
US Envoy Expects Trump, Erdogan to Resolve Arms Sanctions on Türkiye this Year
Thomas Barrack, the envoy, said the two presidents could give directions to settle the issue of sanctions, which the US imposed in 2020 over Türkiye's purchase of Russian S-400 missile defense systems.
"In my view, President Trump and President Erdogan will tell Secretary (Marco) Rubio and Foreign Minister (Hakan) Fidan to fix this, find a way, and a resolution is possible by year-end," he was quoted as saying on Sunday.
The CAATSA sanctions, referring to the 'Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act', also removed NATO member Türkiye from the F-35 program where it was both a buyer and manufacturer of the fighter jets.
Ankara, which has closer US ties since Trump's return to the White House, has said its removal from the program was unjust and has demanded to be reinstated or reimbursed.
"We all believe there's a tremendous opportunity here, as we have two leaders who trust each other," said Barrack, who is also special envoy to neighboring Syria.
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Arab News
3 hours ago
- Arab News
Diplomatic spotlight falls on Global South ahead of G20 meeting
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa is making final preparations to attend the big BRICS summit on Sunday and Monday in Brazil. However, his mind may well be some 5,000 miles away in his home nation, which is facing the growing challenges of hosting another major global diplomatic event — the G20 meeting. South Africa's hosting of this year's G20 should be a victory lap for Ramaphosa and his country. It is the first time the African continent has chaired the global forum, yet the process has been beset with problems, largely emanating from the US. A few weeks ago, Ramaphosa visited the White House to try to course correct relations with the Trump team. However, the meeting proved tense, with US President Donald Trump repeatedly accusing South Africa of 'white genocide,' and it is still not clear whether the US president will attend November's leadership summit, despite the fact that Washington takes over as the next G20 host. Before his meeting with Ramaphosa, Trump declared that 'South Africa is confiscating land and treating certain classes of people very badly. The United States won't stand for it, we will act. Also, I will be cutting off all future funding to South Africa until a full investigation of the situation has been completed.' Moreover, Trump signed an executive order on Feb. 7 which claimed that an expropriation law, passed in December, enables 'the government of South Africa to seize ethnic minority Afrikaners' agricultural property without compensation. This act follows countless government policies designed to dismantle equal opportunity in employment, education, and business, and hateful rhetoric and government actions fueling disproportionate violence against racially disfavored landowners.' Washington donated about $440 million in aid to South Africa in 2023, most of which was for healthcare programs. It is not just Trump who has berated Ramaphosa. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who declined an invitation to attend a G20 foreign ministers meeting earlier this year, has declared that 'South Africa is doing very bad things. Expropriating private property. Using G20 to promote solidarity, equality, & sustainability. In other words: DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) and climate change. My job is to advance America's national interests, not waste taxpayer money or coddle anti-Americanism.' South Africa's hosting of this year's G20 should be a victory lap for President Cyril Ramaphosa and his country. Andrew Hammond What Trump and Rubio refer to in their denunciation is the 2024 South Africa Expropriation Act, which aims to resolve ownership inequality issues created by the pre-1994 apartheid system of white minority rule. The controversial law has drawn criticism for potentially disregarding private property rights, particularly those of the white minority, as it potentially permits state land seizures without compensation. To date, no land has been expropriated. The hostility of the Trump team to South Africa is making it much harder for Ramaphosa to host the G20, yet this is only the latest example of growing geopolitical divisions affecting the club in recent years. Tensions have long been high, too, between China and the West, and recent summits have seen significant disagreements over Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, which have caused diplomatic fireworks. In 2022, 2023, and 2024, G20 ministers frequently clashed diplomatically, with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov walking out of some meetings. Moreover, the customary group pictures of the so-called 'G20 family' have become rarer. In this context, there are significant challenges to constructive discussion taking place at the G20 this year — this despite the strong support that South Africa has received from other powers, including the EU. For instance, European Council President Antonio Costa has highlighted with Ramaphosa 'the EU's commitment to deepen ties with South Africa, as a reliable and predictable partner.' He added that the EU offers 'full support to South Africa's leadership of G20 and its ambition to strengthen multilateral cooperation and the Pact for the Future to address the most pressing global issues.' The backing of Brussels for Pretoria reflects not just its partnership with the country and the wider continent, but also the concern that Washington's absence from the G20 will only benefit Moscow and China. Yet, even if some governments, like the Trump team, have disagreements with parts of Ramaphosa's G20 agenda to address climate change and fairer finance for poorer nations, there are other items for constructive engagement. Take the example of the future of the energy agenda in Africa in which US firms have a huge stake. The danger if the US does not engage on these agendas is that it will lose a critical mass of its economic foothold in South Africa and much of the rest of the continent. All of this highlights why 2025 will be perhaps the most unpredictable G20 year ever. Amid the uncertainty, however, what is at stake is more than the future of the multilateral forum. At play are much wider questions about US international leadership in the new era.


Arab News
3 hours ago
- Arab News
Musk says ‘America Party' is formed in US
'By a factor of 2 to 1, you want a new political party and you shall have it!' he said'Today, the America Party is formed to give you back your freedom'WASHINGTON: A day after asking his followers on X whether a new US political party should be created, Elon Musk said on Saturday that the 'America Party is formed.''By a factor of 2 to 1, you want a new political party and you shall have it!' he said in a post on X.'Today, the America Party is formed to give you back your freedom.'The announcement from Musk comes after President Donald Trump signed a tax-cut and spending bill into law on Friday, which the billionaire chief executive officer of Tesla fiercely spent hundreds of millions on Trump's re-election and led the Department of Government Efficiency under the Trump administration aimed at slashing government spending, but the two have since fallen out over disagreements about the earlier this week threatened to cut off the billions of dollars in subsidies that Musk's companies receive from the federal said previously that he would start a new political party and spend money to unseat lawmakers who supported the have expressed concern that Musk's on-again, off-again feud with Trump could hurt their chances to protect their majority in the 2026 midterm congressional elections.


Leaders
5 hours ago
- Leaders
Iran Has Not Agreed to Inspections, Give up Enrichment: Trump
US President Donald Trump stated on Friday that Iran did not approve inspections of its nuclear program or give up enriching uranium, according to Reuters. Trump's Remarks Trump said that he believed that the Iranian nuclear program had been degraded permanently, despite the possibility that Tehran could restart it at a different location. 'I would say it's set back permanently. I would think they'd have to start at a different location. And if they did start, it would be a problem.' Trump said as he traveled to New Jersey after an Independence Day celebration at the White House. Moreover, Trump revealed that he would never allow Tehran to resume its nuclear program. He also noted that Iran wanted to hold a meeting with him. On Friday, the UN nuclear watchdog announced it had pulled its last remaining inspectors from Iran. Pentagon's Statement The Pentagon said that US strikes last month on Iranian nuclear facilities degraded Tehran's nuclear program by up to two years. 'We have degraded their program by one to two years, at least intel assessments inside the department assess that,' Sean Parnell, a Pentagon spokesperson, said at a news briefing on Wednesday. Parnell also said that the US military campaign likely achieved its goals despite a far more cautious initial assessment that leaked to the public. 'All of the intelligence that we've seen led us to believe that Iran's, those facilities especially, have been completely obliterated,' he added. US Strikes on Iran On June 22, the US became directly involved in the conflict between Israel and Iran after launching airstrikes on Iran's nuclear facilities in Natanz, Fordow, and Isfahan. The head of the UN nuclear watchdog, Mr Rafael Grossi, revealed that Iran could be producing enriched uranium in a few months. Grossi's remarks raised doubts over the effectiveness of the US military operation to destroy Tehran's nuclear programme. Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi unveiled that US strikes severely damaged the Fordow nuclear site. 'No one exactly knows what has transpired in Fordow. That being said, what we know so far is that the facilities have been seriously and heavily damaged,' Mr Araqchi said in the interview broadcast by CBS News on July 1. REUTERS Israel Iran Conflict On June 13, Israel launched a wave of airstrikes on Iran under the name of Operation Rising Lion. The military campaign targeted Iran's nuclear facilities and killed top military commanders and nuclear scientists. As a response, Iran launched a retaliatory wave of missiles against Israel and targeted Tel Aviv. Israel also killed several Iranian nuclear scientists in line with its goal to eliminate Iran's nuclear program. Crucially, Israel announced that it was hit by over 50 missiles during the 12-day war with Iran, resulting in 28 deaths. However, the real extent of the damage may never be known because of strict media restrictions. The Israeli airstrikes on Iran killed at least 627 people and injured approximately 4,900. Related Topics: Iran Conflict will End on Negotiating Table: Col. Dahouk Iran Formally Suspends Cooperation with IAEA Iranian FM Excludes Quick Restart of US-Iran Talks Short link : Post Views: 31