In July, NATO nations will upgrade Ukraine’s status as a future member, but in a rather confusing way.
Gathering in Vilnius is likely to result in post-war security guarantees and easier route to join alliance when the time comes
Ukraine will not be offered timeline for Nato membership at summit in July Patrick Wintour, Guardian, 14 June 23,
Ukraine will not be offered a timeline with specific dates by which it can join Nato at its summit in Vilnius next month but instead may be offered a shorter route when an offer of membership is made. The proposal, reflecting a gathering consensus of key partners in the western defence alliance, will come as a disappointment to President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
Nato members, but outside formal Nato structures, will also offer post-conflict security guarantees to Ukraine, which are likely to take the shape of broad commitments to protect Ukraine from assaults by Russia. They are also expected to continue to provide ammunition and to help the Ukrainian armed forces become more convergent with Nato. But the commitments are likely to take a broad high level form rather than be specific offers of weaponry.
The countries at the centre of the negotiations said it is normal in the run-up to a summit for Nato members still to be in disagreement. However, they hoped a possible commitment that Ukraine would not have to meet conditions set out in a laborious membership application plan (MAP) and instead gain near automatic membership once an invitation is offered would be recognised as an upgrade from anything offered to the country before. Finland and Sweden have been offered Nato membership without needing to complete a MAP.
It is also likely that Nato will upgrade its current political relationship with Ukraine from the current Nato-Ukraine commission to a Nato-Ukraine council, an upgrade that gives Ukraine a higher status in joint meetings. One diplomat conceded the upgrade was unlikely to mean much to the average Ukrainian soldier fighting on the frontline but insisted it had a real value.
Juliette Smith, the US ambassador to Nato, said an upgrade to a council format “would shift the fundamental dynamics”, since Ukraine would be meeting as one of 32 attendees, as opposed to a format of 31 plus one. This would change the potential agenda items, something the US would welcome, she said.
All sides have long accepted that Ukraine cannot become a Nato member in the middle of a conflict but Kyiv, backed by Baltic states and Poland, would like a date or a timeline by which it could join once the conflict ends. A Vilnius commitment to membership has been proposed.
The absence of a date or clear conditions that Ukraine would need to meet to gain automatic Nato status will lead to Ukrainian accusations that Nato is doing little more than re-offering the promise of membership made to Ukraine at the Nato Bucharest summit in April 2008 when Nato said it had agreed Ukraine and Georgia will become members of Nato. Western countries said it would be perfectly understandable for Ukraine to be angry but insist the wording, coupled with the security commitments, can be an improvement.
The need to maintain Nato unity at such a critical time is seen as paramount, with Vladimir Putin likely to be the only beneficiary of an acrimonious Nato summit in which different sides fall out over Ukraine’s future Nato status. Full Nato membership gives members the protection umbrella of Nato’s Article 5 commitment to collective self-defence.
An attempt to require all Nato members to ensure 2% of GDP is spent on defence is also expected at the summit……………………………….more https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/jun/14/ukraine-will-not-be-offered-timeline-for-nato-membership-at-summit-in-july
EU to vote on renewables bill again after being stalled on nuclear row
France wants the law to recognise low-carbon nuclear energy as a component of renewable targets, while Bulgaria, Romania and Poland call the targets overambitious.
By Ashima Sharma, https://www.power-technology.com/news/eu-to-vote-on-renewables-bill-after-nuclear-row/ 12 June 23
U diplomats will vote on the bloc’s new renewable energy bill on Wednesday after a group of countries, including France, registered last-minute opposition in May.
The bill proposes a binding goal for all EU countries to generate 42.5% of their energy from renewable sources by 2030. While France wanted the law to recognise low-carbon nuclear energy as a component of renewable targets, Bulgaria, Romania, and Poland say the targets are overambitious.
The EU’s current share of renewables in the energy mix is 22%. However, the share of the energy mix is unevenly distributed among the countries. Sweden’s share of renewable energy is 63%, while Ireland, Luxembourg, Malta and the Netherlands comprise less than 13% of the total energy share.
The revised directive on renewables doubles the current targets with an ambition to accelerate the bloc’s plan to fight climate change and end dependence on Russian fuel. Meeting the new goals requires scaling up wind and solar farms, increasing the production of renewable gases and integrating Europe’s power grids to accommodate cleaner energy.
While nuclear energy is low-carbon, it is not renewable. France is, however, pushing for more favourable treatment of nuclear energy. The country maintains that the new bill puts countries like France, with a huge nuclear share, at a disadvantage. In May this year, the French Parliament passed a law to accelerate the construction of new nuclear reactors.
The revised directive on renewables doubles the current targets with an ambition to accelerate the bloc’s plan to fight climate change and end dependence on Russian fuel. Meeting the new goals requires scaling up wind and solar farms, increasing the production of renewable gases and integrating Europe’s power grids to accommodate cleaner energy.
While nuclear energy is low-carbon, it is not renewable. France is, however, pushing for more favourable treatment of nuclear energy. The country maintains that the new bill puts countries like France, with a huge nuclear share, at a disadvantage. In May this year, the French Parliament passed a law to accelerate the construction of new nuclear reactors.
European Union to try again for renewable energy deal after nuclear row
By Kate AbnettJune 10, 2023
BRUSSELS, June 10 (Reuters) – European Union countries will try again next week to pass a deal on new renewable energy targets, which have been stalled by concerns from France and other states that the law sidelines nuclear energy.
A group of countries including France lodged last-minute opposition to the EU’s law on more ambitious renewable energy goals last month, putting on hold a main pillar of the bloc’s plans to tackle climate change.
EU country diplomats will attempt to approve the law on Wednesday, according to an agenda for the meeting published late on Friday.
Paris has sought changes to the law to offer more favourable treatment of nuclear energy, and said the final deal puts at a disadvantage countries like France with large shares of nuclear power. Nuclear energy is low-carbon, but not renewable.
The EU law is designed to drive a rapid expansion of renewable energy sources like wind and solar. The deal negotiated this year offered some compromises, including lower renewable fuel targets for industry, in countries that have already used nuclear power to slash their use of fossil fuels…………………
France’s energy ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said on Thursday France will not give up the competitive advantages linked to nuclear power, noting that EU countries have the right to choose their own energy mix.
Other pro-nuclear EU members including Bulgaria, Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic had also signalled they would not support the renewable law – citing concerns including, for some, that the targets are simply too high.
Together, they have enough votes to block the law.
It is unusual for countries to reject pre-agreed deals on EU laws, which follow months of negotiations.
Meanwhile, states including Germany and Luxembourg – both anti-nuclear countries – plus Denmark and Ireland have urged the EU to resolve the spat quickly, warning the delay endangers investments in renewable energy.
Reporting by Kate Abnett Additional reporting by Dominique Vidalon Editing by Frances Kerry https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/eu-try-again-renewable-energy-deal-after-nuclear-row-2023-06-10/
France’s EDF and the global nuclear lobby sulking because Europe won’t accept their lie that nuclear power is “renewable”.
‘Not there yet’: France’s EDF frustrated with nuclear power’s status in EU’s Net-Zero Industry Act, By Frédéric Simon | EURACTIV.com 11 June 23,
Supporters of nuclear power in France have welcomed plans to scrap the two-tier approach to low-carbon technologies in the EU’s draft Net-Zero Industry Act (NZIA) but they also condemn the lower status granted to atomic energy as “incoherent” with the bloc’s wider decarbonisation goals.
Tabled by the European Commission in March, the NZIA aims to ensure Europe is capable of producing domestically at least 40% of the technologies it deems “strategic” to achieve its goal of reducing emissions to net zero by 2050.
But while nuclear energy was catalogued among the EU’s net-zero industries, it did not make it into the list of “strategic” technologies – such as wind, solar, batteries and electrolysers – that are eligible for the 40% domestic manufacturing benchmark, as well as quicker permitting procedures and looser EU state aid oversight.
Under the Commission’s proposal, only Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) and “advanced technologies” producing energy from nuclear processes “with minimal waste from the fuel cycle” would be eligible for the ‘strategic’ label.
“The cutting-edge nuclear is in for specific fields, but not for all,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen explained after an EU summit in March, causing uproar among nuclear energy fans on social media.
Technological neutrality
Legislators are now examining the proposed NZIA regulation, with the European Parliament and EU member states aiming to reach an agreement on a joint text before the end of the year.
And for nuclear power advocates, the Parliament’s draft position on the regulation means more frustration, even though some see encouraging signs as well…………………………………..
EDF, the French state-owned electric utility, appears even more bitter, denouncing the “incoherence” of ignoring a mature technology like nuclear power, which emits almost no carbon dioxide, in a legislative text meant to promote zero-emission technologies.
“The only nuclear power included in the NZIA is the one which does not yet exist – Small Modular Reactors (SMRs),” said Erkki Maillard, senior vice president for EU affairs at EDF, which returned under full state ownership this week……………………………………..
Nuclear alliance
France is not alone in its quest to win recognition for nuclear power as a strategic net-zero technology.
Last month, a group of 16 European countries taking part in the French-led “nuclear alliance” signed a joint declaration in which they encouraged the European Commission “to recognise nuclear energy in the EU’s energy strategy” and promote “better conditions for the development and deployment of new nuclear energy capacity in the EU”.
………………………………………. Parliament lawmakers have until 19 June to table amendments to the NZIA regulation.
The Parliament’s industry committee, which has the lead on the matter, is scheduled to vote on the proposal on 12 October, before a plenary vote expected the following month. This will open the way for decisive talks with EU member states and the European Commission to finalise the law’s adoption.
Iranian Supreme Leader Says ‘Nothing Wrong’ With A Nuclear Deal With West
https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-khamenei-nuclear-deal-approval/32454257.html 12 June 23
Iran’s supreme leader said on June 11 that a deal with the West over Tehran’s nuclear work was possible if the country’s atomic infrastructure remained intact, amid a stalemate between Tehran and Washington to revive a 2015 nuclear pact.
Months of indirect talks between Tehran and Washington to salvage the nuclear accord with six major powers have stalled since September, with each side accusing the other of making unreasonable demands. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s guarded approval comes days after both Tehran and Washington denied a report that they were nearing an interim deal. To read the original story by Reuters, click here.
Oman facilitating Iran-US talks to replace 2015 nuclear accord
MUSCAT DAILY, 12 JUN 2023
Tehran, Iran – Iran on Monday said it has continued indirect negotiations with the Unites States through the Sultanate of Oman over its nuclear deal and a possible prisoner swap.
Iran’s nuclear programme has long been the subject of scrutiny from Western powers, resulting in sanctions that have crippled the country’s economy.
A 2015 deal granted Tehran much-needed relief from sanctions in exchange for curbs on its nuclear programme before it was torpedoed by the United States’ unilateral pullout in 2018.
In recent days, the two capitals have denied media reports that they were close to reaching an interim deal to replace the 2015 accord.
“We welcome the efforts of Omani officials and we exchanged messages with the other party through this mediator” over the lifting of US sanctions, Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani said on Monday.
“We have never stopped the diplomatic processes,” he added during his weekly press conference, emphasising that the talks “were not secret”.
Diplomatic ties between Tehran and Washington soured following the 1979 revolution led by Iran’s first supreme leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.
Efforts to revive the 2015 nuclear deal have so far failed to yield results.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Sunday reiterated the denial of moves towards acquiring a nuclear weapon. He also said deals could be reached, provided they do not change “the existing infrastructure of the nuclear industry”……………………………………………..more https://www.muscatdaily.com/2023/06/12/oman-facilitating-iran-us-talks-to-replace-2015-nuclear-accord/
Anxiety and disagreement in South Korea about Fukushima radioactive wastewater
[Lee Kyong-hee] Fallout from Fukushima radioactive wastewater, By Korea Herald, Jun 8, 2023
“………………….. quoting a diplomatic source, the reports say that President Yoon Suk Yeol vowed to make all-out efforts to remove public concerns in Korea about the wastewater discharge when he met Japanese lawmakers in March during his visit to Tokyo for a summit with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.
Many Koreans were caught off guard, and this administration’s purported stance is further proof that their president is bent on fence-mending with an unrepentant government at whatever cost.
Yoon has neither confirmed nor denied the reports. Transparency is not a priority of his administration, though his search for avenues of rapprochement with Japan is clear.
As Yoon remains tight-lipped, we can only guess his views about the rationality of the discharge and whether he grasps the potential risks. Hence a confrontation with the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea is underway, each side blaming the other for spreading malicious rumors lacking scientific basis.
Amid the accusations, the science community also has misgivings. Seo Kyun-ryeol, a professor emeritus at Seoul National University’s Department of Nuclear Engineering, is an outspoken critic. He is among several scientists who question the contaminated water filtration process and cautions that sea currents will ultimately bring some of discharged wastewater to Korea’s shores.
…………………….public mistrust is understandable, given TEPCO’s history; a Japanese government investigation report in 2012 said TEPCO had failed to meet initial safety requirements.
………………………. Seo says, “There is no guarantee that all of the system’s many filters for different isotopes will work perfectly all of the time, given the condition and quantity of the water, let alone the period of time required.”
The SNU professor highlights the potential hazards associated with cesium, strontium and plutonium, which were released from the reactors due to the disaster. “These substances not only enter the bloodstream but also penetrate the muscles, bones and brain, leading to the development of solid cancers and tumors,” he said.
Seo has raised concerns that marine life and ocean currents can carry harmful radioactive isotopes across the Pacific. He warns of the potential risks to entire marine ecosystems, from the deep-sea organisms up to invertebrates, fish and marine mammals through the food chain, eventually reaching humans.
Naturally, among the most vocal critics of the ocean discharge is the Pacific Islands Forum, an organization representing 18 island nations. They have already suffered from nuclear tests by the United States and European countries. Their concerns are reasonable as most of their populations are coastal residents who depend on the ocean for their livelihoods.
The International Atomic Energy Agency is expected to release its final assessment later this month before Japan embarks on its plan. The root of the problem, as contended by Ken Buesseler, a marine radiochemist and advisor to the Pacific Islands Forum, is that Japan is moving already with a plan which has not proven workable.
Masashi Goto, a retired nuclear engineer who designed reactor containment vessels for Toshiba for many years, bemoans the “safety culture” he encountered in the industry. In a presentation marking the 10th year after the Fukushima accident, he said, “Risks can be expressed in terms of their potential for damage or probability of occurrence. Many unlikely scenarios run the risk of horrendous consequences.”
Goto’s views concerning the decommissioning of a nuclear reactor are worth heeding. “TEPCO claims to have a decommissioning schedule that can be completed within the next 30 to 40 years, but this is completely unrealistic. Given the severity of what happened and the current state of the reactors, in practice we are looking at a process lasting anywhere from 100 to 200 years.”
“What is the number one priority? It’s the same question that was thrust upon the citizens of Japan 10 years ago. Do we prioritize the economy and convenience at any cost, or do we choose to live modestly in safety and free from worry?” he asked.
All said, Japan should suspend the planned release of the wastewater. Heeding the concerns of the international community, it may well consider other possible options, such as long-term storage and processing through half-lives of isotopes or cement-based solidification. https://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20230607000843
Universalization of Nuclear Weapon Ban Treaty Is Essential
IDN InDepthNews BERLIN | TOKYO, 11 June 2023 (IDN) By Ramesh Jaura — Peacebuilder and Buddhist leader Daisaku Ikeda, who is president of the Tokyo-based Soka Gakkai International (SGI), issued a statement ahead of the meeting of the Group of 7 (G7) countries in Hiroshima May 19-21, calling on the G7 leaders to take bold steps toward resolving the conflict in Ukraine and guarantee the security of all humanity by taking the lead in discussions on pledges of No First Use of nuclear weapons.
The venue of the summit of seven leaders—from Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States, plus the European Union (EU)—was symbolically stark because the US atomic bombings in 1945 killed over 226,000 people in the twin Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, with the heaviest toll in Hiroshima.
But did the seven leaders—from Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States, plus the European Union (EU)—manage to take bold steps in respect of the Russia-Ukraine conflict and committing to ‘No First Use’ of nuclear weapons?
IDN interviewed Mr Hirotsugu Terasaki, Director General of Peace and Global Issues, Soka Gakkai International. Following is the complete text of the interview:
Q: What does the SG think of the outcome of the Hiroshima Summit, which ended May 21 with Ukraine in focus and both Russia and China criticizing the G7?
Hirotsugu Terasaki (HT): Hiroshima, where the first atomic bomb in human history was dropped, is the starting point of peace, and a summit meeting for the total abolition of nuclear weapons should be held there—the this is something SGI President Daisaku Ikeda has repeatedly called for since 1975…………………………………………….. more https://www.indepthnews.net/index.php/armaments/nuclear-weapons/6233-universalization-of-nuclear-weapon-ban-treaty-is-increasingly-essential
France says nuclear power is ‘non-negotiable’
EURACTIV.com with AFP 9 June 23
French nuclear power is “an absolute red line” and non-negotiable, Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said Thursday (8 June), following Franco-German disagreements over the role of nuclear energy in Europe.
Nuclear-reliant Paris has already irked Berlin by insisting on giving nuclear energy a starring role in European plans to produce more green technology in Europe.
“Nuclear power is an absolute red line for France, and France will not relinquish any of the competitive advantages linked to nuclear energy”, Le Maire insisted as he closed the annual conference of the French Electricity Union.
France’s 56 ageing reactors normally provide some 70% of France’s electricity needs.
“French nuclear power is non-negotiable and will never be negotiable. We will have to live with it, and we are convinced that it is not only in France’s interest, but also in the interest of the European continent”, he added.
Spat over EU’s renewable energy directive
Earlier, at the same meeting, German state secretary for economic affairs and climate action Stefan Wenzel acknowledged that France and Germany “often have different approaches in energy policy, especially concerning nuclear energy”
Germany “respects diverging choices for other fossil fuel energy sources by other member states as France that may similarly contribute to achieve climate neutrality,” he added.
However “what we cannot accept is when nuclear energy is defined as renewable, or low-carbon hydrogen is equated with green hydrogen”.
Agreement on the EU’s revised renewable energy directive was delayed last month as France requested further “guarantees” to limit the share of renewable hydrogen production for countries that already have significant amounts of low-carbon hydrogen derived from nuclear power…………………… https://www.euractiv.com/section/energy-environment/news/france-says-nuclear-power-is-non-negotiable/
Are We Back to Nuclear Brinkmanship for Good?
It’s not just Putin who has re-embraced nuclear threats. The U.S. and China are also cracking open the door.
By Michael Hirsh, a columnist for Foreign Policy. https://foreignpolicy.com/2023/06/09/nuclear-brinksmanship-arms-control-jake-sullivan-putin-china-russia/
Sixty years ago this week, U.S. President John F. Kennedy gave a speech at American University that transformed the nature of the Cold War, turning the insanity of nuclear brinkmanship into the relative safety of negotiation. Coming just eight months after the Cuban Missile Crisis brought the world harrowingly close to armageddon, Kennedy noted the “ironic but accurate fact that the two strongest powers [on earth] are the two in the most danger of devastation.”
That, he said, had to stop—not to achieve some “infinite concept of universal peace and goodwill” but rather to secure “a more practical, more attainable peace.”
In an act of political courage for the time, Kennedy then delivered a unilateral concession to Moscow, saying the United States “does not propose to conduct nuclear tests in the atmosphere so long as other states do not do so.”
Astonishingly, given the hostility between the United States and the Soviet Union, the Soviet government broadcast Kennedy’s June 10, 1963, address in its entirety, and it was published by the Soviet newspapers Izvestia and Pravda. On July 25, 1963, after only 12 days of negotiations, a nuclear test ban treaty was signed.
Where is the political courage of yesteryear?
In a speech at the Arms Control Association’s annual conference on June 2, U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan took a very different tack. Sullivan signaled—though he likely didn’t intend to—that there is little hope for restraining the threat of nuclear war in the foreseeable future. Sullivan conceded that there was no meaningful U.S. communication with either Russia or China, that Washington was engaging in tit-for-tat reprisals against Moscow by suspending day-to-day missile operations notification, and that the United States would continue to push for military dominance over both Russia and China for decades to come.
Sullivan, rightly blaming Russian President Vladimir Putin for bringing nuclear brinkmanship back into the conventional war equation, said “the cracks in our post-Cold War nuclear foundation are substantial and they are deep.” But in the end, Matthew Bunn, a nuclear expert at Harvard University, told Foreign Policy, Sullivan “offered nothing, no proposals.”
To be fair, the Biden administration is already being criticized by Republicans for proposing unconditional nuclear talks with both Russia and China. Indeed, U.S. President Joe Biden is clearly avoiding what may be his biggest foreign-policy fear leading up to the 2024 presidential election: the perception of being soft on China. That sort of political pressure at home, combined with Chinese President Xi Jinping’s apparent determination to rapidly build up his nuclear capability, suggests a long-term arms race.
Yet Sullivan did little to ameliorate those fears last week. On the contrary, he announced that the United States is pursuing an arms race in order to prevent an arms race. “Together with our NATO allies, we’ve been laser-focused on modernizing the alliance’s nuclear capabilities,” Sullivan said, including “certifying our F-35 aircraft to be able to deliver modern nuclear gravity bombs. … Together, these modernization efforts will ensure our deterrent capabilities remain secure and strong as we head into the 2030s—when the United States will need to deter two near-peer nuclear powers for the first time in its history.”
Sullivan denied that he was calling for a new arms race, contending the Biden administration was taking a “better” approach rather than a “more” one. “The United States does not need to increase our nuclear forces to outnumber the combined total of our competitors in order to successfully deter them,” he said. But Sullivan was basically telling the Chinese and Russians that Washington will continue to insist on precisely what both Beijing and Moscow have said they can no longer accept: U.S. hegemony in the global system.
As a result, Bunn said, “I’m fairly worried that we have a level of hostility that is the worst since the Cuban Missile Crisis.”
Washington banned Kiev from signing truce with Moscow – Russian security chief
Prolonging violence in Ukraine at any cost is in the interest of the US, Nikolay Patrushev has claimed.
https://www.rt.com/russia/577700-patrushev-us-truce-ukraine/ 8 June 23
Nikolay Patrushev, one of Russia’s senior security officials, has accused the US and the UK of standing in the way of peace. Unlike the peoples of Russia and Ukraine, the two English-speaking countries are interested in prolonging the violence and do not care about human suffering, he alleged.
“I can identify the nations that are most interested [in continued hostilities] – they are the US and England,” he said on Thursday during a press conference in Belarus. “And one should clearly realize that they do not care about people dying, because it’s not their people, they are not waging the war on their own soil.”
Patrushev, who serves as secretary of the Security Council, reminded journalists that Moscow and Kiev were on the verge of a truce in the first weeks of the conflict. But the Ukrainian government pulled out of peace talks under US pressure, he added.
The official was referring to negotiations in Istanbul, during which Ukraine proposed to pledge neutrality in exchange for security guarantees, to which Moscow provisionally agreed.
“Russia is not the ultimate target [for Western nations],” Patrushev assessed. “Their ultimate target is China. They [intend to] dominate the world, but that is unacceptable and won’t happen.”
Patrushev was visiting the Belarusian capital Minsk for a meeting of security chiefs from members of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), a regional mutual defense bloc that also includes Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.
Russian officials have described the hostilities in Ukraine as part of a larger proxy war waged by the US and its allies against Moscow, aimed at preserving Western powers’ hegemony.
Washington has declared the “strategic defeat” of Russia as its goal in Ukraine and pledged to provide military assistance to Kiev for as long as it takes to achieve that objective.
Amid Blinken visit, top Saudi diplomat says kingdom seeks U.S. nuclear aid
PBS. Jun 8, 2023
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister said after meeting with the visiting U.S. secretary of state on Thursday that while the kingdom would welcome U.S. aid in building its civilian nuclear program, “there are others that are bidding.”
Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan was responding to a question about recent news reports that Saudi Arabia is asking for U.S. aid in building its own nuclear program in exchange for establishing diplomatic relations with Israel.
“It’s no secret that we are developing our domestic civilian nuclear program and we would very much prefer to be able to have the U.S. as one of the bidders,” he said. “Obviously we would like to build our program with the best technology in the world.”
Prince Faisal went on to say that normalization with Israel would have “limited benefits” without “finding a pathway to peace for the Palestinian people.” He did not say whether the nuclear issue is linked to normalization.
The exchange came at the end of a two-day visit to the kingdom in which U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with senior Saudi officials, including the country’s de facto leader, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and co-hosted a meeting of the global coalition fighting the Islamic State group………………………………………………………………………………………….
Critics say Saudi Arabia’s diplomatic efforts and its push into international sports are aimed at repairing the kingdom’s image after the 2018 killing and dismemberment of Jamal Khashoggi, a prominent Saudi dissident and Washington Post columnist. U.S. intelligence concluded that Prince Mohammed likely approved the operation carried out by Saudi agents — allegations he denies.
Critics also point to an unprecedented crackdown on dissent in recent years, with authorities jailing everyone from liberal women’s rights activists to ultra-conservative Islamists, and even targeting Saudis living in the United States.
Blinken said “human rights are always on the agenda” and that he had raised “specific cases,” but did not say whether any progress had been made on the release of detainees or the lifting of travel bans on prominent activists…… https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/amid-blinken-visit-top-saudi-diplomat-says-kingdom-seeks-u-s-nuclear-aid
BLINKEN’S BATTLE HYMN
Biden’s favorite hawk calls for no end to the bloodshed in Ukraine
SEYMOUR HERSH, JUN 7, 2023
Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken in a June 2 speech in Helsinki welcomed Finland as NATO’s newest member state. A career hawk when it comes to Russia, he outdid himself in the fierceness of his commitment to the Ukraine war. Once again he was dismissive of any talk of a ceasefire—something desperately needed by an increasingly besieged Ukrainian army and citizenry.
“Now, over the coming weeks and months,” Blinken explained, “some countries will call for a ceasefire. And on the surface, that sounds sensible—attractive, even. After all, who doesn’t want warring parties to lay down their arms? Who doesn’t want the killing to stop? But a ceasefire that simply freezes current lines in place and enables Putin to consolidate control over the territory he’s seized, and then rest, re-arm, and re-attack—that is not a just and lasting peace. It’s a Potemkin peace. It would legitimize Russia’s land grab. It would reward the aggressor and punish the victim.”
Does America’s secretary of State not know—or want to know—the historical importance and success of international peace-keeping forces? Is he not aware of the work done by the diplomat Richard Holbrooke, controversial as he may have been? In 1995 he negotiated an end to the murderous ethnic violence in Bosnia and Herzegovina among Serbs, Croats, and Muslims. Their hatred for each other was as intense as the feelings now simmering among the citizenry and military in Ukraine for their Russian adversaries.
Blinken concluded his speech: “when a free people like the Ukrainians have at their backs the support of free nations around the world—nations who recognize their fates and freedom—their rights and security are inextricably bound together, the force they possess is not merely immense. It is unstoppable.”
His real message might be put more bluntly: I hate the Russians and let the blood flow.
………………. More than fifteen months later, Blinken told the Finnish crowd that there’s a bright side to the continuing carnage: “There is no question: Russia is significantly worse off today than it was before its full-scale invasion of Ukraine—militarily, economically, geopolitically.” The European Union is more united than ever, he asserted, and has supplied more than $75 billion in military, economic, and humanitarian aid to Ukraine. It has also absorbed more than 8 million Ukrainian refugees. (I have written of the growing costs and anxieties of the regional refugee crisis due to the war. Many of Ukraine’s neighbors, while hostile to Russia and to Putin, have been secretly urging the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to seek a ceasefire and an end to the slaughter.)
Russia’s economic growth has diminished due to the cost of the war, but Russia is far from isolated. The Economist’s Intelligence Unit reported in March, one year after Russia attacked Ukraine, that “an increasing number of countries are siding with Russia. . . …………….
One would imagine that an American secretary of State, with his international influence, would have an obligation not to diminish American credibility by misrepresenting the state of the world. Another explanation is that the world that backs American power is the world only he sees.
………………….. Samuel Charap, a Russia scholar, just published an essay in Foreign Affairs about Washington’s strategy in Ukraine. Charap served in the Obama administration and is now at the RAND Corporation. He is no fan of Russia or what he termed America’s “nebulous” notions about an endgame to the war, or lack thereof. He has a lot of ideas about intermediate steps that could lead to serious peace talks or, as he puts it, “facilitating an endgame.” These include an armistice agreement, demilitarized zones, joint commissions for dispute resolution, and third-party guarantees—feel-good moves aimed at allowing bitter enemies to achieve peace without resolving their fundamental differences.
It’s not much but it could be a start. Too bad that the name Antony Blinken never appears in Charap’s article. https://seymourhersh.substack.com/p/blinkens-battle-hymn?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=1377040&post_id=126473084&isFreemail=false&utm_medium=email
Major Progress Made in Nuclear Talks Between U.S. and Iran in Preparation for a New Agreement
Amos Harel Haaretz 7 June 23
Israel expects an agreement to be reached within a few weeks, with the understandings expected to include an Iranian agreement to stop uranium enrichment at high levels in return for easing sanctions.
In an effort to reach an agreement on a nuclear deal, the contacts between the United States and Iran have made major progress in the past few days. Israeli defense officials say the talks are moving forward more rapidly than expected, with the possibility that the two sides will reach an agreement within weeks………. (Subscribers only) https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2023-06-07/ty-article/.premium/major-progress-made-in-nuclear-talks-between-u-s-and-iran/00000188-94bd-df21-a1b8-b7bd413d0000
Israel undecided on Saudi Arabia’s demand for civil nuclear technology
Israel’s security establishment is categorically opposed to the possibility of Saudi Arabia obtaining civil nuclear capabilities, but the political echelon in Israel has not made up its mind yet.
June 6, 2023, Ben Caspit @BenCaspit AL MONITOR
TEL AVIV — Israeli Energy Minister Israel Katz expressed on Monday reservations about Saudi Arabia’s plans to establish a US-backed nuclear power program, in a first public statement on the issue by a senior Israeli official.
Katz made this statement as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was preparing to fly to Saudi Arabia for talks expected to include discussions of the nuclear program for which the Saudis are seeking US technology and know-how……………………………………………………………….
The Israeli defense establishment is not enthusiastic, to say the least, about Saudi access to nuclear energy, let alone uranium enrichment on its soil.
“We have been saying for years that a nuclear program in Iran will expose the entire Middle East to a nuclear arms race. This is no different in the Saudi case. With the Iranians enriching uranium to military grade and the Saudis on their way to doing so, there is no doubt that within a short time we will see progress toward nuclear weapons in Egypt, the Gulf and elsewhere as well. There is no vacuum on such a strategic issue, certainly not in the Middle East,” said an Israeli security official, speaking on condition of anonymity………………………………..
1 This Month
of the week– Nuclear Reactor Information Task Force
14 May – online event From Bombs to Data Centres: the Face of Nuclear Colonialism
To see nuclear-related stories in greater depth and intensity – go to https://nuclearinformation.wordpress.com
-
Archives
- May 2026 (116)
- April 2026 (356)
- March 2026 (251)
- February 2026 (268)
- January 2026 (308)
- December 2025 (358)
- November 2025 (359)
- October 2025 (376)
- September 2025 (257)
- August 2025 (319)
- July 2025 (230)
- June 2025 (348)
-
Categories
- 1
- 1 NUCLEAR ISSUES
- business and costs
- climate change
- culture and arts
- ENERGY
- environment
- health
- history
- indigenous issues
- Legal
- marketing of nuclear
- media
- opposition to nuclear
- PERSONAL STORIES
- politics
- politics international
- Religion and ethics
- safety
- secrets,lies and civil liberties
- spinbuster
- technology
- Uranium
- wastes
- weapons and war
- Women
- 2 WORLD
- ACTION
- AFRICA
- Atrocities
- AUSTRALIA
- Christina's notes
- Christina's themes
- culture and arts
- Events
- Fuk 2022
- Fuk 2023
- Fukushima 2017
- Fukushima 2018
- fukushima 2019
- Fukushima 2020
- Fukushima 2021
- general
- global warming
- Humour (God we need it)
- Nuclear
- RARE EARTHS
- Reference
- resources – print
- Resources -audiovicual
- Weekly Newsletter
- World
- World Nuclear
- YouTube
-
RSS
Entries RSS
Comments RSS
nuclear-news 