Welcome back to World Brief, where we’re looking at NATO’s 75th anniversary, the Biden-Netanyahu phone call over the Israel-Hamas war, and U.S.-China trade ties.
Welcome back to World Brief, where we’re looking at NATO’s 75th anniversary, the Biden-Netanyahu phone call over the Israel-Hamas war, and U.S.-China trade ties.
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NATO’s Birthday Bash
NATO rang in its 75th birthday on Thursday with a modest celebration that was clouded by urgent concerns over how to bolster Ukraine’s defenses amid stalled funding in the U.S. Congress and the potential threat of a second Donald Trump U.S. presidential term.
“NATO’s biggest battles to fight are still in the future, and we have to be ready for them,” Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis told reporters in Brussels during a meeting of NATO foreign ministers on Thursday.
One of the alliance’s most immediate challenges is crafting a long-term plan to support Kyiv as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine stretches into its third year. Those pressures have been compounded by ongoing uncertainty over the future of U.S. support, particularly as the Biden administration’s $60 billion aid package to Ukraine remains stalled in Congress and former U.S. President Donald Trump publicly questions the alliance’s security provisions.
On Wednesday, NATO Chief Jens Stoltenberg proposed establishing a 100-billion-euro fund that would be distributed to Kyiv over a five year-period. As part of the proposal, NATO would also take on a more active role in managing the Ramstein Group, also known as the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, a U.S.-led coalition that arranges arms deliveries to Kyiv.
But the proposal sparked some pushback among some other NATO members, with Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto warning that Budapest would not support any plans that “might draw the alliance closer to war or shift it from a defensive to an offensive coalition.” Washington also questioned the alliance’s ability to oversee the Ramstein Group, citing the importance of “American leadership” in uniting the coalition.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian officials have ramped up their calls for more military support. “I didn’t want to spoil the birthday party for NATO, but I felt compelled to deliver a sobering message on behalf of Ukrainians about the state of Russian air attacks on my country, destroying our energy system, our economy, killing civilians,” said Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba.
NATO will hold a bigger anniversary celebration when alliance leaders meet in Washington for a summit in July.
Today’s Most Read
What We’re Following
Tough call. U.S. President Joe Biden spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a phone call on Thursday, the first time that the two leaders directly communicated since a deadly Israeli strike killed seven World Central Kitchen (WCK) aid workers on Monday. The strike sparked global condemnation and prompted WCK to suspend its operations over safety concerns, further intensifying worries about worsening humanitarian conditions in the besieged Gaza Strip.
During the call, Biden “underscored that an immediate ceasefire is essential” and “urged the Prime Minister to empower his negotiators to conclude a deal without delay to bring the hostages home,” according to the White House. “He made clear the need for Israel to announce and implement a series of specific, concrete, and measurable steps to address civilian harm, humanitarian suffering, and the safety of aid workers,” a readout of the call said.
Even as he sharpens his criticism, the U.S. leader has resisted conditioning ongoing aid to Israel. The Biden administration has been pushing Congress to greenlight an $18 billion arms sales deal to Israel, and, according to the Washington Post, also approved an arms transfer the same day as the Israeli strike on the WCK convoy.
Trade talks. U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen arrived in Guangzhou, China, on Thursday for four days of high-level meetings with top Chinese officials, American business representatives, and Chinese academics and students. Her visit is expected to center on the two countries’ trade relationship, particularly as Beijing’s green technology exports spark alarm in Washington.
“During my time in China, I’ll focus on advancing a healthy economic relationship that provides a level playing field for American workers and firms, and furthering cooperation on shared challenges like illicit finance and climate change,” Yellen posted on X, formerly Twitter.
Yellen’s visit comes just days after Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping had a nearly two-hour-long phone call on Tuesday, their first direct communication since November. “We believe that there is no substitute for regular communication at the leader level to effectively manage this complex, and often tense bilateral relationship,” White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said. “Both presidents agreed: Pick up the phone and speak when needed.”
Kuwait votes. Hundreds of thousands of Kuwaiti voters headed to the polls on Thursday to participate in the country’s parliamentary election. Since political parties are illegal in the country, whose ruler is a hereditary monarch with the power to dissolve Parliament, voters will be casting their ballots for 50 assembly members out of 200 candidates.
Thursday’s vote will be Kuwait’s first election since the country’s emir, Sheikh Meshal al-Ahmad al-Sabah, entered power last December following the death of his brother, Sheikh Nawaf al-Ahmad al-Sabah. Less than two months after assuming power, he dissolved the country’s parliament after he was reportedly insulted by lawmakers. Under the country’s laws, it is illegal to criticize the emir.
Odds and Ends
Wildlife officials were hoping that a tanker filled with more than 100,000 young salmon, or smolts, could help boost depleted populations in an Oregon waterway. But things didn’t go to plan: the tanker crashed, sending the fish flooding out in different directions. Thankfully, the majority of the fish plunged into a nearby creek and “hit the water running”—just in a different waterway. They are expected to continue their journey from there all the way to the Pacific Ocean.
The post Trump 2.0 Fears Hang Over NATO Birthday Bash appeared first on Foreign Policy.