The United States is refusing to rule out shrinking the size of its military presence in Africa despite warnings that without Washington&#8217;s help, critical counterterror efforts could fall apart, VOA news <a href="https://www.voanews.com/africa/us-noncommittal-keeping-troops-africa">reports</a>. 



French Defense Minister Florence Parly delivered the latest plea for continued U.S. involvement in the counterterror fight Monday during talks with top U.S. military officials at the Pentagon.



But following the meeting, U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper said Washington had to take into account other urgent priorities.



&#8220;We are focused on great power competition, first with China, then Russia,&#8221; Esper told reporters. &#8220;My aim is to adjust our [military] footprint in many places. No decisions have been made.&#8221;



<figure class="wp-block-image"><a href="https://media.voltron.voanews.com/Drupal/01live-166/styles/sourced/s3/ap-images/2020/01/fb7ad30368d3c27b0b501001ef928f90.jpg?itok=HS9j66H9"><img src="https://media.voltron.voanews.com/Drupal/01live-166/styles/sourced_737px_wide/s3/ap-images/2020/01/fb7ad30368d3c27b0b501001ef928f90.jpg?itok=uZbgTenM" alt="French Minister of Armed Forces Florence Parly accompanied by Secretary of Defense Mark Esper speak during a news conference at…" /></a><figcaption>French Minister of Armed Forces Florence Parly and Secretary of Defense Mark Esper speak during a news conference at the Pentagon in Washington, Jan. 27, 2020.</figcaption></figure>



France currently has about 4,500 troops in Africa, taking a lead role in countering terror groups linked to Islamic State (IS) and al-Qaida across the Sahel region.



Earlier this month, in response to the death of 13 French soldiers during a combat mission in Mali late last year, France said it would send another 220 troops to the region.



And France is not alone in sounding the alarm about the growth of terror groups on the Sahel.



A increasing number of Western diplomats have warned that IS, in particular, is using the region to regroup following the loss of its self-declared caliphate in Syria and Iraq.



The concern has run so deep, that during an anti-IS coalition meeting hosted this past November in Washington, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that partner nations were already looking to West Africa and the Sahel as &#8220;a preferred, initial area of focus&#8221; outside of Syria and Iraq.



U.S. and Western counterterror officials also caution the region is one of the few places where terrorists from IS and al-Qaida, usually fierce rivals, will work together to advance anti-Western plots.



Standing alongside Esper at the Pentagon on Monday, Parly said that, as a result, Washington&#8217;s support for the French-led efforts was &#8220;even more necessary,&#8221; noting that countries like Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso are already stepping up their campaigns to eradicate the terror groups.



&#8220;The U.S. support is critical to our operations,&#8221; she said. &#8220;Its reduction would severely limit our effectiveness against terrorists.&#8221;



U.S. officials have insisted they are not blind to the dangers. Still, for months, they have floated the idea of cutting some of the about 6,000 troops currently stationed in Africa.



Publicly, U.S. officials have declined to say what potential cuts would mean for its bases in Africa, both in Djibouti and in Niger, home to many of the U.S. military&#8217;s drones, which play a key role in gathering intelligence.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><a href="https://media.voltron.voanews.com/Drupal/01live-166/styles/sourced/s3/2019-04/8B146F54-3574-4D0F-B721-872CA1D796E9.jpg?itok=EMBPrK--"><img src="https://media.voltron.voanews.com/Drupal/01live-166/styles/sourced_737px_wide/s3/2019-04/8B146F54-3574-4D0F-B721-872CA1D796E9.jpg?itok=FDXCXgik" alt="FILE - French President Emmanuel Macron visits French troops in Africa's Sahel region in Gao, northern Mali, May 19, 2017. " /></a><figcaption>FILE &#8211; French President Emmanuel Macron visits French troops in Africa&#8217;s Sahel region in Gao, northern Mali, May 19, 2017.</figcaption></figure>



&#8220;There is a lot of collaboration in terms of logistics but also in terms of intelligence,&#8221; Niagale Bagayoko, a lead researcher and chair of the African Security Sector Network, told VOA. &#8220;That is one of the reasons why the French are presently eager to see the Americans to stay involved in the continent, in particular.&#8221;



French officials have also emphasized that while they understand Washington&#8217;s desire to rebalance its forces across the world to better confront adversaries like China and Russia, they are not asking for a lot.



&#8220;It&#8217;s a classic case of burden sharing where a limited U.S. support leverages an immesnse effort carried out by France and Europe,&#8221; Parly said Monday.



Yet despite French officials expressing hope that &#8220;good sense&#8221; would prevail and that Washington would maintain its support for the French-led counterterror operations, U.S. defense officials have increasingly signaled such help may not be forthcoming.



&#8220;France has reached out to other European allies. I think it&#8217;s time for other European allies to assist, as well, in the region,&#8221; Esper told reporters Monday. &#8220;That could offset whatever changes we make as we consider next steps in Africa.&#8221;

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US Noncommittal on Keeping Troops in Africa

U.S. President Donald Trump says it&#8217;s time to release his long-awaited Middle East peace plan, and has invited Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and opposition leader Benny Gantz to the White House next week to discuss it, VOA news <a href="https://www.voanews.com/middle-east/netanyahu-heads-washington-talks-trump-peace-plan">reports</a>. 



Reports in Israel say it will give Israel sovereignty over the Jordan Valley, along the border with Jordan, as well as over Jewish settlements in the West Bank. Palestinians say any plan that does not give them a state in all of the West Bank, Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem is a non-starter.



President Trump says he will most likely release his long-awaited peace plan even before Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and possibly Netanyahu&#8217;s election rival, Benny Gantz, arrive in Washington next Tuesday. Trump said it is a great plan, and one that will really work.



Israeli news reports say it will include a unilateral annexation of the Jordan Valley, about a fifth of the West Bank that runs along the border between the West Bank and Jordan. Israel has long said that the area is important for Israel’s security. About 13,000 Jewish settlers as well as 4,000 Palestinians live there. The reports said the plan would also give Israel sovereignty over all Jewish settlements in the West Bank, where more than 400,000 Israelis live. If that happens, it would be a major change in U.S. policy and anger the Palestinians.



Prime Minister Netanyahu said he accepted President Trump’s invitation with pleasure.



&#8220;We have had no better friend than President Trump. That friendship is expressed in the fact that we are in the American embassy in Jerusalem,&#8221; Netanyahu said. &#8220;That Jerusalem was recognized by President Trump as Israel’s capital, that President Trump has recognized Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights, and now with this invitation the president is seeking to give Israel peace and security, the peace and security it deserves.&#8221;



Palestinians see the reported plan as dangerous. Nabil Abu Rudeineh, a spokesman for Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, warned the U.S. from crossing any more red lines. He said the Palestinians will not accept any plan that does not give them sovereignty over the West Bank, Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem.



Abbas met Thursday with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who was in Israel for the commemoration of the World Holocaust Forum, and asked for Putin&#8217;s support in the future.



Abbas said there are some regional issues that need to be discussed with President Putin, such as Israel&#8217;s announcement to annex Palestinian land. Abbas also said there is the need to talk about this &#8220;deal of the century&#8221; which Mr. Trump&nbsp; said will be published (ready) soon. Abbas also said, &#8220;We also to talk about this issue. Also we have the issue of the Palestinian presidential and parliament elections that we will inform the president about.&#8221;



Abbas said that the Palestinians want to discuss Israel’s announcement to annex Palestinian land as well as other regional issues.



Jordan’s foreign minister, Ayman Safadi, also warned that if Israel annexes the Jordan Valley, it would end the chances for peace between Israelis and Palestinians.



The Washington visit comes as Netanyahu and Gantz are due to face off in Israel’s third election within a year.

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Netanyahu Heads to Washington for Talks on Trump Peace Plan

Washington residents were startled in April 2017 to see a low-flying aircraft transit directly through the normally restricted airspace at the center of the U.S. capital, with all its monuments and iconic government buildings, VOA news <a href="https://www.voanews.com/usa/us-fix-not-scrap-open-skies-treaty">reports</a>. 



Many were more surprised to learn that the aircraft in question was a Russian Tupolev Tu-154 spy plane and that the mission was approved in advance by U.S. authorities.



The incident called attention to the Open Skies Treaty, a 1992 pact in which the United States, Russia and 32 other countries agree to permit such unarmed missions under strictly controlled conditions.



The idea, first put forward in the 1950s, is that everyone is safer if they know what everyone else is doing. Hundreds of such flights are conducted each year.



The confidence-building treaty has come in for harsh criticism of late, with influential members of Congress and others arguing the United States should quit the treaty because Russian cheating has given that country an unfair advantage.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><a href="https://www.voanews.com/s3/files/styles/sourced/s3/2020-01/reu_tupolev.jpg?itok=jIt3W_jY"><img src="https://media.voltron.voanews.com/Drupal/01live-166/styles/sourced_737px_wide/s3/2020-01/reu_tupolev.jpg?itok=qH6mRWHr" alt="FILE - A Tupolev Tu-154 stands on the tarmac of the Chkalovsky military airport north of Moscow, Russia, Jan. 15, 2015. A plane similar to this one was used by Russia in the 2017 Washington fly-over." /></a><figcaption>FILE &#8211; A Tupolev Tu-154 stands on the tarmac of the Chkalovsky military airport north of Moscow, Russia, Jan. 15, 2015. A plane similar to this one was used by Russia in the April 2017 Washington fly-over.</figcaption></figure>



Nevertheless, the agreement looks more secure after last month’s enactment of the National Defense Authorization Act of 2020 (NDAA). A little noticed provision in the mammoth bill funded a new aircraft for the American spy flights – now conducted with a 60-year-old plane &#8212; and required President Donald Trump to give Congress four-months notice before seeking to pull out of it.



Specific language in the bill says the United States should &#8220;commit to continued participation in the treaty&#8221; and &#8220;forcefully address Russian violations of its obligations” under the agreement.



The treaty requires countries planning surveillance flights to notify the host country of its plans in advance and to permit personnel from the host country to be on board the plane.



But critics, including Arkansas Senator Tom Cotton, chairman of the Armed Services Subcommittee on Airland, have focused on Russia’s restrictions on flights over certain sensitive areas, including the Kaliningrad region and contested parts of the republic of Georgia.



They also charge that Moscow is using the flights to identify and examine vital American infrastructure. One flight even overflew a Trump-owned golf course at Bedminster, New Jersey, while the president was staying there.



Supporters of the treaty insist that the benefits outweigh the risks, arguing that its value was demonstrated after the Russian Navy seized 24 Ukrainian sailors and their vessels near the Kerch Strait in November 2018.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><a href="https://www.voanews.com/s3/files/styles/sourced/s3/2020-01/reu_ukr_ships.jpg?itok=7OSYt82v"><img src="https://media.voltron.voanews.com/Drupal/01live-166/styles/sourced_737px_wide/s3/2020-01/reu_ukr_ships.jpg?itok=_DG02vwT" alt="FILE - Three Ukrainian naval ships, seized three days earlier by Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) coast guard vessels, are seen anchored in a port in Kerch, in Russia-annexed Crimea, Nov. 28, 2018." /></a><figcaption>FILE &#8211; Three Ukrainian naval ships, seized three days earlier by Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) coast guard vessels, are seen anchored in a port in Kerch, in Russia-annexed Crimea, Nov. 28, 2018.</figcaption></figure>



Two weeks later, a U.S. OC-135B Boeing aircraft was able to fly over the area with representatives of Canada, Germany, France, Romania and Britain on board to document any possible provocations.



&#8220;Following Russia’s unprovoked attack on Ukrainian vessels near the Kerch Strait, the United States and United States allies conducted an ‘extraordinary’ Open Skies Treaty observation mission over Ukraine to reaffirm commitment to Ukraine,&#8221; the NDAA text points out.



The overflight sent an important signal to Russia, argues Iain King of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington research organization.



&#8220;The Open Skies Treaty allowed Ukraine to have an overflight of the area to see what Russia was doing behind their lines, to know where Russia was positioning its military assets, to know what was going to come in the future. “



That sent an important message to Moscow. It also gave Kyiv very welcome information about what to expect in the area.&#8221;



Jim Townsend, a former deputy assistant secretary of defense, says the agreement also showed its value following Russia’s annexation of Crimea.



&#8220;I think Ukraine is a great example of how the nations in the West acted when the Russians invaded Crimea,&#8221; said Townsend, whose areas of responsibility included NATO and Europe.



&#8220;One of the first things we did was to put up these airplanes through the Open Skies agreement so that we could, at a minimum, signal the Russians that we were watching what they were doing, that they were not going to be able to spin a story that was a lie about what their forces were doing.&#8221;



King said the overflights enable the United States to gather certain types of information that cannot be obtained with spy satellites, which can be hampered by cloud cover.



The flight operators can also “use optical centering and heat centering to know how much fuel there is in military assets – tanks, airplanes on the ground,” he said. “



That gives you an insight into whether those assets are about to be used. You could do that with Open Skies. You can&#8217;t do that with satellites.&#8221;



The U.S. has already taken some measures to reciprocate against Russia&#8217;s violations. For instance, after Russia limited overflights over Kaliningrad and parts of Georgia, the United States blocked Russia flights over Fort Greeley in Alaska and certain facilities in Hawaii, Townsend said.

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US to Fix, Not Scrap Open Skies Treaty

China’s economy czar will visit Washington next week for the signing of an interim trade deal, the government said Thursday, VOA news <a href="https://www.voanews.com/">reports</a>. 



Vice Premier Liu He, Beijing’s chief envoy in talks with Washington over their tariff war, had been expected to attend the signing but the Commerce Ministry’s statement was the first official confirmation.



Washington postponed planned tariff increases following the announcement of the “Phase 1” deal in October. But earlier punitive duties imposed by both sides on billions of dollars of each other’s goods stayed in place, dampening global trade and threatening to chill economic growth.



Liu will lead a delegation to Washington, Monday through Wednesday, said ministry spokesman Gao Feng.



Under the “Phase 1” deal, Beijing agreed to buy more American farm goods and Washington’s chief negotiator, Robert Lighthizer, said it would make changes to respond to complaints about its industrial policies. Details have yet to be announced, and Chinese officials have yet to confirm any regulatory changes or the size of purchases of American soybeans and other exports.



Both sides have soothed financial market jitters by announcing conciliatory steps, including postponing planned tariff hikes. Beijing also has resumed purchases of soybeans, the biggest American export to China, and pork.



Washington, Europe, Japan and other trading partners complain Beijing steals or pressures foreign companies to hand over technology. Washington is pressing China to roll back plans for state-led creation of global competitors in robotics and other industries that its trading partners say violate its market-opening commitments.



President Donald Trump announced last month he would sign the “Phase 1” agreement Jan. 15 and travel to Beijing after that to start the second stage of talks.



Trump hailed the interim agreement as a step toward ending the tariff war, but Beijing has been more measured in its public statements.



Economists say concluding a final settlement could take years. Potential hurdles include Chinese insistence that U.S. tariff hikes be canceled once an agreement takes effect. The Trump administration says some must remain in place to ensure Beijing carries out any promises it makes.

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China’s Vice Premier Coming to Washington to Sign Trade Deal

China Monday hit back at the US for criticizing its blocking of a U.N. Security Council resolution over civilian aid, accusing Washington of &#8220;politicizing humanitarian issues&#8221;, VOA news <a href="https://www.voanews.com/usa/china-slams-pompeo-criticism-syria-aid-veto">reports</a>. 



On Saturday U.S.&nbsp; Secretary of State Mike Pompeo described as &#8220;shameful&#8221; Russia and China blocking the U.N. resolution, which would have extended for a year cross-border humanitarian aid to four million Syrians.



&#8220;To Russia and China, who have chosen to make a political statement by opposing this resolution, you have blood on your hands,&#8221; Pompeo said in a statement.



China reacted angrily Monday, saying it voted on the basis of &#8220;right and wrong.&#8221;



&#8220;We firmly reject the unjustifiable accusations made by the U.S. side on China&#8217;s voting position,&#8221; foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said at a regular press briefing in Beijing.



Geng said the U.S. was &#8220;politicizing humanitarian issues&#8221; and &#8220;pursuing a typical double standard.&#8221;



Humanitarian aid currently flows into Syria through U.N.-designated checkpoints in Turkey and Iraq without the formal permission of the regime in Damascus, but that authority is due to expire on January 10.



Germany, Belgium and Kuwait presented a resolution extending that authority for a year, winning the support of 13 council members but drawing the vetoes of Russia and China.



A competing Russian resolution would have granted a six-month extension while reducing the number of UN crossing points, but it failed to get the minimum nine votes.



Russia&nbsp;— an ally and major supporter of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad&nbsp;— has used its veto 14 times on Syrian issues since civil war broke out there in 2011.



The resolution failed as tens of thousands of civilians have been fleeing the northwestern Idlib region amid heavy bombardments by Assad&#8217;s Russian-backed government, in the last bastion of the jihadist opposition.

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China Slams Pompeo Criticism of Syria Aid Veto

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will welcome his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov on Tuesday &#8212; the Russian&#8217;s first visit to Washington since a controversial 2017 meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump, the State Department announced, VOA news <a href="https://www.voanews.com/usa/us-confirms-washington-visit-russian-foreign-minister">reports</a>. 



The brief statement about the meeting, to be held at the State Department, said Pompeo and Lavrov would &#8220;discuss a broad range of regional and bilateral issues.&#8221;



On Friday, a Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman said the meeting was being &#8220;prepared&#8221; for Tuesday.



The situations in war-wracked Syria and Ukraine are likely to top the agenda. The Washington meeting will come on the heels of talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukraine&#8217;s Volodymyr Zelenskiy over the conflict in Ukraine&#8217;s east in Paris on Monday.



Iran and North Korea are also of mutual concern in Washington and Moscow.



Pompeo and Lavrov met in September on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in New York.



But Lavrov has not been on an official visit to the U.S. capital since his encounter with Trump in the Oval Office in May 2017, which was followed by allegations that the U.S. leader divulged classified intelligence in the meeting.



Photographs of the meeting showed Lavrov, Trump and subsequently sacked Russian envoy to Washington Sergei Kislyak sharing a laugh.



U.S. intelligence concluded that Moscow interfered in the 2016 presidential election with an eye to swinging it in Trump&#8217;s favor, but U.S. special counsel Robert Mueller found there was not enough evidence to prove that Trump&#8217;s campaign conspired with the Russian government in those efforts.



The report did not conclude that Trump had committed a crime, but it also did not fully exonerate him.



&#8220;If we had confidence after a thorough investigation of the facts that the president clearly did not commit obstruction of justice, we would so state,&#8221; Mueller&#8217;s long-awaited report said.



&#8220;Based on the facts and the applicable legal standards, however, we are unable to reach that judgment.&#8221;

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US Confirms Washington Visit by Russian Foreign Minister

Washington and Beijing have agreed to gradually cancel tariff hikes as their trade negotiations progress, a Chinese Commerce Ministry spokesman said Thursday, VOA news <a href="https://www.voanews.com/economy-business/beijing-china-us-lift-tariff-hikes-talks-advance">reports</a>. 



Gao Feng, the Commerce Ministry spokesman, said Thursday that envoys had “agreed to a phased cancellation of tariff increases depending on the progress of negotiations.”



He told reporters that if both sides reach a first phase agreement, then based on that deal they will cancel imposed tariffs proportionately.



Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping agreed last month to resume trade talks aimed at resolving a more than year-long dispute over technology and industrial policy. As part of that truce, they halted further tariff hikes.



But both sides have imposed billions of dollars’ worth of punitive tariffs on each other’s exports and reports have said China wants to have those rolled back as part of any agreement.



U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said earlier this week that any Phase 1 agreement would be general and cover trade in specific areas such as soybeans and liquefied natural gas. More complicated issues would be tackled in later rounds of negotiations, he said.



Ross, who is traveling in Asia, did not directly say if rolling back tariffs was a possibility in the Phase 1 talks.

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Beijing: China, US to Lift Tariff Hikes as Talks Advance

The United States should return to a 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and major powers, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif tweeted on Friday, saying the new U.S. sanctions imposed on Tehran showed failure of Washington&#8217;s policy, VOA news <a href="https://www.voanews.com/middle-east/irans-zarif-calls-us-return-2015-nuclear-deal">reports</a>. 



&#8220;Rather than dig itself deeper, US should abandon failed policies &amp; return to #JCPOA (the 2015 nuclear deal),&#8221; Zarif tweeted.



<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="ru">Subjecting construction workers to <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/EconomicTerrorism?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#EconomicTerrorism</a> only manifests maximum failure of &quot;maximum pressure”. US can sanction every man, woman &amp; child but Iranians will never submit to bullying. Rather than dig itself deeper, US should abandon failed policies &amp; return to <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/JCPOA?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#JCPOA</a>.&mdash; Javad Zarif (@JZarif) <a href="https://twitter.com/JZarif/status/1190287363337048065?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">1 ноября 2019 г.</a></blockquote>







The United States, who exited the pact last year and reimposed sanctions on Iran, on Thursday imposed sanctions on the Iranian construction sector and trade in four materials used in its military or nuclear programs.



&#8220;Subjecting construction workers to #EconomicTerrorism only manifests maximum failure of &#8220;maximum pressure&#8221;. US can sanction every man, woman &amp; child but Iranians will never submit to bullying&#8221; Zarif tweeted.

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Iran’s Zarif Calls on US to Return to 2015 Nuclear Deal

US President Donald Trump green-lighted a Turkish incursion into Northern Syria late on Sunday, drawing accusations of treachery and betrayal from Washington’s Kurdish allies on the ground in Syria, Euronews <a href="https://www.euronews.com/2019/10/07/washington-green-lights-turkish-incursion-into-northern-syria">reports</a>. 



The Kurdish dominated Syrian Democratic Forces have served as a key US partner on the ground in the fight against IS in Syria.



The move has raised huge questions over security in the region, and the future of thousands of suspected ISIS members currently held in Kurdish custody.



<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="ru">Donald Trump is not a Commander-in-Chief. He makes impulsive decisions with no knowledge or deliberation. He sends military personnel into harm’s way with no backing. He blusters and then leaves our allies exposed when adversaries call his bluff or he confronts a hard phone call.&mdash; Brett McGurk (@brett_mcgurk) <a href="https://twitter.com/brett_mcgurk/status/1181085818493927425?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">7 октября 2019 г.</a></blockquote>





An SDF statement read, &#8220;despite our efforts to avoid any military escalation with Turkey and the flexibility we have shown to move forward with the establishment of the border security mechanism and [despite the fact that] we have fulfilled all our obligations in this regard, the US forces have not fulfilled their obligations and withdrew their forces from the border areas with Turkey to prepare for an invasion of northern and eastern Syria.&#8221;



It added, &#8220;This Turkish military operation in northern and eastern Syria will have a significant negative impact on our war on ISIS and will destroy everything that has been achieved from the state of stability over the past years.&#8221;



The White House statement said that Turkey would take responsibility for Imprisoned ISIS numbers currently held by the Kurdish authorities in Syria – they are thought to number in their tens of thousands.



Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan later refuted this in a press conference on Monday morning.

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Washington green-lights Turkish incursion into northern Syria

With Washington in tumult over the escalating impeachment inquiry, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo toured southeast Europe on Friday, trying to ignore the furor back home that has engulfed his department, VOA news <a href="https://www.voanews.com/">reports</a>. 



Pompeo did not respond to shouted questions from journalists with him as he traveled to Montenegro and North Macedonia to show support for a current NATO ally and a soon-to-be one, as a Ukraine-focused impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump picked up steam.



The top U.S. diplomat flew to the Montenegrin capital of Podgorica and then on to Ohrid in North Macedonia, a day after one of his former top aides told congressional investigators in Washington about efforts to press Ukraine&#8217;s government to open a corruption probe that could have targeted former Vice President Joe Biden&#8217;s son.



<figure class="wp-block-image is-resized"><a href="https://media.voltron.voanews.com/Drupal/01live-166/styles/sourced/s3/2019-10/ap_kurt_volker_Congress_3oct19.jpg?itok=hZ0hwasn"><img src="https://media.voltron.voanews.com/Drupal/01live-166/styles/sourced_410px_wide/s3/2019-10/ap_kurt_volker_Congress_3oct19.jpg?itok=c5xFpLIP" alt="Kurt Volker, a former special envoy to Ukraine, is leaving after a closed-door interview with House investigators as House Democrats proceed with the impeachment investigation of President Donald Trump, at the Capitol in Washington, Oct. 3, 2019." width="556" height="374" /></a><figcaption>FILE &#8211; Kurt Volker, a former special envoy to Ukraine, leaves after a closed-door interview with House investigators at the Capitol in Washington, Oct. 3, 2019.</figcaption></figure>



Pompeo did not speak with reporters about the actions of former special envoy to Ukraine Kurt Volker aboard his plane on either flight or during a photo opportunity with Montenegro&#8217;s Prime Minister Dusko Markovic and Foreign Minister Srdjan Darmanovic.



Meanwhile, the State Department had no comment on Volker&#8217;s 10-hour congressional interview on Thursday or on the text messages he turned over that detail a push to get Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to commit to the corruption probe in exchange for a visit to Washington.



Shortly after Pompeo left Rome, where he spent three days on the first leg of a four-nation tour of Europe, Ukraine&#8217;s Prosecutor General said his office is reviewing all the cases that were closed by his predecessors, including several related to the owner of a gas company where Biden&#8217;s son Hunter sat on the board.



<figure class="wp-block-image is-resized"><a href="https://media.voltron.voanews.com/Drupal/01live-166/styles/sourced/s3/2019-10/AP_19274694514924.jpg?itok=5ybwXjyW"><img src="https://media.voltron.voanews.com/Drupal/01live-166/styles/sourced_410px_wide/s3/2019-10/AP_19274694514924.jpg?itok=Z1-7Q5TA" alt="Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy speaks to media during his press conference in Kyiv, Ukraine, Oct. 1, 2019. " width="581" height="387" /></a><figcaption>FILE &#8211; Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy speaks to media during his press conference in Kyiv, Ukraine, Oct. 1, 2019.</figcaption></figure>



Earlier this week in Rome, Pompeo acknowledged for the first time that he had been on a July 25 phone call between Trump and Zelenskiy during which an investigation was raised. He said the call was part of a broader effort to get Ukraine to crack down on corruption that Volker and others were involved in. He has said previously that no one from the State Department acted inappropriately in dealing with Ukraine.



House Democrats launched the impeachment inquiry over the Ukraine matter after a government whistleblower disclosed Trump&#8217;s call with Zelenskiy and the push to have a foreign government interfere in U.S. elections by digging up dirt on Biden.



Montenegro and North Macedonia&nbsp;



Like Ukraine, Montenegro and North Macedonia are seeking closer ties with the West. Montenegro joined NATO in 2017, 11 years after it regained independence, and is seeking membership in the European Union. North Macedonia will become NATO&#8217;s 30th member as soon as the other allies complete their ratification processes.



Pompeo congratulated Montenegrin President Milo Djukanovic for progress his country has made in improving its economy and said he had discussed broadening and strengthening U.S.-Montenegro economic and security ties as well as promoting anti-corruption and rule of law reforms.



In the ancient city of Ohrid in North Macedonia, Pompeo was expected to cover similar ground with President Stevo Pendarovski.



Later Friday, Pompeo will travel to Athens where he will meet Greek officials over the weekend before returning to Washington and the center of the impeachment inquiry.

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Pompeo in Europe as State Department Embroiled in Inquiry

China called on Washington on Tuesday to cancel a planned meeting at the United Nations to discuss accusations of repression and mass detentions in its Muslim northwestern region of Xinjiang, VOA news <a href="https://www.voanews.com/east-asia-pacific/china-calls-washington-cancel-xinjiang-meeting">reports</a>. 



The foreign ministry accused the Trump administration of slandering China and interfering in its affairs. &nbsp; A deputy U.S. secretary of state, John Sullivan, is scheduled to lead a panel discussion on the &#8220;human rights crisis in Xinjiang&#8221; during this week&#8217;s U.N. General Assembly meeting.



The United States, human rights groups and independent analysts say about 1 million of the 12 million members of Muslim ethnic minority groups in Xinjiang have been detained in internment camps. The Communist Beijing government says those are vocational training centers. &nbsp; &#8220;We urge the United States to cancel the relevant meeting, stop making irresponsible remarks on the Xinjiang issue and stop interfering in the internal affairs of China in the name of human rights,&#8221; a foreign ministry spokesman, Geng Shuang, said at a daily news briefing.



On Monday, President Donald Trump said at a meeting on religious freedom held during the U.N. session that it was an &#8220;urgent moral duty&#8221; for world leaders to stop crimes against faith.



On Sunday, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo accused Beijing of trying to erase Muslim cultures. He called on Central Asian governments to reject Chinese demands to send home ethnic minorities who might face repression.



Pompeo made the comments in a meeting with the foreign ministers of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.



“The United States has repeatedly smeared and slandered China&#8217;s policy toward Xinjiang and interfered in China&#8217;s internal affairs under the guise of religion and human rights,&#8221; Geng said. &#8220;Now it made an even bigger mistake by holding the so-called discussion on the Xinjiang issue during the U.N. General Assembly.&#8221;



The Xinjiang panel will feature &#8220;deeply personal stories of victims of China&#8217;s brutal campaign of repression&#8221; against Uighurs, Kyrgyz and other Muslim minorities, said a State Department announcement of the event.



It said Sullivan &#8220;welcomes global partners in joining the call for China to end the cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment of the people of Xinjiang.&#8221;



Geng defended Chinese policies as necessary to combat terrorism. &nbsp; Beijing has blamed scattered incidents of violence in Xinjiang on a radical Muslim movement it says wants independence for the territory, though foreign governments and researchers say they see little evidence to support that.



&#8220;The U.S. side has turned a blind eye to China&#8217;s efforts and achievements in combating terrorism and extremism,&#8221; Geng said.

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China Calls on Washington to Cancel Xinjiang Meeting

Two shootings in Washington, D.C. left two people dead and seven injured late on Thursday, reports by police and several media outlets said, as authorities on Friday hunted for a pair of suspects from one of the attacks likely armed with an assault rifle, Euronews <a href="https://www.euronews.com/2019/09/20/two-killed-seven-wounded-in-two-washington-dc-shootings-police-seek-suspects-reports">reports</a>. 



In the first attack, one man was killed and five people wounded, two of them critically, in a drive-by shooting. The victims had been standing in an apartment building courtyard in the Columbia Heights neighbourhood when they were shot, Metropolitan Police commander Stuart Emerman said.



Two suspects were seen in a Nissan sedan and used an “AK style rifle,” police said in statement.



“Detectives are interviewing witnesses and looking for camera footage,” Emerman said.



About half an hour after the first incident, three people were shot in the northeastern part of the city, leaving one dead, according to&nbsp;NBC’s Washington affiliate. There was no initial indication the two shootings were linked,&nbsp;NBCreported, citing police.



DC Police on Twitter confirmed the second shooting in the 1400 block of Rhode Island Avenue just south of the Brookland neighbourhood but gave no other details.



ABC&nbsp;affiliate&nbsp;WJLA-TV showed ambulances carrying victims from the scene of the first shooting.



Gun violence has been a regular feature of American life, but a spate of recent mass shootings in Texas, Ohio and other states have renewed debate over the nation’s gun laws and spurred calls for action.



Many Republicans and the powerful gun lobby, the National Rifle Association, oppose further restrictions on gun ownership. Republican Vice President Mike Pence has decried the gun-control stance and accused the Democrats as having a “radical agenda.”



Republican President Donald Trump, in an interview with Fox News that aired on Thursday, said he was looking for compromise steps that both Democrats and Republicans could support on gun control, but has given no details on what action he may push.



House Democrats have passed several gun initiatives, including expanded background checks, but the Republican-led Senate has not taken up the legislation.



The controversy over the use of assault rifles has entered the 2020 presidential race, with candidate and former U.S. Representative Beto O’Rourke declaring at a Democratic debate that he would confiscate such rifles.



O’Rourke has made gun safety the centrepiece of his campaign since late August, when his hometown of El Paso, Texas, was the site of a racially motivated mass shooting that killed 22 people inside a Walmart store.



On Thursday, gunmaker Colt said it was suspending its productions of the AR15 and other rifles for the civilian market, the Associated Press reported.

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Two killed, seven wounded in two Washington, DC shootings; police seek suspects – reports