Editor’s Note: There will be no Daily News Brief tomorrow, December 29. |
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U.S. Proposes Options for Confiscating $300 Billion in Russian Assets |
The United States has proposed that Group of Seven (G7) countries study options for confiscating $300 billion in previously frozen Russian assets in a measure of support for Ukraine as the second anniversary of Russia’s invasion approaches, the Financial Times reported. While U.S. and European Union (EU) funding packages for Ukraine have both stalled due to political opposition, Western financial authorities control hundreds of billions of dollars worth in frozen Russian financial assets. European countries have expressed some reservations over the legality of the measure, potential blowback from Russia, and effects on European financial stability. The proposed working groups would examine possible legal obstacles to confiscation, risk mitigation, and optimizing support for Ukraine.
As Washington seeks to continue aiding Ukraine despite Republican hesitation in Congress, it successfully requested (Nikkei) Japanese authorization to export Japanese-made Patriot missiles to the United States. The restocking of U.S. inventories facilitates the country’s arms transfers to Ukraine. Meanwhile, Russia has worked to circumvent Western financial restrictions and finalized a deal (Reuters) with Iran to trade in the countries’ local currencies rather than in U.S. dollars, Iranian state media reported yesterday.
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“The G7 was able to overcome differences among its members several times on economic measures against Russia over the past two years, including on the initial sweeping sanctions package, and on setting a price cap on Russian oil,” the Financial Times’ James Politi and Paola Tamma write.
“Confiscating Moscow’s reserves could set a precedent that Beijing or others could use,” the European Council on Foreign Relations’ Agathe Demarais writes for Foreign Policy. “If Western democracies have previously set a precedent by seizing Russia’s assets, how will these states manage to convince anyone that China or India have no right to confiscate Western holdings if they so wish?”
This In Brief by CFR’s Jonathan Masters discusses how seized Russian assets could pay for reconstruction in Ukraine.
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South Korea, Gulf Countries Sign Free Trade Deal |
The six-member Gulf Cooperation Council signed an agreement with South Korea that stipulates Seoul will remove tariffs on almost 90 percent of all items traded with the bloc, and Gulf countries will remove tariffs on more than 76 percent of traded products, Yonhap reported. The two sides began negotiations for such a deal in 2007, but it stalled three years later, before resuming in 2022. The bloc is South Korea’s fifth-largest trading partner.
U.S./Japan: Japan plans to start the relocation of a U.S. airbase within its Okinawa prefecture after ten years of delays due to local opposition, a senior Japanese official told Nikkei.
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Pakistan Separatist Group Reportedly Dissolves After Top Operative Surrenders |
The Baloch Nationalist Army, a group known for targeting Chinese interests in Pakistan, dissolved after its leader turned himself and the group’s remaining seventy members over to authorities last week, Nikkei reported. A separatist insurgency in the country’s Balochistan province involves other fighters and is expected to continue.
India/Qatar: A Qatari court reduced penalties (Bloomberg) for eight Indian nationals who were sentenced to death on espionage charges in October, India’s foreign ministry said in a statement. The detained men were employed by a private security company and had been training the Qatari navy.
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Middle East and North Africa |
Senior Israeli Official Warns of Stronger Military Action Against Hezbollah in Lebanon |
Benny Gantz, one of three members of Israel’s war cabinet, said at a press conference (FT) yesterday that “the stopwatch for a diplomatic solution is running out” at Israel’s northern border with Lebanon, where the Israeli military has clashed with Lebanese militant group Hezbollah since the Palestinian militant group Hamas’s October 7 attacks on Israel.
This In Brief by CFR expert Ray Takeyh unpacks how Hezbollah views the Israel-Hamas war.
Iraq/Spain: Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez met with (AFP) Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani and Spanish troops during a visit to Iraq today, where a Spanish general currently commands a North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) anti-extremist force. Sánchez said on his visit that Spain supports the “unity, sovereignty and stability” of Iraq.
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U.S. Private Military Company in Talks With CAR Amid Wagner’s Reorganization |
Bancroft Global Development agreed to a framework (AFP, Africanews) beginning in July for discussing future activities with the government of the Central African Republic (CAR), the company told AFP. The Russian private military company Wagner Group has worked with the CAR government since 2018, but Wagner is undergoing changes following the death of its founder in August.
Sudan/Uganda: General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, leader of Sudanese paramilitary group Rapid Support Forces (RSF), met with (Reuters) Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni in his first known foreign trip since the RSF began fighting a civil war against the Sudanese army in April. Dagalo’s whereabouts during the war have largely been unknown. Meanwhile, Sudan’s foreign ministry said yesterday that a meeting in Djibouti to discuss an end to the conflict will be rescheduled to January over technical issues.
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Bulgaria, Romania Expected to Join EU Border-Free Area in March |
The two countries both joined the EU in 2007, but their entry into the Schengen Area has been blocked for years by Austria over concerns about graft and migration. Vienna reached a deal (FT) earlier this week with Bucharest and Sofia, Romania’s interior ministry said yesterday. This Backgrounder by CFR’s James McBride explains how the EU works. |
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Argentina’s Milei Sends Wide-Ranging Economic Reform Bill to Congress |
The bill would enact (FT) changes to Argentina’s economy that are not achievable by presidential decree, including eliminating primary elections (Bloomberg), taking steps to privatize state-owned companies, and increasing penalties for protests. Milei’s party has a minority in the country’s congress, where opposition lawmakers have pledged to challenge his political agenda.
Chile: State-owned copper mining firm Codelco and private miner SQM, the world’s second-largest lithium producer, reached an initial deal (Bloomberg) to collaborate on exploration of lithium reserves that the Chilean government is newly opening for mining. Codelco would have a majority stake in the venture, which is part of Chile’s national lithium strategy to increase output as demand rises.
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New York Times Sues Microsoft, OpenAI Over Claims of Copyright Infringement |
The newspaper claims (WSJ) that the firms’ generative artificial intelligence (AI) technologies have been illegally using its content without permission, kicking off a high-profile legal battle between AI and the media. The Times said it sued after months of negotiations with the companies failed to produce a deal.
This Backgrounder by CFR’s Noah Berman explains how AI could shape the world.
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