Screwing up the courage
Ukraine, Russia, Israel, Palestine, Venezuela, Brazil, and South Africa.
Hello,
Here are the five things you need to know today:
UKRAINE. RUSSIA. Europe faces its real Zeitenwende.
ISRAEL. PALESTINE. A Hezbollah chief is killed as Netanyahu faces more heat.
VENEZUELA. Pressure on Maduro enters a phase shift.
BRAZIL. Political and environmental fissures remain unresolved.
SOUTH AFRICA. A not-so-middling summit for middle powers.
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UKRAINE. RUSSIA. Lions, survivors and bears
Europe faces its real Zeitenwende.
Envoys from the US, Ukraine and Europe met in Geneva Sunday to “refine” a 28-point peace plan earlier agreed by Russia. Marco Rubio praised the progress. Donald Trump slammed Kyiv and its European partners for ingratitude and hypocrisy.
INTELLIGENCE. Rubio claims the plan was authored by the US, but there are credible reports he and other officials were blindsided by a paper composed by Kremlin officials in a Miami hotel room and then Google-translated into English. Either way, a European counteroffer, which forms the basis of what Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky will next discuss, looks similar on the key points (Russia’s G8 reintegration; territorial recognition arising from current lines).
FOR BUSINESS. Leading into Geneva, Europe spoke of a “lion” spirit, based on the name of the room where leaders met at the Johannesburg G20 Saturday. Favoured media were sent avowals of moral outrage. But Russia and the US look set to get nearly all of what they want. The end of the war, not the start, may prove Europe’s real Zeitenwende. If it’s to have strategic autonomy, it will need to get truly serious about deterrence, irrespective of NATO umbrellas.
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ISRAEL. PALESTINE. Strike while the ire’s hot
A Hezbollah chief is killed as Netanyahu faces more heat.
Benjamin Netanyahu said he would “continue to strike terrorism” Sunday after Hezbollah’s second-highest commander was killed in Beirut. A court hearing for today was shortened after the prime minister said he had a “diplomatic meeting.”
INTELLIGENCE. Israel has pressing security needs, but Netanyahu’s slow walking of a