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☆ G7 leaders gather on China's doorstep to seek unified response to Beijing
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( Nectar Gan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

‘Economic coercion’Another important theme of the summit will be economic security, including how to counter China’s economic pressure tactics. As the G7 summit gets underway, Chinese officials will be closely watching from Beijing and will not hide their displeasure, experts say. In the lead-up to the summit, Beijing has already berated a statement by G7 foreign ministers. Similarly, Beijing also lashed out at accusations of its “economic coercion,” claiming it is the “victim of US economic coercion” rather than a perpetrator. And while China is not invited to Hiroshima, it is hosting its own summit with Central Asia countries, experts noted.

☆ After years of war, Assad returns to Arab fold
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

* Aug. 2011 - U.S. President Barack Obama says Assad has lost legitimacy to rule and should surrender power. * Nov. 2011 - The Arab League suspends Syria and urges its army to stop killing civilians. * Sept. 2015 - Russia joins the war on Assad's side, deploying war planes that bomb rebel-held areas - a turning point in the conflict. * March 2022 - Assad visits the United Arab Emirates and meets its leaders, his first trip to an Arab state since 2011. Assad says he will only meet Erdogan when Turkey is ready to withdraw forces from Syria.

The G7 countries -- the United States, Japan, Germany, the United Kingdom, France, Canada and Italy -- are all closely tied economically to China, the world's second-largest economy and a key global manufacturing base and market. "Everything is part of the great power competition that is taking place between the United States and Russia, and the United States and China." A woman walks past a “G7 Hiroshima” flower installation near the Peace Memorial Museum, ahead of the G7 summit, in Hiroshima, Japan, May 17, 2023. The G7 is looking to draw closer to members of the "Global South" to counter China's role on the global stage. The United States is at the forefront in pushing for stronger investment controls, yet Germany is more cautious, given its heavy reliance on trade with Beijing.

WASHINGTON/PARIS, May 17 (Reuters) - The longest shadows at the Group of Seven (G7) leaders' summit this week will be cast by two countries that weren't even invited to the Hiroshima gathering: China and Russia. The G7 countries -- the United States, Japan, Germany, the United Kingdom, France, Canada and Italy -- are all closely tied economically to China, the world's second-largest economy and a key global manufacturing base and market. "Everything is part of the great power competition that is taking place between the United States and Russia, and the United States and China." A woman walks past a “G7 Hiroshima” flower installation near the Peace Memorial Museum, ahead of the G7 summit, in Hiroshima, Japan, May 17, 2023. The United States is at the forefront in pushing for stronger investment controls, yet Germany is more cautious, given its heavy reliance on trade with Beijing.

☆ Exclusive: G7 summit statement to target China's 'economic coercion'
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-13 | by ( Trevor Hunnicutt | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

The main G7 statement is set to include "a section specific to China" with a list of concerns that include "economic coercion and other behavior that we have seen specifically from the [People's Republic of China]," the official said on Friday. A separate "economic security statement will speak more to tools" used to counter coercive efforts from any countries responsible, including planning and coordination, the person said. The joint statement issued by all the G7 leaders every year is intended to signal that the powerful countries are aligned on a range of political and economic issues. CHINA TESTS G7 ALLIANCEThe G7 meeting will be a test of how much the members, all rich democracies, can agree on a common approach to China, the world's second largest economy. Traveling for the G7 finance meeting in Japan, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Thursday that China had clearly used economic coercion with Australia and Lithuania.

☆ Turkey, Syria, Russia and Iran in highest-level talks since Syrian war
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

ANKARA, May 10 (Reuters) - Foreign ministers for Turkey, Syria, Russia and Iran met on Wednesday in Moscow, marking the highest-level talks so far on rebuilding ties between Ankara and Damascus after years of animosity during Syria's civil war. NATO member Turkey has backed political and armed opposition to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad during the 12-year civil war, and sent its own troops into the country's north. Cavusoglu said "taking the political process in Syria forward and protection of Syria's territorial integrity" were the other issues discussed. Russia's foreign ministry said in a statement there had been a "positive and constructive atmosphere" and that the countries' deputy foreign ministers would be tasked with preparing a roadmap to advance Syria-Turkey ties. Syrian and Turkish defence ministers had also held talks in Moscow in December.

☆ Syrians split over government readmission into Arab League
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Readmitting Syria into the Arab League was a "shock" for Syrians and would "kill the political process", said Bader Jamous, the head of the opposition's negotiating team in stalled United Nations peace talks. The opposition was for years backed by countries now supporting normalisation, including Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Writing on Twitter, Jamous said Assad's opponents had "not been consulted" about the Arab League decisions. Some Syrian political activists with ties to the government - including former deputy prime minister Qadri Jamil - cautiously encouraged the move in an online statement. And a Facebook page publishing news from the campuses of various Syrian universities posted a stock photograph of Syria's seat at the Arab League with the caption: "After 12 years, the Arab League comes back to life."

☆ Leaders of Armenia, Azerbaijan to meet May 14 in Brussels -EU
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Annegret HilseMay 8 (Reuters) - The leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan are to meet next week in Brussels, the European Union said on Monday, the latest attempt to secure a durable peace accord and resolve longstanding differences over the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh. An announcement on the EU Council's website said a three-corner meeting with Council President Charles Michel would take place at EU headquarters. Armenia and Azerbaijan, both former Soviet states, have fought two wars over 30 years focusing on Nagorno-Karabakh, recognised as part of Azerbaijan but populated mainly by Armenians. In a six-week conflict in 2020, ended by a Russian-brokered truce, Azerbaijan recovered territory lost in the first war dating from the collapse of Soviet rule. "The leaders have also agreed to continue to meet trilaterally in Brussels as frequently as necessary to address ongoing developments on the ground and standing agenda items of the Brussels meetings," the EU statement said.

☆ Syria Readmitted to Arab League, Bringing Assad Back Into the Fold
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-07 | by ( Summer Said | Benoit Faucon | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Arab League foreign ministers at an emergency meeting in Cairo on Sunday. Photo: khaled desouki/Agence France-Presse/Getty ImagesArab leaders agreed to bring Syria back into the Arab League after more than a decade of isolation, complicating American efforts to isolate President Bashar al-Assad and signaling a waning of U.S. influence in the Middle East. In an emergency meeting in Cairo, the group voted to immediately readmit Syria to the group of 22 Arab nations that coordinate on regional matters. While many Arab officials remain disdainful of Mr. Assad, they say international policies isolating Syria have proven to be counterproductive over time, strengthening the influence of Iran, which backs Syria.

☆ Arab League set to readmit Syria as relations with Assad normalise
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

CAIRO, May 7 (Reuters) - The Arab League is expected to readmit Syria at a meeting of foreign ministers on Sunday, a spokesperson for the League said, consolidating a regional push to normalise ties with President Bashar al-Assad. The decision was expected to be adopted at a closed meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League's headquarters in Cairo, said Gamal Roshdy, spokesman for the Arab League's secretary general. Syria's membership of the Arab League was suspended in 2011 after a bloody crackdown on street protests against Assad that led to a devastating civil war, and many Arab states pulled their envoys out of Damascus. Recently, several Arab states including Saudi Arabia and Egypt, have re-engaged with Syria in high-level visits and meetings, though some, including Qatar, remain opposed to full normalisation without a political solution to Syria's conflict. Arab states have been trying to reach consensus on whether to invite Assad to an Arab League summit on May 19 in Riyadh to discuss the pace of normalising ties and on what terms Syria could be allowed back.

[1/6] A general view shows the opening session of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League Headquarters, to discuss the Sudan and Syrian situations, in Cairo, Egypt May 7, 2023. It was taken at a closed meeting of foreign ministers at the Arab League's headquarters in Cairo, said Gamal Roshdy, spokesman for the Arab League's secretary general. While Arab states including the United Arab Emirates have pushed for Syria and Assad's rehabilitation, others, including Qatar, have remained opposed to full normalisation without a political solution to the Syrian conflict. Syria's membership of the Arab League was suspended in 2011 after a crackdown on street protests against Assad that led to a devastating civil war, and many Arab states pulled their envoys out of Damascus. Recently, Arab states have been trying to reach consensus on whether to invite Assad to an Arab League summit on May 19 in Riyadh to discuss the pace of normalising ties and on what terms Syria could be allowed back.

☆ China assures Russia, India of deepening 'cooperation'
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/3] India's Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar and his Chinese counterpart Qin Gang pose for a photograph during the SCO Council of Foreign Ministers' meeting in Goa, India, May 4, 2023. Currently the bloc includes Russia, India, China, Pakistan and four Central Asian countries - Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Iran and Belarus are expected to be inducted into the SCO at a summit in New Delhi in July, an Indian foreign ministry official said. In a separate meeting with Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, Qin said China is willing to deepen "coordination and cooperation" on international and regional issues with India and bring ties back to a "healthy" track of development. China's ties with India have deteriorated since 2020, when their troops clashed on a disputed Himalayan border and 24 people were killed.

Those concerns intensified in February after U.N. inspectors revealed their discovery of uranium particles of 83.7% purity at an Iran nuclear facility built deep underground to protect it from air strikes. Western officials fear a nuclear-armed Iran could threaten Israel, Gulf Arab oil producers, and spark a regional arms race. A senior Iranian nuclear official said Tehran would not take the revival of U.N. sanctions lying down. But Western officials and analysts say that Iran's production of 90% uranium would demand a significant response. 'FACE A CRISIS AT SOME POINT'While Western officials want to leave the door open for diplomacy, tensions with Russia and China make that harder.

WASHINGTON, May 4 (Reuters) - Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr said on Thursday his agreement this year to grant the United States access to more military bases in his country was not intended for use for "offensive action" against any country. Speaking to a U.S. think-tank in Washington, Marcos said he had made that point to Chinese officials during recent talks. He also said the U.S. had not asked the Philippines to provide troops in case of war between China and the U.S. over Taiwan. Marcos told the Center for Strategic and International Studies that the 2014 Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) that allows access to bases in the Philippines was conceived to deal with the effects of climate change. Manila's ties with Washington have deepened under Marcos and he granted the U.S. military access to four more bases in February, something China said was "stoking the fire" of regional tension.

CNN —Jordan’s Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi believes there are enough votes among Arab League members for Syria to return to the organization, adding that it is “only the beginning” of bringing a political end to the Syrian crisis. If Syria’s membership is approved, the Syrian delegation at the high-level Arab League summit on May 19 is “very likely” to be presided by President Bashar Al Assad, the official told CNN. Safadi said that “everybody” in the Arab League is on board to end the Syrian crisis, but there are differences on what the best approach is. The foreign ministers of Syria, Egypt, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Jordan met in the Jordanian capital Amman on Monday to discuss how to normalize ties with Syria. According to a statement issued after the meeting, Syria has agreed to help end drug trafficking across its borders with Iraq and Jordan.

☆ UN says Taliban envoy can meet Pakistan, China ministers next week
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( Michelle Nichols | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

UNITED NATIONS, May 1 (Reuters) - A U.N. Security Council committee on Monday agreed to allow the Taliban administration's foreign minister Amir Khan Muttaqi to travel to Pakistan from Afghanistan next week to meet with the foreign ministers of Pakistan and China, diplomats said. Muttaqi has long been subjected to a travel ban, asset freeze and arms embargo under Security Council sanctions. According to a letter to the 15-member Security Council Taliban sanctions committee, Pakistan's U.N. mission requested an exemption for Muttaqi was to travel between May 6-9 "for a meeting with the foreign ministers of Pakistan and China." The Taliban seized power in August 2021 as U.S.-led forces withdrew after 20 years of war. The Security Council committee allowed Muttaqi to travel to Uzbekistan last month for a meeting of the foreign ministers of neighboring countries of Afghanistan to discuss urgent peace, security, and stability matters.

☆ More than 2,200 guests to attend King Charles' coronation at Westminster Abbey
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, May 1 (Reuters) - More than 2,200 people will attend the coronation of Britain's King Charles, Buckingham Palace said on Monday, including international representatives from 203 countries as well as community and charity workers. The congregation at London's Westminster Abbey on Saturday, May 6, will also comprise Nobel Prize winners, religious representatives, and heads of state and foreign ministers, the palace said in a statement. In addition to those guests, 400 young people representing charitable organisations will be able to watch the coronation service and processions from inside St Margaret's Church, next to the Abbey, the statement said. The palace has been steadily releasing details of Charles' coronation, which is set to be smaller in scale than that of his mother Queen Elizabeth in 1953 but still replete with pomp and pageantry, reflecting traditions dating back 1,000 years. More than 8,200 guests attended Queen Elizabeth's coronation ceremony, which also took place at Westminster Abbey, according to the royal family's website.

☆ Arab ministers discuss how to normalise ties with Syria
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( Suleiman Al-Khalidi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

AMMAN, May 1 (Reuters) - A group of Arab foreign ministers held a landmark meeting with their Syrian counterpart in Jordan on Monday to discuss how to normalise ties with Syria as part of a political settlement of the country's more than decade-old conflict, officials said. Jordan has called on Syria to engage with Arab states jointly on a step-by-step roadmap to end the conflict, tackling the issues of refugees, detainees, drug smuggling and Iran-backed militias in Syria - all of which affect its neighbours. Amman has been fighting armed groups smuggling narcotics from Syria, including the highly-addictive amphetamine captagon. Arab states and those most impacted by the conflict are trying to reach consensus on whether to invite Assad to the Arab League summit on May 19 in Riyadh, to discuss the pace of normalising ties with Assad and on what terms Syria could be allowed back. Washington, which said it would not change its policy towards the Syrian government which it terms a "rogue" state, has urged Arab states to get something in return for engaging with Assad.

☆ G7 should adopt 'risk-based' AI regulation, ministers say
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

But such regulation should also "preserve an open and enabling environment" for the development of AI technologies and be based on democratic values, G7 ministers said in a joint statement issued at the end of a two-day meeting in Japan. EU lawmakers on Thursday reached a preliminary agreement on a new draft of its upcoming AI Act, including copyright protection measures for generative AI, following a call for world leaders to convene a summit to control such technology. Vestager, EU's tech regulation chief, said the bloc "will have the political agreement this year" on the AI copyright legislation, such as labelling obligations for AI-generated images or music. Japan, this year's chair of G7, meanwhile, has taken an accommodative approach on AI developers, pledging support for public and industrial adoption of AI. Japan will host the G7 Summit in Hiroshima in late May, where Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will discuss AI rules with world leaders.

☆ Jordan to host talks on Syria's return to Arab League
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-30 | by ( Suleiman Al-Khalidi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Summary Meeting brings Syrian FM together with group of Arab statesJordan seeks an Arab-led peace road mapAMMAN, April 30 (Reuters) - Jordan will host a meeting of Arab foreign ministers and Syria's top diplomat on Monday to discuss Syria's return to the Arab League as part of a broader political settlement of Syria's more than decade-old conflict, officials said. The meeting comes two weeks after talks in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia between the Gulf Cooperation Council, as well as Egypt, Jordan and Iraq, failed to reach agreement on Syria's possible return to the Arab fold. Arab states and those most affected by the conflict are trying to reach consensus on whether to invite Assad to the Arab League summit on May 19 in Riyadh, to discuss the pace of normalising ties with Assad and on what terms Syria could be allowed back. Officials said the Jordanian initiative calls on Damascus to engage with Arab governments collectively on a step-by-step road map to end the conflict. At the Jeddah meeting there was resistance to the move to invite Assad to the Arab League summit, with Qatar, Jordan and Kuwait saying it was premature before Damascus accepts to negotiate a peace plan.

☆ Iran foreign minister says embassies in S.Arabia, Iran to open 'within days'
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BEIRUT, April 28 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia and Iran will open embassies in each other's capitals "within days," Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian said on Friday as the relationship between the two regional rivals warms up after years of hostility. The Iranian and Saudi embassies in the respective countries have been closed since 2016. Saudi Arabia accused Iran of providing weapons to the Houthis who attacked Saudi cities with armed drones and ballistic missiles. Iran and Saudi Arabia agreed last month to end their diplomatic raw and restore diplomatic missions under a deal brokered by China. The visit will be the first by an Iranian president to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad since war broke out in Syria in 2011.

☆ Saudi Arabia, Iran to reopen embassies 'within days'
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BEIRUT, April 28 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia and Iran will reopen embassies in each other's capitals "within days," Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian said on Friday in a sign of warming relations after the two countries closed their missions seven years ago. "During the last phone call between the foreign ministers of Iran and Saudi Arabia on Eid al-Fitr, we agreed to work in the next coming days on the reopening of the Iranian and Saudi embassies in Tehran and Riyadh," Amirabdollahian said, according to an official Arabic translation. Their relationship started deteriorating in 2015 following the intervention of Saudi Arabia and the UAE in the Yemen war, after the Iran-aligned Houthi movement toppled the Saudi-backed government and seized control of the capital Sanaa. The Iranian foreign minister confirmed President Ebrahim Raisi would visit Syria in "the near future" without providing details. The visit would be the first by an Iranian president to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad since war broke out in Syria in 2011.

New Delhi CNN —India’s defense minister told his Chinese counterpart on Thursday that violations of their shared border erode the “entire basis” of relations between the two Asian neighbors. Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh made the comments during a meeting with newly appointed Chinese Defense Minister Li Shangfu in New Delhi ahead of a regional security summit on Friday. “He reiterated that violation of existing agreements has eroded the entire basis of bilateral relations and disengagement at the border will logically be followed with de-escalation,” the statement added. His visit comes four days after India and China concluded the 18th round of talks to attempt to resolve the border issue. Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari’s visit to the country will be the most senior-level one in seven years.

☆ Frontline Ukrainian soldiers say they are running low on ammo and can only fire a few rounds with their most effective guns
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Sinéad Baker | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A Ukrainian soldier in Bakhmut said they were low on ammunition and had to limit their firing. Officials in Europe are worried Ukraine doesn't have enough supplies to push back Russian forces. Russian troops have been slowly pushing back Ukraine's troops for months, in what commanders on both sides have called a "meat grinder." Another Ukrainian soldier in the area told the BBC that his men had to ration rounds on their L119 light artillery gun. NATO's chief, Jens Stoltenberg, also gave a warning in February that Ukraine was using ammunition faster than its allies could produce it.

LUXEMBOURG, April 24 (Reuters) - Recent remarks by China's ambassador to France questioning the sovereignty of former Soviet states such as Ukraine are totally unacceptable, several EU foreign ministers said before a meeting on Monday. "It is totally unacceptable", Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky said ahead of the Luxembourg meeting of the bloc's foreign ministers. It was unclear when Fu Cong, the Chinese ambassador to the EU, gave the interview to the Chinese news outlet The Paper. But its publication came hard on the heels of the remarks by China's ambassador to France. Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said he disagreed with Lu's comments, while Luxembourg's foreign minister Jean Asselborn called Lu's remarks a "blunder" and said efforts were being made to calm things down.

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