On his trip to Poland, US President Obama promised an additional $1 billion in military spending to bolster NATO’s defenses in the wake of Russia’s activities in Ukraine. The money has to be authorized by the US Congress, but it is unlikely that the Congress will balk at the request. The East European states had hoped for a permanent US military base in the region, but such a move would be highly destabilizing to the region and difficult to authorize given the US public’s aversion to additional US commitments abroad. President Obama will meet with Russian President Putin at the ceremonies commemorating the allied invasion of Europe (D-Day) on 6 June 1944.
The Palestinian Authority has addressed the split between Fatah in the West Bank and Hamas in the Gaza Strip by creating a unity government. The Israeli government refuses to recognize the new government, even though it is comprised almost exclusively of non-political technocrats and there are no Hamas representatives in the government. Fatah has recognized the right of Israel to exist as a state, but Hamas has never made that declaration. Nonetheless, the US has announced that it is willing to work with the new government since Hamas is not in the government. The Israelis are furious with the US decision, but the European Union, China, India, and Turkey have also indicated that they will work with the unity government.
Fast on the heels of the US decision to cut carbon emissions by 30% by 2030, China has, for the first time, indicated that it, too, will implement an emissions cap. The Chinese have consistently refused to set a cap on emissions, a position that ultimately led to the collapse of the 2009 climate negotiations in Copenhagen. We don’t know what the cap will be, bu the change of position by the Chinese is a dramatic move, and the timing suggests that the US and China have been involved in high-level discussions on the matter for some time.
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