French President Emmanuel Macron held a call (France 24) with Russian President Vladimir Putin today and will speak with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky this evening about the possibility of diplomacy to ease tensions on the Russia-Ukraine border. Before the call with Putin, France’s foreign minister said that Paris aimed to assess (Reuters) whether Moscow wants “confrontation or consultation.”
 
Zelensky and U.S. President Joe Biden spoke in a call yesterday that a Ukrainian official described as “long and frank” (CNN). Additionally, U.S. State Department Spokesperson Ned Price said that if Russia invades Ukraine, the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline “will not move forward” (NPR).

North Korean media said that the country conducted two rounds of missile tests (Yonhap) this week and leader Kim Jong-un visited a munitions factory. U.S. State Department Spokesperson Price called the tests “a priority challenge for the United States” and said Washington is ready for talks with Pyongyang.
 
China: The country agreed to host (SCMP) UN human rights chief Michelle Bachelet in the Xinjiang region, where the Chinese government has allegedly inflicted human rights abuses against Uyghurs and other Muslims, including mass detention and forced labor.
 
This virtual event discusses what’s happening to the Uyghurs in Xinjiang.

Australia’s Woodside Energy will follow France’s TotalEnergies and the United States’ Chevron in withdrawing (FT) from gas exploration projects in Myanmar in light of human rights violations after the country’s 2021 coup. Natural gas projects are estimated to generate more than $1 billion per year for Myanmar’s junta.
 
Pakistan: The military said ten soldiers were killed (Dawn) when militants attacked a security checkpoint in Balochistan Province on Tuesday. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.

Yemeni state media said the Houthi rebels carried out the strike (Reuters), which also wounded thirty people.
 
The Backgrounder unpacks the conflict in Yemen.
 
Syria: Iran-linked militias have stepped up recruitment in Syria’s east, outcompeting the Syrian military with higher pay and benefits such as food baskets, the Washington Post reported.

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) is holding a virtual summit (Al Jazeera) today to discuss how to respond to Monday’s coup in Burkina Faso.
 
Rwanda/Uganda: Amid warming ties, the countries will reopen their land border (East African) on Monday after three years of its closure.

Voting concludes (Euronews) on Sunday for a snap election called when the ruling Socialist Party failed to pass its budget due to a lack of support from left-wing parties.

Argentina plans to make a payment to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) today and agreed to balance its primary budget in 2025 as part of a path to a larger deal, Bloomberg reported. Argentina owes the IMF more than $40 billion.
 
This Backgrounder looks at Argentina’s struggle for stability.
 
Honduras: Hours after leaving office, former President Juan Orlando Hernandez obtained immunity (Reuters) from prosecution by being sworn in as a member of the Central American Parliament. U.S. prosecutors have accused him of aiding drug traffickers.

A federal judge canceled oil and gas leases (NYT) in the Gulf of Mexico that the Biden administration auctioned late last year, saying the government did not take environmental considerations into account. It had been the largest lease sale in U.S. history.