The Klaus saga goes on. According to the Times: “’President Klaus has not received any guarantees that ratification of the Lisbon treaty will go on in the way he wants,’ Ladisav Jakl, his top aide, said. ‘In this case, he cannot guarantee anything.’” “Mr Klaus (…) is clearly enjoying all the attention. Statesmen from across Europe phone him every day, pleading for his signature.” “‘His narcissistic personality loves being at the centre of attention and power’ (…) a politician in Prague told The Times. ‘But he is also genuinely convinced that this treaty is bad and that the eventual outcome will be a crisis in Europe. He does not think this European project will survive and he is also a real conservative, the opposite to so-called progressive thinking.’” “Mr Klaus had not even told his own Prime Minister exactly what it would take to ensure his co-operation, as revealed in a faltering performance in Brussels by Jan Fischer, the caretaker leader who has no political mandate — or stomach — to take on his head of state.”
Is Moscow supporting tougher sanctions on Iran or not? US secretary of state Hilary Clinton talked four hours with her Russian counterpart, Sergej Lavrov. According to the NY Times and the Wash Post, Russia resists tougher sanctions in case negotiations fail. But a fresher report from Reuters suggests the opposite: “A U.S. State Department official said Russia’s president told Hillary Clinton on Tuesday there should be sanctions on Iran if it did not implement promises made to world powers about its disputed nuclear program. Dmitry Medvedev was ‘quite clear that while pleased with the Geneva results he expects Iran to implement them and if they don’t there should be sanctions,’ the senior official told reporters after talks between Medvedev and the U.S. secretary of state in Moscow.” The conflicting reports lead to the question: How much can Washington count on Medvedevs word — can he deliver?
US ready to talk with Taliban — but are Taliban ready to talk with US? The Wash Post: “As Washington policymakers debate the U.S. role in Afghanistan, most agree that one element will be important to whatever strategy emerges: the need for reconciliation with insurgents who can be bought off or persuaded to lay down their weapons. But those efforts have become increasingly difficult in recent weeks as the Taliban gains strength and as Afghans grow more and more anxious that the United States is not committed to their country for the long term. ‘When the enemy has the momentum, it’s highly unlikely you’re going to get people willing to talk,’ said Bruce Riedel, a former CIA analyst who led the Obama administration’s war policy review in the spring. ‘Why would you pick the loser?’”
Tom Friedman: Governance is key in Afghanistan. The influential NY Times columnist writes: “I wish there was less talk today about how many more troops to send and more focus on what kind of Afghan government we have as our partner. Because when you are mounting a counterinsurgency campaign, the local government is the critical bridge between your troops and your goals. If that government is rotten, your whole enterprise is doomed.” Friedman indeed thinks the government is rotten.
Future German government clashes over Turkey’s EU membership. Coalition talks in Berlin: Merkel’s CDU’s Bavarian sister party, CSU, wants to include a clause into the coalition treaty that says Turkey should not become a EU member. Future German foreign minister and party leader of FDP, Guido Westerwelle, resists, Spiegel reports.
Turkish-Armenian rapprochement, what’s behind? According to Carnegie analyst Henry Barkey: “Turkey wants to become a regional—if not global—power. In order to achieve this Turkey embraced a new foreign policy and called for ‘zero problems with its neighbors.’ Armenia is one obvious exception that Turkey needs to deal with. The important factor driving the Armenians was the desire to break the country’s isolation—which creates a dependence on Russia—and improve economic conditions.”
Enlargement day in Brussels. Today enlargement commissioner Olli Rehn will present the annual enlargement package — strategy and progress reports. Watch live at 12.15 (Brussels time) here. And read Fraser Cameron’s piece on Global Europe: Keep the door open! Three reasons why enlargement is good for the EU.
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