Ukraine talks. The second round of negotiations between Russia, Ukraine, and the United States over a potential peace settlement began today in Abu Dhabi. It followed a large-scale Russian attack yesterday on Ukraine’s energy grid. The Abu Dhabi talks are expected to focus on outstanding disputes over territory and Western security guarantees for Ukraine.
U.S. mineral deal in DRC. A group of investors that includes U.S. firm Orion and the U.S. Development Finance Corporation reached a preliminary deal to buy a multibillion-dollar stake in copper and cobalt mining assets in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), their seller Glencore announced yesterday. U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau said the purchase reflected the principles of a recent U.S.-DRC agreement on peace and mineral development. If completed, it would be the largest U.S. investment in the country in a decade.
U.S.-Africa trade pact. U.S. President Donald Trump signed a yearlong extension of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), which gives many African imports duty-free access to the United States, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said yesterday. For months, African governments have urged the Trump administration to renew the policy, even as the administration publicly floated allowing it to lapse. Greer said the administration would work with Congress on unspecified changes to “modernize” AGOA.
Colombia’s Petro in DC. The two countries are working together on counternarcotic efforts and sanctions, Trump said after meeting with Colombian President Gustavo Petro at the White House yesterday. Trump called Petro “terrific,” a sharp reversal in rhetoric from his threats to attack Colombia last month. Ahead of the meeting, Colombia extradited a high-profile drug trafficker to the United States and agreed to accept U.S. deportation flights. The two presidents also discussed the possibility of exporting Venezuelan gas via Colombia, Petro told a local radio station.
Syrian forces in Kurdish area. Syrian military forces deployed yesterday to the previously Kurdish-controlled city of Qamishli, in keeping with an agreement reached Friday to integrate Kurdish fighters into the Syrian government. After the two sides engaged in deadly clashes last month, a U.S. envoy called their integration deal a “historic milestone in Syria’s journey toward national reconciliation.”
Saudi-Turkish energy cooperation. The two countries agreed to a broad partnership to install wind and solar energy in Turkey, including an initial $2 billion of investments in solar power plants, Turkey’s energy and natural resources minister said on social media yesterday. The solar plants are expected to sell renewable energy at the lowest price in Turkey, he added.
Moon mission delay. NASA announced yesterday it is delaying its expected launch date of the Artemis II mission to put astronauts on the moon from February until at least March after detecting issues, including liquid hydrogen leakage, in a test this week. Such challenges are often anticipated and the reason why NASA conducts launch rehearsals, NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman wrote on social media. The mission aims to return humans to the moon for the first time since 1972.
France’s U.S. tech crackdown. French authorities raided the offices of tech platform X yesterday and summoned owner Elon Musk for questioning, as part of an initial probe into the alleged spread of sexualized images of children on the platform, among other violations. Musk called the raid a “political attack.” France also announced last week it would phase in government use of French software over U.S. video conferencing tools like Microsoft Teams and Zoom, with a government minister saying the country “cannot risk exposing our scientific exchanges, sensitive data, and strategic innovations to non-European actors.”
