Vladimir Putin voices hope for cooperation with US in letter to Donald Trump

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump. (Source: File/ AP photo)

In a New Year telegram to US President Donald Trump, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin said a constructive dialogue between the two nations is essential for global stability.

The Kremlin said Saturday that Putin emphasized in his Seasons Greetings to Trump that Russia and the US could develop a “pragmatic cooperation aimed at long-term perspective” on the basis of “equality and mutual respect.”

Putin noted that “the development a constructive Russian-US dialogue is particularly important for strengthening strategic stability in the world and finding the optimal answers to global threats and challenges.”

Ties between Moscow and Washington sank to a post-Cold War low following Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014 and the allegations of its meddling in the US presidential election last year.

Comments

China recovers $112 million in misused poverty relief funds

China’s government has pledged to wipe out poverty by 2020. (AP file photo) Chinese authorities have recouped 730 million yuan ($112.20 million) in misappropriated funds as part of an investigation into the country’s national poverty-reduction scheme, the official Xinhua news agency reported on Saturday. Nearly 450 people have been charged for offences relating to the misused funds in an inspection of 28 provinces, said Xinhua, citing the Ministry of Finance and the State Council Leading Group Office of Poverty Alleviation and Development. The report gave no details on how the funds were misused. China’s government has pledged to wipe out poverty by 2020, targeting 70 million people living below the poverty line, but researchers and social workers say a lasting solution will take much longer. China has spent 196.1 billion yuan ($30.14 billion) on poverty relief over the past four years, said Xinhua. Earlier this month, Hu Zejun, the head of the National Audit Office, said...

Detained Cambodian opposition leader calls for free and fair vote

Kem Sokha said 2017 was marked by big political crises that led to a “democracy walked backward.” (AP Photo) Cambodia’s detained opposition leader Kem Sokha called for free and fair elections in the Southeast Asian country in a New Year’s message on Monday. Kem Sokha, head of the banned opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), was arrested in September. He is accused of trying to overthrow the government of strongman Prime Minister Hun Sen with American help and of espionage – charges he denies and says are politically motivated. In a two-page letter read by his daughter Kem Monovithya and posted on Facebook on Monday, Kem Sokha said Cambodia faces losing aid and its export markets abroad as well as condemnation by the international community after the CNRP’s dissolution. “Leave an opportunity for people to choose leadership representatives through an election that is free and fair,” Kem Sokha said, calling for national unity and non-violence to solve ...

US may withhold USD 255 million aid to Pak for inaction against terror groups: Report

The NYT report comes days after US Vice President Mike Pence said in Kabul that the Trump administration has put Pakistan on notice. (Donald Trump and Shahid Khaqan Abbasi) The United States government is reportedly considering to withhold USD 255 million in aid to Pakistan. PTI quoted a New York Times report as saying that the internal debate of Trump administration whether to deny Pakistan the money is a test of whether President Donald Trump will deliver on his threat to punish Islamabad for failing to cooperate on counter-terrorism operations. “Now, the Trump administration is strongly considering whether to withhold USD 255 million in aid that it had delayed sending to Islamabad, according to American officials, as a show of dissatisfaction with Pakistan’s broader intransigence toward confronting the terrorist networks that operate there,” the New York Times report said. ALSO READ | US will not tolerate Pakistan providing safe havens to terrorists: Nikki Hale...

I GLOBAL NEWZ

Search This Blog