U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry will be talking with Iran on a deal over its nuclear program at the same time Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu will be warning Congress of the dangers of negotiating with the Islamic Republic.
Kerry will conveniently fly out of the United States hours after Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu arrives late Sunday night, two days before he will deliver his controversial speech to a joint session f Congress, minus Obama administration officials and many Democrats.
If their schedules allow it, they might be able to wave to each other at the airport. Netanyahu arrives in New York late Sunday night, and Kerry takes off in the morning for a U.N. Human Rights Council session in Geneva on Monday, his spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters Thursday.
“While in Geneva, the Secretary will also meet with Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov to discuss Ukraine and regional issues of common interest…. Then he will travel to Montreux, so he’ll be there Monday evening. Tuesday/ Wednesday he’ll travel to Saudi Arabia. He’ll be there Thursday, and then London Friday,” she said.
And here is what Kerry is up on Tuesday, when Netanyahu speaks to Congress:
The Secretary will then travel to…. Montreux, Switzerland, to meet with Iranian Foreign Minister Zarif as part of the ongoing EU-coordinated P5+1 nuclear negotiations.
Don’t be surprised if Kerry does not try to grab some headlines about his talks with Zarif just as Netanyahu speaks about the danger of dealing with the devil.
Obama also is making sure Vice President Joe Biden will be out of town so he will have a handy excuse not to carry out the custom of a vice president attending a joint sessions, especially when a foreign leader is speaking. Biden’s aides still don’t know what to do with the man next Tuesday, or they aren’t saying yet.
Now, what would happen if another snowstorm plows into Washington and New York hours after Netanyahu arrives, grounding Kerry and Biden?
