Middle East & North Africa

The U.S. is "a long way" from taking any "punitive action" against Saudi Arabia over the disappearance of journalist Jamal Khashoggi any time soon, a former ambassador said Monday.

"For President Trump, it is a difficult balancing act," Nicholas Burns, who served under Republican and Democratic administrations as ambassador to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and Greece, said on CNBC's "Squawk Alley."

"He doesn't want to end the relationship with Saudi Arabia," he added. "But on the other hand, you have American values to uphold."

Belfer Center Director and former Secretary of Defense Ash Carter talks about pulling out of the Iran Deal, North Korea, and more on CNN New Day with Chris Cuomo.

Nicholas Burns, former American diplomat and current professor at the Harvard Kennedy School, joined Chad to react to the current situation in Syria and his thoughts on how the United States need to handle it.

Violet riots continue in Jerusalem after embattled U.S. president Donald Trump moved to recognize it last week as the capital of Israel, indicating that this issue is indeed a regional and world flashpoint. It generated huge news coverage, both negative and positive, even as any Arab states have condemned the move, along with certain elements of the E.U. We spoke with Robert M. Danin of the CFR and the Belfer Center at the Harvard Kennedy School on the local and global politics around Jerusalem — and what the (delayed) recognition of Jerusalem would means for Mahmoud Abbas and the Palestinians and Benjamin Netanyahu and the Israelis.

The State Department issued a worldwide travel warning for U.S. citizens abroad as protests flared up around the world in response to President Donald Trump’s announcement that the United States would move its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem. Israelis have cheered the move but the Palestinian chief negotiator declared it the was the biggest mistake of Trump’s life and said the move destroyed any possibility of a two-state solution.

Nick Burns, Harvard Kennedy School professor & former under secretary of State for political affairs, and Sarah Stern, Endowment for Middle East Truth president, discuss President Trump's decision to move the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem and officially recognize Jerusalem as the capital. Nicholas Burns, who served as U.S. ambassador to NATO and was the State Department's third-ranking official during George W. Bush's presidency, called the decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital "deeply unwise."

President Trump recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel on Wednesday, breaking with decades of precedent, sparking an uproar among world leaders, with some experts saying it jeopardizes prospects of Middle East peace.

Nick Burns, Harvard Kennedy School professor & former under secretary of State for political affairs, and Sarah Stern, Endowment for Middle East Truth president, discuss President Trump's decision to move the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem and officially recognize Jerusalem as the capital.

Professor Nicholas Burns and Future of Diplomacy Project Senior Fellow, David Ignatius, in conversation with Charlie Rose about the Trump administration on the national security stage.