June 22nd, 2013
07:00 AM ET
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Kerry, key allies in Qatar for talks on Syrian rebels' support

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry arrived in Qatar early Saturday for meetings with his Western and Mideast counterparts who support Syrian rebels struggling to topple President Bashar al-Assad.

The diplomatic group, known as the London Eleven, is meeting in Doha to help shift the balance of power on the Syrian battlefield away from al-Assad and into the hands of his enemies.

But they are up against support for his government by Russia, China, Iran and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.

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Filed under: John Kerry • Qatar • Syria • Uncategorized • World Update
Nuclear North Korea unacceptable, Kerry says
April 12th, 2013
07:13 AM ET
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Nuclear North Korea unacceptable, Kerry says

[Updated at 9:23 a.m. ET] The United States will talk to North Korea, but only if the country gets serious about negotiating the end of its nuclear weapons program, Secretary of State John Kerry said after arriving Friday in Seoul for talks with U.S. ally South Korea.

"North Korea will not be accepted as a nuclear power," Kerry said.

His trip to South Korea - part of an Asian swing that also includes North Korean ally China - comes a day after a Pentagon intelligence assessment surfaced suggesting the country may have developed the ability to fire a nuclear-tipped missile at its foes.

Disclosed first by a congressman at a hearing Thursday and then confirmed to CNN by the Defense Department, the Defense Intelligence Agency assessment is the clearest acknowledgment yet by the United States about potential advances in North Korea's nuclear program.

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Kerry makes unannounced Afghanistan visit
John Kerry, then a U.S. senator, meets with Afghan President Hamid Karzai at the presidential palace in Kabul in October 2009.
March 25th, 2013
08:21 AM ET
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Kerry makes unannounced Afghanistan visit

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry made a previously unannounced stop in Afghanistan for a meeting with Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Monday, the day that a U.S.-run prison that bred tension between the nations was handed over to the Afghans.

Kerry landed in Kabul on Monday afternoon and was expected to meet with Karzai at the presidential palace later in the day.

Kerry's visit comes on the day that the United States handed over control of a U.S.-run prison near Bagram Air Base to Afghan authorities. The detention facility was a sticking point between U.S. and Afghan officials.

The visit also comes amid other tensions between Karzai and the NATO-led coalition forces that escalated after a bomb blast in Kabul this month that killed nine people. Karzai said afterward that there are "ongoing daily talks between the Taliban, Americans and foreigners in Europe and in the Gulf states."

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Filed under: Afghanistan • John Kerry
February 28th, 2013
07:00 AM ET
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U.S. giving $60M more to Syrian opposition

The United States will provide an additional $60 million in assistance to the Syrian opposition over the coming months, Secretary of State John Kerry announced Thursday.

Kerry announced the aid after he met with Syria's national opposition coalition leader, Moaz Al-Khatib in Rome.

The funds will enable the opposition group to help local councils and communities in liberated areas expand the delivery of basic goods and essential services.

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Filed under: John Kerry • Syria