US State Department

US Secretary of State John Kerry is expected to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin for crucial talks in the Russian Black Sea resort of Sochi on May 12 amid tensions with Moscow over Ukraine, both sides said.

Washington’s special envoy for energy met with top Greek ministers in Athens on Friday on the heels of the leftist government’s ongoing talks with Russia’s Putin to clinch a pipeline deal, a prospect viewed with apprehension by the US side.

Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed energy cooperation in a telephone conversation on Thursday during which the Russian leader expressed his readiness to finance a Greek company that will participate in the construction of a Russian pipeline that would carry natural gas to Europe, Tsipras?s office said.

Bully on him! America’s ambassador to neighboring Turkey on Friday mocked Ankara’s mayor for the latter’s derogatory rant against the US State Department’s spokeswoman last Wednesday, when the Turkish politician cited the Baltimore riots to goad Marie Harf, “come blonde, answer now.”

Greek businesswoman Gianna Angelopoulos-Daskalaki's plans to have former U.S. President Bill Clinton attend her conference at the Athens Hilton on June 23 and 24 were foiled after the US government expressed a critical stance on the prospect of Savvas Xiros' prison release.

The American and Turkish governments have expressed concern about the possible early release of November 17?s Savvas Xeros after Parliament passed a law on Friday permitting inmates with heavy disabilities to see out their sentences under house arrest.

US Secretary of State John Kerry and Cuba's foreign minister made progress as they held historic talks April 9 to restore diplomatic ties, a US official said before their presidents attend a landmark summit.

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davuto?lu on March 17 rubbished suggestions that talks should be held with President Bashar al-Assad, saying negotiating with the Syrian leader was no different to shaking hands with Nazi tyrant Adolf Hitler.
     

The US and Iran wrapped up three days of intense nuclear negotiations Wednesday, but American officials said "tough challenges" remained as a March 31 deadline for a framework deal looms.

 The UN Security Council scheduled an emergency session to discuss the fragile ceasefire in Ukraine on Feb. 27, a year to the day since Russian troops and pro-Moscow forces began seizing ports and cities on the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea.