Diplomatic Briefing
Your exclusive news aggregator handpicked daily!Archive for June 15, 2022
Newsline: Iran‘s top diplomat says Tehran still wants nuclear deal
Iran‘s top diplomat said that Tehran still hopes to revive the 2015 nuclear deal despite stalled talks with the U.S. and other world powers that have led many to conclude the accord is dead. (https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2022/jun/14/iran-says-it-hasnt-given-nuclear-deal/) The agreement, which established limits on Iran‘s covert nuclear programs in return for the lifting of international sanctions, has been on life support since President Trump repudiated the deal in 2018 and re-imposed harsh U.S. sanctions on Iran‘s economy and its trading partners. President Biden hoped to restore a version of the original accord, but multilateral talks in Vienna have lasted more than a year have yet to produce a deal.
Newsline: Australia’s Top Diplomat Announces Third Pacific Trip in a Month
Australia’s Foreign Minister Penny Wong announced her third visit to the Pacific in a month, the latest diplomatic step-up by Canberra in the region as the Chinese government also seeks to expand its influence. (https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-06-15/australia-s-top-diplomat-announces-third-pacific-trip-in-a-month) Wong will visit New Zealand for the first time since being sworn in as foreign minister on May 23, her office said in a statement Wednesday, followed by a trip to the Solomon Islands on Friday for meetings with Prime Minister Mannesseh Sogavare.
Newsline: Canada and Denmark end diplomatic dispute to divide Arctic island
Denmark and Canada will divide small, uninhabited Hans Island in the Arctic, ending an almost 50-year ownership spat, in a largely symbolic act of diplomacy designed to avoid tensions in the high North. The NATO allies have been engaged in a mostly good-natured squabble over the island, situated at equal distance between Greenland and Canada’s Ellesmere Island, since 1971 when their rival claims came to light. Canada and Denmark will divide the 1.2 square-kilometre (0.75 square miles) island into two almost equally large parts along a naturally occurring cleft on the rocky outcrop, according to a deal published by the Danish Foreign Ministry on Tuesday. “As global security is being threatened, it’s more important than ever for democracies like Canada and the Kingdom of Denmark to work together alongside indigenous peoples, to resolve our differences in accordance with international law, Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly said in a statement. (https://uk.investing.com/news/world-news/canada-and-denmark-divide-small-arctic-island-ending-ownership-dispute-2669072) Greenland is an autonomous territory within the Kingdom of Denmark. It leaves Copenhagen to manage certain policy areas, including foreign and security policy.
Newsline: Canadian PM says attendance at Russian embassy event ‘absolutely unacceptable’
It was “absolutely unacceptable” that any Canadian representative attended a party at the Russian Embassy in Ottawa last week, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Tuesday. “It never should have happened, and we denounce it thoroughly,” Trudeau said during question period in the House of Commons when pressed by interim Conservative leader Candice Bergen. (https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/canada/trudeau-says-canadian-attendance-at-russian-embassy-event-absolutely-unacceptable/ar-AAYsr4Y) The Globe and Mail reported on Sunday that Yasemin Heinbecker, the deputy chief of protocol at Global Affairs Canada, had attended a party at the embassy last Friday to celebrate Russia Day. Russia Day, which is celebrated on June 12 every year, is the national holiday of the Russian Federation. Bergen asked the prime minister Tuesday why a government that supports Ukraine would send a representative “to their enemy’s house to enjoy champagne and caviar.” Bergen said she hoped Trudeau apologized to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
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