Dalai Lama thanks Obama

by Guy Dinmore
published on FT 19 November 2009

The Dalai Lama, Tibet’s exiled spiritual leader, on Wednesday expressed his appreciation of support given by Barack Obama, the US president who is visiting China, while members of the exiled government said they were hopeful that stalled talks with Beijing would resume soon.

Speaking in Rome, where he attended an international parliamentary conference on Tibet, the Dalai Lama said the Obama administration had been “very supportive”, as had the previous Bush and Clinton administrations. He noted the appointment by the White House of a special Tibet coordinator.

In Beijing on Tuesday, Mr Obama called for the “early resumption of dialogue” between the Chinese government and representatives of the Dalai Lama.
A White House official, briefing reporters, said Mr Obama discussed Tibet with Hu Jintao, China’s president, “making clear his respect for the Dalai Lama as a cultural and religious leader, and his intention to meet with the Dalai Lama at an appropriate time”.

US confirms U-turn in Afghan counter-narcotics policy

by Guy Dinmore in Trieste

published on FT on Jube 27 2009

The US counter-narcotics strategy in Afghanistan is to undergo a U-turn with money previously spent on controversial opium poppy eradication shifting to agricultural development, Richard Holbrooke, US special envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan, told an international conference on Saturday.

Franco Frattini, Italy’s foreign minister who chaired the conference in the port city of Trieste, quoted Mr Holbrooke as saying the US would spend “several hundred million dollars” in promoting production of legal crops and cut back funding for eradication.

Italy lifts hope of Europe shift on Guantanamo

By Guy Dinmore in Rome

Published on FT on June 17 2009

Three Tunisian detainees to be accepted by Italy under the US plan to close its Guantanamo prison may be allowed to travel freely across Europe, Franco Frattini, Italy’s foreign minister, said on Tuesday.

Italy’s decision, conveyed by Silvio Berlusconi, prime minister, to Barack Obama in the White House on Monday, has already led to dissent within Italy’s centre-right government with the hardline interior minister, Roberto Maroni, expressing his opposition.

US invites Iran to join Afghan talks

by James Blitz, Daniel Dombey, & Guy Dinmore | FT.com

The Obama administration on Thursday marked a clear break with George W. Bush’s policy of isolating Iran by declaring its intention to invite the Islamic republic to an international conference on stabilising Afghanistan.

Hillary Clinton, secretary of state, announced in Brussels that Tehran was likely to be invited to a meeting that would bring together all “interested parties” on Afghanistan. Administration officials later confirmed Iran would be on the guest list.

U.S. VP Cheney accuses Russia of using “blunt force”

By Guy Dinmore and John Thornhill in Cernobbio, Italy, Financial Times, London, UK, Sep 6 2008

Dick Cheney, the US vice president, broadened his attack on Russia late on Saturday, directly challenging Vladimir Putin’s view of history and warning that his government could “not have it both ways” by using “brute force” and still hoping to build economic progress. Mr Cheney saved his toughest anti-Russian speech for the last leg of his tour of Georgia, Azerbaijan, Ukraine and Italy.

Italy vow paves way for Libya investment

By Guy Dinmore in Rome and Heba Saleh

Published: September 1 2008

Italy’s pledge to pay Libya compensation for its colonial rule paves the way for further Italian investments, such as in energy and infrastructure, but raises uncomfortable issues for former colonial powers in Africa.

In a tent outside Benghazi on Saturday, Silvio Berlusconi, Italy’s centre-right prime minister, returned a headless statue of Venus carted away by Italians decades ago and signed a friendship pact with Muammer Gaddafi, the Libyan leader.

Finmeccanica: Oil powers fuel confidence of Italian conglomerate

By Guy Dinmore

Published: July 14 2008

Soaring commodity prices and falling incomes have hit many Italian companies but for Finmeccanica – the defence-aeronautics-rail-power-plants conglomerate – oil-rich states offer expanding markets while the US remains a constant in big weapons spending.

Rome denies involvement with Iran coup plot

By Guy Dinmore in Rome

Published on FT: June 12 2008

Italy’s centre-right government has rejected allegations contained in a US Senate report that Italian and Pentagon officials held secret meetings in Rome in 2001 and heard proposals from Iranian dissidents to overthrow the regime in Tehran.

Egypt’s PM says US is central to “testing the will” of Israel (video)

Ahmed Nazif, Egyptian prime minister, says forthcoming Israeli-Palestinian talks must produce concrete results this time

Click on picture or here to watch the video

Backlash Feared to U.S. Funding in Iran

by Najmeh Bozorgmehr and Guy Dinmore
The Financial Times
June 15, 2007

The survival of Iranian non-governmental organisations is being threatened by the US administration’s continuing attempts to fund the country’s civil society, leading activists have warned. Prominent NGOs say the US funding, and Iranian suspicions that the money is designed to create the conditions for a “soft revolution”, have helped President Mahmoud Ahmadi-Nejad justify a crackdown on their activities.

The recent arrests of four Iranian-American dual citizens – two on charges of espionage – have sharpened what was already a fierce debate in Tehran and Washington on whether the lack of transparency in identifying the recipients of US funding makes local activists vulnerable to action by the regime. The US State Department denies any of the four had funding from its programme.