No Sign Putin Wants Peace

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said during a visit to Uzbekistan on Wednesday that the Biden administration saw “zero evidence” that Vladimir Putin was prepared to engage in serious peace talks over his war in Ukraine, despite growing calls from some nations for such talks to start, as the NYT reports.

“Havana Syndrome” Not Caused By Energy Weapon or Foreign Adversary, Intelligence Review Finds

The mysterious ailment known as “Havana syndrome” did not result from the actions of a foreign adversary, according to an intelligence report that shatters a long-disputed theory that hundreds of U.S. personnel were targeted and sickened by a clandestine enemy wielding energy waves as a weapon, as The Washington Post reports.

Israeli Protesters and Police Clash in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv

Israeli police on Wednesday fired stun grenades and water cannons at demonstrators who blocked a Tel Aviv highway, while protesters scuffled with police near Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s private residence in Jerusalem as weeks of anti-government protests turned violent for the first time, as the AP reports.

Executive Education

CSIS's Understanding Washington course offers embassy, business, and nonprofit professionals the tools and knowledge necessary to better navigate the Washington policy ecosystem.

Video Shorts

Check out CSIS’s new series of video shorts: “The Recap,” “Data Unpacked,” “Testify,” “What's Happening,” “Preview,” and “High Resolution.” And don’t forget to subscribe to the CSIS YouTube Channel!

In That Number

38

A train carrying several hundred people crashed late Tuesday night into a freight train in Greece, killing at least 38 and injuring more than 80, in one of the worst rail disasters in the country’s history.

Source: WSJ

Critical Quote

“If Russia, President Putin, were genuinely prepared to engage in meaningful diplomacy necessary to end the aggression, of course we’d be the first to work on that and to engage. But there is zero evidence of that. To the contrary, the evidence is all in the other direction.”

—Secretary of State Antony Blinken

iDeas Lab

Satellite imagery analyzed by the CSIS Transnational Threats Project shows numerous signs of attrition warfare, including defensive infantry trench systems, anti-tank ditches and berms, and impact craters from artillery.

The Andreas C. Dracopoulos iDeas Lab at CSIS enhances our research with the latest in cutting-edge web technologies, design, and multimedia.

Optics

(Photo credit: Kola Sulaimon/AFP/Getty Images.) Nigeria's President-elect Bola Tinubu (R) and Chairman of the Independent National Election Commission Mahmood Yakubu (L) look on during the presentation of the certificate of return to the President-elect in Abuja on March 1, 2023.

This Town Tomorrow

At 2:00 p.m., the CSIS Strategic Technologies Program hosts a discussion on the Biden-Harris Administration’s National Cybersecurity Strategy with remarks from Jake Sullivan, Kemba Walden, and Anne Neuberger.

Later, at 4:00 p.m., the CSIS Australia Chair hosts the Hon. Arthur Sinodinos, outgoing Australian ambassador to the U.S., to reflect on his three years in Washington and discuss what lies ahead for the U.S.-Australia alliance.

And, at 12:00 p.m., the Atlantic Council holds a conversation on the future of Germany’s foreign and security policy.

Video

CSIS’s Smart Women, Smart Power Initiative hosted a conversation on the priorities of the U.S. Army with Secretary of the Army Christine E. Wormuth. Watch the full video here.

Podcasts

Before the pandemic, Chinese tourism to Israel was growing the fastest out of any country. As Chinese tourists begin to return to the market, Israel may continue to be a popular destination.

Listen on Spotify & Apple Podcasts.

Smiles

Tom Petty’s duets with Stevie Nicks, “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around” and “Insider” are classics. But there is a third collaboration that most people don’t know about. It comes from a demo of “The Apartment Song” that Petty recorded with Stevie signing background vocals. “The Apartment Song” ended up being released on Petty’s “Full Moon Fever” record in 1989 but without Nicks on backing vocals. Two decades later, “The Apartment Song” demo with Nicks showed up on the Petty box set, “An American Treasure.” Listening to the demo, it’s easy to understand why Nicks wanted to join Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers full time.

I invite you to email me at [email protected] and follow me on Twitter @handrewschwartz

The Evening is my daily guide to key insights CSIS brings to the events of the day. It is composed with the External Relations team: Paige Montfort, Claire Dannenbaum, and Claire Smrt.