| Sreemoy Talukdar brings you the essential cheat sheet on foreign affairs covering India and the world |  | | We track Erdogan's win in Turkey, US debt default aversion, US-China moves at Shangri-La, Jaishankar's meeting with Lavrov and Pakistan's sky-high inflation | | TOP FIVE NEWS UPDATES | | Erdogan defies predictions to extend two-decade rule as Turkey president, faces massive economic odds | | Our first newsbreak took place earlier this week when "despite a worsening economy and chronic hyperinflation, Recep Tayyip Erdogan has secured another five-year presidency in Turkey. He emerged victorious in the run-off election on Sunday, 28 May, defeating his rival Kemal Kilicdaroglu with 52 per cent of the votes." Erdogan, however, as the Firstpost report adds, faced huge challenges. "A biting cost-of-living crisis has eroded Turks' purchasing power, with annual inflation running at around 40 per cent in April after officially peaking at 85 per cent last year… The policy rate Turkey set for banks is now far below that at which prices are rising, meaning that people are effectively losing money if they leave their liras unspent in their accounts." A Firstpost report lists the top priorities that demand immediate attention from the president. Erdogan called for national unity on Monday after winning a historic runoff election… "We should come together in unity and solidarity," Erdogan told the chanting and flag-waving crowd who had broken out into jubilant songs outside his presidential palace in Ankara on Monday. Tributes flowed in from across the world, led by prime minister Narendra Modi, who tweeted, "Congratulations @RTErdogan on re-election as the President of Türkiye! I am confident that our bilateral ties and cooperation on global issues will continue to grow in the coming times." "I look forward to continuing to work together as NATO Allies on bilateral issues and shared global challenges," US President Joe Biden tweeted. Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he wanted to keep working with Erdogan "for the security and stability of Europe". Another Firstpost report says Erdogan's win will also have far-reaching effects and the consequences won't be confined to Turkey alone. His win will be cheered in Moscow. "During his time in power, Turkey has forged closer ties with Vladimir Putin-led Russia. He has conducted a diplomatic 'balancing act' since Russia invaded Ukraine, opposing Western sanctions on Russia, while at the same time sending drones to Kyiv. In a recent interview, Erdogan had hailed his 'special relationship' with Russia's Vladimir Putin." Meanwhile, in a bid to move Turkey for Sweden's NATO membership, Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said on Thursday that he will travel to Istanbul to discuss the process that has been delayed due to objections from member countries Turkey and Hungary. During a two-day meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Oslo, Stoltenberg said that he held conversations with prime minister Tayyip Erdogan. | | Senate passes debt limit bill as Biden and McCarthy avert America's first-ever debt default | | Meanwhile in the United States, the thriller has ended as predicted. "The US Senate on Thursday passed the debt limit with a comfortable majority of 63 votes to 36 a day after it had sailed through the House of Representatives. The bill can now go to President Joe Biden to be signed into law. The bipartisan measure would suspend the nation's debt limit through 1 January, 2025, to avert a first-ever US default. Economists had warned the country could run out of money to pay its bills by Monday – leaving almost no room for delays in enacting the Fiscal Responsibility Act, which extends the government's borrowing authority through 2024 while trimming federal spending. "America can breathe a sigh of relief because in this process we are avoiding default. From the start, avoiding default has been our North Star," Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said," says a Firstpost report. Biden declared a "crisis averted" on Friday in his first address from the White House's Oval Office, touting the passage of a bill to suspend the US debt ceiling and avoid economic catastrophe, reports Reuters. Biden used the moment to plead with Americans to bridge their divides, saying his compromise with top Congress Republican Kevin McCarthy showed what could be done. "No matter how tough our politics gets, we need to see each other not as adversaries but as fellow Americans," he said, asking Americans to "stop shouting, lower the temperature and work together to pursue progress." | | Talks with China essential to avoid conflict, says US, even as Beijing snubs Washington's proposal | | At Asia's premier security conference, the Shangri-La Dialogue, the nature of the rift between the US and China became apparent was evident. "US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin on Saturday said dialogue between the United States and China is 'essential' to avoiding miscalculations that could lead to conflict. This comes after Beijing rejected a formal meeting between him and his Chinese counterpart. Austin and Li Shangfu shook hands and briefly spoke for the first time at the opening dinner of the Shangri-La Dialogue defence summit in Singapore, but the interaction fell short of the Pentagon's hopes for a more substantive exchange. The US defence chief is on a tour of Asia that previously took him to Japan and will also include a visit to India — part of a push by top American officials to shore up alliances and partnerships in the region to help counter Beijing. 'The United States believes that open lines of communication with the People's Republic of China are essential — especially between our defense and military leaders,' Austin said in remarks at the Shangri-La Dialogue. 'The more that we talk, the more that we can avoid the misunderstandings and miscalculations that could lead to crisis or conflict'," according to a Firstpost report. The US had reportedly invited China to hold discussions on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue, but Beijing declined the invitation. Pentagon spokesman Brigadier General Pat Ryder said in a statement. "Austin and Li spoke briefly at tonight's opening dinner of the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore. The two leaders shook hands, but did not have a substantive exchange." | | Jaishankar meets Lavrov in SA on sidelines of BRICS summit as grouping pledges to combat terrorism | | External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov in South Africa on Thursday and discussed issues of bilateral and global interests, reports Firstpost. Jaishankar is in Capetown to participate in a conclave of five-nation grouping BRICS (Brazil-Russia-India-China-South Africa). He held talks with Lavrov on the sidelines of the BRICS Foreign Ministers' Meeting. "Good to meet FM Sergey Lavrov of Russia in Cape Town this morning on BRICS FMM sidelines. Our discussions covered bilateral matters, BRICS, G20 and SCO," Jaishankar said in a tweet. The BRICS countries on Friday expressed strong condemnation of terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, including the cross-border movement of terrorists, and terrorism financing networks and safe havens. In a veiled reference to Pakistan, the five-nation BRICS grouping vowed to combat terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, including the cross-border movement of terrorists, and terror financing networks. In a joint statement titled The Cape of Good Hope, the Foreign Ministers of BRICS comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa expressed strong condemnation of terrorism "whenever, wherever and by whomsoever committed". | | Pakistan in deep economic trouble as IMF rejects loan request, inflation rises to 38%, the highest in Asia | | Pakistan is in deep trouble as the IMF has rejected its request of lowering the conditions for securing $6 billion in additional loans. Indian news agency ANI reports, quoting Pakistan's Express Tribune newspaper, that IMF's move has left Shehbaz Sharif government with no choice but to try to salvage the agreement. Minister of State for Finance Dr Aisha Pasha, in a policy statement delivered during the National Assembly Standing Committee on Finance, stressed that Pakistan's only choice was to return to the IMF, says the ANI report. "Pakistan's economy is grappling with a severe inflationary crisis, reaching its highest rate since 1957. The country now finds itself with the highest inflation rate in Asia, surpassing even Sri Lanka. As of May 2023, the inflation rate stands at a staggering 38%, posing significant challenges for the government and the people of Pakistan," reports Livemint. | | | | | | | | | | TOP ANALYSES OF THE WEEK | | Nasheed's breakaway party strengthens democracy in Maldives | | What Mohammed Nasheed's breakaway party means for democracy in Maldives, writes policy analyst N Sathiya Moorthy in Firstpost. | | Three reasons why India will never join NATO-Plus | | Thanks but no thanks; Three reasons why India will never join 'NATO-Plus' or any other US-led mutual security alliance, I write in Firstpost. | | Turkey is a vital part of Russia's future | | Erdogan's win is good news for Russia, writes Dmitry Kosyrev, Russian columnist, in Firstpost. | | IPEF framework reaches supply chain agreement | | IPEF member countries have come so far since the group's establishment a year ago suggests that there is a near unanimous view about supply chain vulnerabilities, writes Rajeswari Pillai Rajagopalan in The Diplomat. | | The U.S. and China are caught in a technology trap | | US and China are walking a tightrope between bad blood and good business, write Rishi Iyengar and Robbie Gramer in Foreign Policy. | | TSMC's fate will indeed be at stake if China attacks Taiwan | | TSMC's fate will indeed be at stake if China attacks Taiwan, writes Jared M. McKinney in Nikkei Asia. | | Erdogan is turning Turkey into a Russia-style autocracy | | Turkey is shifting From illiberal democracy to Putin-style autocracy, argues Soner Cagaptay in Foreign Affairs. | | US should stop worrying about Chinese hegemony in Asia | | Stop worrying about Chinese hegemony in Asia, writes professor Stephen M Walt in Foreign Policy. | | What is the Quad? | | Blake Berger, Victoria Cooper, Lucas Myers, Shu Uchida, and Gaurav Saini discuss the nature and role of QUAD in Indo-Pacific for The Diplomat. | | German economic stakes are much lower in China than often projected | |
Germany can ignore anxious CEOs while setting China policy, writes Max J. Zenglein in Nikkei Asia.
| | PODCAST | | BRI is losing momentum | | This edition of Firstpost's Vantage discusses how China's Belt and Road is losing momentum. | | | | Copyright © 2023.Firstpost - All Rights Reserved. | |
