Foreign Policy Update – USA Gov Policy

MIDDLE EAST

In a recent press conference Secretary of State Michael Pompeo discussed America’s leadership role in the role and how it has evolved under the Trump Administration. He said Americans live in a “complicated world, dangerous world.” He pointed out that America is no longer leading from behind, but also recognized the United States can’t be everywhere and do all things. He added that “We’re doing it right; we’re doing it well.

The work that Vice President Pence did in Ankara trying to stop the Turkish incursion was “truly lifesaving,” he pointed out. Pompeo said the complexity of the Middle East is even greater. Although the caliphate is no longer, he said “We still have threats from terrorism all around the world, not just in the Middle East, in Asia too.”

The mission at the State Department is to “deliver against President Trump’s priorities, to make sure that we’re doing this right in the true American tradition of diplomacy, and to keep the American people safe and secure,” according to Pompeo. He added that if they do their jobs well, “we’ll have to put fewer young men and women in harm’s way in the military, and we reduce the risk to our people back home, and we can continue to do the things we love to do in places like here in Kansas and take care of our families, grow our economy, all the things that Americans value.”

UKRAINE

“This is a results-based administration. This is about realism. It’s about being practical. It’s about delivering on real outcomes to keep the American people safe. Our interest in Ukraine has consistently been aimed at the singular focus of what’s in America’s best interest – that is, how do we get the outcome that keeps the American people safe,” according to Pompeo. Washington views a strong Ukraine, that is less corrupt and less under the influence of Russia’s Putin will be more secure for the Ukrainian people. And that it will help Europe in that it pushes back against the threats that are from Russia.

TURKEY

Asked if he was comfortable with the President lifting sanctions against Turkey a day after Erdogan met with Russian President Putin, Pompeo said “Yes. I recommended that to the President.”

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Vice President Pence had led a delegation along with Pompeo to meet with President Erdogan and explain to the Turkish leader that the President was “very unhappy that he had conducted an incursion into Syria.” Pompeo added that “We wanted to stop that incursion to save lives. We did that. We set up a five-day pause so that we could extract SDF fighters safely, they wouldn’t be killed as they moved back. We were largely successful in doing that.”

The Turks did halt their Operation Peace Spring which has allowed for the initiation of a permanent ceasefire phase which Washington plans to monitor. US sanctions were put in place to convince the Turkish leadership that it was in their best interest to halt that operation, to stop the death, to stop the killing that would have taken place, according to Pompeo.

VENEZUELA

Venezuela recently was given a seat on the UH Human Rights Commission to the disbelief of many member countries. Secretary Pompeo commented that “this is untethered to anything, left, right, center, and America would understand as decent and right and protecting human dignity. If you observe what’s going on in Venezuela today, you can see that it’s the antithesis of the protection of individual liberty and freedom and the rights that we all know.” The Maduro regime has long abused the citizens of Venezuela and illegally attempted to retain power. The resulting economic decay in the country and abuse has led millions of Venezuela’s citizens to seek refuge in other nations.

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