Europe and Eurasia - US Department of State


Deputy Secretary Armitage participates in a wreath laying ceremony in memory of victims of the terrorist attack outside the Rizhskaya subway station in Moscow. (AP/WWP)

United States Promises Russia "Utmost Efforts" in War on Terror

State's Armitage speaks to reporters before meeting with Russian foreign minister

Saying there is " a new urgency" in the war on terror, Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage promised Russia the United States' "utmost efforts in a practical, real, achievable sense, not a rhetorical sense."

Armitage made remarks October 28 prior to meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Moscow. The deputy secretary was in Moscow to co-chair a meeting of the U.S.-Russia Counterterrorism Working Group with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Kislyak. (complete text)

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International Spacecraft Peeks Below Cloud Shroud Around Titan

Titan has lost much of original atmosphere over time, scientists say

Scientists are getting their best view ever of Saturn's largest moon, Titan, from early analysis of images and other data captured during the October 27 close flyby of the Cassini spacecraft, according to a NASA press release.

The data reveal greater surface detail than ever before and show that Titan has lost much of its original atmosphere over time. "Titan has incredible diversity," said Dennis Matson, project scientist for the Cassini-Huygens mission at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California. "We are glad that we have a full complement of instruments on this spacecraft because it is going to take all of them to reveal the story of Titan." (complete text)

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U.S. Congratulates European Monitors on Afghan Election Effort

Amb. Minikes at Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe meeting

The United States praised the work of the Election Support Team sent to Afghanistan by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).

Addressing the OSCE Permanent Council in Vienna, Austria, Ambassador Stephan Minikes said October 21 that the mission helped evaluate preparations for the election as well as the actual voting, and it provided a report to the Afghan authorities on what did and didn't work well, along with suggestions for improvements in the future. (complete text)

State Department Implements Biometric Visa Program

Requires collection of digital fingerscans from visa applicants

The U.S. State Department is now collecting digital fingerscans from all visa applicants at visa-adjudicating embassies and consulates worldwide in order to implement a biometric visa program.

The department is now required by law to issue to international visitors machine-readable visas and other travel and entry documents that use biometric identifiers. The program is intended to make travel documents more secure by preventing persons listed as security risks by the U.S. government from getting visas, and also to verify that a person with a visa at an entry port is the person to whom the visa was issued. (complete text)