Foreign Policy Update – USA Gov Policy

ISRAEL

In a recent interview Secretary Blinken said that “President Biden believes, and that is that the best and ultimately only way forward, really, is through a two states [solution]… first, Israel as a Jewish and democratic state is going to have truly lasting security through two states, and the Palestinians would get the state that they’re entitled to. That also means that any steps that anyone takes – unilateral steps that anyone takes – that make the prospect of two states even more challenging than it already is, we oppose, and we’ve also been very clear about that.”

ARCTIC COUNCIL

Secretary of State Antony Blinken attended the 12th Arctic Council Ministerial meeting in Reykjavik, Iceland, with foreign ministers from all eight Arctic States. All signed onto the 2021 joint declaration reaffirming the Council’s commitment to maintain peace, stability, and constructive cooperation in the Arctic region, emphasizing Arctic States’ unique position to promote responsible governance in the region, and asserting the importance of immediately addressing the climate crisis in the Arctic. Recently, the region has become a focus of potential great power competition as the Northern Passageway presents the potential of creating a shorter maritime passage to Europe from Asia. Advanced technologies now available also make it possible to excavate the region’s vast undersea mineral and energy resources. While there Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov discussed Russia’s Arctic Council Chairmanship and the importance of cooperation given the two countries shared stake in the region.

RUSSIA

Secretary Blinken while attending the Arctic Council meetings said that the United States “seeks a predictable, stable relationship with Russia.” According to Blinken, it is good for the US and the Russian people. He added that “It’s also no secret that we have our differences. And when it comes to those differences, as President Biden has also shared with President Putin, if Russia acts aggressively against us, our partners, our allies, we’ll respond. And President Biden has demonstrated that in both word and deed – not for purposes of escalation, not to seek conflict, but to defend our interests.”

Blinken also acknowledged that there are many areas where Washington and Msoscow’s interests intersect and overlap. “Whether it is dealing with COVID-19 and the pandemic, combatting climate change, dealing with the nuclear programs in Iran and North Korea, Afghanistan, there are many areas of intersecting interests,” he said.

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BURMA

On Tuesday, May 18th, in Geneva, the United States announced nearly $155 million in new humanitarian aid for Rohingya refugees and affected host communities in Bangladesh at the launch of the 2021 Joint Response Plan for the Rohingya Humanitarian Crisis. The Deputy Spokesman for the State Department, Jalina Porter, said that of the $155 million more than $138 million is for programs inside Bangladesh. That brings the United States’ total assistance for the crisis response since August 2017 to more than $1.3 billion.

“This funding will sustain the efforts of our partners to provide life-saving assistance to affected communities on both sides of the Burma-Bangladesh border, including the nearly 900,000 Rohingya refugees who have taken refuge in Bangladesh – some 740 million of whom arrived since 2017, when they were forced to flee ethnic cleansing and other horrific atrocities and abuses in Burma’s Rakhine State, according to Porter. The funding also is expected to provide assistance to more than 470,000 Bangladeshi host community members and to others affected by the ongoing violence in Burma.

TURKEY

Ned Price, State Department Spokesman, said the United States “strongly condemns President Erdogan’s recent anti-Semitic comments regarding the Jewish people and finds them reprehensible.” He added that Washington is urging “President Erdogan and other Turkish leaders to refrain from incendiary remarks, which could incite further violence. We call on Turkey to join the United States in working to end the conflict.”

DARIA NOVAK served in the United States State Department during the Reagan Administration, and currently is on the Board of the American Analysis of News and Media Inc., which publishes usagovpolicy.com and the New York Analysis of Policy and Government. Each Saturday, she presents key updates on U.S. foreign policy from the State Department.

Illustration: Pixabay

Quick Analysis

Russia Expanding Aggression

President Putin is using more than one pathway to enter Europe and undermine the West. While most of the world watches the conflict he initiated in Ukraine, the Russian government is actively pursuing a second front in a little noticed campaign in Cyprus. Although the corrupt Cypriot government ended its issuance of “golden passports” in 2020, Russian intelligence is functioning quietly there to transform this EU country into a Russian beachhead of illicit economic activity aimed at penetrating the capitalist West, according to Paul Goble of the Jamestown Foundation. Cyprus is not a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) nor does it receive as much attention as those countries who are member states. That adds to its allure as a prime location for Russia to attempt to gain a European foothold. Last week a NATO report, cited in the European Daily Monitor, noted that Russian intelligence agents have been plotting to destroy European infrastructure across the continent to disrupt states supporting Ukraine. It further suggests that Putin’s immediate goal is to lay the framework for a future move against the security organization’s members. Hungary, in particular, is another country garnering Moscow’s attention as it opposes the Western response to Russian aggression. Russia is focusing its intelligence efforts on other European, non-NATO member countries in addition to Cyprus, including Austria, Malta, and Ireland. The NATO report suggests that Moscow has had success in disseminating the Russian political narrative in these states to advance its campaign against the West. The island of Cyprus is proving to be a good target for Moscow as it is an ethnically divided island that is part of the EU since 2004. Northern Cyprus, officially called the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), is a de facto state that is only recognized by Turkey. The division precludes it from joining NATO. As Goble suggests, “it offers Russia troubled waters in which to fish.” Over the last 20 years, he points out, Cyprus’ challenges have opened it to a massive influx of Russian citizens, who now comprise approximately 10 percent of the island state’s population. Over 2,900 residents are Russians who entered until the “golden passport” program that allowed wealthy or well-connected Russians to move to Cyprus. It also provided them with documentation to travel freely throughout Europe! Although less visible on the world’s radar than the war in Ukraine, Moscow is also being helped by Cyprus’ banks opposition to seizing Russian assets and its support in evading Western sanctions. Russia has placed tens of billions of US Dollars there for money laundering. It has been more than two years since a single Russian “diplomat” has been deported and, in fact, the Embassy has grown to over 300 staffers on this tiny island state of only 1.2 million people. The Russian embassy in Nicosia has advanced communications antennae on its roof and opened a consulate on the northern end of the island. Moscow’s Ambassador, Mura Zyazikov, is a lieutenant general in the FSB with no diplomatic experience. The FSB, SVR (Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service), and GRU are actively using the island as a base of operations against NATO Member states, Israel, and other Western allies. Moscow backs pro-Russian political parties who in turn influence Cypriot decisions on education, language, and other issues. “Dmitry Khmelnitsky of the Dossier Center says that its findings should be of concern not only to Cyprus but to the West as a whole. Those who ignore what Moscow is doing because Cyprus does not follow the EU sanctions regime are missing something critical,” says Goble. “Cyprus does not seek to get rid of Russian agents and does not interfere with their work,” Khmelnitsky concludes, “despite the fact that what the Kremlin is doing is so clearly visible.” This has an impact not only on the small island but on the EU, NATO, and the West in general. Earlier this year the Moscow Times reported that when the FBI became more interested in Russian business and oligarchs in Cyprus, at least 10 of the major Russian businesses operating there left. Despite the government of Cyprus’ vow to implement plans for new sanctions against Russia, it continues to ignore Putin’s atrocities in Ukraine and to shield the wealth of the 50,000 wealthy Russian citizens and oligarchs residing there. Daria Novak served in the U.S. State Dept. Illustration: Pixabay