Nagorno-Karabakh is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan but is controlled by ethnic Armenian forces who are backed by Armenia. Russia, which is an ally of Armenia, said it is working to renew a cease-fire (AP) that it helped broker in 2020 to end a war that killed more than six thousand people and led to significant territorial gains by Azerbaijan. French President Emmanuel Macron’s office said he will bring up the clashes at the UN Security Council.
Analysis
“The escalation between the two former Soviet states in the South Caucasus has heightened fears that Russia could find itself entangled in a second war in addition to its invasion of Ukraine. Some military analysts suggested that Azerbaijan may have been emboldened by Russia’s recent setbacks in northeastern Ukraine,” the New York Times’ Ivan Nechepurenko writes.
“The diminished Russian role [in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict since Russia invaded Ukraine] has caused instability, but it also gives Armenia and Azerbaijan an opportunity, if they wish to seize it, to work toward a definitive and historic peace settlement,” the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace’s Thomas de Waal writes for Foreign Affairs.
People Across China Ask for Food, Medical Care Amid COVID-19 Lockdowns
As tens of millions of people live under lockdowns across China, residents of the Xinjiang region posted on social media (WaPo) about an inability to take sick family members to the hospital, while people in Guizhou Province reported food shortages.
For Foreign Affairs, Cai Xia argues that Chinese President Xi Jinping’s paranoia threatens China’s future.
Hong Kong: Thousands of people paid their respects (Nikkei) to Queen Elizabeth II at the British consulate in Hong Kong in what was seen as a snub of Beijing.
South and Central Asia
UN Investigators: Crimes Against Humanity Have Intensified Under Myanmar’s Junta
India/Sri Lanka: The number of Indian tourists visiting Sri Lanka fell 20 percent (The Wire) in August. The drop comes after Colombo allowed a Chinese ship to dock in its port, leading New Delhi to advise citizens not to visit Sri Lanka.
Middle East and North Africa
Egypt’s Leader Visits Qatar for First Time Since 2017 Rift
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani are expected to discuss (Middle East Eye) regional and international issues, a Qatari official said. Egypt and Qatar formally ended the rift in January 2021.
United Arab Emirates: Mass layoffs and the dissolution of the Dubai-based newspaper Al Roeya occurred due to an article that criticized the country’s high fuel prices, the Associated Press reported.
Sub-Saharan Africa
TV Press Access Limited at Kenyan President’s Inauguration
DRC/Uganda: Uganda paid the first installment (Reuters) of what will be a total of $325 million in reparations for its occupation of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in the 1990s.
Europe
Russia’s Losses in Ukraine Prompt Rare Debate in Russian Media
Ukrainian troops’ recent lightning advance in the country’s northeast prompted some lawmakers and pundits on Russian state television to voice doubts (NYT) about Russia’s prospects in the war.
Americas
IMF Director Praises New Argentine Economic Minister
Yesterday’s talks in Washington between Argentine Economic Minister Sergio Massa and International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva could pave the way (Bloomberg) for a potential staff-level agreement between Argentina and the IMF in the coming days.
Mexico: President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said he would present a plan (Reuters) to the United Nations to bring a mediated end to the war in Ukraine.
United States
Biden Announces New Biotech Manufacturing Initiative
U.S. President Joe Biden named (NYT) biotechnology executive Renee Wegrzyn the director of a new federal agency that will conduct early-stage biotech innovation research. Congress has appropriated $1 billion for the agency.
On the Nine Questions for the World podcast, CFR’s Richard Haass and Michelle McMurry-Heath discuss the future of biotech.
