US Secretary of State Blinken Heads to Eastern Europe

U.S Secretary of State Antony Blinken left Thursday for eastern Europe to hold meetings with NATO allies and other European leaders in an effort to find a diplomatic solution to the situation in Ukraine.

In a release, State Department spokesman Ned Price said Blinken will first travel to Brussels for a NATO Foreign Ministerial, as well as meet with his European Union counterparts for the G-7 Ministerial Meeting.

Blinken travels to Poland on Saturday for meetings with Polish leaders, including Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau, “to discuss further security assistance in the face of Russia’s continued aggression.”

Price said the secretary of state also will thank Poland for generously welcoming hundreds of thousands of displaced persons from Ukraine and discuss how the United States can augment humanitarian assistance efforts for those fleeing Putin’s war.

Later Saturday, Blinken is scheduled to travel to Moldova to meet with President Maia Sandu, Prime Minister Natalia Gavrilita, and Foreign Minister Nicu Popescu to discuss Moldova’s efforts to receive and assist refugees, and underscore U.S. support for that effort.

From March 6 through March 8, Blinken travels to Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia to meet with leaders in those countries to discuss joint efforts to support Ukraine, strengthen NATO’s deterrence and defense, and promote democracy and human rights.

At a news briefing Wednesday, Blinken said intensive diplomacy with allies and partners continues with the aim of ending the crisis in Ukraine.

He said, “If there are diplomatic steps that we can take that the Ukrainian government believes would be helpful, we’re prepared to take them — even as we continue to support Ukraine’s ability to defend itself.”

Former US Interior Department Secretary Found to Have Violated Ethics Rules

The inspector general for the U.S. Interior Department released a report Wednesday saying the former department secretary, Ryan Zinke, violated ethics obligations and misused his position while in office through his involvement in a land development deal.

The report, released on the department’s website, details how the Inspector General’s office investigated allegations that Zinke had remained involved in a development project in his home state of Montana after he had taken office. Zinke had been a congressman from Montana before accepting former President Donald Trump’s appointment as interior secretary.

The allegations indicate Zinke and his wife were in negotiations with private developers regarding a commercial development project known as 95 Karrow. One of the developers and primary investors in the 95 Karrow project was a senior executive of the Halliburton Company, who allegedly stood to benefit from official actions Zinke could make as secretary of the Interior.

The report says the Zinkes and the developers all declined to be interviewed for the investigation, but the inspector general’s office subpoenaed the developer for all emails and text messages related to the project. Those communications confirmed the allegations that he had remained involved, even after committing in required documentation to federal officials that he would no longer do so.

In addition, the investigation found Zinke misused his official position in violation of federal regulations by directing his subordinates to assist him with matters related to the project.

The office of the Inspector General said the findings of the report were released last year to the U.S. Justice Department, which declined to prosecute. The office said the report was provided to the current secretary of the Interior “for any action deemed appropriate.”

Zinke is currently a candidate for an open Congressional seat in Montana.

Some information for this report came from the Associated Press.

US Defense Secretary in Brussels for High Stakes NATO Talks

With Russia poised to invade Ukraine, U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin is in Belgium for two days of talks with NATO leadership and allied defense ministers. Tens of thousands of Russian troops surrounded Ukraine from the north, south and east. VOA Pentagon correspondent Carla Babb has more from Brussels.