Top US Diplomat Blinken in Moldova amid Ukraine Refugee Crush

File: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken delivers remarks at the State Department in Washington, US, November 22, 2021. REUTERS/Sarah Silbiger
File: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken delivers remarks at the State Department in Washington, US, November 22, 2021. REUTERS/Sarah Silbiger
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Top US Diplomat Blinken in Moldova amid Ukraine Refugee Crush

File: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken delivers remarks at the State Department in Washington, US, November 22, 2021. REUTERS/Sarah Silbiger
File: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken delivers remarks at the State Department in Washington, US, November 22, 2021. REUTERS/Sarah Silbiger

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Moldova Saturday to show US support as it faces a surge of refugees from Ukraine and fears it too could come under threat from Moscow.

Blinken is expected to provide reassurances for the small country, which has been fractured by a pro-Moscow breakaway region, Transnistria, on Ukraine's western border. Some analysts believe that territory could be used as a staging point in the Russian military's invasion of Ukraine, AFP said.

Tens of thousands of refugees have streamed into Moldova, one of Europe's poorest countries, straining its social services.

Hours before his arrival, Blinken visited the border of Ukraine in Poland, which has taken in 700,000 Ukrainians fleeing the war.

Blinken told the Poles that Washington was seeking $2.75 billion to help address the humanitarian crisis created by Moscow's attack on Ukraine.

The war has given new impetus to Moldova's hopes of joining the European Union.

The government formally submitted a request to join the bloc on Thursday, along with Georgia.

Blinken was planning to meet with President Maia Sandu, Prime Minister Natalia Gavrilita and Foreign Minister Nicu Popescu on Sunday.

Earlier this week Sandu, elected in 2020 on a pro-Western program, told EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell that the country was facing "serious" security risks.

From the capital Chisinau, "you can hear the nose of the bombs across the border", she said.



Dutch Tighten Controls on Military and Dual Use Exports to Israel

Containers in the Port of Rotterdam are seen in Rotterdam, Netherlands, November 1, 2022. REUTERS/Piroschka van de Wouw/File Photo
Containers in the Port of Rotterdam are seen in Rotterdam, Netherlands, November 1, 2022. REUTERS/Piroschka van de Wouw/File Photo
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Dutch Tighten Controls on Military and Dual Use Exports to Israel

Containers in the Port of Rotterdam are seen in Rotterdam, Netherlands, November 1, 2022. REUTERS/Piroschka van de Wouw/File Photo
Containers in the Port of Rotterdam are seen in Rotterdam, Netherlands, November 1, 2022. REUTERS/Piroschka van de Wouw/File Photo

The Dutch government said on Monday it had tightened export controls for all military and 'dual use' goods destined for Israel.

All direct exports and the transit of these goods to Israel will be checked to see if they comply with European regulations, and will no longer be covered by general export licences, the government said in a letter to parliament.

"This is desirable considering the security situation in Israel, the Palestinian territories and the wider region," foreign minister Caspar Veldkamp and trade minister Reinette Klever wrote, Reuters reported.

"Exporters will still be able to request permits, that will then be checked against European regulations."

The government said no military goods for Israel had been exported from the Netherlands under a general permit since Israel started its war in Gaza following the attacks by Hamas on October 7, 2023.

It said that the general licence for the export of "low risk information security goods", such as routers for network security, was frequently used for export to Israel.

It estimated that between 50 and 100 permits for the export of those goods would now have to be requested on an individual basis.

A Dutch court last year ordered the government to block all exports of F-35 fighter jet parts to Israel over concerns they were being used to violate international law during the war in Gaza.