Foreign Policy Update – USA Gov Policy

AFGHANISTAN

At a Friday press conference in Paris, Secretary of State tony Blinken responded to a question about US involvement in Afghanistan by stating that he wanted “to reiterate an important point that sometimes gets lost, which is that even as we are withdrawing our forces from Afghanistan, we are not disengaging from Afghanistan; to the contrary. We’re working very hard to sustain a strong, diplomatic presence – not only our diplomatic presence, but with partners as well to sustain many of the programs that we’ve had in place to support Afghanistan economically: development assistance, humanitarian assistance, assistance to the Afghan security forces. He added that the US is also trying to make good on promises made to Afghan interpreters who worked for the US there and are now in danger of retribution.

IRAN

Iranian President-elect Raisi has been accused by numerous human rights groups of serious rights abuses dating back to the 1980s. When asked at a press conference this week if the US could, in all good consciousness, lift sanctions on Iran without a proper international probe into the allegations of human rights and other abuses, Secretary Blinken responded: “This is about pursuing our fundamental interests. And an Iran with a nuclear weapon or with a capacity to produce one on very short order is an Iran that is even more dangerous than it already is – an Iran can act with even greater impunity when it comes to supporting terrorism, destabilizing the region, engaging in proliferation. So we have a national interest in trying to put the nuclear problem back in the box that it was in under the JCPOA that unfortunately it is now out of. And at the same time in doing that, we will retain all of the necessary tools to deal with Iran’s actions in other areas that are profoundly dangerous and destabilizing.”

ARCTIC

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The United States is pleased announced that the Agreement to Prevent Unregulated High Seas Fisheries in the Central Arctic Ocean which was negotiated and sign in 2018 will enter into force June 25, 2021. This is the first multilateral agreement of its kind to take a legally binding, precautionary approach to protect an area from commercial fishing before such fishing has begun.

There were ten participants in the negotiation of and Signatories to the Agreement: Canada, the People’s Republic of China, the Kingdom of Denmark (in respect of the Faroe Islands and Greenland), the European Union, Iceland, Japan, the Kingdom of Norway, the Republic of Korea, the Russian Federation, and the United States of America. In recent years China has labeled itself a “near Arctic” nation and increased its involvement in the region. Given China’s historical lack of adherence to other agreements, it is unknown if this will prevent Chinese overfishing of the fragile Arctic environment.

THURSDAY PRESS BRIEFING AT THE STATE DEPARMTENT
The State Department this week continued to appear less than forthcoming in responding to straight forward questions from reporters at the official briefing. While there are times when it is not possible to release sensitive information, the current Administration often is unwilling to address very basic questions. These are only a few of the responses to various reporters’ questions from Thursday’s official State Department briefing. “I don’t have anything to announce or report…,” “I don’t have any specific updates…,” “We have nothing to announce…,” “We don’t have anything to announce…,” “We’ll have to take that back and get back to you…,” “I don’t have anything to share…at this time…,” and “We’re continuing to work on…” the issue. Such obfuscation leaves little room for confidence in the Biden Administration’s foreign policy during a period in American history where international challenges loom large on so many fronts.

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