Foreign Policy Update – USA Gov Policy

IRAN

Iran continues its abnormal state behavior. Earlier this week it seized a United Arab Emirates (UAE) tanker ship and is continuing with a series of escalating actions leading up to the US destroying an Iranian drone threatening the USS Boxer and its crew. On July 19, an Iranian drone refused to comply with instructions was shot down as it approached within 1,000 yards of the ship traveling in international waters in the Strait of Hormuz.

Referring to the seizure of the UAE vessel, Secretary of State Michael Pompeo said Washington is “following very closely what’s taking place more broadly even than just this tanker in the Strait of Hormuz. The President’s made pretty clear that this is an international obligation to keep these waterways open, and we’re working diligently to build out a maritime security initiative – a broad range of countries participating in that. The Iranians’ effort to deny transit for commercial vessels, crude oil vessels, and other vessels is something that – frankly, it’s consistent with 40 years of their history and it’s something that the United States is prepared to do our part to make sure that those waterways remain open.”

The Secretary added that no one should underestimate the broad range of responses available to the US and that Iran, in particular, should not misunderstand American efforts. He said: “The best solution here is for the Iranians to decide that the diplomatic path forward is the best one for the people inside of Iran, and we try to talk to them because the Iranian regime has clearly done things that are inconsistent with what the Iranian people want.” The Trump Administration continues to seek a diplomatic path forward which will deny Iran both a path to a nuclear weapon and the ability to build out its missile program through proliferation.

RELIGIOUS FREEDOM CONFERENCE

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Leaders from 114 nations gathered in Washington for a three-day Ministerial Conference to Advance Religious Freedom. Over 80% of the world lives in nations that restrict religion, according to Pompeo. When asked about talks with China concerning the abuse of the Uighur minority and other issues surrounding the persecution of Christians in China, the Secretary pointed out that religious freedom is a stabilizing force in nations where citizens are permitted to practice their faith. Pompeo added: “It doesn’t create risk, which is what I think some of the countries like China are concerned with when they exercise political repression against various religious faiths. That makes their country weaker. And we’ve made this argument, and we will continue to build that argument out and try and convince every country including China that it’s in their best interest to increase the religious freedom in their country.”

BURMA

The US Government remains deeply concerned about the persecution of the Rohingya people and other human rights atrocities being carried out by the Burmese government and its security forces. According to a senior State Department official in Washington, the Burmese military has made “no progress on holding accountable those responsible for the ethnic cleansing of Rohingya Muslims.”

The official added that to date, “the US has taken a number of actions to promote accountability for these atrocities, including the sanctioning of five Burmese generals and two military units for serious human rights abuses in Rakhine, Kachin, and Shan states.”

This week Secretary Pompeo announced publicly that the commander-in-chief of the Burmese military, Min Aung Hlaing; the deputy commander-in-chief, Soe Win; and commanders of the 33rd and 99th Light Infantry Divisions, Than Oo and Aung Aung, and their immediate family members have been designated under Section 7031(c) of the Department of State Foreign Operations and Related Programs Appropriations Act of 2019 for their involvement in gross violations of human rights, including extrajudicial killings, against Rohingya, particularly from August through September 2017.” Unfortunately, to date, sanctions have done little to change the behavior of the government.

Daria Novak served in the U.S. State Department during the Reagan Administration.

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