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French envoy says Australia was ‘childish’ to keep nuclear sub talks with US secret ahead of recalled ambassador’s return

The French ambassador to Australia, who will soon return to the nation after being recalled by Paris amid a spat over a secretly negotiated deal for US-made nuclear subs, said Canberra was “childish” to keep the sale under wraps. “It’s childish to say that it was impossible to consult France” on the deal, Ambassador Jean-Pierre […]

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Washington & Beijing agree on virtual Biden-Xi summit by year’s end after ‘constructive’ talks in Switzerland – US official

The US and China are planning a virtual summit between President Joe Biden and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping this year, a US official told the media, noting a departure in tone from disastrous talks in Alaska in March. “We do have out of today’s meeting an agreement in principle to hold a virtual bilateral […]

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Germany’s coalition talks: Greens favor ‘in-depth’ negotiations with SPD & FDP, but don’t reject Merkel’s bloc just yet

Germany’s Greens said they have so far found more common ground with the Social Democrats and FDP in negotiations to form the next government and replace Angela Merkel as chancellor. The Green party co-leaders, Annalena Baerbock and Robert Habeck, spoke to reporters after holding the first round of talks with the Social Democrats (SPD), the […]

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Iran cannot set new conditions for resuming nuclear talks, Germany insists, as Tehran says negotiations will start again soon

Germany has made it clear that Iran cannot demand more conditions for resuming the talks on a renewed nuclear deal, as Tehran indicated it will be ready to recommence the negotiations by early November. On Monday, the German government said that it would reject any new prerequisites put forward by its Iranian counterpart, referring to […]

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‘Serious issues with self-awareness’: China urges US to find ‘courage’ to address own mistakes after bilateral military talks

Beijing has called on counterparts in Washington to find the “courage” and “self-awareness” to amend a series of aggressive and provocative policies toward China, following a second round of high-level joint military talks. Beijing welcomes dialogue with the United States, but insists Washington must take steps to end “continuous provocations and suppression of China,” Defense […]

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Pentagon holds ‘frank’ talks with Chinese military as Beijing decries ‘back-stabbing’ AUKUS deal

The US military said it had an “in-depth” dialogue with Beijing, reiterating that it remains committed to regional allies amid ongoing enmity over a new security pact between the US, the UK and Australia designed to counter China. “The two sides held a frank, in-depth, and open discussion on a range of issues affecting the […]

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German election: Merkel successor Laschet’s conservatives & Scholz’s social democrats TIED in exit polls as coalition talks loom

Exit polls from the German election reveal a neck-and-neck race, with the conservative CDU party of outgoing Chancellor Angela Merkel and its main Social Democrat rivals, the SPD, tied. All eyes are now on coalition talks. An exit poll from German broadcaster ARD shows the center-right CDU/CSU union, led by Merkel’s successor, Christian Democrat Armin […]

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‘Soon’ means different things in Iran & West, Tehran’s top diplomat says regarding resumption of nuclear talks

Iranian FM Hossein Amirabdollahian has again refrained from saying exactly when Tehran plans to return to talks aimed at reviving the nuclear deal, instead philosophizing about the meaning of the word “soon” in Iran and the West. On Friday, Amirabdollahian told reporters in New York that the stalled negotiations on bringing back the so-called Joint […]

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Iran nuclear talks to resume ‘in the next few weeks’ – Foreign Ministry

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Saeed Khatibzadeh announced on Tuesday that talks on reviving the 2015 nuclear deal will resume “in the next few weeks,” after negotiations stalled earlier this year. The talks, which have been taking place in Vienna, have already gone through five rounds of discussions with no agreement secured, as differences remain between […]