pretext

The presidency said in early November it had been asked to bring home the 17 men who were allegedly "trapped" in Donbas after being lured there "under the pretext of lucrative employment contracts".

Perhaps he got the message, which is why he asserted that he had a cause as a pretext to fire Ms. Cook.

The men, aged from 20 to 39, were lured to join the mercenary forces under the pretext of lucrative contracts, the government said.

The BBC obtained a covert recording of Miles meeting an unknown man, apparently on the pretext of carrying out a business deal.

Administration officials have characterized the shift as pragmatic deterrence that forces Taipei to fund its own defense capabilities while avoiding symbolic gestures that could grant Beijing a pretext for a Ukraine-style conflict.