Foreign Policy Update – USA Gov Policy

AFGHANISTAN

The Department of State announced that it is providing an additional $144 million in humanitarian assistance to those in Afghanistan and to Afghan refugees in the region. “This assistance is provided directly to independent humanitarian organizations, including the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), International Organization for Migration (IOM), the World Health Organization (WHO), and other international and non-governmental organizations following extensive vetting and monitoring,” according to a statement released by the Department. At the same time officials announced the US is looking for funding from private American citizens to assist with costs associated with resettling refugees. This comes as the Biden Administration faces continuing criticism for its hand ling of the evacuation of Americans from the country. Some political analysts are citing sources in country saying that over 100,000 persons wanting to leave Afghanistan remain stuck there.

RUSSIA

“On October 8, Russian authorities applied the label of “media foreign agent” to the international investigative journalism project Bellingcat, known for its investigation of the poisoning of Navalny,” according to a statement signed by the United States and almost 20 other nations. It called on Russia to improve freedom of the press in the country, citing the regime’s systematic detention of journalists. The government has subjected the media to harsh treatment after many reported on protests in support of imprisoned opposition figure Aleksey Navalny. The statement noted many cases of harassment and imprisonment of journalists from Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), including reporter Vladislav Yesypenko who has been held and tortured since March for reporting on Russia’s invasion of the Crimea. This summer Yesypenko was indicted on specious charges and faces up to 18 years’ imprisonment, according to the State Department.

PASSPORTS

The Department of State has issued the first US passport with an “X” gender marker. It announced that gender markers on US passports and Consular Reports of Birth Abroad (CRBAs) have been changed regarding “gender identity” as the Department is moving towards adding an X gender marker for non-binary, intersex, and gender non-conforming persons applying for a U.S. passport or CRBA. On Tuesday, New Price, Department Spokesperson, used the Noon Briefing to announce that it was “Intersex Awareness Day.” It appears that climate change and sexual orientation are now moving to the top of the Biden Administration’s foreign policy agenda this week.

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SUDAN

On Tuesday the State Department Spokesperson condemned the anti-democratic actions of the Sudanese military, saying – “it subverted the constitutional declaration of 2019, but in some ways, more importantly, it has subverted the democratic aspirations of the Sudanese people…We’ve joined nations and organizations from across the world in expressing concern. That includes the African Union, it includes the UN, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, France, Germany, Canada, and the UK, Sudan’s neighbors as well.” While $700 million in emergency economic support funds (ESF) to Sudan have been suspended, humanitarian aid is continuing. Price would not confirm if the US will place any additional sanctions on the country or take any new actions against those individuals in the military responsible for the military takeover in Sudan.

TAIWAN

The United States wants Taiwan to be given permission to participate in a meaningfully way in the United Nations system, according to a press statement released on Tuesday by the State Department. Price said “the statement made a point that we support Taiwan’s ability to participate meaningfully at the UN and to contribute its valuable expertise to address many of the global challenges we face. That includes global public health, the environment and climate change, development assistance, technical standards, and economic cooperation as well. We reiterated our commitment to Taiwan’s meaningful participation at the World Health Organization and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, and we will continue to support Taiwan’s meaningful participation in such fora. The Biden agenda highlighted climate change and the environment in the statement while neglecting to mention increasingly aggressive Chinese behavior toward Taiwan.

In a back and forth, heated discussion with a reporter during the press briefing, a reporter said to Price that “The problem is that no one knows what that means, and it just creates more confusion and makes the situation worse. Do you not get that?” Price would only respond that it “was abundantly clear.” Senior officials in the Biden Administration continue to make statements out of sync with its actions. Lately, the media is showing its frustration with the lack of transparency.

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