Saudi Crown Prince Visits Turkey Amid Normalization of Ties
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is meeting (Bloomberg) with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara. The visit marks the resumption of bilateral trade and diplomatic ties that had been curtailed after bin Salman allegedly approved Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi’s murder in Istanbul in 2018.
Seeking Saudi investment amid its economic crisis, Turkey suspended its trial of suspects linked to the Khashoggi murder in April and transferred the case to Riyadh. Erdogan visited Saudi Arabia (AFP) three weeks later. Turkey’s search for economic relief also prompted rapprochement with the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which led to an increase in investment that Ankara hopes to replicate with Riyadh.
Analysis
“Even before the Khashoggi crisis, Turkey was at odds with Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Egypt over its support of the Muslim Brotherhood, a pan-Islamist political movement seen by many Arab governments as a threat to the ruling order. The split over the role of political Islam has shaped regional politics for the past decade, and helped fuel conflicts in Libya, Syria and beyond since the 2011 Arab Spring uprisings,” Bloomberg’s Firat Kozok writes.
“Erdogan is seeking to break Turkey out of the regional isolation that resulted from pursuing an unnecessarily provocative foreign policy that did little to advance Turkish interests in the Middle East,” CFR’s Steven A. Cook writes.
Chinese, Indian Purchases of Russian Oil Surge Amid Western Boycott
Despite selling oil at a steep discount, Russia’s oil revenue grew by $1.7 billion (NYT) between April and May, according to the International Energy Agency.
U.S./China: A U.S. ban on imports from China’s Xinjiang region went into effect (SCMP) yesterday. It is part of U.S. efforts to address forced labor concerns.
Officials said at least 1,000 people were killed (Al Jazeera) and 1,500 were injured in the 5.9-magnitude earthquake in the southeastern Khost and Paktika Provinces.
India: The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) nominated Draupadi Murmu (Nikkei), a woman politician from the eastern state of Odisha, to become India’s president. Parliament is expected to elect her to the largely ceremonial role in July.
Middle East and North Africa
U.S. Arrests American Airman in Connection to Attack on Syria Base
Military law enforcement took a man into custody (CNN) in connection with an April attack in northern Syria that injured four U.S. service members.
Sub-Saharan Africa
Wildlife Conservation Talks Kick Off in Nairobi
UN negotiators are encouraging countries (Reuters) to designate 30 percent of their land and sea territory for conservation by 2030. Talks in March did not produce a deal.
Malawi: President Lazarus Chakwera dismissed his police chief (Bloomberg) and reduced the vice president’s duties after the two were cited in a graft investigation.
Europe
France’s Macron Meets With Opposition in Effort to Form Coalition
French President Emmanuel Macron held meetings (TheGuardian) with left- and right-wing parties after his own bloc failed to win an absolute majority in Sunday’s legislative elections.
U.S./Ukraine: While visiting Kyiv, U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland pledged (WaPo) to “pursue every avenue of accountability” for war crimes and other atrocities committed in Ukraine.
Americas
Indigenous Protesters Maintain Conditions for Talks With Ecuadorian Government
The leader of an umbrella organization for Indigenous groups said they will not meet with the government (Reuters) until security forces leave some areas of the capital, Quito. The protesters are seeking increased fuel subsidies and a ban on new oil and mining projects.
The Joe Biden administration announced it will limit the use (Politico) of antipersonnel land mines in most of the world, reversing a policy from the Donald Trump administration.
