“After a brutally cold winter in Ukraine, months of supposed peace talks that have produced little more than political theater, and with Russia showing no sign of stopping its barrage of attacks, the EU had been confident it could finally bring Kyiv some concrete help.
But the carefully choreographed support was spoiled when Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó announced his country would block Europe’s 20th round of Russian sanctions because of an oil dispute Budapest has with Ukraine, ratcheting up the two countries’ long-simmering feud.
…
Hungary’s move marked a “new low” for Orbán, Sweden’s Europe Minister Jessica Rosencrantz told POLITICO. “We’ve seen in previous decisions that Hungary is not acting in a way of sincere cooperation” with other EU states. “That should send an alarm to many of us. We’re seeing what Orbán is doing: he’s using Ukraine as a punching bag.”
…
The crux of Hungary’s row is the Druzhba pipeline, which stretches 4,000 kilometers from eastern Russia to Central Europe, providing vast quantities of oil for Hungary and Slovakia. Both have exemptions from EU sanctions on imports of Russian refined oil.
The pipeline has been offline since Jan. 27, when Ukrainian authorities said a Russian strike damaged it. But Budapest and Bratislava aren’t buying that, accusing Ukraine of intentionally keeping the pipeline inoperative.
…
Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kęstutis Budrys said he was “really upset and frustrated,” adding Hungary’s move not only calls the EU’s support for Ukraine into question but its unity and ability to act decisively when major decisions are constrained by unanimity.
“I hope that Europe can deliver,” he said. And “that tomorrow it won’t be the situation when we will be saying, ‘We are sorry, 20th package is not there. We are sorry, €90 billion maybe next month, maybe somewhere in the future.’””
“Pahlavi allies have crafted a hefty plan for a post-Islamist Iran, called the Iran Prosperity Project. It envisions an emergency phase in the wake of the regime’s fall during which Pahlavi and his aides say keeping the country stable will be crucial. But that emergency phase plan also gives the leader of the transition — presumably Pahlavi — significant power that makes some activists nervous.
While Pahlavi has long called for a secular democracy in Iran, he has also said Iranians should decide what type of government they want. The Prosperity Project envisions Iranians eventually having a choice between a “democratic monarchy” and a “democratic republic.””
China is planning to be prepared to militarily take Taiwan, by blockade or invasion, by 2027. This plan includes the ability to hit American bases in the region, knockout American infrastructure with cyber, and to quickly invade Taiwan if invasion is the choice. China regularly operates in Taiwanese waters to lull Taiwan and others into not suspecting the real attack.
Iran is an evil regime and has been evil and aggressive toward the US and its friends for a long time. But, regime change without a land invasion will require a sustained effort that includes cooperating with groups on the ground, and it’s not clear the Trump administration has the strategy to succeed in such an effort.
For decades, Morocco has had a dispute over Western Sahara, where rebels demanded independence. Morocco has controlled all the valuable parts of the land, but the rebels had the desert and help from neighboring Algeria. Recently, Morocco has gained more and more international support for its claim, culminating in a UN Security Council vote in favor of its claims, with help from the United States.
Despite some changes, the Venezuelan regime is still the same authoritarian regime, just with a new dictator who is, at least for now, trying to give the Americans what they want.