Trump-Putin Summit | Turkey's Syrian Refugees | Obama in Kenya

Council on Foreign Relations Newsletter If you are unable to see the message below, click here to view. July 16, 2018 Daily News Brief   TOP OF THE AGENDA Trump, Putin Meet in Helsinki President Donald J. Trump plans to discuss trade, military and arms control issues, and China with Russian President Vladimir Putin, the U.S. leader said ahead of their summit (CNN) in the Finnish capital today. The two leaders held a one-on-one meeting with interpreters at the presidential palace (Guardian) in Helsinki. President Trump did not say if the two would address Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election during the summit, which comes days after the United States indicted twelve Russian intelligence agents (NYT) for election-related hacking. The meeting also comes on the heels of a week of turbulence over trade and the NATO alliance as Trump visited Brussels and London. ANALYSIS “Mr. Trump manages the spectacle—the feel-good, ego-boosting, backslapping engagement—while Mr. Pompeo and Mr. Bolton manage the policy. They let the president glory in the main event as they try to control both the run-up and the substantive aftermath,” CFR’s Stephen Sestanovich writes for the New York Times. “Since the breakup of the Soviet Union, Russians have felt palpable insecurity about the country’s status as a global power. Putin’s support at home hinges on his ability to project power abroad,” Anna Arutunyan writes for Time. “President Trump can use the Helsinki summit to begin to carve out a Russia policy that reduces the unnecessary nuclear dangers we are currently running, while maintaining our values and protecting our allies and interests,” Ernest Moniz and Sam Nunn write for the Hill. PACIFIC RIM China’s Mid-2018 Growth Edges Down China reported economic growth of 6.7 percent (SCMP) for the second quarter of 2018, just slightly down from the year’s first quarter. It has posted rates from 6.7 to 6.9 percent since June 2015. An ongoing U.S. trade war with China is expected to have a greater impact (Nikkei) on the country’s gross domestic product in the third and fourth quarters. CFR’s Brad W. Setser looks into what’s behind the U.S. trade war with China. JAPAN: At least eight people died (Kyodo) in a weekend heat wave across southern Japan. The extreme heat struck the same areas hit by severe flooding (CNN) last week. SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA Record Number of Afghan Civilians Killed, Reports UN Nearly 1,700 civilians were killed during the first half of 2018, the highest death toll in ten years of record-keeping, according to a new UN report. More than half of the deaths were attributed to attacks (Tolo) by the self-proclaimed Islamic State. PAKISTAN: Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his daughter Maryam Nawaz, who were arrested in Pakistan upon their return to the country on Friday, filed appeals against their corruption convictions (Dawn) in an Islamabad court today. MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA Gaza Cease-Fire Appears to Halt Weekend Fighting Israel carried out dozens of air strikes in Gaza (Reuters) while militants fired rockets across the border on Saturday, killing at least two people. The two sides announced a cease-fire later that day that appeared to largely hold through the rest of the weekend. TURKEY: Authorities in the capital and nine southern provinces have stopped registering almost all new Syrian refugees, according to a new Human Rights Watch report. The group accused the government of coerced returns. In Foreign Affairs, Maha Yahya discusses the obstacles for Syrian refugees to return home. SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA Obama to Inaugurate Youth Program in Kenya Former U.S. President Barack Obama arrived in Kenya yesterday (East African) for a two-day visit that includes a trip to a youth development foundation run by his half sister Auma Obama in the country’s west. He met with President Uhuru Kenyatta on Sunday. SOUTH SUDAN: The UN Security Council backed a U.S.-drafted arms embargo (VOA) on South Sudan that would last through 2019 and includes asset freezes and travel restrictions for two top military officials. EUROPE U.S. Rebuffs European Bid Over Iran Sanctions Relief U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin rejected a bid by European ministers (FT) to exempt European firms in certain Iranian sectors, including finance, energy, and health care, from U.S. sanctions that are set to be reimposed, according to diplomatic sources familiar with the U.S. secretaries’ letter. ITALY: The Italian government allowed a migrant boat (EUobserver) with some 450 people on it to dock in Sicily after France, Germany, Spain, Portugal, and Malta agreed to take in fifty migrants each. The Czech prime minister refused the deal, calling it a “road to hell.” AMERICAS Death Toll From Nicaragua Protests Mounts At least 273 people have died in anti-government protests (CNN) since April, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights reported. The death toll includes at least two people killed during a fifteen-hour siege (WaPo) by pro-government militias of a Catholic church at a university in Managua on Friday. HAITI: Prime Minister Jack Guy Lafontant resigned on Saturday (Miami Herald), a week after rising fuel prices prompted widespread protests. The price hike, which was suspended hours after it was imposed, was part of a series of economic reforms pushed for by the International Monetary Fund for Haiti to receive $96 million in loans. UNITED STATES Russia Not Targeting Midterms at 2016 Level, Says Nielsen Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen said on Saturday that her department has seen “persistent Russian efforts using social media” and other channels to sow discord (AP) among U.S. voters ahead of midterm elections but that it is not of the same scale or scope as in 2016. CFR’s Robert D. Blackwill and Philip H. Gordon discuss the response to Russia’s intervention in U.S. elections.         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: July 16, 2018 at 10:05PM