Obama: NATO must make "concrete" commitments to face challenges:
By RFE/RL
U.S. President Barack Obama says that NATO must summon the political will and make commitments to meet challenges from Islamic State (IS) extremists, Russia, Britain's "Brexit" vote to leave the European Union, and conflicts that have prompted millions of people to seek refuge in Europe.
In a commentary published on the Financial Times website on July 8 just hours before the start of a two-day NATO summit in Warsaw that will be the last one he attends as president, Obama said this "may be the most important moment for our transatlantic alliance since the end of the Cold War."
NATO will send a signal of deterrence to a pugnacious Russia and demonstrate unity as the West also grapples with deadly attacks by IS militants, an influx of migrants into Europe, the divisive "Brexit" vote, and a resurgent Taliban in Afghanistan.
Much of the focus will be on Russia, which angered the West and upset the post-World War II order in 2014 by seizing the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine and backing separatists whose war with Kyiv's forces has killed more than 9,300 people in the eastern Donbas region.
"Russia's aggression against Ukraine threatens our vision of a Europe that is whole, free, and at peace," wrote Obama, who also highlighted IS attacks that have "slaughtered innocents in NATO countries, from Orlando to Paris to Brussels to Istanbul," the British vote, and conflicts "from Africa to Syria to Afghanistan" that have sent waves of migrants seeking refuge in Europe. (w/ Financial Times, Reuters)
This ends our live blogging for July 7. Be sure to check back tomorrow for our continuing coverage.
Kerry: Russia sanctions to stay unless it fulfills obligations:
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has reiterated that sanctions against Russia over its actions in Ukraine will remain in place unless Moscow fulfills its obligations under the Minsk agreement reached in February last year.
Kerry made the remarks on July 7 in a joint press conference with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko in Kyiv, where he also announced an additional $23 million in U.S. humanitarian assistance to Ukraine.
Kery said, "Ukraine is making a good-faith effort to implement Minsk, no doubt in my mind about that."
But he added that "without real security in the Donbas, an end to the bloodshed on the contact line, the use of heavy weapons, the blockading the OSCE access, without that, Minsk is doomed to fail."
Kerry's visit to Kyiv comes ahead of a NATO summit in Warsaw that Poroshenko will also attend in the hope of securing support and assistance.
Kerry visited Georgia on July 6, where he underscored Washington's commitment to supporting the ex-Soviet nation in its long-running standoff with two separatist regions backed by Russia.
The two countries signed a new military cooperation agreement during Kerry visit to Georgia -- his first to the Caucasus nation as secretary of state. (AFP, Interfax, Reuters)