Daily News Brief
June 22, 2020
CFR_Logo@2x.png
Top of the Agenda
U.S., Russia Begin Nuclear Talks in Vienna
The United States and Russia began nuclear arms talks (Reuters) in Vienna today that will continue tomorrow.
 
The two countries are expected to discuss the New START treaty, their last major nuclear arms agreement (RFE/RL), which caps the countries’ numbers of long-range warheads. Moscow has called for an extension of the pact. Washington has tried to get Beijing to join the talks, but it has refused (AFP).
Analysis
“The only conclusion I can come to is that [U.S. envoy] Marshall Billingslea and the Trump administration do not intend to extend New START and are seeking to display China’s disinterest in trilateral arms control talks as a cynical excuse to allow New START to expire,” Daryl Kimball, executive director of the Arms Control Association, tells AFP.

“Extending New START would demonstrate that the world’s powers are capable of working together to reduce shared threats. Letting it go would be a chilling sign of just how dangerous the world has become,” Anatoly Antonov and Rose Gottemoeller write in Foreign Affairs.

CFR’s Brian L. Sittlow explains the New START treaty in this In Brief.

Pacific Rim
China Unveils Provisions of Hong Kong National Security Law
Beijing will set up a central government office in Hong Kong to oversee national security matters as part of its national security law (WSJ) for the region, the provisions of which were released by Chinese state media over the weekend. U.S. lawmakers and the Donald J. Trump administration have opposed the law, which could be passed by the end of this month, saying it undermines Hong Kong’s autonomy.

North Korea: Pyongyang is reinstalling propaganda loudspeakers (Yonhap) removed from the country’s border with South Korea in 2018 and has threatened to circulate anti–South Korea leaflets. Seoul is considering bringing back its own speakers in response.

CFR’s Scott A. Snyder looks at the demolition of inter-Korea relations for Asia Unbound.

South and Central Asia
China, India Hold Military Talks on Border Dispute
Senior Chinese and Indian military officials will meet today to discuss border tensions (Hindustan Times) that resulted in the deaths of twenty Indian soldiers last week. It will be the second such meeting since June 6.

Afghanistan: The Taliban killed 291 Afghan security personnel (AFP) over the past week, an Afghan government official said, calling it the deadliest week in the country’s 19-year war. The Taliban disputed the number and said it had acted defensively.

Middle East and North Africa
Libya Denounces Egypt’s Threat of Military Intervention
Libya’s UN-recognized Government of National Accord (GNA) condemned Egyptian President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi’s threat of military intervention (Al Jazeera) in Libya’s conflict, calling it a “declaration of war.” Sisi, who backs the rebel commander Khalifa Haftar, warned that Cairo could intervene if GNA forces moved on the Libyan city of Sirte.

Israel: The Trump administration and Israeli government are discussing plans (Haaretz) for Israel’s “gradual” annexation of parts of the West Bank. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu set a July 1 deadline to begin the annexation, which has drawn international criticism.

Sub-Saharan Africa
Malawi Prepares for Rerun of Presidential Race
Voters in Malawi will head to the polls on Tuesday to recast their votes (AFP) in the presidential election. In February, the country’s constitutional court overturned results from a 2019 election due to “widespread” rigging. President Peter Mutharika won last year’s election with just 38.5 percent of the vote and 159,000 ballots more than his main rival, Lazarus Chakwera.

Mali: After massive anti-government protests in Mali’s capital on Friday, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) called on the country to re-run disputed local elections (Reuters) held in March.

Europe
Three Killed in UK Terrorist Attack
Three people, including an American, were killed and three others injured in a stabbing attack in the southern United Kingdom. Officials have declared it a terrorist incident (NYT).

Americas
Brazil Passes Fifty Thousand Coronavirus Deaths
Brazil’s official tally of coronavirus deaths passed fifty thousand on Sunday (Reuters). The country has the second-highest number of coronavirus cases and deaths after the United States.

This CFR In Brief explains how Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has clashed with the country’s governors over the coronavirus.

Venezuela: Iran sent a shipment of food to Venezuela to establish an Iranian supermarket (RFE/RL) there. Tehran has also been supplying fuel to the country, which is under U.S. sanctions.

United States
Trump: Officials Asked to Slow Down Coronavirus Testing
During a campaign rally in Tulsa, President Trump said he had asked his staff to slow down coronavirus testing (WaPo) because it was leading to higher numbers of cases. White House officials said Trump was joking.
Council on Foreign Relations
58 East 68th Street - New York, NY 10065
Council on Foreign Relations

.

Email Marketing Powered by Mailchimp