US-EU | Jun. 16, 2021

 2 - White House News in Chinese (weebly.com)

Russian, US leaders may agree on secondary issues during Geneva summit, says expert
However, the expert doubts that the parties will be able to achieve a breakthrough on key issues such as, for example, sanctions

SHANGHAI, June 16. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart Joe Biden may come to a consensus on secondary issues during the upcoming meeting in Geneva, which may be the beginning of the renewed dialogue between both states, Sun Chenghao, a researcher with the Institute of American Studies of the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations stated, quoted by China News Service.

According to the expert, certain analysts predict that both leaders may come to an understanding on a number of secondary issues, including climate change, and the fight against the pandemic. "The US and Russia may come to a consensus in these spheres. Through these secondary issues, they may begin to build or recover dialogue. I think that this is the main goal of the meeting," the Chinese expert said.

Sun Chenghao admitted that the meeting would take place against the backdrop of ongoing "Russophobia and anti-Russian sentiments" in the US, as well as Biden’s inability to conduct a softer policy on Russia than his predecessor Donald Trump over accusations against Russia of it being involved in the US election and hacker attacks. However, the expert notes, Russia is also unable to adopt a softer position due to the diplomatic and sanctions pressure of the US.

According to the news agency, Sun Chenghao also pointed out the symbolism of Biden meeting Putin after the G7 and NATO summits in Europe, which is meant to show Russia that the Western world is united when it comes to security issues, ideological values and economic cooperation. Thus, the US wants to demonstrate with this meeting that it is not only Washington that is talking to Moscow, it is the entire European world. Besides, a meeting with Putin right after the G7 and NATO summits will help the US avoid the distrust of its European partners over any potential secret agreements with Russia, the expert pointed out.

The Chinese expert noted that sanctions remain a key issue in Russian-US relations...     more

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Ursula Gertrud von der Leyen (German: [ˈʊʁzula fɔn deːɐ̯ ˈlaɪən] (listen); née Albrecht; born 8 October 1958) is a German politician and physician who has been President of the European Commission since 1 December 2019.

Prior to her current position, she served in the Cabinet of Germany from 2005 to 2019, holding successive positions in Angela Merkel's cabinet, serving most recently as Minister of Defence. Von der Leyen is a member of the centre-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and its EU counterpart, the European People's Party (EPP).

She was born and raised in Brussels to German parents. Her father, Ernst Albrecht, was one of the first European civil servants. She was brought up bilingually in German and French. She moved to Hanover in 1971, when her father entered politics to become Minister President of the state of Lower Saxony in 1976. As an economics student at the London School of Economics in the late 1970s, she lived under the name Rose Ladson, the family name of her American great-grandmother from Charleston, South Carolina. After graduating as a physician from the Hannover Medical School in 1987, she specialized in women's health. In 1986 she married fellow physician Heiko von der Leyen of the noble von der Leyen family of silk merchants. As a mother of seven children, she was a housewife during parts of the 1990s and lived for four years in Stanford, California, while her husband was on faculty at Stanford University, returning to Germany in 1996.

In the late 1990s, she became involved in local politics in the Hanover region, and she served as a cabinet minister in the state government of Lower Saxony from 2003 to 2005. In 2005, she joined the federal cabinet, first as Minister of Family Affairs and Youth from 2005 to 2009, then as Minister of Labour and Social Affairs from 2009 to 2013, and finally as Minister of Defence from 2013 to 2019, the first woman to serve as German defence minister.[1] When she left office she was the only minister to have served continuously in Angela Merkel's cabinet since Merkel became chancellor. She served as a deputy leader of the CDU from 2010 to 2019, and has previously been regarded as a leading contender to succeed Merkel as chancellor and as the favourite to become secretary-general of NATO.

On 2 July 2019, von der Leyen was proposed by the European Council as the candidate for President of the European Commission.[2][3] She was then elected by the European Parliament on 16 July;[4][nb 1] she took office on 1 December, becoming the first woman in such role.

Von der Leyen is included in Time magazine's 100 Most Influential People of 2020.     from Wikipedia

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Here's what happened at today's US-EU summit
From CNN's Kevin Liptak

Jun. 15 - US President Joe Biden arrived at a summit with European Union leaders that officials said would focus largely on issues of trade.

Biden has yet to roll back Trump-era tariffs on steel and aluminum, but he did help settle a dispute that had dragged on for nearly two decades over subsidies for Boeing and Airbus.

The two sides were expected to announce a resolution of the aircraft dispute, and signal progress on the metal tariffs without formally announcing their suspension quite yet.

Biden is eager to restore transatlantic ties on his European tour this week, hoping to enter the high-stakes summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin tomorrow appearing united with western allies. That has mostly come in statements of support, but the trade dispute resolution is a concrete signal of his intent to normalize traditional US alliances after four years of strain.

"America is back. We are committed — we have never fully left — but we are reasserting the fact it is overwhelmingly in the interest of the United States to have a great relationship with NATO and with the EU," Biden said as the talks began. "I have a very different view than my predecessor."

His message was welcomed by his hosts, European Council President Charles Michel and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

"The last four years have not been easy," said von der Leyen.

Officials want to ease trade tensions ahead of Biden's meeting with Putin to put on a united front against Moscow.     source from

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Remarks by President Charles Michel following the G7 summit in Carbis Bay, Cornwall

Jun. 13 - The G7 ends today. We spent three days trying to align the positions of the world’s biggest democracies.
The priority was to ensure we can meet the demand for vaccines and here the EU has taken the leadership. Partners have now joined us to accelerate production and delivery of vaccines worldwide.

We also see that liberal democracies and open societies face pressure from authoritarian regimes. This challenge has prompted us to join forces during the G7, not only to be able to respond under pressure or attack but also to spread our values of freedom, rule of law and respect for human rights.

Another point, of special significance to me, is our engagement with Africa. For some years already, with some leaders in Europe we are convinced that this engagement with Africa needs to be at the heart of our future international relations. Increasingly, we’ve been able to unify the positions of European countries on this issue and now we have convinced our partners to further mobilise funds to secure a win-win strategy for Africa and Europe.     source from
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北约反对在欧部署陆基核弹 美俄峰会“软硬兼施”？20210615 |《今日关注》CCTV中文国际
Jun 16, 2021

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CAATSA | Jun. 15, 2021

 2 - White House News in Chinese (weebly.com)

The Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act, CAATSA[1] (H.R. 3364, Pub.L. 115–44 (text) (pdf)), is a United States federal law that imposed sanctions on Iran, North Korea, and Russia. The bill was passed by the Senate on 27 July 2017, 98–2,[2] after it passed the House 419–3. The bill was signed into law on 2 August 2017 by President Donald Trump, who stated that he believed the legislation was "seriously flawed".

Legislative history

On 15 June 2017, the United States Senate voted 98 to 2 for the bill (an amendment to the underlying Iran sanctions bill), which was rooted in a bill introduced in January that year by a bipartisan group of senators over Russia's continued involvement in the wars in Ukraine and Syria and its interference in the 2016 election; with regard to Russia, the bill was designed to expand the punitive measures previously imposed by executive orders and convert them into law.[4][5] The bill in the Senate incorporated the provisions of the Countering Russian Influence in Europe and Eurasia Act that was introduced in May 2017 by Senator Ben Cardin.[6][7]

An identical bill was introduced by Democrats in the House of Representatives on 12 July 2017. While the bill's text was unchanged from what had passed the Senate on 15 June, it was titled as House legislation to avoid procedural hurdles.[8] The bill, after being revised to address some of the Trump administration's concerns, passed in the House 419 to 3 on 25 July.[9] On 27 July, the bill was passed overwhelmingly by the Senate.[10]

On 2 August 2017, President Donald Trump signed the bill into law, while stating that he believed the legislation was "seriously flawed".     from Wikipedia

Main   All News  Middle East

Erdogan has 'fruitful and sincere' meeting with Biden

Erdogan has 'fruitful and sincere' meeting with BidenRelations between the US and Turkey have soured since Turkey's purchase of the Russian S-400 missile defense system.

Jun. 15 - Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday he had held a "fruitful and sincere" meeting with his US President Joe Biden on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Brussels.

"We believe there is no problem that cannot be resolved in Turkey-US relations," Erdogan added after holding his first meeting with Biden since his election, according to the AFP news agency.

Relations between the US and Turkey soured after Turkey's purchase of the Russian S-400 missile defense system that the US believes can be used to spy on Western defenses.

In response to the purchase, the US sanctioned Turkey’s military procurement agency and expelled Turkey from the F-35 program, under which Western allies produce the next-generation fighter jet's parts and secure its early purchasing rights.
Turkey has repeatedly made clear it will use the Russian system despite US threats of sanctions.

Erdogan announced no progress on the S-400 dispute on Monday, saying, "On the issue of S-400s, I told (Biden) the same
thing I had in the past."
"
I raised the issue of F-35s," Erdogan said in a signal that he wanted Turkey admitted back into the program. "I told him what joint steps we can take on the defense industry."

Biden, who has also made a point of highlighting Turkey's deteriorating record on human rights, took three full months after his swearing-in ceremony before placing his first call to Erdogan.

That phone call was to inform him that Washington was recognizing the Armenian genocide by the Ottoman Empire during World War I.

Erdogan denounced the move and urged Biden to swiftly reverse it, advising the United States to "look in the mirror".     source from

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Turkey’s President Tayyip Erdogan holds a news conference during the NATO summit at the Alliance’s headquarters in Brussels, Belgium June 14, 2021.

Erdogan sticks to his position on Russian missile deal after meeting with Biden

• Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan gave no indication that Ankara’s deal with Moscow for the S-400 missile system, which triggered U.S. sanctions on the NATO ally, would be reversed.
  
• Erdogan’s comments came on the heels of his first face-to-face bilateral meeting with President Joe Biden on the sidelines of the NATO leaders summit.

June. 15 - Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan gave no indication on Monday that Ankara’s deal with Moscow for the S-400 missile system, which triggered unprecedented U.S. sanctions on the NATO ally, would be reversed.

Erdogan’s comments came on the heels of his first face-to-face bilateral meeting with President Joe Biden on the sidelines of the NATO leaders summit.

“It was a very fruitful and sincere meeting,” Erdogan told reporters at NATO’s headquarters, adding that the two allies would continue to negotiate on a range of issues.

Biden also said the meeting with Erdogan was productive, adding that he was confident the U.S. will “make real progress with Turkey.”

Under the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act, or CAATSA, any foreign government working with the Russian defense sector finds itself in the crosshairs of U.S. economic sanctions.

In December, the Trump administration slapped CAATSA sanctions on Turkey after the NATO ally purchased a multibillion-dollar Russian missile system. The S-400, a Russian mobile surface-to-air missile system, is said to pose a risk to the NATO alliance as well as the F-35, America’s most expensive weapons platform.     more

Geopolitical Futures on Biden's Europe Trip, NATO Meeting, China's Military Might
Jun 15, 2021
Jun.15 -- George Friedman, founder and chairman of Geopolitical Futures, discusses President Joe Biden’s trip to Europe which he says is about the extent to which Biden will change U.S. policy in Europe and Russia. He also discusses Beijing's growing military might, which was one of the top items on the agenda at the NATO summit in Brussels. Friedman speaks on "Bloomberg Markets: Asia."

Biden for Brussels | Jun. 14, 2021

 2 - White House News in Chinese (weebly.com)

NATO PROGRESS IN NEW MILITARY STRATEGY

On 14 May, NATO announced that the Chiefs of Defence (CHOD) reviewed two documents encapsulating the alliance’s first military strategy since the Cold War, in their 183rd meeting, which was held in virtual mode for the first time, due to the current pandemic.

Chaired by Air Chief Marshal Sir Stuart Peach, RAF, the meeting reviewed and refined the Concept for Deterrence and Defence of the Euro-Atlantic Area (DDA) and the final draft of the NATO Warfighting Capstone Concept (NWCC) which, according to ACM Peach, “looks forward 20 years and sets a vision to support Allies’ efforts to develop military forces.” The latter “brings coherence” to all NATO military activities, he added.

The meeting also addressed NATO’s on-going operational commitments. In a press conference, ACM Peach  reiterated NATO’s “unwavering” commitment in Afghanistan – despite the anticipated reduction of its presence in-theatre – condemning the recent attacks in Kabul and Nangarhar. He recognised that, even though the situation on the ground remains “fragile,” there are some “encouraging signs in the intra-Afghan negotiations that could lead to a political solution”...     more

Soldiers take part in exercise Spring Storm, led by Estonia with the participation of NATO troops, on May 27, 2021, in Tapa, Estonia. 
NATO to look eastward and inward at summit

Jun. 14 - NATO heads of state and government will confront a sizable to-do list at their June 14 Brussels summit, as the event will set the path for hardening the alliance’s outer defenses while staying limber on the inside.

The summit will mark one of the first major in-person defense events after the global coronavirus pandemic began showing signs of ebbing. It will also be the first such gathering with U.S. President Joe Biden, whose predecessor had NATO officials worrying more about keeping the alliance together than composing a forward-looking agenda.

Deterrence is expected to be one of the major themes, as member states in Europe look to craft a message to Russia that NATO’s eastern flank is off limits to what they see as Moscow’s military adventurism.

To that end, leaders at the summit will consider how best to implement a key document, the classified Concept for Deterrence and Defence of the Euro-Atlantic Area, or DDA for short, drawn up by military planners. The plan is part of the core canon of NATO doctrine, tying together national strategies and modernization programs.

NATO’s easternmost members have shown a particular interest in seeing the concept put into practice through military heft. Russian forces are gearing up for the large-scale Zapad exercise this summer, which has former Soviet Union countries that are now part of the Western alliance on edge.

“From Estonia’s perspective, it’s important that the DDA will form the backbone of the alliance’s modernized deterrence and defense posture, providing the strategic framework necessary to deter and defend against all threats and ensure rapid and timely reinforcement of any ally,” Estonian Defence Minister Kalle Laanet told Defense News.

One idea pitched by the Baltic countries in recent years, expected to resurface at the summit, entails expanding the alliance’s air-policing mission on the northeastern flank into a broader air defense mission, including anti-missile weapons...    continue to read

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June 12, 2021
President Biden and French President Macron Hold Bilateral Meeting
President Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron held a bilateral meeting on the second day of the G7 Summit in Cornwall, England. They discussed the importance of working together to address the COVID-19 pandemic and climate change; and President Biden said, “we’re on the same page.” The U.S. president also highlighted his support for NATO and the European Union saying, “the U.S. is back.” The French president welcomed cooperation with the U.S. asserting, “leadership is partnership.”

Remarks by President Biden and President Macron of the French Republic Before Bilateral Meeting

JUNE 12, 2021•STATEMENTS AND RELEASES

Carbis Bay Hotel & Estate
Saint Ives, United Kingdom

...  (quoted from)
 
Q Mr. President, have you convinced allies that America is back?
 
PRESIDENT BIDEN:  Ask him.
 
Q    Is America back?
 
PRESIDENT MACRON:  Yeah.  Definitely.
 
Q    Do you believe America is back?
 
PRESIDENT MACRON:  Definitely.

Readout of President Biden’s Meeting with President Emmanuel Macron of France

JUNE 12, 2021•STATEMENTS AND RELEASES

President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. met today with President Emmanuel Macron on the margins of the G7 Summit. The two leaders reaffirmed their commitment to deepening our bilateral ties and to the Transatlantic alliance. They highlighted their dedication to ending the pandemic, including through participation in the G7 commitment to donate COVID-19 vaccines to countries in need, and to build back better global health security for the future. They reaffirmed their commitment to reform the international tax system to address some of the inequities created by globalization. President Biden expressed his appreciation for France’s leadership on climate issues through the Paris Agreement, and both leaders underscored their dedication to achieve ambitious outcomes at the COP26 Summit in Glasgow in November. President Biden and President Macron discussed our work to strengthen and modernize NATO, and our close cooperation on counter terrorism cooperation, including in the Sahel, and other shared foreign policy priorities such as China and Russia.     source from

美防长“内部指令”抗衡中国 美日密集行动作何准备？ 20210612 |《今日关注》CCTV中文国际
Jun 13, 2021

American aircraft fly in formation above the British Royal Navy aircraft carrier Queen Elizabeth as a landing craft, air cushion transits alongside on May 17, 2021, in the Atlantic Ocean. 

China challenge
...NATO leaders are also expected to advance the alliance’s thinking on China, a country where perceptions in Europe and the United States perhaps diverge the most. NATO’s 2019 London Declaration only refers to China as having “growing influence and international policies” that present “both opportunities and challenges.”

Beijing’s combination of economic, diplomatic and military means to pursue its global agenda has at times flummoxed Western analysts trained to think in the currency of hard power or, at best, hybrid conflicts.

One of the alliance’s strategies for keeping Chinese expansionist ambitions in check is to deepen relations with partner nations in the Asia-Pacific region. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg previously referred to the approach as flexing the alliance’s political muscle in the region while keeping the geographic center of gravity in the Euro-Atlantic area...     more