WASHINGTON: The Trump administration is poised to announce Friday that it is withdrawing from a treaty that has been a centerpiece of superpower arms control since the Cold War and whose demise some analysts worry could fuel a new arms race.
An American withdrawal, which has been expected for months, would follow years of unresolved dispute over Russian compliance with the pact, known as the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces, or INF, treaty. It was the first arms control measure to ban an entire class of weapons: ground-launched cruise missiles with a range between 500 kilometers (310 miles) and 5,000 kilometers (3,100 miles). Russia denies that it has been in violation.
US officials also have expressed worry that China, which is not party to the 1987 treaty, is gaining a significant military advantage in Asia by deploying large numbers of missiles with ranges beyond the treaty’s limit. Leaving the INF treaty would allow the Trump administration to counter the Chinese, but it’s unclear how it would do that.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in early December that Washington would give Moscow 60 days to return to compliance before it gave formal notice of withdrawal, with actual withdrawal taking place six months later. The 60-day deadline expires on Saturday, and the administration is expected to say as early as Friday that efforts to work out a compliance deal have failed and that it would suspend its compliance with the treaty’s terms.
The State Department said Pompeo would make a public statement on Friday morning, but it did not mention the topic.
During remarks made at a news conference in Bucharest, Secretary General Stoltenberg, said there are no signs of getting a compliance deal with Russia.
“So we must prepare for a world without the INF Treaty,” he said.
Technically, a US withdrawal would take effect six months after this week’s notification, leaving a small window for saving the treaty. However, in talks this week in Beijing, the US and Russia reported no breakthrough in their dispute, leaving little reason to think either side would change its stance on whether a Russian cruise missile violates the pact.
A Russian deputy foreign minister, Sergei Ryabkov, was quoted by the Russian state news agency Tass as saying after the Beijing talks Thursday, “Unfortunately, there is no progress. The position of the American side is very tough and like an ultimatum.” He said he expects Washington now to suspend its obligations under the treaty, although he added that Moscow remains ready to “search for solutions” that could keep the treaty in force.
US withdrawal raises the prospect of further deterioration in US-Russian relations, which already are arguably at the lowest point in decades, and debate among US allies in Europe over whether Russia’s alleged violations warrant a countermeasure such as deployment of an equivalent American missile in Europe. The US has no nuclear-capable missiles based in Europe; the last of that type and range were withdrawn in line with the INF treaty.
The prospect of US withdrawal from the INF pact has stirred concern globally. The mayor of Des Moines, Iowa, Frank Cownie, is among dozens of local officials and lawmakers in the US, Canada, Europe and elsewhere who signed a letter this week to President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin expressing worry at the “unraveling” of the INF treaty and other arms constraints.
“Withdrawing from treaties takes a step in the wrong direction,” Cownie said in a telephone interview. “It’s wasn’t just Des Moines, Iowa. It’s people from all around this country that are concerned about the future of our cities, of our country, of this planet.”
The American ambassador to NATO, Kay Bailey Hutchison, set the rhetorical stage for Washington’s withdrawal announcement by asserting Thursday that Russia has been in violation for years, including in Ukraine. She said in a tweet and a video message about the INF treaty that Russia is to blame for its demise.
“Russia consistently refuses to acknowledge its violation and continues to push disinformation and false narratives regarding its illegal missile,” she said. “When only one party respects an arms control treaty while the other side flaunts it, it leaves one side vulnerable, no one is safer, and (it) discredits the very idea of arms control.”
Nuclear weapons experts at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace said in a statement this week that while Russia’s violation of the INF treaty is a serious problem, US withdrawal under current circumstances would be counterproductive.
“Leaving the INF treaty will unleash a new missile competition between the United States and Russia,” they said.
Kingston Reif, director for disarmament at the Arms Control Association, said Thursday the Trump administration has failed to exhaust diplomatic options to save the treaty. What’s more, “it has no strategy to prevent Russia from building and fielding even more intermediate-range missiles in the absence of the agreement.”
Reif said the period between now and August, when the US withdrawal would take effect, offers a last chance to save the treaty, but he sees little prospect of that happening. He argues that Trump’s national security adviser, John Bolton, is “unlikely to miss the opportunity to kill an agreement he has long despised.”
US poised to announce withdrawal from nuclear arms treaty
US poised to announce withdrawal from nuclear arms treaty
- An American withdrawal would follow years of unresolved dispute over Russian compliance with the pact
- Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in early December that Washington would give Moscow 60 days to return to compliance before it gave formal notice of withdrawal
Biden administration is giving $1 billion in new weapons and ammo to Israel, congressional aides say
Biden administration is giving $1 billion in new weapons and ammo to Israel, congressional aides say
- The package being sent includes about $700 million for tank ammunition, $500 million in tactical vehicles and $60 million in mortar rounds, the aides said
- Israel has killed more than 35,000 Palestinians in Gaza, mostly women and children, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory
WASHINGTON: The Biden administration has told key lawmakers it is sending a new package of more than $1 billion in arms and ammunition to Israel, three congressional aides said Tuesday.
It’s the first arms shipment to Israel to be announced by the administration since it put another arms transfer — consisting of 3,500 bombs — on hold earlier in the month. The administration has said it paused that earlier transfer to keep Israel from using the bombs in its growing offensive in the crowded southern Gaza city of Rafah.
The congressional aides spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss an arms transfer that has not yet been made public.
The package being sent includes about $700 million for tank ammunition, $500 million in tactical vehicles and $60 million in mortar rounds, the aides said.
There was no immediate indication when the arms would be sent. Israel is now seven months into its war against Hamas in Gaza.
The Wall Street Journal first reported the plans to move the package.
House Republicans were planning this week to advance a bill to mandate the delivery of offensive weaponry for Israel. Following Biden’s move to put a pause on bomb shipments last week, Republicans have been swift in their condemnation, arguing it represents the abandonment of the closest US ally in the Middle East.
The White House said Tuesday that Biden would veto the bill if it were to pass Congress. The bill also has practically no chance in the Democratic-controlled Senate. But House Democrats are somewhat divided on the issue, and roughly two dozen have signed onto a letter to the Biden administration saying they were “deeply concerned about the message” sent by pausing the bomb shipment.
In addition to the written veto threat, the White House has been in touch with various lawmakers and congressional aides about the legislation, according to an administration official.
“We strongly, strongly oppose attempts to constrain the President’s ability to deploy US security assistance consistent with US foreign policy and national security objectives,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said this week, adding that the administration plans to spend “every last cent” appropriated by Congress in the national security supplemental package that was signed into law by Biden last month.
‘Long live Saudi Arabia!’: Tyson Fury’s father hails Kingdom, promises sons will only fight in KSA
- John Fury: Only Saudi Arabia could have set up Tyson-Usyk fight
- Tells Arab News he expects a good fight from the veterans on Saturday
RIYADH: The father of British boxing champion Tyson Fury has promised his sons will only fight in Saudi Arabia going forward as he hailed the hospitality of the people of the Kingdom, and even said he wants to be like them.
“Tyson Fury and the Fury family will only fight again in Saudi Arabia,” John Fury said. “This is where our heart is, we love it, the people love us”.
“Long live Saudi Arabia!” he said lifting his hands to the sky, during a passionate press conference in Boulevard City in Riyadh.
Tyson Fury faces Oleksandr Usyk for the undisputed heavyweight world title on Saturday at Kingdom Arena.
“I can’t express how much I enjoy this country and the people,” he said. “And I just want to be like them…because the worst man in Saudi Arabia is better than John Fury”.
“The Brits are traitors, aren’t they?’ Fury said, without elaborating on who he was referring to, and accused them of committing treason against ‘their King,’ a reference to Tyson’s nickname ‘Gypsy King’.
“Forget Great Britain, our heart, look here, beating in my body, is in Saudi Arabia because we get treated like proper people, how we deserve to be treated.”
He went on to say that Britain had never made him “feel well” and because “they could not get behind the champion,” they stand to miss out.
Saudi Arabia has become a hub for premier world boxing contests over the past few years with authorities investing heavily to bring the biggest bouts to local and international audiences.
Turki bin Abdulmohsen Alalshikh, the head of the Kingdom’s General Entertainment Authority, has spearheaded this boxing revival.
Fury snr. had high praise for the authority’s chief, “he has done the best job in the world,” he said, adding that only Saudi Arabia could have set up the Tyson-Usyk fight.
“Nobody could ever have put this fight on except Turki Alalshikh and the great Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.”
Previous bouts in the country have garnered the attention of fans globally and has marked the Kingdom as a new home of international boxing.
In March, British heavyweight Anthony Joshua knocked out Francis Ngannou in the second round.
In 2022, Usyk successfully defended his belts in a rematch against Joshua in Jeddah on points, failing to win back his titles against the Ukrainian.
In 2019, Joshua defeated Andy Ruiz Jr. in a revenge match at Diriyah Arena in Riyadh after the American surprised the Brit with a defeat in New York.
George Groves was knocked out by Callum Smith in the seventh round in an all-British grudge match in Jeddah in 2018.
Another member of the Fury family, Tommy, beat YouTuber-turned-fighter Jake Paul on points in a contest in Diriyah last year.
Tyson-Usyk was delayed in February after a freak cut to Tyson during sparring, but both spectators and organizers are glad that the boxing spectacle is set for this weekend.
Fury snr. told Arab News that both fighters are at the top of their game and are veterans of the sport.
“It’ll be a good fight”.
Court probing Ukraine, Gaza wars vows to defy threats
- Israel has killed more than 35,000 Palestinians in Gaza, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry
- In May of last year Russia put Kahn on its list of wanted persons after the court issued an arrest warrant against President Vladimir Putin for his role in the deportation of Ukrainian children to Russia as part of the war
UNITED NATIONS, United States: The International Criminal Court prosecutor said Tuesday he will not be intimidated by threats as his office probes possible war crimes in Ukraine and Gaza.
During a UN Security Council meeting on his probe into war crimes in Libya, prosecutor Karim Khan was challenged by the ambassadors of Russia and Libya, who criticized what they called his inaction as Israel wages war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
“One wonders if the effectiveness of the ICC on this track is affected by the fact that a new bipartisan bill has been submitted to the US Congress to sanction ICC officials involved in investigating not only the US but also its allies,” said the Russian ambassador Vasily Nebenzia.
Nebenzia was alluding to news reports that a bill to this end has been submitted to the US Congress.
Khan responded by citing what he said were threats against him and his office to make him halt his probes.
“We will not be swayed, whether it’s by warrants for my arrest or the arrest of elected officials of the court by the Russian Federation, or whether it’s by other elected officials in any other jurisdiction,” Khan said.
In May of last year Russia put Kahn on its list of wanted persons after the court issued an arrest warrant against President Vladimir Putin for his role in the deportation of Ukrainian children to Russia as part of the war.
In early May Kahn’s office said on X that the court’s “independence and impartiality are undermined, however, when individuals threaten to retaliate against the court or against court personnel.”
It did not say where the threats are coming from.
“Such threats, even not acted upon, may constitute an offense” against the ICC’s “administration of justice,” the office warned, calling for an end to such activity.
The court made this comment after US and Israeli media reports which suggested the ICC prosecutor could issue warrants against Israeli politicians including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Hamas leaders.
“We have a duty to stand up for justice, to stand up for victims,” Kahn said Tuesday.
“And I am fully cognizant that there are Goliaths in this room. There are Goliaths with power, with influence” he said.
He added: “We have something called the law. All I can do is say that we will stand up to the best of our ability. We will stand up by the law with integrity with independence.”
Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization meetings begin in Jeddah
- Participants discuss challenges Arab nations face in fields of education, culture and science, and potential solutions, including knowledge sharing and innovation
- The 121st session of the organization’s Executive Council on Tuesday and Wednesday will be followed on Friday by its General Conference
JEDDAH: Ministers and other representatives from 22 Arab nations gathered in Jeddah on Tuesday for the start of the 121st session of the Executive Council of the Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization. The two-day session concludes on Wednesday and will be followed on Friday by the organization’s General Conference.
During the meetings, hosted by the Saudi National Committee for Education, Culture and Science, the participants will discuss important topics, initiatives and proposals related to knowledge sharing, scientific advancement, and innovation within the framework of the work of the organization, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
During the opening session, Hani Al-Moqbel, chairperson of ALESCO’s Executive Council, expressed deep concern about the ongoing crisis Palestinians face as a result of the war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas.
He unequivocally condemned and rejected a senseless and brutal conflict that has claimed the lives of countless civilians, including women, children and the elderly, and denounced as unacceptable the destruction by the Israeli military campaign of hospitals, religious sites, schools, cultural institutions and other infrastructure.
The council, led by its Saudi presidency, expressed its strong condemnation of the continued aggression, occupation and forced displacement in Gaza. Al-Moqbel said that such expressions are not merely procedural or symbolic, they represent a forward-thinking approach to fostering Arab unity, upholding core principles and bolstering shared values. In this way, he added, Arab nations can effectively tackle challenges and overcome hurdles on their paths to advancement.
Mohammed Walad Amar, the director general of ALECSO, highlighted the organization’s commitment to the promotion of the cultural heritage of Arab countries on the global stage. In keeping with this vision, he said, ALECSO has worked with several countries with the aim of securing recognition of more of their cultural treasures on the highly esteemed UNESCO World Heritage List.
As an example of its active engagement in these efforts, he noted that ALECSO took part in the UNESCO Culture and Education Ministers’ Conference in the UAE in February.
Other topics discussed on the opening day included challenges that Arab nations face in the fields of education, culture and science, innovative potential solutions to the problems, and ways to forge new partnerships that can broaden the horizons of education and thinking.
Libya war crimes probe to advance next year: ICC prosecutor
- The Security Council referred the situation in Libya to the ICC in February 2011 following a violent crackdown on unprecedented protests against the regime of Muammar Qaddafi
UNITED NATIONS, United States: The International Criminal Court prosecutor probing war crimes committed in Libya since 2011 announced Monday his plans to complete the investigation phase by the end of 2025.
Presenting his regular report before the United Nations Security Council, Karim Khan said that “strong progress” had been made in the last 18 months, thanks in particular to better cooperation from Libyan authorities.
“Our work is moving forward with increased speed and with a focus on trying to deliver on the legitimate expectations of the council and of the people of Libya,” Khan said.
He added that in the last six months, his team had completed 18 missions in three areas of Libya, collecting more than 800 pieces of evidence including video and audio material.
Khan said he saw announcing a timeline to complete the investigation phase as a “landmark moment” in the case.
“Of course, it’s not going to be easy. It’s going to require cooperation, candor, a ‘can do’ attitude from my office but also from the authorities in Libya,” he added.
“The aim would be to give effect to arrest warrants and to have initial proceedings start before the court in relation to at least one warrant by the end of next year,” Khan said.
The Security Council referred the situation in Libya to the ICC in February 2011 following a violent crackdown on unprecedented protests against the regime of Muammar Qaddafi.
So far, the investigation opened by the court in March 2011 has produced three cases related to crimes against humanity and war crimes, though some proceedings were abandoned after the death of suspects.
An arrest warrant remains in place for Seif Al-Islam Qaddafi, the son of the assassinated Libyan dictator who was killed by rebel forces in October 2011.
Libya has since been plagued by fighting, with power divided between a UN-recognized Tripoli government and a rival administration in the country’s east.
