United States federal executive departments

The US State Department has welcomed the return of the two Greek soldiers to Greece after five months' imprisonment in Turkey, congratulating the Greek people and the foreign ministry.

John Bolton is seen in this file photo by Trevor Collens, Alamy.

The US State Department has condemned "in the strongest terms" the transfer of convicted November 17 hitman Dimitris Koufodinas from Attica's high-security Korydallos Prison to an agricultural jail in Volos, central Greece.

The US State Department said on Tuesday it deplored the new prison leave granted by Greek authorities to convicted November 17 hitman Dimitris Koufodinas, saying terrorists should not "get a vacation."

"We would once again like to condemn the release of a convicted terrorist," State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert told journalists at regular press briefing on Tuesday.

The broadening of strategic cooperation between Greece and the United States and other issues of shared geopolitical concern were on the agenda during a meeting between Greek Foreign Nikos Kotzias and Donald Trump's national security adviser John Bolton at the White House.

U.S. State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said on May 17 that Turkey recalling its ambassador from Washington is not likely to affect the relations between the two countries. 

South Korea’s foreign minister will visit the United States as planned from March 15, her ministry has said, to maintain “strong cooperation” with Washington regardless of the departure of U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.

Former US Ambassador to Serbia Cameron Munter says it is necessary for the West to pay more attention to the Western Balkans.

In an op-ed penned for Strafor, Munter argues that changes and reforms in the region can only happen from within - but that support from global players is important.

Defense Department investigators have discovered "potential security risks" in a Pentagon program that has enrolled more than 10,000 foreign-born individuals into the U.S. armed forces since 2009, Fox News has learned exclusively, with sources on Capitol Hill and at the Pentagon expressing alarm over "foreign infiltration" and enrollees now unaccounted for. 

Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee are swiftly moving forward with calls to set up a special counsel to investigate the 2016 election, but focus exclusively on the actions of officials in the Barack Obama administration — including Attorney General Loretta Lynch — and Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton.