Good morning, and welcome to the Global Situation Report for Friday, 02 August 2024.
- ISRAEL AND TURKEY TENSIONS RISE: In a call with U.S. President Joe Biden yesterday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan accused Israel of trying to spread the Gaza conflict to the entire region.
- Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz summoned the Turkish deputy ambassador to Israel after the Turkish Embassy in Tel Aviv set its flag to half-staff to mourn the death of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh. Katz released a statement telling the embassy representatives to return to Turkey if they wished to mourn Haniyeh.
- Global Rollup
- The Organization of American States (OAS) Secretary General, Luis Almagro, called on the International Criminal Court (ICC) to issue an arrest warrant against the Venezuelan president, Nicolás Maduro. The OAS failed to pass a resolution for an external audit of Venezuela’s vote count.
- China blocked Taiwan’s envoy to Macau over the envoy’s refusal to commit to the “One China Principle.” Taiwan’s envoy said that Taiwan will “prepare for the worst” in response to the shutout but did not elaborate. (This is likely a subtle move by China to further isolate Taiwan and pressure them to peacefully accept reunification. – J.V.)
- Japan and the Philippines held their first joint naval exercise this morning to build their cooperative capability to counter China. Meanwhile, Canada’s Joint Operations Command Commander expressed a desire to conduct more maritime cooperative activities with the Philippines in the South China Sea to the Armed Forces of the Philippines Chief.
- On a recent panel regarding the U.S.’ role in the South Caucasus, Assistant Secretary of State Yuri Kim needed to use the “influential and active diaspora” of the U.S. to drive investment in Armenia. She added that private and USAID investments in Armenia are about “breaking them out of isolation.” The rest of the panel covered suggestions for how the Georgian and Azerbaijani governments can improve relations with the West.
THAT’S A WRAP: This does it for today’s edition. Thank you for reading. If you know folks who would also like to receive this email, would you please forward it to them? We appreciate you spreading the word. – M.S.