US versus them
The US, Ukraine, Russia, China, maritime trade, and Bangladesh.
The five things you need to know today:
UNITED STATES. Washington places negotiations above diplomatic norms.
UKRAINE. RUSSIA. Trump promotes Macron's peacekeeping idea.
CHINA. RUSSIA. Beijing lets its feelings be known.
CHINA. MARITIME TRADE. Million-dollar threats are another bargaining ploy.
BANGLADESH. Dhaka seeks to escape Delhi's sphere of influence.
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UNITED STATES. Against the free world
Washington places negotiations above diplomatic norms.
The UN Security Council adopted a US-drafted statement on Ukraine Monday, taking a neutral stance on the war's causes. The US voted against a rival European-led statement in the General Assembly, siding with Russia and 16 others.
INTELLIGENCE. After the White House’s war of words with its erstwhile allies in Europe and Ukraine, the battle of the UN resolutions is the starkest evidence yet of a transatlantic rift. Though both statements gained an equal 93 votes, they came from diametrically opposing camps. Yet while the US’s vote was not made in what would normally be called good company, it’s less a reflection of future strategy than of temporary tactics, which Russia is exploiting.
FOR BUSINESS. The US voted against its allies and with its foes not because it’s decamped to a new bloc, but because it prizes the passage of a Ukrainian ceasefire above all else. Yet while the desire is pragmatic, the consequence could be permanent. It’s a further sign to allies that the US can’t be relied upon, even for the most basic of symbolic tasks. It’s also another shift from the multilateral order, which the US created, to a multipolar disorder.
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UKRAINE. RUSSIA. Euro division
Trump promotes Macron's peacekeeping idea.
Donald Trump said Vladimir Putin would "accept" the concept of European peacekeepers in Ukraine, in press remarks after a meeting with Emmanuel Macron Monday. Macron described their White House discussions as a "turning point".
INTELLIGENCE. Despite his unpopularity at home and at times grasping diplomacy on all issues, all the time, Macron