European Leaders to Press Beijing on Ukraine War During Joint Visit to China |
Ahead of a trip to China tomorrow, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Beijing should use its relations with Moscow to try to reign in Russia’s war (FT) in Ukraine. China will host von der Leyen and French President Emmanuel Macron for three days in an official state visit. Macron is expected to urge Chinese President Xi Jinping to push for initiatives to help Ukrainian civilians and for peace talks, an unnamed French official told the Associated Press. Macron and Xi are also set to discuss trade and climate-related issues.
The European leaders’ trip to China comes as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visits Poland (WaPo). Additionally, Finland officially joins the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) today. The country’s accession to NATO reverses years of nonalignment in a shift triggered by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
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“The flurry of diplomatic activity [between Europe and China] coincides with China’s announcement of ‘unlimited partnership’ with Russia and Beijing’s awkward effort to mediate the war in Ukraine. China’s growing closeness to Moscow has placed Europe in a difficult spot,” the New York Times’ Steven Erlanger and Matina Stevis-Gridneff write.
“Macron has even more reason now to play his favorite but risky role as mediator because China itself cannot afford to close the door to European peace efforts,” the Asia Society Policy Institute’s Philippe Le Corre writes for Nikkei. “Following three years of COVID-related restrictions on its diplomatic activity, China seems keen to restore normal relations with Europe amid its ever-worsening tensions with the U.S.”
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India Rejects Chinese Efforts to Rename Parts of Disputed Border Region |
After China said it “standardized” the names (Reuters) of eleven places in a border region it calls southern Tibet, Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar tweeted that the area, which New Delhi refers to as Arunachal Pradesh, will always be part of India. |
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Pakistan’s Top Court Approves Early Elections in Punjab |
National election officials sought to delay the province’s May 14 vote by several months, but the Supreme Court overruled them (Bloomberg). The party of former Prime Minister Imran Khan controls Punjab and has pushed for early elections there.
Afghanistan: The Taliban said their forces in Balkh Province killed six fighters (AP) from the Islamic State in Khorasan, a local offshoot of the self-declared Islamic State.
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Middle East and North Africa |
U.S. Says Strike Killed Senior Islamic State Leader in Syria |
U.S. Central Command said its forces killed Khalid ‘Aydd Ahmad al-Jabouri (CNN), an Islamic State leader who planned attacks in Europe.
Israel/Syria: An Israeli air strike killed two civilians (AFP) in Damascus today, Syrian state media reported. An “unknown number” of Iran-backed fighters were also killed, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. It was the fourth Israeli strike reported in Syria in less than a week.
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RSF: Sahel Becoming ‘No-News’ Zone |
Africa’s Sahel region is being “dangerously deprived of independent journalists” due to armed conflicts and government suppression, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said as it launched a new report on the region. The organization urged governments and regional bodies to take action to protect journalists.
Burkina Faso/France: Burkina Faso expelled two correspondents (BBC) from the French newspapers Le Monde and Libération after the latter published an exposé that showed children being executed at military facilities. |
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Moscow Hosts Four-Way Talks on Syria-Turkey Rapprochement |
The talks among the foreign ministers of Iran, Russia, Syria, and Turkey aimed to reinforce a peaceful resolution of differences between Ankara and Damascus, Iran’s state-backed news agency Tasnim reported.
This Backgrounder looks at Turkey’s growing foreign policy ambitions.
Germany: German investigators suspect that a rented yacht that has been the focus of probes into the September 2022 attack on the Nord Stream II pipeline was likely not the only vehicle involved in the incident, the Washington Post reported. |
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Report: Brazilian Presidential Envoy Met With Putin |
A top foreign affairs advisor to Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva met with Russian President Vladimir Putin (Reuters) about potential peace talks to end the war in Ukraine, CNN Brasil reported. The advisor said it “would be an exaggeration to say the doors are open [to peace talks], but it’s not true to say they are totally closed.”
For Foreign Affairs, Hussein Kalout and Feliciano Guimarães write that conflicting Russian and Ukrainian interests could limit Lula’s ability to negotiate.
Venezuela: The new representative for Venezuela’s political opposition in the United States, Fernando Blasi, called on Washington to ease sanctions (AP) on the country’s oil sector, a sharp contrast to the hard-line stance of previous opposition leader Juan Guaidó. This In Brief examines the track record of U.S. sanctions on Venezuela.
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Trump Expected to Plead Not Guilty at Arraignment |
Former President Donald Trump is in New York City (WaPo) today for his first court appearance in the criminal case against him. At the arraignment, the full charges against Trump will be announced for the first time. |
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