| | | | |  | | By Sabrina Rodriguez with Suzanne Lynch | | | | This week, all eyes continue to be on Ukraine and what Vladimir Putin will do next as Russia appears on the brink of a full-scale invasion. The U.S. and its allies, including the EU, Australia and Japan, have begun to roll out penalties largely aimed at Russian banks, sovereign debt and elites, as President Joe Biden on Tuesday called Putin's moves "the beginning of a Russian invasion of Ukraine" and warned of further sanctions. Earlier today, Ukraine moved to declare a state of emergency and urged its citizens to leave Russia immediately as the situation escalates. Russia, for its part, has remained defiant. Russian Ambassador to the U.S. Anatoly Antonov dismissed the sanctions, arguing that Russia has learned to live with sanctions and the new ones will hurt global financial and energy markets. "It is hard to imagine that there is a person in Washington who expects Russia to revise its foreign policy under a threat of restrictions," he said. Marking Defenders of the Fatherland Day, Putin said today that Moscow is still open to diplomacy, but underscored it will continue to increase its defense capacity. "Russia's interests and the security of its citizens are unconditional," Putin said, according to Russian state news agency TASS. In Ukraine, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba today called the coordinated sanctions "first decisive steps," but urged allies to do more: "[T]he pressure needs to step up to stop Putin. Hit his economy and cronies. Hit more. Hit hard. Hit now." EU STANDS AS ONE: Persuading the EU — a group of 27 member states with distinctive priorities and politics — to agree to anything, particularly on something as sensitive as sanctions, is always an uphill battle. But the EU on Tuesday finally agreed on a package of sanctions to punish Russia. As with the U.K. and the U.S., it's only a first step — Brussels is still holding back from imposing its full suite of sanctions, which the Commission has drawn up until there is a further escalation. In a hastily convened meeting, EU foreign ministers on Tuesday in Paris agreed to specific measures linked to Russia's incursion into the two east Ukrainian enclaves of Donetsk and Luhansk. This includes targeting 351 members of the Duma (Russian parliament) and sanctions on 27 individuals and entities. "This package of sanctions will hurt Russia and will hurt a lot," says EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell announcing the deal. But he conceded that there could be further meetings — and sanctions — to come. "We are afraid ... that this story has not finished," he said ominously. Saying it as it is … and deleting it: In a tweet , Borrell said the sanctions mean there will be "no more … shopping in Milan, partying in Saint Tropez" or purchasing "diamonds in Antwerp." Borrell later deleted it but not before the Russian Foreign Ministry captured a screenshot and criticized him for "celebrating damage done by Brussels to businesses in EU Member-States." GERMANY BLINKS: But the big surprise was the decision by Germany to suspend the Nord Stream 2 Russia-to-Germany natural gas pipeline — a move the country had refused to commit to in recent weeks. Speaking at a news conference in Berlin, Chancellor Olaf Scholz said that Putin's decision to order troops into the Donbas region had been a game-changer. "The situation today is fundamentally different," he said. It also reflects heavy American pressure. German officials had been lobbying members of Congress in Washington for months, and Biden had made no secret of his view on the matter. The fact that Germany is still receiving gas — for the moment at least — from the Nord Stream 1 pipeline may have softened the blow. Russian warning: Nonetheless, in a sign of what may be to come for Europe's energy supply — and pricing, Russia's former president Dmitry Medvedev tweeted: "Welcome to the brave new world where Europeans are very soon going to pay €2,000 for 1,000 cubic metres of natural gas!"
| | | | JOIN THURSDAY TO HEAR FROM MAYORS ACROSS AMERICA: The Fifty: America's Mayors will convene mayors from across the country to discuss their policy agendas, including the enforcement of Covid measures such as vaccine and mask mandates. We'll also discuss how mayors are dealing with the fallout of the pandemic on their local economies and workforce, affordable housing and homelessness, and criminal justice reforms. REGISTER HERE. | | | | | MORE EU LEADERS' MEETINGS TO COME: Rumors abound in Brussels that an emergency EU leaders' summit could be called as early as Thursday if things continue to escalate and the EU decides to trigger its broader batch of sanctions. MOSCOW LOOKS TO COURT LATIN AMERICA: Meanwhile, Russia hasn't only had its sights on Ukraine. In recent weeks, the Kremlin has been playing up diplomacy in a region thousands of miles away from Moscow: Latin America. In a clear display of Russia looking to increase its influence in the region, Russia's Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Borisov last week paid a visit to officials in Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua, including Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, in a bid to deepen ties. Meanwhile, Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro flew to Moscow to meet with Putin last week — just days after Argentina's President Alberto Fernández did the same. And as expected, leaders in Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua — all antagonists to the U.S. with authoritarian, socialist regimes — have been quick to express support for Russia and its invasion of Ukraine. Nicaragua's Daniel Ortega argued Ukraine's effort to join NATO was a threat to Russia and "Russia is simply defending itself." Cuba's Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez rejected "the media and propaganda hysteria triggered by the US government against Russia." Prior to the invasion, Maduro last week pledged "powerful military cooperation" with Russia. Meanwhile, Brazil and Argentina have kept a more tepid tone on the crisis. At the United Nations Security Council meeting Monday, Brazil urged for negotiations but refused to mention Russia by name. Argentina's Foreign Ministry issued a statement Tuesday expressing "worry" over the situation in Ukraine and calling for "diplomatic negotiations." It did not mention Russia by name, either. "Latin America has a very well-honed sense of sovereignty and non-intervention, which they routinely ring before U.S. audiences … but where is that same sensitivity when it comes to Russia bullying a weaker neighbor?" said Eric Farnsworth, vice president of the think tank Council of the Americas, adding how he has not seen much forceful condemnation coming out of the region on Putin's moves. Latin America ultimately isn't a "strategic location for Russia," Farnsworth said, but he still expects more engagement to come in the region. "It is a convenience for them. If they can harass U.S. interests … if they can make our lives less convenient by stirring things up in the region, they're going to be willing to do that." Related reading: Russia's state-owned media outlets have been flooding Spanish speakers with Kremlin propaganda on Ukraine, in a move one researcher told Foreign Policy "makes it much harder for the government to generate support for some type of retaliation or countermeasure." Hi, everyone! It's Sabrina Rodriguez, a national political correspondent at POLITICO, and Suzanne Lynch, one of the Brussels Playbook authors with POLITICO Europe, filling in for the wonderful Ryan Heath . What a week, to say the least. Let's jump in!
| | | IRAN CORNER: LATEST ON THE NUCLEAR DEAL TALKS: POLITICO's Stephanie Liechtenstein reports from Vienna that foreign ministers are likely to gather in the coming days with the hope of reviving the Iran nuclear deal. Mixed signals: A U.S. official involved in the negotiations, however, downplayed the possibility of a meeting or an imminent breakthrough. "The remaining issues are extremely difficult, the official told Stephanie. But in recent weeks, other negotiators have indicated that an agreement to revive the nuclear deal was within reach. Related reading: Ray Takeyh, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, wrote in POLITICO Magazine that the Biden administration "should walk away" from talks of a deal and, instead, plan for military action if Iran's nuclear program "crosses certain red lines." EU PREPARING FOR CYBER WAR: The EU is deploying a team of cybersecurity experts to help Ukraine fight off cyberattacks. The EU's Cyber Rapid Response Team includes around 10 national cybersecurity officials from six European countries — Croatia, Estonia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Poland and Romania — who can provide assistance to countries under cyberattack. European officials from those countries will work out the details with Ukraine on how many and which experts it will devote to the operation. Sending the cyber team into Ukraine "is an option we're considering," said Margiris Abukevičius, vice minister at the Ministry of National Defense in Lithuania, adding it will depend on the type of support Ukraine requests. Ukraine has faced cyberattacks — often from Russian security services and hacking groups — for years, and the EU has poured millions into schemes supporting Ukraine's cybersecurity and digital infrastructure in past years. But rising tensions between Kyiv and Moscow have set off a spate of cyberattacks on Ukraine in past weeks. BETTER U.S.-HONDURAS TIES TO COME?: Less than a month ago, Honduras swore in the country's first female president, Xiomara Castro. Just over a week ago, Honduran authorities detained former president Juan Orlando Hernández , once a U.S. ally, after Washington requested his extradition over drug trafficking charges. So far, U.S. officials and experts on the region are viewing the new leadership in the Central American country as a new opportunity for cooperation with the U.S. on an array of issues, including tackling the reasons why thousands of Hondurans flee their country and make the trek north to the U.S. southern border each year. "Castro has always been skeptical of the U.S., but all of a sudden there's a convergence of interests … and the U.S. is trying to see if she's serious about fighting corruption and can develop a real working relationship with her government," Andrew Selee, president of the nonpartisan Migration Policy Institute, told us. "They see it as a moment of opportunity that they have to seize, but there's an awareness that the relationship is still fragile." CALLING ON MEXICO TO PROTECT JOURNALISTS: Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday night joined international calls for accountability in the deaths of journalists in Mexico. In a tweet, he urged "greater accountability and protections for Mexican journalists." It comes after Sens. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) and Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) urged the State Department to take steps to ensure accountability for the recent murders and help protect the freedom of expression of journalists there. Five journalists have been killed in Mexico this year, making it the deadliest country for journalists in the Western Hemisphere.
| | | MEXICAN AVOCADO BAN IS OVER: The U.S. is lifting a temporary ban on inspections of Mexican avocados, a move that allows for imports of the fruit, the Associated Press reported . The inspections, which are required before Mexico can export it to the U.S., were stopped earlier this month after a U.S inspector was threatened in Mexico's top avocado-producing state Michoacán. Related reading: Journalist Ioan Grillo takes a look at Michoacán, an epicenter of the cartel war in Mexico. LEAVING CUBA, TOLD BY A CUBAN: Cuban journalist Abraham Jiménez Enoa writes in the Washington Post about his experience of leaving the island for the first time and how "not a single other Cuban should have to leave the island to feel like a person." PIONEER OF GLOBAL HEALTH DIES: Paul Farmer , a global health pioneer known for his work serving some of the world's poorest communities, died on Monday, The New York Times reports.
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