Europeans Advocate for Iran Deal | ETA Apologizes to Spain | eSwatini

Council on Foreign Relations Newsletter If you are unable to see the message below, click here to view. April 20, 2018 Daily News Brief   TOP OF THE AGENDA Europeans Call on U.S. to Stay in Iran Deal More than three hundred lawmakers from France, Germany, and the United Kingdom wrote to the U.S. Congress to urge the United States to stay in the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement ahead of a May 12 deadline set by President Donald J. Trump to renegotiate or abandon the pact, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). The letter says that the United States has no evidence that Iran is not fulfilling its obligations and that abandoning the pact risks "lasting damage to our credibility as international partners in negotiation" (Guardian). French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel will both meet President Trump at the White House (WSJ) next week to persuade him to stay in the deal. ANALYSIS "Any game plan that can succeed in countering Iran’s regional threat requires President Trump to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat and strike a compromise with Britain, France, and Germany to preserve the JCPOA and avoid a needless nuclear crisis," Suzanne Maloney writes for the Brookings Institution. "The Europeans must continue to engage Iran and preserve the channels of communication that are critical to de-escalating the tensions likely to arise from the toxic combination of hawkish voices gaining prominence in Washington—now including John Bolton’s—and hardline pushback in Tehran," Ariane Tabatabai writes for the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. "Europe [could] negotiate a long-term energy partnership or a bilateral investment agreement with Iran, which would send a strong signal of its longstanding commitment to the JCPOA," Ali Vaez writes for Foreign Affairs. PACIFIC RIM TPP Moving Forward Without U.S., APEC Head Says The eleven members of the revamped Trans Pacific Partnership, now called the CPTPP, are "focused" on putting the trade pact into practice (Nikkei), Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Director Allan Bollard said, though he allowed that the United States might reenter the agreement "in some years." AUSTRALIA: The head of AMP, Australia's largest wealth manager, resigned following revelations that the company lied to regulators for more than a decade over fees inappropriately charged to customers (BBC). His outster is the first amid a public inquiry into the financial sector. SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA China Defends Pakistan Over Modi Terror Charge China's foreign ministry defended Pakistan after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi assailed the country as a "terror export factory." The ministry also said terrorism will be discussed during next week's meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, where envoys from Pakistan and India will both be present (Hindustan Times). KYRGYZSTAN: President Sooronbai Jeenbekov ordered the government dissolved (RFE/RL) after lawmakers overwhelmingly voted that they had no confidence in the cabinet of Prime Minister Sapar Isakov. MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA Syria Returns French Award The Syrian government returned the Legion d'honneur France bestowed on President Bashar al-Assad in 2001. The foreign ministry called France, which joined the United States and United Kingdom in missile strikes on Syrian government facilities last weekend, "a slave country and follower of the United States that supports terrorists" (France 24). In Project Syndicate, CFR President Richard N. Haass writes that the strikes were not designed to undermine the Assad regime. ISRAEL: Romania will move its Israel embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem (RFE/RL), the leader of its ruling party said. The move would make it the first European Union member to follow the United States in doing so. SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA South Africa’s Ramaphosa Cuts Trip Short Over Protests President Cyril Ramaphosa cut short a London trip (NYT) in which he was courting international investors to address an outbreak of protests in North West Province over jobs, housing, and infrastructure. Ramaphosa is expected to visit the province on Friday (eNCA). SWAZILAND: King Mswati III announced that his country will be known by the indigenous name eSwatini, in part to avoid confusion with Switzerland (WaPo). EUROPE Basque Separatists Apologize to Spain The militant group ETA issued a statement apologizing for the harm it caused  to "people who bore no responsibility" (Guardian) during its four-decade armed campaign for Basque independence, in which it killed more than eight hundred people. The group is expected to officially dissolve in the coming weeks. AMERICAS New Cuban President Says No Room for Capitalism Miguel Diaz-Canel succeeded Raul Castro as Cuba's president on Thursday, saying that there will be "no space for those who aspire for a restoration of capitalism (LAT)." Christopher Sabatini discusses post-Castro Cuba in a CFR interview. VENEZUELA: Colombian Finance Minister Mauricio Cardenas said U.S., Panamanian, and Mexican authorities will join Colombia to probe fraud in Venezuela's food aid import program (Reuters), the funds for which, Cardenas said, are partly diverted to companies and individuals close to the government. This CFR Backgrounder looks at Venezuela's humanitarian crisis. UNITED STATES Wells Fargo Could Be Fined $1 Billion Federal regulators are expected to announce the fine against Wells Fargo for charging customers inappropriate fees for mortgages and forcing more than half a million to pay for car insurance they did not need (CNN). It would be the largest imposed by the Trump administration against a bank. The Pentagon said a U.S.-allied militia in Syria has captured a Syrian-born German national who was cited by the 9/11 Commission for his links to two of the attack's plotters (Reuters).         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: April 20, 2018 at 10:17PM