Trump Warns Erdogan Over Offensive in Syria

Council on Foreign Relations Newsletter If you are unable to see the message below, click here to view. January 25, 2018 Daily News Brief   TOP OF THE AGENDA Trump Warns Erdogan Over Offensive in Syria U.S. President Donald J. Trump has called Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to warn him that an ongoing Turkish offensive against Kurdish forces in northern Syria "risks undercutting our shared goals" in the country, the White House said. Trump also urged his Turkish counterpart to "limit" his country's military actions (WaPo) and avoid civilian casualties. Ankara disputed Washington's description of the Wednesday phone call, and Erdogan announced that Turkey will extend its operations in the area (Guardian) to the city of Manbij, moving its troops closer to the U.S.-backed Kurdish presence in Syria's northeast. In Vienna, a ninth round of UN-sponsored Syria peace talks is set to begin on Thursday (RFE/RL), ahead of Russia-sponsored negotiations in Sochi next week. ANALYSIS "Washington is so focused on its narrow strategy of eliminating the Islamic State in Syria, that it has ignored the grievances of its ally Turkey," Mahir Zeynalov said in an interview with the Carnegie Middle East Center. "While Turkish officials portray this campaign as an anti-terrorism operation (awkwardly named Operation Olive Branch), Turkey has much to answer for in this department," CFR's Steven A. Cook writes for the Atlantic. "Erdogan has largely gritted his teeth as American-backed [Kurdish] YPG forces cleared the Islamic State from significant swaths of Syria. However, he has consistently proved his readiness to take military action in defense of a clear red line: any moves by the YPG to connect three cantons in northern Syria along the Turkish border into a unified Kurdish region," Amanda Sloat writes for Foreign Policy. PACIFIC RIM North Korea Calls for Unity as Athletes Arrive in South In a rare move, North Korean state media called on Thursday for all Koreans to work toward unification (DW) and improve North-South relations. The statement came as a delegation of athletes traveled to the South to train as part of a joint Olympic women's ice hockey team (Reuters). In the Hill, CFR's Scott A. Snyder discusses the paradox of South Korean power as it puts on the Winter Olympics. MYANMAR: Bill Richardson, a former governor of the U.S. state of New Mexico, resigned on Wednesday from an international panel investigating human rights concerns in Myanmar, saying he did not want to be "part of a whitewash" (NYT). SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA Spokesman for Trump Campaign Official Among Dead in Kabul Attack A spokesman for former Trump campaign official Richard Gates, who was indicted in a U.S. investigation (Politico) into Russian interference in the 2016 election, was among the dead in an attack on a Kabul hotel last weekend. The spokesman, Glenn Selig, was among four Americans who died in the attack (VOA). PAKISTAN: Pakistan accused the United States of hitting a camp for Afghan refugees (Dawn) in a drone strike in Kurram Agency on Wednesday. A U.S. embassy spokesperson denied the charge. MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA Last Challenger to Egypt's Sisi Withdraws From Election Human rights lawyer Khaled Ali pulled out of Egypt's upcoming presidential election (Guardian) on Wednesday, a day after another contender was arrested. The March election is expected to deliver an easy win to President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA U.S. Looks Into Video Appearing to Show Slain Soldiers U.S. Africa Command said it is investigating a social media post attributed to the self-proclaimed Islamic State that purports to show the U.S. soldiers killed in an October ambush (Hill) in Niger. In this CFR interview, Jason Warner of West Point's Combating Terrorism Center discusses whether the Niger attack will shift U.S. policy in West Africa. NAMIBIA: A New York judge has rejected a petition by Germany to dismiss a lawsuit by groups in Namibia seeking reparations for a colonial-era genocide (DW). EUROPE Google 'Happy' to Pay More Tax, Says CEO Google's chief executive told the World Economic Forum in Davos on Wednesday that the tech giant is willing to pay "whatever the world agrees on" (Guardian) as the right framework for corporate taxes, though he called on countries to improve the existing tax system. CFR President Richard N. Haass writes in Time that Davos attendees should recognize the grievances driving global populism and that President Trump should understand how globalization benefits the United States. RUSSIA: Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny appeared at the European Court of Human Rights (AP) on Wednesday for a hearing on his many arrests in recent years, some of which the court earlier ruled were unlawful. AMERICAS Court Upholds Conviction for Brazil's Lula An appeals court voted unanimously to uphold a corruption conviction against former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who had planned to run for president again (NPR) later this year but is ineligible as long as his conviction stands. GUATEMALA: Guatemalan prosecutors disclosed details of an investigation into nearly $18 million in bribes allegedly paid to local officials and businessmen (AP) by the Brazilian construction giant Odebrecht. UNITED STATES Trump Says 'Looking Forward' to Interview With Mueller President Trump said on Wednesday that he is "looking forward to" being interviewed by Special Counsel Robert Mueller (Politico), who is leading an investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Trump has denied any wrongdoing. This CFR Backgrounder lays out the allegations of Russian interference in the election. Twenty-one global humanitarian organizations, including Save the Children and the International Rescue Committee, have called on the United States to restore funding to a UN agency for Palestinian refugees (NYT) that was cut last week.         Council on Foreign Relations — 58 East 68th Street — New York, NY 10065 CFR does not share email addresses with third parties. Forward This Email | Subscribe to CFR Newsletters | Unsubscribe - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  

From: dailybrief@e.cfr.org

Date: January 25, 2018 at 11:05PM