Turkey Backs Sweden’s Entry Into NATO as Summit Begins |
Ahead of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) summit that began today in Vilnius, Lithuania, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan agreed to move forward (NYT) with approving Sweden’s accession to the alliance, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said. Erdoğan’s assent reversed his comments just hours earlier when he said that he required an open door for Turkey to join the European Union (EU) first. NATO officials are preparing a statement (FT) regarding Ukraine’s future membership in the alliance, though Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the reported lack of a timeframe was “absurd.”
Shortly after Turkey announced that it would lift opposition to Swedish NATO membership, U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said that U.S. President Joe Biden “intends to move forward” (FT) with the transfer of F-16 fighter jets to Turkey, pending congressional approval.
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“[The Americans] are gently applying the brakes by insisting that every technical requirement must be fulfilled [before Ukraine joins NATO]. When the indignant hardliners cite the recent fast-tracking of Finland into the alliance as a precedent, the US response is that Finland, as an EU member, already fulfilled all the requirements on anti-corruption measures, democratic governance and the like,” the Financial Times’s Gideon Rachman writes.
“Because the alliance is not of one mind about Ukraine’s membership, its decisions at Vilnius can hardly avoid echoing past mistakes. To do better, Western governments have to emphasize those elements of NATO-Ukraine partnership on which a strong new consensus has already taken hold,” CFR expert Stephen Sestanovich writes in this In Brief.
For Foreign Affairs, Jens Stoltenberg lays out his vision for a stronger NATO in a more dangerous world.
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Thailand’s Prime Minister Announces Retirement From Politics |
Outgoing Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha seized power in a 2014 coup (CNN). His party lost a parliamentary election in May and the new parliament is set to choose a new prime minister this Thursday.
Indonesia: A series of meetings of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) ministers this week in Jakarta began today to discuss (Nikkei) Myanmar’s political crisis and a draft code of conduct for managing tensions in the South China Sea.
This Backgrounder explains ASEAN. |
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Foxconn Pulls Out of Deal to Make Chips in India |
Taiwanese semiconductor firm Foxconn said it will withdraw (Nikkei) from a $19.5 billion joint venture with Indian mining firm Vedanta Group to set up production plants in the Indian state of Gujarat that was announced last year. Foxconn did not state any reason for pulling out of the arrangement.
This episode of Why It Matters discusses the global importance of chips.
India: Heavy flooding from monsoon rains have killed at least twenty-two people (AFP) in northern India, authorities said. The capital, New Delhi, recorded its biggest rainfall in a single day in forty years.
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Middle East and North Africa |
Protests Erupt After Israeli Legislature Advances Judicial Overhaul |
Demonstrators blocked roads (Times of Israel, AP) leading to Haifa, Jerusalem, and Tel Aviv after the Knesset today gave preliminary approval to a contentious bill that would limit the Supreme Court’s oversight powers.
Iraq: Baghdad and French oil firm TotalEnergies signed a deal (Reuters) to move forward on $27 billion worth of investments in oil, gas, and solar energy after delays due to disputes between Iraqi politicians over how to divide project ownership.
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West African Bloc Chooses Nigeria’s Tinubu as New Head |
Nigerian President Bola Tinubu said that the region “needs urgent actions” (Reuters) to address its security challenges following his election as head of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) on Sunday. West Africa has seen six military coups since 2020.
Sudan: The paramilitary group known as the Rapid Support Forces have extended their hold on Sudan’s capital, Khartoum, while some of the fiercest fighting with Sudan’s army has moved to Omdurman, a city across the Nile River in an attempt to gain control of supply routes, the New York Times reported.
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Putin Met With Prigozhin Days After Failed Coup, Kremlin Says |
Russian President Vladimir Putin met with warlord Yevgeny Prigozhin (FT) and at least thirty-five others from the private military company Wagner Group on June 29, Putin’s spokesperson said yesterday. Putin had originally called Prigozhin “a traitor,” though Russia has since dropped charges against him.
In this In Brief, CFR expert Thomas Graham discusses the changes in Russia that could follow Wagner’s failed rebellion. |
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Paraguay’s President-Elect Begins Trip to Taiwan |
Santiago Peña is meeting (AP) with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen and her party’s candidate for the Taiwanese presidency to reinforce diplomatic ties. Paraguay is one of only thirteen countries that officially recognize Taiwan and do not have bilateral relations with China.
Argentina/Uruguay: Uruguayan President Luis Lacalle Pou said his country will accept Argentina’s offer (MercoPress) to provide clean drinking water to alleviate Uruguay’s ongoing water crisis, but that the amount Argentina proposed cannot make up for the shortfall.
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| U.S., EU Finalize Deal on Tech Data Sharing |
The deal will allow tech companies (NYT) such as Google and Meta to share data across the Atlantic after European countries initially resisted on privacy grounds. Europeans will be able to object to a review court if they believe their data has been improperly collected. |
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Council on Foreign Relations |
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