Tuesday, December 24

Sanctions

Sanctions are a key aspect of global diplomacy.  They reveal international relations through a concrete lens. It’s a primary tool for policymakers to implement foreign policy decisions. It has a real-world impact on finance, trade, and investments. A key question is, do they work to implement change or influence another country’s decisions? We look at both international and unilateral sanctions. This topic overlaps with global diplomacy and touches on areas of banking and global finance.

Biden Announces New Sanctions Against Russia
22Feb By Patti MohrNo Comments
International Law, Legal Battles, Sanctions

Biden Announces New Sanctions Against Russia

Biden Says U.S. Allies Are 'United in Support of Ukraine' February 22, 2022--President Joe Biden announced new sanctions against Russia, two Russian banks and individuals today in the wake of Russia's breach of Ukraine's borders. Biden said the new sanctions go that "far beyond" those enacted in 2014. This comes in response to Russian President Vladimir Putin's recognition of two Ukrainian regions as independent and Russia's invasion of Ukraine. New 'First Tranche' of Sanctions The new U.S. sanctions apply to: Two state-owned financial institutions, VEB and PSB, which support Russia’s defense capability and its economy.Russian elites, including Denis Aleksandrovich Bortnikov, a Russian official and an executive at VTB Bank, Petr Mikhailovich Fradkov, chairman and CEO of PSB ...
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US, Japan And South Korea Issue Statement For ‘Free And Open Indo-Pacific’
14Feb By Jacob DavenportNo Comments
Diplomacy, Foreign Aid, International Development, International Law, Legal Battles, Sanctions, Types of News: Brief

US, Japan And South Korea Issue Statement For ‘Free And Open Indo-Pacific’

Leaders Condemn Missile Launches By DPRK February 14, 2022--Meeting in Honolulu, Hawaii on Saturday, the top diplomats for the United States, Japan, and South Korea released a joint statement promising to collaborate on an Indo-Pacific strategy. The statement comes after North Korea (DPRK) launched nine ballistic missiles in the month of January, challenging the Biden Administration. U.S. Strategy for the Indo-Pacific In response to that and other diplomatic challenges, namely by China, President Joe Biden released a new strategy this month for the Indo-Pacific region. The strategy suggests the United States is stepping up its diplomacy, foreign assistance and participation in regional organizations to counter China's growing influence in the East and South China Seas. U.S....
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Time Is Running Thin On Iran Deal, Negotiators Say
23Dec By Ramsha ZubairiNo Comments
Diplomacy, Middle East, Sanctions, Types of News: Analysis

Time Is Running Thin On Iran Deal, Negotiators Say

Nuclear Inspectors Are To Partially Resume Monitoring Of Sites Editor's Note: Diplomats representing Germany and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council are working with Iranian representatives to restore the Iranian nuclear deal (JCPOA). The talks first started in 2019. They continued this year. Now diplomats involved say the next few weeks are critical make-it-or-break-it time. Iran is getting closer to building a nuclear weapon. Iran, meanwhile, is asking the United States to waive nuclear-related sanctions and add oil to the list of products that the country can trade. Journalist Ramsha Zubairi reports on recent developments. December 23, 2021--Talks to restore Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers in Vienna came to a halt on Friday. Today, they are officia...
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Timeline of Nuclear-Related Talks With Iran
22Dec By Patti MohrNo Comments
Diplomacy, Sanctions, Types of News: Infographic, UN Security Council

Timeline of Nuclear-Related Talks With Iran

Here's a visual depiction of the talks hosted by the IAEA to prevent Iran from building nuclear weapons. Included are decisions about sanctions by the United States and the UN Security Council. timeline_iran_talks_vienna_nuclear_and_sanctionsDownload This content is supported by affiliate marketing. The GER chooses our partners carefully. Please consider purchasing products from our advertising partners. To support our work, please make sure your browser enables cookies for tracking.
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U.S.-Russia To Continue Talks On Sensitive Strategic Issues, Biden Says
8Dec By Patti MohrNo Comments
Diplomacy, Geopolitics, Sanctions, Types of News: Brief

U.S.-Russia To Continue Talks On Sensitive Strategic Issues, Biden Says

NATO Is At The Heart Of Most Sensitive Concerns December 8, 2021--In a virtual meeting held Tuesday, U.S. President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed the rocky relationship between the two countries as well as other sensitive and strategic issues. Speaking with reporters today, Biden said U.S.-Russian teams are in "constant contact" to bring "down the temperature along the eastern front." Talks are likely to continue, Biden said, to address Russia's concern regarding the NATO alliance's expansionary aims. Ukraine, NATO & Russia Ukraine -- a country located between Europe and Russia and divided between the East and West -- is at the center of attention. In recent weeks, Russia amassed troops along the Russian-Ukrainian border. Biden said he made cl...
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Nicaragua Proves That Elections Don’t Mean Democracy
23Nov By Ernesto RodriguezNo Comments
Communism, Dictatorship, Democracy, Human rights, Political Systems, Domestic Politics, Sanctions, Types of News: Analysis

Nicaragua Proves That Elections Don’t Mean Democracy

Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega and his wife vote Nov. 7 in a "sham election" that gives him a 4th term. Political Repression Is Becoming A Trend In Nicaragua And Beyond November 23, 2021—It's a tale as old as time: A revolutionary hero defies a dictatorship, said hero becomes an international icon and beats the dictatorship. (Maybe even the rock band The Clash releases an album named after the movement.) And then, finally, that hero becomes a new dictator himself. That's the history you can see repeating itself in the Russian and Cuban revolutions. And now, in Nicaragua, and it's happening with President Daniel Ortega. Unfortunately, a trend is surfacing, and it's bad for democracy. Acts of repression by the Nicaraguan government are becoming the new normal in many parts ...
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U.S. Government Adds Four Spyware Companies To Trade Blacklist
4Nov By Patti MohrNo Comments
Diplomacy, Human rights, Sanctions, Types of News: Analysis

U.S. Government Adds Four Spyware Companies To Trade Blacklist

Israeli Spyware Firm NSO Group Named On Commerce Department's Prohibited List November 4, 2021—In a move meant to put human rights at the center of U.S. foreign policy, the U.S. Commerce Department announced yesterday it is adding four companies to a list of companies subject to trade restrictions. The four companies include Israel-based Candiru and the NSO Group, a Singapore-based company called the Computer Security Initiative Consultancy PTE (COSEINC), and Russia's Positive Technologies. In effect, the decision puts the companies on trade blacklist that imposes extra licensing requirements. Specifically, companies on the Entity List under Export Administration Regulations face limited availability of most license exceptions for, exports, reexports, and transfers (in-country) to...
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Venezuela Ups the Ante In Talks With Opposition Leaders
17Sep By Ernesto RodriguezNo Comments
Diplomacy, Domestic Politics, Political Systems, Domestic Politics, Sanctions, Types of News: Analysis

Venezuela Ups the Ante In Talks With Opposition Leaders

Next Round Of Talks In Mexico Are Scheduled For Sept. 24-27; Venezuela Now Wants Alex Saab Part Of Its Delegation Mexico is hosting talks between the Venezuela government and the opposition. Photo: Norway Foreign Ministry of Affairs Editors Note: Venezuela has been in the grips of political and economic crises for much of the past decade. It is the poorest country in South America with a per capita GDP of $3,374. Roughly 94 percent of the country lives in poverty, according to the United Nations. Nicolás Maduro, the successor to Hugo Chavez, rules the country with authoritarian control. The government controls much of the economy through ownership of major enterprises, price controls, and an overdependence on the state-run oil sector. And under Maduro's leadership and against the ...
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US, Canada And UK Mark One-Year Anniversary Of Belarus Election With More Sanctions
10Aug By Spencer HayesNo Comments
Sanctions, Types of News: Brief

US, Canada And UK Mark One-Year Anniversary Of Belarus Election With More Sanctions

Lukashenko Defiant In Face Of Sanctions On One-Year Anniversary Of Disputed Election August 10, 2021 --A year after Belarus's contested presidential election, several Western governments added more names to their sanctions program against Belarusian officials and entities. The United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom launched a coordinated action on Monday to demonstrate resolve against the government of Belarus President Lukashenko. "The Lukashenko regime continues to crush democracy and violate human rights in Belarus," said UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab. "These sanctions demonstrate that the UK will not accept Lukashenko’s actions since the fraudulent election. The products of Lukashenko’s state-owned industries will not be sold in the UK, and our aerospace companies will...
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EU Sanctions Eight More Individuals Over Nicaraguan Political Situation
6Aug By Spencer HayesNo Comments
Domestic Politics, Sanctions, Types of News: Brief

EU Sanctions Eight More Individuals Over Nicaraguan Political Situation

August 6, 2021—In reaction to more political arrests in Nicaragua, the European Union sanctioned an additional eight individuals. As the GER previously reported, the Nicaraguan government has been arresting political opponents and people who have criticized the government ahead of elections scheduled for November. The EU references the continued deterioration of Nicaragua's political situation, "The political use of the judicial system, the exclusion of candidates from the elections and the arbitrary delisting of opposition parties are contrary to basic democratic principles and constitutes a serious violation to the rights of the Nicaraguan people." More Arrests Last week, the Nicaraguan police arrested José Antonio Peraza, a political science professor and the leader of the...
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