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Remarks by Secretary Kerry and British Foreign Secretary Hague, February 2013

Secretary John Kerry and British Foreign Secretary William Hague gave these remarks after their meeting on February 25, 2013, Kerry's first stop on his first international tour as Secretary of State. They discussed negotiations with Israel-Palestine, the Syrian crisis, Iran's nuclear program, troops in Afghanistan and North Africa, and the U.S.-EU transatlantic trade agreemeent.

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Article

How to Save Syria From al Qaeda

Author: Leslie H. Gelb
Daily Beast

Leslie H. Gelb writes that the aim now in Syria can't be just to help the rebels and get rid of Assad; it must be to prevent al Qaeda's extremist cohorts from grabbing power.

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What could be done to solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict?

Asked by Michael Varacalli, from New York University

Conflict between Israelis and Palestinians began even before the State of Israel was established in 1948, and the two populations have opposing claims to the land between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea that have defeated numerous U.S. efforts to broker peace. Right now there is little hope of a comprehensive solution—one that resolves all the issues and involves not only Israel and the PLO but the Arab states as well. Today, the most that Israel can realistically offer is less than the least the Palestinians can realistically accept. For now, the best way forward is to continue talks, but to emphasize practical steps forward on the ground that move Palestinians toward construction of a state.

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Is China still “rising” or has it already “risen”?

Asked by Lauren Billi, from New York University

Both are accurate. China certainly "has risen" to become a global economic power: in only three decades, it has transformed itself into the world's second largest economy, largest exporter, and largest provider of loans to the developing world. At the same time, China is rising: its economic and political system, as well as its foreign policy, is still developing. To state categorically that China "has risen" is to accept that the China of today will be substantially the same as the China of five to ten years from now, and few people in or outside China would accept such a conclusion.

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Essential Documents

Press Briefing on the Visit of Prime Minister Abe of Japan, February 2013

Deputy National Security Adviser for Strategic Communication Ben Rhodes held this conference call with National Security Council Senior Director for Asia Danny Russel and Deputy National Security Advisor for International Economics Mike Froman, to preview Japanese Prime Minister Shinzō Abe's visit to Washington, on February 22, 2013.

See more in Japan, International Finance, Diplomacy