Ten Things You Should Know About the Arctic and the Arctic Council
1. The Arctic Council is comprised of eight member countries: Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Russia, Sweden, and the United States. MORE
Secretary Kerry Travels to Moscow
Wheels up! Secretary Kerry just wrapped up his two-day visit to Moscow, his first to Russia as Secretary of State — and I wanted to share some of the highlights with you. His trip occurred as part of an intensified set of contacts with senior Russian officials this year leading up to a meeting between President Obama and President Putin on the sidelines of the G-8 meeting in June, to be followed by President Obama’s visit to Russia in September. MORE
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry delivers remarks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Moscow, Russia on May 7, 2013. A text transcript can be found at http://www.state.gov/secretary/remarks/2013/05/209117.htm
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry meets with Russian President Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin in Moscow, Russia on May 7, 2013. A text transcript can be found at http://www.state.gov/secretary/remarks/2013/05/209065.htm
Time to Face Facts
BY JOHN KERRY | APRIL 8, 2013
Three years ago today — April 8, 2010 — President Obama and then-President Dmitry Medvedev signed the New START agreement to reduce American and Russian deployed strategic nuclear forces to their lowest levels since the days when Dwight Eisenhower was president and the Cold War defined our relationship with the Russians.
That December in the Senate, we clawed our way to ratification with 71 votes, a big bipartisan statement that the arms control and nonproliferation consensus could hold together even in a polarized political culture. That statement was reaffirmed by treaty supporters from Henry Kissinger and James Baker — and every other living secretary of state — to President George Herbert Walker Bush. MORE
In Bhutan, Conserving the Natural Environment and Biodiversity
About the Author: Timothy Neely serves as Environment, Science, Technology and Health Counselor at the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi, India.
Do you know which country’s constitution promises that a minimum of 60 percent its land area will be maintained as forest for all time? Which country’s government pledges to protect, conserve, and improve the pristine environment and safeguard the biodiversity of the country; prevent pollution and ecological degradation; secure ecologically balanced sustainable development while promoting justifiable economic and social development; and ensure a safe and healthy environment? The answer is the Kingdom of Bhutan, a small Himalayan country located between China and India. Bhutan’s use of a “Gross National Happiness” index to measure progress, rather than GDP, is well-known, but fewer people know of the importance that Bhutan attaches to conserving its natural environment and biodiversity.
The Second Asian Ministerial Conference on Tiger Conservation held in Thimphu, Bhutan… more »
Secretary Clinton Attends NATO Foreign Ministers Meeting
![Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton shakes hands with NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen at the NATO headquarters in Brussels, Dec. 4, 2012. [AP Photo]](http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2012_1205_clinton_nato_m.jpg)
About the Author: Seth McNayr serves at the U.S. Mission to NATO.
On December 4, 2012, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, in Brussels for her ninth and final NATO Foreign Ministers Meeting, began a typically industrious day by meeting with Department of State staff and families downtown at the U.S. Embassy in Belgium. Next, she moved across town to NATO Headquarters, arriving at mid-day and meeting immediately with NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen. She then conducted her first bilateral meeting with her Bulgarian counterpart, Nikolay Mladenov.
Secretary Clinton then joined other NATO Foreign Ministers for a working lunch of the NATO-Russia Council (NRC), including Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov, where many topics of strategic interest were discussed. Afghanistan, in particular, is an area where NATO and Russia have found ways to cooperate in recent years, through such initiatives as joint counter-terrorism and… more »
U.S. Goals at the NATO Foreign Ministerial
![NATO foreign ministers seen during round table meeting, Brussels, Mar. 5, 2009. [AP]](http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2009_0305_nato_roundtable_m.jpg)
About the Author: Ivo H. Daalder serves as U.S. Ambassador to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
Our goals at this Ministerial are clear and simple: to support our ally Turkey by moving toward a deployment of Patriot Missiles to augment their air defenses, to help them protect their people and population; to broaden our cooperation and political dialogue with Russia; to strengthen our partnerships with other countries, including Georgia; and with all our ISAF partners, to monitor our progress toward successful transition in Afghanistan by 2014.
In addition to the goals, however, this Ministerial is noteworthy, because of Secretary Clinton. This is her 38th trip to Europe since becoming Secretary of State; and her ninth and last NATO Ministerial.
She has left… more »
Travel Diary: Secretary Clinton Travels to Prague, Brussels, Dublin, and Belfast
![Secretary Clinton boards plane in Beirut, Lebanon, April 26, 2009. [State Department Photo]](http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2009_0716_clinton_departs_m.jpg)
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton will travel to Prague, the Czech Republic; Brussels, Belgium; Dublin, Ireland; and Belfast, Northern Ireland December 3-7.
Secretary Clinton will travel to Prague, the Czech Republic, December 3 to meet with Czech officials on strengthening Czech energy independence, as well as advancing human rights and supporting democratic transitions around the world.
Secretary Clinton will visit Brussels, Belgium, December 4-5 to participate in a meeting of NATO foreign ministers. The Secretary and her counterparts will discuss current security challenges in the Western Balkans and NATO’s global partnerships. The Secretary will participate in a foreign ministers’ meeting of the NATO-Russia Council on December 4 and of the NATO-Georgia Commission on December 5. NATO foreign ministers will also meet with their non-NATO partners… more »
Russia: Third Anniversary of Magnitskiy’s Death
Press Statement
Victoria Nuland
Department Spokesperson
Office of the Spokesperson
Washington, DC
November 17, 2012
We honor the memory of Russian lawyer Sergey Magnitskiy, who died Nov. 16, 2009 in a Moscow prison after making corruption allegations. Despite widely-publicized, credible evidence of criminal conduct resulting in Magnitskiy’s death, Russian authorities have failed to bring to justice those responsible. While we recognize that negligence charges are being pursued against a prison official, we will continue to call for full accountability for those responsible for Magnitskiy’s unjust imprisonment and wrongful death. We will also continue to fully support the efforts of those in Russia who seek to bring these individuals to justice.
