diplomacy

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif speaking to the media at P5+1 Talks with Iran in Geneva, Switzerland on November 24, 2013. [U.S. Mission Geneva / Eric Bridiers, 11/24/13]Today, the P5+1 are beginning another round of negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program. Progress over recent months has been slow but steady. Officials both in Tehran and Washington appear optimistic that while tough challenges remain, draft text of a potential agreement may be started on as early as next month. While it is by no means clear what can be realistically expected, a potential final deal will require compromise on both sides if Iran’s nuclear program is to be further rolled back. An acceptable final deal will have to significantly constrain Iran’s program and be part of… Read More ›

Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel attends the ASEAN Defense Ministers Meeting – Plus in Jerudong, Brunei in August 2013 [Official DoD photo by Sgt. Aaron Hostutler USMC, 8/29/13]This week, Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel will host the defense ministers of ASEAN member states in Hawaii before travelling to the Western Pacific to meet with Chinese, Japanese and Mongolian officials. The meeting with ASEAN defense ministers in particular underscores the importance of continuing to increase the role of the United States in Southeast Asian security and economic life as part of the policy of strategic rebalancing. This role is especially vital given the maritime disputes in the South China Sea and the recurring need for disaster relief in the region, offering the United States the opportunity… Read More ›

President Obama will spend this week in Europe attending the Nuclear Security Summit and meeting with NATO leadership in Brussels. Much of the trip is expected to deal with the ongoing crisis in Crimea. As Russia positions an estimated 20,000 troops on the Ukrainian border, U.S. intelligence and senior military commanders have warned of potential Russian aggression against east Ukraine or Transnistria. This raises the stakes as the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development sends observers into Ukraine while Russia is expected to be removed from the G-8 and a new round of European and American sanctions is taking effect. Already, the Russian economy is experiencing the early effects of U.S. and European sanctions. In Europe, President Obama’s priority must be to continue close coordination… Read More ›

Opening of P5+1 Iran Talks in Vienna on March 18, 2014 [AFP Photo/Samuel Kubani via European External Action Service Flickr, 3/18/14]The latest round of talks with the P5+1 powers over Iran’s nuclear program were held this week. This was the second round of negotiations since the implementation of the Joint Plan of Action, which temporarily rolled back aspects of Iran’s nuclear program. The negotiations were widely received as making incremental progress as delegates focused on two of the main sticking points for a final deal: what capacity Iran is to be allowed to enrich nuclear material and the future of the Arak facility. Meanwhile, the domestic political climate in Iran remains favorable for continued negotiations as Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif took to Western newspapers… Read More ›

Iran Nuclear Talks Seen on Track for Accord by July By Jonathan Tirone, Ladane Nasseri and Indira A.R. Lakshmanan March 19, 2014 | Bloomberg Iran and six powers said they are optimistic a permanent accord on the Islamic republic’s nuclear program is possible before their interim deal expires in July, after talks described as the most detailed so far. European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton and Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said today in joint statements that negotiators will reconvene April 7 in Vienna, where two days of talks concluded today. They have set a July 20 target for a final accord that will limit the scope of Iran’s nuclear work and lift sanctions. Iran expects that by late April or early May, negotiators will “start… Read More ›

Vienna Talks: Assessing Negotiations with Iran Wednesday, March 19, 2014 11:00 AM Eastern Senior officials from  the P5+1 countries are scheduled to gather in Vienna, Austria next week for a new round of talks with Iran, aimed at halting the country’s nuclear ambitions. On Wednesday, March 19th, the National Security Network and ReThink Media will hold a press call looking to assess the diplomatic progress already made, expectations going forward, and what impact the crisis in Ukraine will have on Russia’s role in the negotiations. Speakers Ali Nader Alireza Nader is a senior international policy analyst at the RAND Corporation, a professor at the Pardee RAND Graduate School, and author of Iran After the Bomb (2013). His research has focused on Iran’s political dynamics, elite decision… Read More ›

Secretary Kerry holds bilateral talks with Rusian Foreign Minister Lavrov focused on deescalating tensions in Ukraine in London. [U.S. Department of State via flickr, 3/14/14]Yesterday, while under continued Russian military occupation, Crimea voted overwhelmingly to join the Russian Federation in a referendum in which the status quo was not a choice. The United States, the European powers, Kiev and other members of the international community have declared the referendum illegitimate and in violation of Ukrainian and international law.  In the coming days, Russia’s parliament is expected to vote on a law that would pave the way for annexing Crimea. In response to these events, the U.S. and Europe are acting to impose sanctions on Russian individuals involved with the crisis that can be scaled up… Read More ›

Pyongyang, North Korea [calflier001 via Flickr, 10/23/12]As policymakers remain understandably focused on upcoming negotiations with Iran concerning its nuclear program, North Korea continues to pose a serious national security challenge to the United States and Northeast Asia. Preceding Kim Jong-un’s “reelection” over the weekend, North Korea fired multiple short range ballistic missiles into the ocean as a signal of dissatisfaction with the ongoing annual U.S-South Korean military exercises. While this level of saber rattling is significantly below the threshold of past provocations, such as last year’s nuclear test and the shelling of the South Korean Island of Yeonpyeong in 2010, it is sufficient to remind the United States of the urgent need to reinvigorate diplomacy towards the goal of denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula – an… Read More ›

My Strategic Impatience By John Feffer  March 10, 2014 | The Hankyoreh A recent publication by the National Security Network and the National Committee on North Korea offers the administration some suggestions on how to make some progress on what remains the most intractable problem that the 20th century has gifted to the 21st. In place of “strategic patience,” which cedes control over the process to Pyongyang, the report recommends that the Obama administration shift over to “strategic shaping.” This more proactive approach to North Korea consists of several interlocking proposals. First, it means talking to North Korea, and not just through the infamous back channel with the New York-based DPRK mission to the United Nations. High-level contacts, preferably initiated by a new official in… Read More ›

It’s Obama v Putin on Crimea By Stephen Collinson  March 8, 2014 | AFP But by keeping diplomatic options open through Kerry and by coaxing Putin, Obama hopes to forestall a prolonged confrontation. Michael McFaul, Obama’s just departed ambassador to Moscow, believes Russia’s cooperation on Iran nuclear talks, for example, can endure “not because Putin is doing us any favors but because he sees (it) in Russia’s national interest.” In that sense, the idea behind the reset — that while Russia and the United States are not friends they can cooperate where it makes sense — could survive. But with Putin often seeming to define his bid to restore Russia’s pride and influence by thwarting US foreign policy — in Syria for instance — the… Read More ›