Foreign Policy Update – USA Gov Policy

SYRIA

For the first time ever, against any country, the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons Conference of the State Parties this week in the Hague, with the United States and 45 co-sponsors, succeeded in passing a historic decision that condemns the Syrian regime, led by President Assad for its continued use and possession of chemical weapons, in violation of its obligations under the Chemical Weapons Convention.

The decision, which was adopted with 87 countries voting in favor of it and only 15 against, condemns Syria’s use of chemical weapons and suspends certain of Syria’s rights and privileges Syria holds under the Convention – most notably its right to vote – until the OPCW director-general reports that Syria has completed certain measures. A State Department spokesman said that Syria must resolve all outstanding issues regarding the initial declaration of its chemical weapons stockpile and program. According to the US, the Assad regime has used chemical weapons at least 50 times since acceding to the CWC in 2013.

UKRAINE

“You know our commitment to Ukraine, our partnership with Ukraine, it’s deep. It is important to us. It’s enduring,” according to State Department spokesman New Price. He said that this was the message that Secretary Blinken conveyed to his Ukrainian counterpart last week when he met with Foreign Minister Kuleba in Brussels. The US has committed more than $2 billion in security assistance to Ukraine since 2014.

RUSSIA

The State Department admitted it is aware that Russia has announced its intention to block foreign naval ships and state vessels in parts of the Black Sea, particularly near the Kerch Strait, through October as part of what it is claiming is a “military exercise.” The State Department spokesman said that Washington is “cognizant that Russia has a history of aggressive actions against Ukrainian vessels and impeding access to Ukraine’s ports in the Sea of Azov, impacting Ukraine’s international commerce.” This is the latest example of an ongoing campaign to undermine and to destabilize Ukraine, he added.

If men consume a higher dose of Kamagra, achieving harder, longer, stronger and healthier devensec.com levitra online erection is just a bad phase but in some areas it is not phase that is bad but it is your fist time to take this kind of mouth safeguard serves the additional benefit associated with aiding it’s user to stop snoring aswell. On generic viagra http://www.devensec.com/sustain/eidis-updates/IndustrialSymbiosisupdateSeptemberOctober2012.pdf the off chance that treating an underlying condition doesn’t help your erectile dysfunction, drugs or other immediate medications may work. Other reasons include fatigue, smoking, junk food, intake of alcohol, lack of exercises, inability to focus on lovemaking due to work pressure, super cialis cheap financial worries etc. This jelly has emerged as the first line of http://www.devensec.com/levitra-4030.html levitra on line treatment, this medication works on the kidneys to help rid your body of sodium and water thus reducing blood pressure.

The US also recently called on Russia to “cease its harassment of vessels in the region and to reverse its buildup of forces along Ukraine’s borders.” A State Department official said that Washington is “deeply concerned by Russia’s ongoing aggressive actions and rhetoric against Ukraine… these actions include credible reports of Russian troop buildup in occupied Crimea and around Ukraine’s borders. And importantly, we are now seeing a presence of Russian troops at levels not seen since Russia’s invasion in 2014, as well as continued attacks and other provocative actions by Russian-led forces at the line of control.”

AFGHANISTAN

Upon his return from meeting with Afghan President Ghani, Secretary of State Blinken responded to criticisms from the American generals who commanded troops in Afghanistan, including former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs and David Petraeus, who went on to become CIA director. The commanders are saying that the withdrawal of troops will leave America more vulnerable to terrorist threats, with General Joe Dunford, a a retired United States Marine Corps four-star general, who served as the 19th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, saying it would also have a catastrophic effect in Afghanistan itself. Secretary Blinken responded that “We went to Afghanistan 20 years ago, and we went because we were attacked on 9/11, and we went to take on those who had attacked us on 9/11 and to make sure that Afghanistan would not again become a haven for terrorism directed at the United States or any of our allies and partners. And we achieved the objectives that we set out to achieve.” He added that the United States now is invested in the “peace process for Afghanistan” that the Administration hopes will bring about a political settlement.

NORWAY

At a time when Moscow is amassing over 40,000 troops on its border with the Ukraine, the US is looking northward to shore up its commitments to the Kingdom of Norway. Washington recently concluded a Supplementary Defense Cooperation Agreement (SDCA), which will allow the two countries to deepen bilateral security cooperation, strengthen NATO operations, and increase Transatlantic security. The SDCA builds on the 1951 NATO Status of Forces Agreement to facilitate further development of opportunities for US forces to train and exercise in Norway.

DARIA NOVAK served in the United States State Department during the Reagan Administration, and currently is on the Board of the American Analysis of News and Media Inc., which publishes usagovpolicy.com and the New York Analysis of Policy and Government. Each Saturday, she presents key updates on U.S. foreign policy from the State Department.

Illustration: Pixabay

Quick Analysis

Ukraine’s Frozen Conflict

As we approach winter in the northern hemisphere, the war in Ukraine is beginning to resemble a “frozen conflict” from many perspectives. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky recently told the media he hopes the war will end faster once President-elect Trump takes over in January. Opinions in Moscow, however, differ from that of the Ukrainian leader. Russian President Vladimir Putin argues that the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) needs to exclude Ukraine from joining in “exchange” for peace. If it does not, he says, then no end to the war is in sight. So far there is no Christmas solution. Several NATO countries, according to Vladimir Socor of the Jamestown Foundation, are tentatively considering “coalitions-of-the-willing” to provide security for Ukraine outside of the formal NATO framework. There is, however, no collective mechanism today under which such an arrangement is viable. According to the NATO Charter, while Ukraine is a NATO partner country, it may not join as a full member since it has not fulfilled the requirements for membership. That has not stopped NATO and allies from continuing “to provide Ukraine with unprecedented levels of support, helping to uphold its fundamental right to self-defence,” according to the organization. Socor says that keeping Ukraine out of NATO will not advance peace with Russia. Waiting for a peace settlement, he suggests, would only serve to encourage Moscow to continue the war indefinitely. Although the Biden Administration officially withdrew its support for Ukrainian membership in 2021, NATO maintains an “open door” policy toward membership-seeking countries. The current White House position led the way for European states to oppose Ukraine’s membership saying that a decision should be delayed until “conditions are met.” Biden pushed for changing “open door” to a “bridge” metaphor. It is not intended as an across-the-board NATO policy and has been implemented in the past on a case-by-case basis, says Socor. “The alliance’s open-door policy was not fully insulated from Russia’s non-statutory blocking power, and NATO-aspirant countries’ path toward membership was not always irreversible.” Russia has successfully blocked states like Georgia from joining, first in 2008 and again after the war in Ukraine began in 2014. Russia recognizes the value add of Ukraine to NATO is enormous and that Kyiv has a better case than some other nations. Putin’s invasion was, in part, intended to foreclose that option. By 2021, Moscow was pushing hard to maximize its war objectives, which included further annexations of Ukrainian territory. A main goal for Putin was, and is, to ensure there is no Ukraine left to join NATO. As President-elect Trump prepares to assume office in January, he is faced with the historical challenges presented by the war. Post-conflict security guarantees were the center of several proposals made during the 2023 military stalemate. The incoming Trump Administration has yet to outline how it intends to handle the Russia-Ukraine war. Analysts in Washington believe that the new Administration will expect its European allies to guarantee the majority of Ukraine’s security needs. As we approach 2025, several European nations have acknowledged that they do not view Ukraine as eligible for NATO membership as it would draw the organization into the middle of the conflict. Others want to wait until the war is over or pending a “peace” settlement before considering Ukrainian membership. Socor reports that some “influential voices” are suggesting that “Kyiv should join NATO after “freezing” the war along a stable armistice line, de facto accepting Ukraine’s partition, with NATO security guarantees applying de jure to the government-controlled territory only.” This would mean starting accession talks soon with the actual talks to commence only after a ceasefire is in place. Trump arrives in Washington at a time when Putin’s hybrid strategies of war in Ukraine have eviscerated commonly-held differences between war and peace. “Absent a political consensus in NATO over Ukrainian membership, certain European allies, including France’s President Emmanuel Macron, are holding informal consultations about post-conflict security guarantees to Kyiv by NATO members outside of NATO’s framework,” according to the Jamestown Foundation. The Biden Administration downplayed the discussions on possible forms of military assistance and defense industry cooperation by sending only an Assistant Secretary of State. For a European peace to hold the Trump Administration would need to formally extend the United States’ nuclear deterrence to Ukraine. Options under discussion in Europe include a “coalition of the resolute” to deploy forces to Ukraine as part of a possible armistice package, deterring further Russian attacks, says Secor. European officials are also debating, without any agreement, whether its military forces could perform non-combat logistical roles to free Ukrainian forces to fight. None of the possible courses of action has moved forward as all eyes are waiting on the incoming Trump Administration for clues about its intended level of support for a NATO framework and other non-NATO proposals. Daria Novak served in the U.S. State Dept.