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Russia reset

May 19, 2021

An Arctic Council meeting seems an appropriate venue to judge whether Joe Biden and Vladimir Putin can reinvigorate U.S.-Russia relations that have been in a deep freeze for years.

There's a lot at stake when Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov meet tonight in Iceland where they are expected to hammer out the terms for a summit between their leaders, possibly next month.

As vice president, Biden famously called for a reset with Russia. Twelve years later, Blinken wants to test "whether we can achieve a relationship with Moscow that is more stable and predictable," according to the State Department.

After emphasizing human rights in foreign policy, Blinken is meeting Lavrov amid the harshest Kremlin crackdown on opposition activists in years. That's a potential point of friction alongside persistent disputes over alleged meddling in U.S. elections, and hacking attacks.

Lavrov, in the post since 2004, isn't shy about blaming the U.S. for arguably the worst ties since the Cold War across issues from Afghanistan and the Iran nuclear deal to the conflict in Ukraine and strategic arms control.

Still, both sides want a summit, if for different reasons and even though major breakthroughs from a meeting would be unlikely.

The Biden administration wants to concentrate on the challenge from China. But Putin's gambit in sending tens of thousands of troops to the border with Ukraine got the U.S. president's attention and prompted the invitation to meet.

For Putin, the handshake with a man who has called him a "killer" will demonstrate he remains a leader to be reckoned with. For Biden, the chance to ease tensions will mean he can focus on this century's real superpower contest. — Tony Halpin

Riot police clash with supporters of opposition leader Alexey Navalny in Moscow on Jan. 23.

Photographer: Andrey Rudakov/Bloomberg

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Global Headlines 

Boxed in | Biden's decision to express support for a cease-fire in a call with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday signaled Washington was looking for more public ways to stop the conflict between Israel and Hamas militants. Yet in stopping short of demanding a halt to the attacks, Nick Wadhams explains, the statement revealed the limits of U.S. power and Biden's wariness of applying too much public pressure on Israel.

  • The State Department rebuked Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan over what it called anti-Semitic remarks he made while criticizing U.S. support for Israel.

Cotton spat | China accused Washington of "bullying" after news the U.S. customs agency blocked a shipment of Uniqlo shirts in January for violating an order against imports suspected to be produced by forced labor from a China state-owned company. Global apparel makers are caught in tensions over cotton sourced from Xinjiang, with Chinese consumers boycotting foreign brands critical of Beijing's actions and the U.S. cracking down on items from the region.

  • Beijing also hit back after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi joined calls for a diplomatic boycott of the 2022 Winter Olympics.

After pouring trillions into fossil fuels since the Paris Agreement, banks are on pace in 2021 to commit more financing to climate-friendly projects.

Pyongyang diplomacy | Biden is looking to build on a denuclearization deal former President Donald Trump reached with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in 2018, a move that's likely to be welcomed by Seoul. South Korean President Moon Jae-in, who meets with Biden on Friday at the White House, has been looking for a U.S. commitment to the pact.

Legal transformation | The U.S. Supreme Court is offering hints of a paradigm shift conservatives have long craved by adding major abortion and gun-rights cases to its docket. Greg Stohr explains that seven months after Trump secured his third appointment to the court, it's moving to address some of the top items on right-wing wish lists.

Longer wait | Computer chip shortages that have already hit producers of autos to consumer electronics are entering the "danger zone," Ian King and Debby Wu report. The gap between ordering a semiconductor and taking delivery increased to 17 weeks in April, indicating a growing desperation to secure supply of the vital digital components.

What to Watch

  • A senior member of Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan's ruling party has formed a breakaway group, throwing the stability of his government and its slim parliamentary majority into doubt.
  • New York Attorney General Letitia James became the second state official after Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. to announce a criminal investigation of Trump's company.
  • France urged other rich countries to follow its lead and commit to reallocating part of their International Monetary Fund special drawing rights to Africa, so the continent can triple its share of new funding support.
  • Canadian mining company Lundin is holding off on new investments in Chile because of potential rule changes while looking to move forward with huge spending in Argentina.

And finally ... A debate in South Korea about mandatory military service for women is inflaming divisions in a country facing chronic income disparities, a low birth rate and systemic gender discrimination. The issue affects almost every family in South Korea, which is technically still at war with North Korea and shares one of the world's most militarized borders, Jeong-Ho Lee and Jihye Lee report.

Female cadets participate in military training in Seoul, South Korea.

Photographer: Pool/Getty Images

 
 

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