhetoric to pressure Russia," says expert on NATO sanctions warning
"US using rhetoric to pressure Russia," says expert on NATO sanctions warning

Times of Oman

time16-07-2025

  • Politics
  • Times of Oman

"US using rhetoric to pressure Russia," says expert on NATO sanctions warning

New Delhi: Senior journalist and foreign affairs expert Waiel Awwad on Wednesday slammed NATO's recent warning of sanctions against India, China, and Brazil over their trade ties with Russia, calling it part of the United States' pressure rhetoric against Moscow. He said the US has failed to isolate Russia despite trying for over three years and is now resorting to such tactics. "There's a lot of rhetoric coming from the US and NATO forces because they know the war with Russia will continue. They will send more advanced weapons to hit Moscow. It seems the US President has given up," Awwad said, reacting to NATO's latest comments. "They wanted to isolate Russia, but they have failed. This is all rhetoric to put pressure on Russia," he added. Awwad's comments come after NATO chief Mark Rutte, during a press conference in Washington alongside US Senators Thom Tillis and Jeanne Shaheen, urged India, China, and Brazil to reconsider their economic ties with Moscow or face "100 per cent secondary sanctions" if Russia does not commit to peace talks on Ukraine. Rutte echoed the position taken by Trump, who earlier this week threatened severe tariffs on countries maintaining trade with Russia. "My encouragement to these three countries, particularly, is that if you live now in Beijing or in Delhi, or you are the President of Brazil, you might want to take a look at this because this might hit you very hard," Rutte said. He further appealed to these nations to pressure Russia into talks. "Please make the phone call to Vladimir Putin and tell him that he has to get serious about peace talks, because otherwise this will slam back on Brazil, on India and on China in a massive way," he warned. The statement follows Trump's announcement on supplying Ukraine with additional military aid, including air defence systems, missiles, and ammunition, largely funded by European allies. Trump also gave Russia a 50-day deadline to enter serious peace negotiations or face full secondary sanctions. Adding to the pressure, US Senators Lindsey Graham and Richard Blumenthal issued a warning that nations purchasing Russian oil and gas, including India, are 'propping' up 'Putin's war machine'. The two lawmakers are pushing for the swift passage of the "Sanctioning Russia Act of 2025", which calls for imposing penalties and tariffs as high as 500 per cent on any country aiding Russia economically.

US halts Patriot missiles to Ukraine as Russian airstrikes intensify
US halts Patriot missiles to Ukraine as Russian airstrikes intensify

News24

time04-07-2025

  • Politics
  • News24

US halts Patriot missiles to Ukraine as Russian airstrikes intensify

Washington has stopped delivering essential military equipment to Ukraine, including 30 Patriot air defence missiles, 8 500 artillery shells, and precision rockets. Ukrainian officials called the decision a 'total shock' and summoned the acting US envoy to emphasise that any delay in military support will only encourage Russian aggression. Military analysts and US senators warn that halting weapons shipments will cost Ukrainian lives and territory, undermine US credibility with allies. A decision by Washington to halt some shipments of critical weapons to Ukraine prompted warnings by Kyiv on Wednesday that the move would weaken its ability to defend against intensifying airstrikes and battlefield advances. Ukraine said it had called in the acting US envoy to Kyiv to underline the importance of military aid from Washington continuing and cautioned that any cut-off would embolden Russia in its war in Ukraine. The Pentagon's decision - tied to concerns that US military stockpiles are too low - began in recent days and includes 30 Patriot air defence missiles, which Ukraine relies on to destroy fast-moving ballistic missiles, four people familiar with the decision said on Wednesday. It also includes nearly 8 500 155mm artillery shells, more than 250 precision GMLRS (mobile rocket artillery) missiles and 142 Hellfire air-to-surface missiles, they said. "The Ukrainian side emphasised that any delay or procrastination in supporting Ukraine's defence capabilities will only encourage the aggressor to continue the war and terror, rather than seek peace," Ukraine's foreign ministry said. The defence ministry said it had not been officially notified of any halt in US shipments and was seeking clarity from its American counterparts. A Ukrainian source familiar with the situation said the decision was a "total shock." Deputy White House press secretary Anna Kelly said the decision was made "to put America's interests first" following a Department of Defence review of military support around the world. "The strength of the United States Armed Forces remains unquestioned — just ask Iran," she said, referring to US bombing of Iranian nuclear facilities last month. NATO secretary-general Mark Rutte said the US needed to take care of its stockpiles but told Fox News that "in the short term, Ukraine cannot do without all the support it can get" when it comes to ammunition and air defence systems. Russian airstrikes Dozens of people have been killed in recent airstrikes on Ukrainian cities and Russian forces, which control about a fifth of Ukraine, have been making gains in the east. Senator Jeanne Shaheen, the top Democrat on the US Senate foreign relations committee, said the decision risks Ukrainian lives, undermines Washington's credibility and will make it harder to end the war. "This sends a message to not just our allies, like Ukraine and our European allies, but it sends a message to our adversaries, to China, to North Korea, to Russia, that our allies can't count on the United States," she told WKBK radio in her home state New Hampshire. Since US President Donald Trump took office in January, he has softened Washington's position towards Russia, seeking a diplomatic solution to the war and raising doubts about future US military support for Kyiv. READ | Ukraine scrambles to build 'our common interest' as US pares back weapons Trump said last week he was considering selling more Patriot air defence missiles to Ukraine after meeting President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. Fedir Venislavskyi, a member of the Ukrainian parliament's national security and defence committee, said the decision to halt shipments was "very unpleasant for us". In an email, the Pentagon said it was providing Trump with options to continue military aid to Ukraine in line with the goal of ending the war. Elbridge Colby, undersecretary of defence for policy, said it was "rigorously examining and adapting its also preserving US forces' readiness." All weapons aid was briefly stopped in February, with a second, longer halt in March. Washington resumed sending the last of the aid approved under the previous administration, of former president Joe Biden, but no new aid to Ukraine has been announced. The Kremlin welcomed the news of a halt, saying the conflict would end sooner if fewer arms reached Ukraine. Kyiv residents expressed alarm at the Pentagon's decision. "If we end up in a situation where there's no air defence left, I will move (out of Kyiv), because my safety is my first concern," said Oksana Kurochkina, a 35-year-old lawyer. On the battlefield, a halt in precision munitions would limit the capacity of Ukrainian troops to strike Russian positions farther behind the front line, said Jack Watling, a military analyst at the Royal United Services Institute. "In short, this decision will cost Ukrainian lives and territory," he said.

From Iraq to Iran: the US quest for Israeli military dominance
From Iraq to Iran: the US quest for Israeli military dominance

South China Morning Post

time28-06-2025

  • Politics
  • South China Morning Post

From Iraq to Iran: the US quest for Israeli military dominance

As Israeli jets and American bombers streaked across Iranian skies earlier this month, the world watched a familiar game plan unfold – one that had its origins in secret meetings, veiled ambitions and the relentless logic of regional dominance that has haunted the Middle East for generations. The process began decades earlier, in the smoke of American air strikes on Iraq and the calculations of US policymakers determined to keep Israel unrivalled. It was the late 1990s when a small, bipartisan delegation of senior US senators touched down in the United Arab Emirates . Their visit coincided with the American strikes, part of a legacy of US intervention in the Gulf that had left the region in a state of perpetual unease since the guns of Operation Desert Storm fell silent in Kuwait at the start of the decade. One ranking Emirati official, exasperated by the endless cycle of violence, posed the question that had been whispered in the corridors of power throughout the Gulf: why didn't Washington simply topple Saddam Hussein and be done with it? A US senator, unmoved by the query, offered a response with chilling candour. The objective, he told the official, was not regime change, but rather to 'reduce any regional state on a military and technological par with Israel to a pre-industrial society'. The official later shared that exchange with this reporter. A US F-18 fighter jet flies over gas flares at an oil well in northern Kuwait in 1995. Photo: AFP Such an agenda – once the preserve of neoconservative ideologues – soon became official US policy in the wake of the September 11 attacks.

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