The option of tougher sanctions against Iran looks more and more unlikely, as China and Russia seem to resist. The NY Times reports:
The Obama administration’s effort to marshal global support for new sanctions against Iran hit another snag on Thursday, when China said it was seeking to increase cooperation and high-level exchanges with Iran, suggesting that it would not support additional punitive measures over Tehran’s nuclear program. The comments by Prime Minister Wen Jiabao came a day after Russia’s prime minister, Vladimir V. Putin, said that sanctions were “premature” and two days after its foreign minister, Sergey V. Lavrov, said that threatening Iran while talks were under way would be “counterproductive.” China and Russia are crucial to a muscular sanctions campaign, analysts said, because of their geopolitical and commercial links to Iran and because they have historically resisted sanctions in the United Nations Security Council, where each holds a veto.
Afghanistan: A run-off expected — which could lead to a legitimate government, the Wash Post says.
Hillary Clinton beats Barack Obama: The Secretary of State now more popular than the President, a poll has found out.
Are the US and Russia going to clash over missile defense again? Reuters has the story:
Russia said on Thursday it was worried about U.S. talks on the use of Ukrainian radar stations as part of a revised missile defense shield, a step that could hinder efforts to reset ties between the two Cold War foes. Russia, which is extremely sensitive to any hint of U.S. cooperation with former Soviet republics, initially welcomed President Barack Obama’s scrapping of Bush-era plans for a missile defense system in central Europe. But Moscow has been irked by a U.S. statement that countries like Ukraine could contribute early warning information as part of the revised shield plan and reports that talks between the U.S. and Ukraine on the issue had already begun.
EU-Israel relations declining further. According to the Times:
The Middle East peace process was on the brink of collapse last night as Britain and other European countries failed to back Israel in a key vote at the United Nations. A furious Israel threatened to pull out of peace talks if the UN Human Rights Council endorses today a controversial report condemning the Jewish state for war crimes during the Gaza offensive in January.
A rising world power? Turkey has the potential to lead Islamic countries, says Stephen Kinzer in the Boston Globe:
Turkey has kept a low profile in the world. Those days are over. Now Turkey is reaching for a highly ambitious regional role as a conciliator and peacemaker. When Turkish officials land in bitterly divided countries like Lebanon or Afghanistan or Pakistan, every faction is eager to talk to them. No country’s diplomats are as welcome in both Tehran and Jerusalem, Moscow and Tblisi, Damascus and Cairo. As a Muslim country intimately familiar with the region around it, Turkey can go places, engage partners, and make deals that the United States cannot.
This new Turkish role holds tantalizing potential. Before Turkey can play it fully, though, it must put its own house in order. That is one reason its leaders were so eager to resolve their country’s dispute with Armenia. Turkey has one remaining international problem to resolve: Cyprus. Then it must solidify its democracy at home. That means lifting restrictions on free speech and fully respecting minority rights not just those of Kurds, whose culture has been brutalized by decades of repression, but also those of Christians, non-mainstream Muslims, and unbelievers.
Under other circumstances, Egypt, Pakistan, or Iran might have emerged to lead the Islamic world. Their societies, however, are weak, fragmented, and decomposing. Indonesia is a more promising candidate, but it has no historic tradition of leadership and is far from the center of Muslim crises. That leaves Turkey. It is trying to seize this role. Making peace with Armenia was an important step. More are likely to come soon.
We don’t need no education. Ankara refuses criticism made in the EU enlargement report, the EU Observer reports.
European Council president: Time has a round-up of the debate on candidates.
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