Foreign Policy #189 | By: Ibrahim Castro | February 20, 2025
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Highlights
US-Russia Talks in Saudi Arabia
Following years of tensions and threats between the two largest nuclear armed states, Senior officials from Russia and the US met in Saudi Arabia for a first round of talks on improving ties and negotiating an end to the war in Ukraine. Donald’s Trump’s move reverses three years of US policy focused on isolating Russia over the war, and is meant to pave the way for a recently announced meeting between Trump and Putin. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other European leaders expressed alarm over the warming ties between the two leaders and over being kept out of the talks in Riyadh. Though willing to negotiate, one of Kiev’s main concerns is that Russia will be given the go-ahead to keep large swaths of land in the 20% of Ukraine it currently occupies. Zelensky has said Ukraine would never accept deals made without the involvement of Ukranians and in speaking at the Munich Security Conference, began calling for the creation of an army of Europe to remove the region’s dependence on the United States.
A resident of Old Omdurman looks at the damage to his house after it was shelled, on November 8, 2024 [El Tayeb Siddig/Reuters]
Civil War in Sudan Nears Two Year Anniversary
For nearly two years now, since April 2023, the Sudanese paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and Sudanese army have been locked in a brutal conflict over control of the country. The conflict has generated what has been described as the “largest humanitarian crisis in the world”, with tens of thousands of people believed to be dead from armed violence and about 12.5 million uprooted from their homes. Attacks by the RSF have killed more than 200 people over the past week as the two sides have fought over control of the country’s capital Khartoum. The Sudanese army has won back large swaths of the capital and its surrounding areas from the paramilitary group. RSF fighters on the defensive now have looted major markets and raided homes to steal electronics, gold and cash before withdrawing from areas the army has recaptured. Activists on the ground say both sides are increasingly resorting to brutal tactics in the war, both against each other and against civilians, which is exacerbating the humanitarian crisis in the war torn country.
A person holds a Chinese passport at the Zabaikalsk international checkpoint on the Russian-Chinese border, Zabaykalsky Krai, Russia, October 17, 2023. © Evgeny Yepanchintsev / Sputnik via AP
China Restricts Certain Ethnic Groups from Leaving the Country
According to a new report from Human Rights Watch, Chinese authorities have imposed a two-tier system for issuing passports that has made it difficult for members of ethnic minorities to leave the country’s borders. Chinese authorities are requiring citizens from areas and ethnicities they consider to be at “high risks for unlawful emigration” to submit additional paperwork and obtain approval from multiple government offices during passport application processes. Those who do not meet the additional requirements are denied passports. The government has long restricted people’s access to passports in areas where Tibetans and Uyghurs predominantly live. “While many Chinese citizens enjoy international travel, the right to leave China appears to be restricted for growing categories of people throughout the country,” said Maya Wang, associate China Director at Human Rights Watch.
Argentina’s President Javier Milei has positioned himself as a champion of the free market [Natacha Pisarenko/AP Photo]
Argentina’s Crypto Scandal
Argentine President Javier Milei has been caught up in a scandal after promoting a newly launched cryptocurrency that collapsed only shortly after its launch. Milei promoted the memecoin in a social media post encouraging people to buy it, saying the memecoin was linked to a project that would “focus on encouraging the growth of the Argentine economy, funding small businesses, and Argentine ventures”. There was then a huge wave of sell-offs to tank the price by more than 97%, with Milei then deleting the post, claiming ignorance of the project.The country’s opposition has said Milei could face an impeachment trial over his actions, though they lack the two/thirds seats in congress necessary to carry out the impeachment. The token was launched on a crypto exchange called Meteora, the same platform that launched the $Trump meme coin in January, a memecoin that saw a rapid surge and dive in prices, which caused an estimated 200,000 users to lose money. President Milei’s actions affected more than 40,000 people with a loss of more than $4 billion. Many of those affected have expressed outrage and Milei is likely to have his support by the public shaken.
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