In Geopolitics Today: Wednesday, July 6th
Norway Allows Goods to Reach Russian Miners on Svalbard, UAE Signs Free Trade Agreement with Indonesia, and other stories
Norway Allows Goods to Reach Russian Miners on Svalbard
Russian and Norwegian have settled a dispute over coal mining shipments to the archipelago of Svalbard. Moscow had accused Olso of blocking food supplies from reaching Russian miners in the Arctic region, but now Norwegian carriers are said to have agreed to pick up the disputed cargo and cross the border with it.
The dispute had led to a week of tensions between Russia and Norway as Moscow accused Oslo of violating the Svalbard Treaty of 1920. But after a round of “good dialogue” between the two sides, food supplies bound for an Arctic coal mining settlement have resumed transiting via Norway. The Foreign Ministry in Oslo released a statement that said Norway had “never intended to block a delivery,” and that possible solutions to the crisis “were there from the start.”
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US Sanctions Iran After Nuclear Talks Fail
The US Treasury Department has imposed fresh sanctions on a Gulf-based network which allegedly helps to facilitate the trade of Iranian petroleum and petrochemical products. Last month, the US similarly imposed sanctions on a number of Chinese and Emirati companies for helping Iran sell petrochemical products.
Among those designated was Jam Petrochemical Company, which the US Treasury accuses of exporting Iranian petrochemical products to companies throughout East Asia. In Qatar last week, indirect talks between Tehran and Washington failed to reach a breakthrough over 2015 Iran nuclear deal, even while Tehran had reportedly dropped one of its last key demands in the negotiations — the delisting of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organisation. However, there has yet to be any breakthrough in negotiations, with a deal seeming increasingly unlikely.
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Russia Fortifies Kerch Strait Bridge
Russia has deployed a number of countermeasures to the Kerch Strait Bridge connecting Russia and the Crimean Peninsula. The bridge includes both automotive and rail lanes, and is both symbolically and strategically important to Russia as the bridge connects mainland Russia with Crimea. To defend this important piece of infrastructure, Russia has deployed countermeasures such as decoy barges and smokescreens to prevent a potential attack on Kerch Strait Bridge.
Control over the Kerch Strait and the bridge that crosses it allows Russia to dominate over shipping on the Sea of Azov, with all Ukrainian cities on the coast of this Sea now occupied by Russian forces. Given the fact the bridge is used to transport troops from Russia into Ukraine, it may soon be subject to attempts at its destruction. The Kerch Bridge isn’t close to Ukrainian-controlled territory to employ artillery strikes. Because of the distance, an aerial attack may be one way to destroy the bridge, thought aerial assets tasked with such a mission would be threatened by Russian S-300 and S-400 missile systems.
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UAE Signs Free Trade Agreement with Indonesia
Indonesia and the United Arab Emirates have signed a free trade agreement that will see Southeast Asia’s largest economy significantly increase trade with a major oil-producing state from the Middle East. The agreement came after a series of meetings between high-level officials which also saw both parties discuss cooperation in the defence and military fields.
The trade agreement was announce just as Indonesia’s Defence Minister, Prabowo Subianto, is on an official visit to the UAE where he met with his Emirati counterpart, Mohammed Bin Ahmed Al Bowardi. The two sides signed a Memoranda of Understanding in the design, manufacture and marketing of defence industry work, and expressed hope that the agreements made will creates a new platform for cooperation, investment and knowledge transfers.
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