Trump’s zigzags, a historic referendum in Denmark…

DENMARK

Historic referendum on defense

Copenhagen no longer wants to stand apart. On March 6, the Prime Minister, Mette Frederiksen, announced the holding of a historic referendum on June 1 next. The challenge: to put an end to the derogation which has allowed the Danes to remain for thirty years away from the decisions of the European Union in matters of defence. Unlike the other 26 member states, the Nordic kingdom “does not participate in EU military operations, does not finance them and does not provide troops or military equipment in conflict areas led by the EU”, recalls public television website DR.

CHINA

Beijing heals its ties with Moscow

Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on March 7 that the “friendship” between his country and Russia was “rock solid” and that “the prospects for future cooperation are immense.” The strengthening of their economic ties is already being felt: “Exports to Russia increased by 41% in January and February […]exceeding trade with the European Union and the United States”, underlines the site of the Deutsche Welleadding that “Russia is also the second source of imports for China, which buys energy materials from it”.

SAUDI ARABIA

Israel, “potential ally” of MBS

Accused of having ordered the murder of Jamal Khashoggi in 2018 and since banned from the international community, Mohammed bin Salman, alias MBS, spoke on March 4 to the American magazineThe Atlantic a possible rapprochement of his country with the Jewish state, which would be a turning point in the Middle East. “We do not see Israel as an enemy, but as a potential ally, with many common interests,” said the crown prince of Saudi Arabia, who conditions any diplomatic progress on the settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

UNITED STATES

On Ukraine, Trump’s zigzags

After calling the Russian president a “genius” for his plan to invade Ukraine, Donald Trump attacked the Kremlin on March 2 and his project “a holocaust in a sovereign nation”. The former president “now sets himself up as the savior of the Ukrainian resistance”, notes the magazine RollingStone. “Russia is in much worse shape than it thought, and that’s largely thanks to the guns I gave the Ukrainians,” Trump said, ignoring the impeachment process he’s been discussing. object. Trump had conditioned his military aid to Kiev on compromising information about Joe Biden.

RUSSIA

Muzzled journalists

Censorship is on full swing. Vladimir Putin signed a law on March 4 punishing fifteen years in prison for the dissemination of information that “discredits” the Russian military forces or calls for sanctioning Moscow. “We are forced to delete many articles, but we have decided to continue working”, writes the independent newspaper Novaya Gazetawhose editor Dmitry Muratov was co-winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 2021. That same day, the Russian media regulator ordered the blocking of Facebook.

MALI

27 Malian soldiers killed in a jihadist attack

It’s the deadliest attack in a year. An offensive launched on March 4 by jihadists against the Mondoro camp, in the center of the country, killed 27 Malian soldiers. At least 70 attackers were neutralized, according to Bamako. “The Malian army would not have requested the support of the French force Barkhane. And for good reason, the attack having taken place in an area prohibited to French soldiers”, highlighted Africanews. It comes three weeks after Emmanuel Macron’s announcement of the withdrawal of the French soldiers present in the country, against a backdrop of tensions with the ruling junta.

UNITED STATES

Washington eyeing Venezuelan oil

After years of severed diplomatic relations between Caracas and Washington, a delegation of American diplomats made a whirlwind visit to Venezuela on March 5. Revealed by the New York Times, the purpose of this trip was the question of oil. The exploitation of Venezuelan black gold (first world reserves) could indeed compensate for Russian oil – at least in part. The American Embassy in Caracas closed its doors in 2019 and hydrocarbon exports have since been subject to sanctions that Nicolas Maduro was able to circumvent “thanks to the diplomatic and economic aid of Russia, the Iran and China”.