VIF News Digest: International Developments (9-15 July, 2018)

Nato Summit: Donald Trump and Angela Merkel wage war of words, 12 July 2018

The Nato Summit opened in Brussels with Donald Trump attacking German Chancellor Angela Merkel over military spending and her country’s relationship with Russia. In what The Guardian describes as “an extraordinary tirade” – even by the US President’s standards – Trump claimed that a gas pipeline deal meant Germany was being held prisoner. “Germany is totally controlled by Russia because they will be getting from 60% to 70% of their energy from Russia, and a new pipeline, and you tell me if that’s appropriate because I think it’s not and I think it’s a very bad thing for NATO,” he said during a breakfast meeting yesterday.

Trump also lambasted NATO members for failing to meet military spending targets and even questioned the point of the alliance. Click here to read.... [2]

Trump’s U.K. Visit: A sedate dinner, a bombshell interview, 12 July 2018

Only a few hours into his trip to the UK, Britons learned that the American President who had just shaken up NATO allies in Brussels was not out of the provocation business. Around the time a dinner in Mr. Trump’s honor was taking place at an Oxfordshire Palace, word spread that he had given an interview highly critical of the dinner’s host. That would be Prime Minister Theresa May. And so ended Day 1.
Some highlights of the trip so far:-

• Mr. Trump, fresh from breaking eggs in Brussels, was back in form in Britain, telling a newspaper that Prime Minister May was mishandling the Brexit talks.
• Shortly after he arrived at the ambassador’s residence and again outside the dinner, protesters began to make their voices heard.
• Earlier in the day, in Brussels, Mr. Trump said NATO allies had agreed to his demand for a significant increase in military spending, but other leaders offered differing accounts. Mr. Trump said he remained committed to the alliance.

Click here to read.... [3]

NATO Survives Trump, but the turmoil is leaving scars, 12 July 2018

NATO, a pillar of the global order, emerged from a two-day confrontation with President Trump on Thursday intact but distracted and shaken, a further challenge to the alliance as it faces an expansionist Russia and growing authoritarianism among some of its own members.
Wrapping up talks with fellow leaders of the 29-nation trans-Atlantic alliance, Mr. Trump reaffirmed support for NATO, but only after stirring more discord with a vague threat that the US could go its own way if the allies resisted his demands for additional military spending, capping a summit meeting punctuated by his escalating complaints. Click here to read.... [4]

NATO wary about summit with Trump days before he meets Putin, 9 July 2018

The summit meeting of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation is a landmark event. It will be the first summit the alliance hosts in its new $1.2-billion headquarters in Haren district in Brussels. It ought to be a happy get-together. However, the event is becoming a somber occasion.
The blame for this is being put squarely on the shoulders of President Donald Trump, who has questioned whether the US’ European allies spend 2% of their GDP on defense and making that a key issue of his security and defense agenda. The American think-tank, German Marshall Fund of the United States said in a report last Thursday: “The big question is how the showdown will play out around the table when Trump raises the issue.” Click here to read.... [5]

Donald Trump trashes Theresa May’s Brexit plan, 13 July 2018

On the first day of his official visit to the UK, President Donald Trump has blasted Theresa May for her handling of Brexit and shot down the chances of a trade deal. Speaking to ‘The Sun’ ahead of the gala dinner at Blenheim Palace, Trump said the Prime Minister’s soft Brexit blueprint will mean the end of any future trade deal with the US. “If they do a deal like that, we would be dealing with the European Union instead of dealing with the UK, so it will probably kill the deal,” the President said.

Trump's remarks have “driven a bulldozer” through May's claim that the UK would be able to get decent trade deals with the wider world, while sticking to the EU rules, according to the BBC's Laura Kuenssberg. Click here to read.... [6]

Thanks to Robert Mueller, Trump and Putin now have a Summit Agenda, 13 July 2018

Donald Trump has always been brazen about his affection for Vladimir Putin, a condition which Merriam-Webster defines as “acting or done in a very open and shocking way without shame or embarrassment.” The last few days may have provided Trump’s most brazen performance yet. Throughout his short, controversial European tour, Trump has been asked repeatedly about his upcoming summit with Putin, scheduled for Monday, in Helsinki. In between attacking Germany (“totally controlled by Russia”), dumping on his British host, Theresa May, and generally glowering at his fellow NATO members, Trump has only talked about Putin in admiring terms, suggesting their summit meeting would be a cakewalk in comparison to his own dealings with troublesome allies.

Before leaving for Europe, Trump told reporters the Putin session may be the “easiest” one of all those on his schedule. He reiterated the point at the end of the contentious NATO gathering in Brussels, tweaking allies even as he spoke longingly about Putin: “hopefully, someday, maybe he’ll be a friend.” Click here to read.... [7]

Bolton: It's 'silly' for Trump to demand extradition of Russian intelligence officers, 15 July 2018

National Security Adviser John Bolton said it's "pretty silly" for President Trump to demand Russia extradite the 12 intelligence officials charged with conspiring to hack into U.S. systems during the 2016 elections. Bolton indicated on ABC's "This Week" that Trump is unlikely to seriously broach the subject when he meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday in Helsinki, because Moscow would be unlikely to agree to it.
"It’s pretty silly for the president to demand something that he can’t get legally. And this is a very serious matter," Bolton said. Click here to read.... [8]

Postponing of India-US 2+2 meeting indicates new complication in bilateral ties: Report, 9 July 2018

A decision by the US late last month to postpone a key meeting of defence and foreign ministers of India and the United States for talks with North Korea is being described as the latest “complication” in ties between the two countries trying to open a new chapter in bilateral relations.
According to a recent report in the Washington Post , India and the US last year agreed to hold a “first-of-its-kind mini-summit that would bring together the US secretaries of state and defense with their Indian counterparts” but the two times it’s been firmed up, “something has gone awry on the US side.”

With the Trump administration dealing with a “full-blown trade war with China” and in the midst of risky negotiations with North Korea, “it is unclear when the meeting between four American and Indian officials will take place,” says the report. Click here to read.... [9]

RUSSIA
India reconsidering Rs 2 tn 5th generation fighter jet project with Russia,

9 July 2018

India has conveyed to Russia its unwillingness to go ahead with the joint development of a fifth-generation fighter aircraft (FGFA) primarily due to high cost involved in the project, official sources said. However, it is said that the negotiations between the two countries on the much ambitious project have not yet been shelved as India was ready to have a re-look at co-development of the jet if an appropriate cost sharing formula between the two countries was arrived at.

India and Russia had signed an inter-government agreement for the mega project in 2007, vowing to take the military ties between the two strategic partners to the next level. Click here to read.... [10]

Kommersant: Washington considering Moscow-proposed joint statement by Russian, US leaders, 9 July 2018

With only one week before the full-fledged summit between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart Donald Trump, in Helsinki on July 16, a joint statement by the two leaders has been drafted by the Russian side and submitted across the pond for consideration, Kommersant writes citing two US government sources. One of the them said that the two-page document stresses the importance of maintaining dialogue between top officials, diplomats, military and intelligence services of the two countries, expanding economic ties and contacts between people. It also puts the Russia-US collaboration of the list of factors influencing regional and global stability, the newspaper says.

Both sources said that Washington was ready to take the Russian draft as a basis for a joint statement, though it considered it extremely important to state either in the declaration, or in a separate document, or even in an oral statement that the White House is concerned about Russian special services meddling in the US presidential election of 2016, and listen to guarantees that "it will never happen again." Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said a week ago that the Russian President was ready to tell his US counterpart at the upcoming summit that Moscow did not meddle in the US presidential election if Washington raised the issue. Click here to read.... [11]

Press Review: Helsinki Summit to decide fate of sanctions and China pursues more pipelines, 10 July 2018

Italy’s former Prime Minister and former President of the European Commission Romano Prodi expects the anticipated meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart Donald Trump, to determine the fate of sanctions against Moscow. "If it is positive, hope will emerge that one day the restrictions may simply dissipate," he told Izvestia, adding that he believes it is a losing policy to stick to the sanctions that "splits political circles in one country and region." "I would not impose any sanctions, it breaks up the global economy, and it would be a great mistake for the United States to cause such a rift between Russia, the US and the EU," the Italian politician specified.

After attending the presentation of the Astana International Financial Center, the first institute of its kind in the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), Prodi said that he expects it to be a promising addition to Russia’s financial sources. "Currently the markets, like after the World War 2, look like a football field as each member is running in his own direction, and it looks as if there is no common force and general goal. Click here to read.... [12]

Indian Troops to Use Russian Equipment During SCO Military Exercise in Russia, 10 July 2018

India has selected 200 troops, mainly of the 5 Rajput Regiment of the Indian Army and airmen of the Indian Air Force, to take part in a military exercises to be held under the umbrella of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) next month in Russia. This is the first time India will conduct military training alongside Pakistan.

The exercise named "Peace Mission 2018" will take place from August 22-29 at Chelyabinsk in west-central Russia wherein around 3,000 troops from India, Pakistan, Russia, China, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Kazakhstan will take part in the exercise. Click here to read.... [13]

US has no plans to review its strategy on Afghanistan – White House, 11 July 2018

The US administration has no plans to overhaul key elements of its military and political strategy of normalising situation in Afghanistan, a National Security Council spokesperson told TASS, commenting on a report by Reuters about the possible review. "We are not planning an overarching review of our core strategy, like the one conducted last summer," the official said, referring to the latest US strategy on Afghanistan, released last August. Despite measures being taken to put it into practice, the situation in the Central Asian state de-facto remains in deadlock.

"We regularly conduct reviews of our strategies examining their effectiveness and making necessary adjustments to ensure U.S. resources are being used in the most efficient ways possible," the source added. Click here to read.... [14]

Vladimir Putin and Benjamin Netanyahu meet in Moscow to discuss Iran-Syria ties, 12 July 2018

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow for talks focusing on Iranian presence in Syria — an issue that was expected to top the agenda of the US-Russian Summit. While the Russian and Israeli leaders sat down for talks in the Kremlin, a senior Iranian envoy also headed to Moscow amid intensive Syria-focused diplomatic efforts ahead of Putin’s Summit in Helsinki on Monday with President Donald Trump.

Netanyahu underlined warm ties between Russia and Israel, emphasising what he described as their key stabilising role for the Mideast. “Every visit like this is an opportunity for us to act together and try and stabilise the situation in our region and increase security and increase stability,” Netanyahu said, “Obviously, our focus is on Syria and Iran. Our opinion is known that Iran needs to leave Syria — that is not something new for you.” Click here to read.... [15]

AFRICA
Ethiopia says re-opening roads to Eritrea's Red Sea Ports a priority: africanews, 11 July 2018

Landlocked Ethiopia wants to make the re-opening of two roads connecting it to two of Eritrea’s Red Sea ports a priority in the two nations’ reconciliation process, a government spokesman said on Wednesday.

In a move that ended a 20-year military stand-off, the Horn of African neighbours agreed to open embassies, develop ports and resume flights. The historic reconciliation could transform politics and security in the volatile Horn region, which lies along one of the world’s busiest shipping routes. Click here to read.... [16]

Africa Prevails in the OPEC in Member Numbers: africanews

12 July 2018

The Republic of Congo is the latest to join Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) after Equatorial Guinea last year and Gabon in 2016, expanding the number of countries from the continent to seven, compared with six from the Middle East. With less than a million barrels of oil pumped by these three new members combined, experts hope it will be an opportunity for the continent to have a voice and influence one of the largest organisations in the world. Guillaume Doane, CEO and co-founder of Africa Oil & Power joined us on this episode of Business Africa. Click here to read.... [17]

South Sudan President’s Mandate Extended Until 2021: VOA, 13 July 2018

South Sudan’s Parliament voted to amend the constitution and extend the terms in office for President Salva Kiir, the country’s vice presidents, and all members of parliament for another three years. Dengtiel Kur, chairperson of the parliament's legislative committee, presented the bill to amend the constitution during an extraordinary session of Parliament.

Kur asked lawmakers to "take this through [in] one day because we are under pressure.” Kur was referring to the fact that all terms in office, from the President on down, are due to expire next month. Click here to read.... [18]

Ethiopian Airlines resumes flights to Asmara: allAfrica, 14 July 2018

Ethiopian Airlines finalised preparations to resume daily flights to Asmara, Eritrea starting from July 17, 2018, with the most technologically advanced commercial aircraft, the Boeing 787.

This follows agreements reached in Asmara between H.E. Dr. Abiy Ahmed, Prime Minister of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, and President H.E. Isaias Afewerki of the State of Eritrea. Click here to read.... [19]

UN Security Council imposes arms embargo on South Sudan: Xinhua, 14 July 2018

The Security Council adopted a resolution to impose an arms embargo on South Sudan in addition to current sanctions, till May 31, 2019. Resolution 2428 won nine votes in favor, the minimum requirement for adoption. The remaining six members of the Security Council -- Bolivia, China, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Kazakhstan and Russia -- abstained. To be adopted, a Security Council resolution needs nine votes in favor and no veto from any of the five permanent members of the council -- Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States.

Resolution 2428 renews a travel ban and asset freeze against designated individuals and entities till May 31, 2019. It also renews the mandate of the Panel of Experts, who assist the work of the sanctions committee, until July 1, 2019. Click here to read.... [20]

Eritrea to Reopen Embassy in Addis Ababa during Afwerki's Visit: allAfrica, 14 July 2018

Eritrea will reopen its embassy in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa, after over two decades of closure. The ceremony will be part of President Isaias Afwerki's three-day official visit to Ethiopia. Afwerki was expected in Addis Ababa on a reciprocal visit to that of Ethiopian PM Abiy Ahmed.
"Eritrean embassy in Ethiopia will go operational on Monday," Ethiopia's Information Minister Ahmed Shide told a press conference on Friday. Ethiopians have been urged to turn up in large numbers to welcome the Eritrean leader. Click here to read.... [21]

Obama in ancestral home Kenya to launch sister's project: VOA, 15 July 2018

Former US President Barack Obama has arrived in Kenya, the country of his father's birth, for a private visit, his first to this country since leaving office. Obama is in Kenya to help launch his half-sister, Auma Obama, sports, vocational training and resource center through her foundation Sauti Kuu.
This visit was expected to be low key in the capital Nairobi unlike his previous visits where he electrified hundreds of Kenyans who lined the streets to see him as a senator in 2006 and then as president 2015. Click here to read.... [22]

Deepening military ties solidify China’s ambitions in Africa: VOA, 15 July 2018

In late June, top military officials from Mali, Sierra Leone, South Sudan and dozens of other African countries gathered to discuss defense strategies and security threats. The meeting didn’t take place in a major African city, but thousands of kilometers away, in Beijing, China.

The occasion was the inaugural China-Africa Defense and Security Forum, a high-profile showcase of expanding military partnerships hosted by China’s Ministry of National Defense. Click here to read.... [23]