Ukraine’s “reassurance force” meets. Defense ministers of countries hoping to provide security after a potential peace deal in Ukraine are meeting today at NATO’s Brussels headquarters. Some thirty countries are attending. The meeting comes as Moscow has stalled on a proposed cease-fire deal backed by the United States.
U.S.-Russia talks. Envoys from both countries are holding an Istanbul meeting today that was slated to discuss the normalizing of their embassy operations and the potential return of direct flights. A U.S. State Department spokesperson said that Ukraine is “absolutely not on the agenda.” Early today, Russia and the United States carried out a prisoner swap in Abu Dhabi: Russia released a U.S.-Russian dual national jailed on treason charges after donating money to a Ukrainian charity, while the United States released a dual German-Russian citizen who was jailed for allegedly exporting sensitive microelectronics to Russian military manufacturers.
Germany’s coalition deal. Germany’s conservatives and center-left Social Democrats reached an official deal yesterday to govern in coalition. They pledged to seek a medium-term free trade deal with the United States, urge finalization of trade agreements between the EU and Mexico as well as Mercosur, “significantly” increase defense spending, and end federal admissions programs for refugees.
France-India fighter jet deal. India’s government approved the roughly $7.4 billion purchase of twenty-six French Rafale marine fighter jets, unnamed senior officials told the Press Trust of India. Russia is typically India’s biggest weapons supplier, but that equipment flow has slowed as Russia was sanctioned over its war in Ukraine. India’s defense ministry did not immediately comment.
ICJ case on Sudan. Lawyers for Sudan argued at an International Court of Justice (ICJ) hearing today that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) was breaking the Genocide Convention by supporting Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary fighters in Sudan’s civil war. The argument focused on 2023 RSF attacks against a tribe in West Darfur. The United States accused the RSF of genocide during the final days of the Joe Biden administration. The UAE has denied supporting the RSF and called the ICJ case a “baseless PR stunt.”
Fallout of failed DRC coup. Three U.S. citizens who had been jailed in the Democratic of Congo (DRC) and accused of participation in a failed coup attempt last May were transferred to the United States on Tuesday, according to court filings unsealed yesterday. They were originally sentenced to death in the DRC, though President Félix Tshisekedi reduced those sentences to life in prison on April 1. Qatar helped negotiate their repatriation, an unnamed diplomat told Bloomberg.
Scrutiny of Thai charges against academic. A Thailand court granted bail to a U.S. academic who has lived in the country for more than thirty years, a day after the U.S. government condemned his detention. Prosecutors had charged Paul Chambers with violating a law against criticizing the country’s monarchy for comments he made in an international webinar. The U.S. State Department urged Thailand to respect freedom of expression.
Israel, Turkey talk Syria. Israel and Turkey held talks in Azerbaijan yesterday about creating a deconfliction mechanism to prevent unwanted incidents in Syria, unnamed Turkish officials told multiple news outlets. Israel earlier this month struck an airbase in Syria where it accused Turkey of trying to build a “protectorate.” Turkey supports Syria’s new government, which has criticized Israeli incursions in the country.
