Diplomatic Briefing
Your exclusive news aggregator handpicked daily!Archive for September 28, 2022
Newsline: Georgia summons Belarus ambassador
The Georgian Foreign Ministry has summoned the Ambassador of Belarus to Georgia following the visit of Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko to the Abkhazia region. (https://georgiatoday.ge/georgian-mfa-summons-belarus-ambassador-following-lukashenkos-visit-to-abkhazia/) As previously reported, Alexander Lukashenko arrived in Abkhazia on Wednesday and met with its de-facto leader Aslan Bzhania in Bichvinta. While in office, it was the first time for Alexander Lukashenko to enter Abkhazia. It is noteworthy that Belarus does not recognize the independence of Abkhazia or Tskhinvali region.
Newsline: U.S. Embassy in Moscow urges American citizens to leave Russia ‘immediately’
The U.S. Embassy in Moscow is urging American citizens residing in Russia to leave immediately. “U.S. citizens should not travel to Russia and those residing or traveling in Russia should depart Russia immediately while limited commercial travel options remain,” the embassy said in a security alert. The embassy urged U.S. citizens to make independent arrangements “as soon as possible,” as commercial flight options are extremely limited but overland car and bus routes are still open. The embassy said it has limited options to help Americans in Russia, whose transportation options “may suddenly become even more limited.” “Avoid all political or social protests and do not photograph security personnel at these events,” the embassy warned. “Russian authorities have arrested U.S. citizens who have participated in demonstrations.” (https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/us-embassy-in-moscow-urges-american-citizens-to-leave-russia-immediately/ar-AA12lE9h) The alert also warned Americans that Russia may refuse to acknowledge U.S. citizenship for dual nationals, try to prevent their departure from Russia, prevent access to consular assistance or even conscript dual nationals for military service.
Newsline: EU diplomats discuss price cap on gas
Eyes were on the EU executive European Commission, which was expected to present an analysis on the feasibility of the bloc capping gas prices during a meeting of diplomats from the 27 EU member states on Wednesday. (https://finance.yahoo.com/news/1-eu-countries-odds-over-141709282.html) European Union countries were at odds on Wednesday over whether to cap gas prices in the bloc, with France, Belgium and 13 other states stepping up their call for the move opposed by Germany and others. The Commission’s document would not include legal proposals, sources said, but rather present an assessment of options countries could use to tackle high gas prices, which are stoking record inflation across the bloc and threatening a recession. A group of 15 countries including France, Italy, Spain and Poland urged the Commission on Tuesday to propose a price cap on all wholesale gas transactions to help rein in surging prices. But with Germany, the Netherlands and Denmark among those arguing that a gas price cap would harm efforts to contain Europe’s energy crunch, there were doubts as to whether any potential proposal could win sufficient support to become law.
Newsline: U.S. eyes ‘big dollar’ Pacific diplomacy in China contest
The United States will announce “big dollar” assistance to Pacific island nations when President Joe Biden hosts a first-of-its-kind summit with their leaders on Wednesday, a gathering Washington hopes will help counter China’s expanding influence in a new theater of geopolitical competition. (https://news.yahoo.com/u-vows-big-dollar-help-090306769.html) Leaders from 12 Pacific island states are expected to take part in a two-day summit in Washington, with two more sending representatives, and Australia and New Zealand attending as observers. White House Indo-Pacific coordinator Kurt Campbell said last week the summit would focus on addressing issues such as climate change and health and that Washington and its allies were focused on boosting maritime security and island states’ communications links with countries like Japan, Australia and India. The leaders will be feted all around Washington, including at the State Department, the U.S. Congress, Coast Guard headquarters, by business leaders, and at the White House. On Wednesday, Washington also will unveil a detailed new strategy specifically for the Pacific, a senior Biden administration official said. It will be the first time the United States has hosted so many leaders of a region it has considered it maritime backyard since World War Two, but into which China has been making steady advances. Some of the nations have complained about being caught in the middle of the superpowers’ battle for influence.
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