ARTICLE
by Dr. Victor Cha
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1. Kim-Putin Summit
What's going on
In their first-ever summit, President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un met yesterday in Vladivostok, a Russian city located near Golden Horn Bay, close to Russia's borders with China and North Korea.
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What Ambassadors are saying
“Well it’s not much substance, no economic assistance went to Kim. But it fulfills the objectives the two leaders had. For Putin, it shows he is still a major player on the world stage. For Kim, it shows that he’s not isolated diplomatically. Basically Kim is building support in two areas with Russia. One, ‘give me a little bit on my sanctions relief.’ In other words, ‘cheat a little bit on my border, let some of that oil come in.’ Secondly, I think he’s saying, ‘Russia needs to be part of the countries that supervise any deal between the U.S. and North Korea the way they used to ten years ago. The Six Party Talks included Russia, but they’ve been excluded the last ten years." (Ambassadors Bill Richardson, former U.S. Ambassador to the UN,
Fox News
)
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2. China showcases guided missile destroyers at naval parade
What's going on
China's naval parade on Tuesday marked 70 years since the founding of China's navy and is said to be the largest display ever of China's navy ever by Chinese state media. The event showcased China's new generation of guided missile destroyers, 32 vessels and 39 aircraft along with 13 warships from other countries including India, Japan, Vietnam and Australia. President Xi Jinping called for naval forces around the world to "consult on an equal basis, improve crisis management mechanisms, step up regional security cooperation and push for proper settlement of maritime disputes."
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What Ambassadors are saying
“I think that we need rules more than ever before. We should be able to manage our differences properly. We need rules, not military power, to help manage the rise of China, and to manage the inevitable decline of the United States. We should be working with the EU together more than we have even in the past in bringing more cases to the [World Trade Organization] ... which clearly has problems in dealing with China. Instead we are fighting with the EU. We agree on 90 percent [of the issues on China] What we should be doing is work with the EU more, not threatening the EU saying we’re going to put tariffs.” (Ambassador Anthony Gardner, former U.S. Ambassador to the EU,
CNBC
)
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3. President Trump ends sanction waivers to countries still buying oil from Iran
What's going on
The White House announced this week that President Trump would not reissue Significant Reduction Exceptions (SREs) set to expire in May. SREs are waivers Washington issued after the U.S. withdrew from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal to countries buying oil from Iran. Without these waivers, the sanctions will be placed by the United States on any country purchasing Iranian oil. The White House stated, "this decision is intended to bring Iran's oil exports to zero, denying the regime its principal sources of revenue."
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What Ambassadors are saying
"What we should be seeking is Iran's isolation internationally. Instead, we're isolating ourselves and the joint comprehensive plan of action, Iranian Nuclear Agreement would be a case in point. We negotiated that agreement. We let it from a position of strength with the core of the international community. It wasn't just us, it was the other four members of the security counseling, including China and Russia. And it included the Germans against the Iranians. So what we should have done is build on that, the Nuclear Agreement is a reasonably good arms control agreement. It's not a treaty of friendship." (Ambassador Ryan Crocker, former U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, Kuwait, Syria and Lebanon,
The Chicago Council on Global Affairs
)
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