NEW YORK: President Donald Trump does consider Russia a problem, his ambassador to the UN and rising US administration star Nikki Haley insisted before an often-hostile New York audience on Wednesday.
“I have hit Russia over the head more times than I can count and it’s because if they do something wrong we’re going to call them out on it,” she told the annual Women in the World Summit.
“The things they’ve done with Crimea and Ukraine... and how they’ve covered up for (Syrian President Bashar) Assad, those types of things we’re not going to give them a pass on,” she said.
“So I have had conversations with the president where he very much sees Russia as a problem.”
The Republican president has come under sustained fire from political opponents for not voicing tougher criticism of Russia at a time when US law enforcement agencies and lawmakers are probing alleged ties between his campaign and the Kremlin.
“Everybody wants to hear his (Trump’s) words, but look at his actions,” said Haley, adding that Russia opposed strengthening of the US military and US energy expansion.
“The president has done both of those,” she told the opening night of the eighth annual summit that was founded by journalist Tina Brown.
The remark was met by jeers from an, at times, hostile crowd in a largely Democratic-voting city where many dislike the president.
The US and Russia are on a collision course over Syria after an horrific chemical attack early Tuesday killed at least 86 people in opposition-held Khan Sheikhun in northern Syria.
Trump came to office promising both to improve ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin but earlier Wednesday US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson urged Russia to rethink its support for Assad.
Haley, a former Republican governor of South Carolina who endorsed Trump’s primary election rival Marco Rubio last year, said she had “a lot” of interaction with the president.
“I talked to him this morning,” she said, adding that she was in Washington at least once if not twice a week for the president’s National Security Council meetings and was also working to keep US senators informed.
Her conversation with a television anchor spanned just over 20 minutes and was several times interrupted by an apparent heckler. She was applauded for remarks in support of veterans and military families.
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President does see Russia as ‘problem’: Nikki Haley
President does see Russia as ‘problem’: Nikki Haley
Starmer calls for UK to have a deeper relationship with China during ‘challenging times’
- The UK leader tells China’s leader Xi Jinping that their countries need to work together on global stability, climate change and other issues
BEIJING: British Prime Minister Keir Starmer called Thursday for a deeper relationship with China during what he called “challenging times for the world.”
The UK leader told China’s leader Xi Jinping that their countries need to work together on global stability, climate change and other issues.
“I have long been clear that the UK and China need a long term, consistent and comprehensive strategic partnership,” he said.
Starmer, the first British prime minister to visit in eight years, was holding talks with Xi in the Great Hall of the People in central Beijing as the two nations try to improve relations after several years of acrimony.
The disruption to global trade under US President Donald Trump has made expanding trade and investment more imperative for many governments. Starmer is the fourth leader of a US ally to visit Beijing this month, following those of South Korea, Canada and Finland. The German chancellor is expected to visit next month.
Starmer, who became prime minister in July 2024, is trying to expand opportunities for British companies at a time when the economy at home is slow. More than 50 top business executives have joined him on the trip, along with the leaders of some cultural organizations.
The UK leader earlier met Zhao Leji, the chairman of China’s legislature, the National People’s Congress.
Relations deteriorated in recent years over growing concern about Chinese spying activity in Great Britain, China’s support for Russia in the Ukraine war, and the crackdown on freedoms in Hong Kong, the former British colony that was returned to China in 1997.
The UK leader told China’s leader Xi Jinping that their countries need to work together on global stability, climate change and other issues.
“I have long been clear that the UK and China need a long term, consistent and comprehensive strategic partnership,” he said.
Starmer, the first British prime minister to visit in eight years, was holding talks with Xi in the Great Hall of the People in central Beijing as the two nations try to improve relations after several years of acrimony.
The disruption to global trade under US President Donald Trump has made expanding trade and investment more imperative for many governments. Starmer is the fourth leader of a US ally to visit Beijing this month, following those of South Korea, Canada and Finland. The German chancellor is expected to visit next month.
Starmer, who became prime minister in July 2024, is trying to expand opportunities for British companies at a time when the economy at home is slow. More than 50 top business executives have joined him on the trip, along with the leaders of some cultural organizations.
The UK leader earlier met Zhao Leji, the chairman of China’s legislature, the National People’s Congress.
Relations deteriorated in recent years over growing concern about Chinese spying activity in Great Britain, China’s support for Russia in the Ukraine war, and the crackdown on freedoms in Hong Kong, the former British colony that was returned to China in 1997.
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