Daily News Brief

September 20, 2023

Top of the Agenda

The Azerbaijani government and Armenian separatist forces in Nagorno-Karabakh said they agreed to a Russia-brokered cease-fire (Reuters) today, a day after Azerbaijan launched a deadly military operation in the disputed region. Nagorno-Karabakh’s human rights commissioner said at least 25 people were killed (Al-Monitor) and another 138 were wounded. The cease-fire included a commitment to take part in talks about the future of the region and the ethnic Armenians who reside in the area after the violence raised fears of a wider regional conflict.  

Russia brokered a previous cease-fire in the region following a breakout of conflict in 2020 and has peacekeepers stationed there. In recent weeks, Armenia has criticized Russia for failing to convince Azerbaijan to open humanitarian corridors to the disputed area. Both the United States and Russia have condemned Azerbaijan’s offensive.

Analysis

“Distracted by its continuing invasion of Ukraine, Moscow has been unable to keep the tensions under control as an emboldened Azerbaijan increased its foothold by putting the only road that links it with Armenia under its firm control,” the New York Times’ Ivan Nechepurenko writes.

“There was hope that after a couple of weeks of intense diplomacy by EU and US that this [violence] had been averted. But Russia's role (decision not to act) [was] probably crucial,” the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace’s Thomas de Waal posts.

CFR’s Center for Preventive Action tracks the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh.

Europe

At the UN General Assembly (UNGA) in New York yesterday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned that Russia’s aggression in Ukraine had dangerous spillover effects (WaPo) for the entire world, including the weaponization of global energy and food supplies and violation of the UN charter. U.S. President Joe Biden said that if world leaders allowed Ukraine “to be carved up,” no other nations’ independence would be secure (FT).

In this In Brief, CFR expert Esther Brimmer unpacks Biden’s UNGA speech on inclusive internationalism.

Pacific Rim

China’s Ministry of State Security said in a report today that the U.S. National Security Agency carried out attacks (SCMP) on the servers of tech giant Huawei beginning in 2009 in an effort to steal data. It also cited an alleged U.S. hack on China’s Northwestern Polytechnical University in September 2022.

Vietnam/U.S.: Vietnam’s prime minister is pushing for an upgrade to its trade relations with the United States that would reduce penalties and establish a market economy status, Bloomberg reports. Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính is in Washington for a week of meetings after the countries strengthened their diplomatic ties last week.

For the Asia Unbound blog, CFR’s Joshua Kurlantzick and Abigail McGowan assess the bolstered U.S.-Vietnam relationship.

South and Central Asia

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau urged India (CTV News) to take Canada’s investigations into Hardeep Singh Nijjar’s death “with the utmost seriousness,” standing by his statement that evidence suggests possible Indian state involvement, despite New Delhi’s denial.

Afghanistan: Eighteen people have died in prisons (Reuters) and in the custody of Taliban authorities in the nineteen months preceding July 2023, the UN Mission to Afghanistan said.

Middle East and North Africa

A delegation of Houthi rebels had traveled to Riyadh for the first time since 2014 to gather for talks focused on ending the eight-year conflict in Yemen. Reuters reported that the discussion made some progress on matters including a timeline for foreign troops exiting Yemen, and indicated more consultations are to come. 

Israel/Turkey: Leaders of both countries met on the sidelines of UNGA yesterday as they explore a thaw in relations (Bloomberg) after more than a decade of tensions. Turkey suggested cooperation with Israel on several economic and political areas including energy, technology, innovation, artificial intelligence, and cyber security.

Sub-Saharan Africa

Chinese sovereign lending to African countries totaled less than $1 billion (Reuters) last year, data from Boston University’s Global China Initiative shows. The falloff comes as China’s economy faces a slow post-pandemic recovery and many African nations experience debt crises. 

Denmark/South Africa: Danish firm Novo Nordisk and South African firm Aspen Pharmacare will jointly produce (AP) insulin that will be sold at a lower cost to national health authorities in Africa, they announced, where premature diabetes deaths are higher than the global average. Beginning next year, they plan to produce enough insulin to treat 4.1 million diabetes patients on the continent annually by 2026.

Americas

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and President Biden will hold a bilateral meeting in New York today where they are expected to announce a partnership aimed at addressing workplace discrimination, the exploitation of workers, child labor, and forced labor, unnamed U.S. officials told the Associated Press.

Colombia: The Colombian government and the rebel group EMC-FARC, a branch of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), agreed to begin a ten-month cease-fire (BBC) starting October 8. A previous cease-fire with the group was suspended in May.

United States

Agents will be newly assigned (WaPo) to posts monitoring the shipments of precursor chemicals used to make fentanyl. The agency will also boost its presence in Mexico and the U.S.-Mexico border.

For Think Global Health, CFR expert David P. Fidler outlines the foreign policy implications of the fentanyl crisis. 

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