France to Send Armored Vehicles to Ukraine, U.S. Could Follow |
France’s defense ministry said it will soon deliver armed combat tanks (AP) to Ukraine, while U.S. President Joe Biden said Washington is considering doing the same. Ukraine has requested the vehicles (WaPo) for months, but its Western allies have declined. The shift comes as Ukraine plans a major military offensive for the spring.
Meanwhile, CNN obtained a Ukrainian intelligence assessment that found that an Iranian-made drone used by Russia in Ukraine contained parts from more than a dozen U.S. companies. A White House spokesperson said Washington is looking at sanctions, export controls, and other methods to prevent Iranian drone makers from obtaining materials.
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“The commitment by Paris reignited calls from Kyiv, which is dependent on Soviet-era tanks, for western-made battle tanks,” the Financial Times’ Laura Pitel, Guy Chazan, and John Paul Rathbone write.
“[Russia’s bombing campaign against Ukraine] has not proved decisive so far, but like most strategic bombing campaigns, it imposes direct and indirect military costs,” Barry R. Posen of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) writes for Foreign Affairs.
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Philippines’ Marcos Jr. Says He Secured $22.8 Billion in Investment Pledges on China Trip |
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. also said that China and the Philippines will restart talks (Nikkei) on joint oil and gas exploration in the South China Sea that had previously faltered over sovereignty concerns.
Vietnam: The government dismissed two deputy prime ministers (Bloomberg) amid an anticorruption drive. They are the highest-ranking officials to be dismissed since 2017. |
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Sri Lanka to Resume Trade Talks With China, India, Thailand |
Sri Lanka’s top trade negotiator told Reuters that separate talks with each of the three countries are expected to begin by March. The talks were suspended in 2018.
Afghanistan: The Taliban government said its special forces killed eight fighters (VOA) from the self-declared Islamic State and captured several others in raids overnight.
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Middle East and North Africa |
Axios: Morocco Ties Western Sahara Demand to Plans for Embassy in Israel |
Rabat told Israeli officials that it will not open an embassy in Tel Aviv until the Israeli government recognizes Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara, Axios reported.
Syria/UAE: The foreign minister of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, met with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad yesterday. They discussed economic cooperation, and Sheikh Abdullah voiced support for a political resolution (AP) to the Syrian conflict. |
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Ghana on Brink of Requesting Debt Relief Via G20 Framework |
The Group of Twenty (G20) framework launched at the start of the pandemic has only been used by three countries. Of those, only one has reached a relief deal. Reuters reported that Ghana is seeking guarantees that the negotiations would move quickly. CFR’s Brad W. Setser discusses why many emerging markets could seek debt restructuring.
France/Senegal: Some Senegalese soldiers who fought in France’s colonial-era infantry corps won pension rights after a yearslong legal battle, a campaigner told the Associated Press. |
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Pope Benedict XVI Laid to Rest in Rome |
Benedict XVI, who in 2013 became the first pope to retire in nearly six hundred years, died Saturday (NYT) at age ninety-five. He led the Roman Catholic Church’s conservative wing and presided over the church’s controversial response to a sweeping sex abuse scandal. The Why It Matters podcast discusses the power of the pope. |
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U.S. Court Sentences Former Bolivian Government Minister for Bribery |
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House to Reconvene for Third Day of Voting on Speakership |
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Council on Foreign Relations |
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