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10:00 AM ET, Thursday, November 9, 2023

The Cipher Brief curates open source information from around the world that impacts national security. Here's a look at today's headlines:  

THE TOP STORIES

U.S. Carries Out Strike Against Iranian Weapons Facility in Syria.  Pentagon officials announced on Wednesday that U.S. military forces had carried out a strike against a weapons facility in eastern Syria used by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps and Iran-backed proxies. Two F-15 fighter jets struck the facility. This marks the second U.S. strike carried out against facilities used by Iranian-backed groups following the Hamas attacks on Israel. U.S. officials claim that as many as 40 attacks have been carried out by these groups against U.S. military personnel in the region since October 17.  Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said that Wednesday’s strike was a direct response to such attacks.  Austin also urged against “further escalations” while maintaining that the U.S. will defend its forces and interests in the region. The Biden administration has repeatedly expressed concern over Iranian-affiliated groups inciting violence against U.S. forces. Just hours before the strike on the Syrian facility, officials said Yemen’s Houthis downed a U.S. MQ-9 Reaper drone in international airspace and over international waters off the coast of Yemen.  U.S. Central Command is investigating the incident.  Washington Post New York Times CNN Associated Press Bloomberg 

Heads of CIA and Mossad Meet in Qatar for Hostage Talks.  CIA Director William Burns, Mossad Director David Barnea and Qatari officials reportedly met in Doha on Thursday to discuss plans to secure the release of 10 to 20 civilian hostages being held by Hamas in exchange for a three-day humanitarian pause in fighting in Gaza to facilitate aid deliveries into the territory.  An official briefed on the talks said Qatar is liaising with Hamas on the deal.  The official said Hamas is also being pushed to provide a list of the over 240 hostages it is holding.  The talks in Qatar, where several Hamas political leaders are based, are the most advanced negotiations on hostage releases.  Financial Times

Chinese Shandong Carrier Strike Group Transits Taiwan Strait.  Taiwan’s defense ministry said Thursday that the island’s military deployed forces to monitor a Chinese carrier group led by the aircraft carrier Shandong as it sailed through the Taiwan Strait. The ministry said that on Wednesday afternoon, the carrier group sailed into the Taiwan Strait, traveling north and staying to China’s side of the waterway's unofficial median line.  Taiwan’s defense ministry said the naval formation passed through the Taiwan Strait and was seen off northern Taiwan by Thursday morning, adding that it deployed "appropriate" forces to watch the group.  The Chinese defense ministry has yet to comment on the matter.  Japan’s defense ministry said on Wednesday that the carrier group was traveling to the South China Sea after completing drills near Japanese waters and passing through the Bashi Channel between Taiwan and the Philippines.  The Shandong group has engaged in exercises in the western Pacific in April and September this year.  Reuters Barron's Kyodo News Taiwan News South China Morning Post 

Myanmar Rebels Claim Successes in Major Offensive.  Rebels in Myanmar say they have won several battles in an offensive against government forces in what security analysts believe is the biggest threat to the ruling junta’s control since it overthrew the civilian government in 2021. The U.N. says the fighting in the northern part of the country has displaced more than 30,000 people along the border with China. The fighting has disrupted trade and travel between northern Myanmar and China, potentially resulting in the loss of major sources of funding for the government.  The rebel Three Brotherhood Alliance said that over a period of 10 days, it captured more than 100 military outposts and took control over several major highways and border crossings. Myanmar President Myint Swe has warned that this month’s gains by rebels in areas bordering China threaten to break the country apart. Rebels also have been mounting attacks elsewhere in the country. Pro-democracy groups said Tuesday they had retaken two townships in the Sagaing region. Professor Zachary Azuba of the National War College in Washington said many of the country’s rebel groups are individually too small to defeat Myanmar’s military, but that in the past week they have shown an unprecedented level of cooperation. Pro-democracy supporters have touted the offensive as a turning point in the war, but analysts say the rebel groups are acting in their own interests and that their support for the wider pro-democracy movement is tenuous.  Washington Post Al Jazeera The Guardian

ISRAEL AND HAMAS WAR

Israel and Hamas in ‘Close Combat’ as Thousands of Palestinians Flee South.  Israel continues to press its ground offensive into Gaza City.  Tens of thousands of Palestinians are fleeing northern Gaza to escape the fighting.  Israeli forces said they captured an area on the western side of the Jabalia refugee camp, north of Gaza City.  The U.N. estimated around 72,000 people have fled through a “corridor” that the Israeli military opened up in recent days and that over 557,000 people are sheltering in facilities in southern Gaza.  Hamas continues to conduct “hit-and-run attacks” against Israeli troops, relying on its tunnel network under Gaza.  Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh accused Israel’s goal of eliminating Hamas in its Gaza offensive as unrealistic, describing Hamas as “an idea” that exists in the West Bank, Lebanon and Syria, adding that Hamas leaders are in Qatar.  Reuters Al Jazeera Associated Press Wall Street Journal Washington Post 

Israel Conducts Raids on Jenin in West Bank.  The Palestinian health ministry said on Thursday that Israeli raids on Jenin city and refugee camp in the occupied West Bank killed at least eight Palestinians and injured at least 14 others.  Israel’s military said it was conducting counter-terrorism raids in Jenin.  The Palestinian Health Ministry reports that at least 174 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank since the Hamas attacks on October 7.  Philippe Lazzarini, Commissioner General of the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), expressed concern that the Gaza conflict is spilling over into the West Bank, which he described as “boiling.”  Barron’s France 24 Reuters Reuters

Hezbollah’s Anti-Ship Missiles Pose Threat to U.S. Navy. Sources familiar with Lebanese Hezbollah’s arsenal say it possibly includes Russian Yakhont anti-ship missiles, which could be used to deliver on the group’s threats against U.S. ships stationed in the region.  Media and analysts have indicated for years that Hezbollah acquired the missiles in Syria after deploying there over a decade ago to support Syrian President Bshar al-Assad.  The missiles have a range of 186 miles.  Hezbollah has never confirmed possession of the missiles.  Concern about the weapons comes after Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah’s statement last week threatening U.S. vessels deployed in the Middle East.  Nasrallah said he believes that the U.S. vessels were sent to threaten the group and told reporters that the ships “do not scare us and will not scare us.” Washington responded that the ships were only deployed to deter the spread of the Israel-Hamas conflict in the region.  Reuters 

Top U.S. General Warns of Risks of Long Gaza War.  Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Charles Q. Brown on Thursday warned that a prolonged conflict in Gaza will be more difficult to overcome, adding that limiting civilian casualties will help stop pushing people “to be the next member of Hamas.”  Speaking to reporters before arriving in Japan on Thursday, Brown said Israel’s goal of eliminating Hamas is “a pretty large order,” but he noted that Israel is targeting Hamas leaders, which may be easier than destroying the entire group.  He did not advocate for a short campaign or suggest how long Israel’s attack on Gaza should last.  Brown did say nearly all conflicts he has been involved in have “particularly gone a bit longer than most people would have imagined,” so Israel must be prepared for that.  Brown also expressed confidence that Israel is abiding by the laws of war in Gaza, though he said there is “room for improvement” in Israel’s public explanations about its military actions.  Reuters 

Blinken Calls for Palestinian Government for Gaza and West Bank.  Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Wednesday that when the war in Gaza ends, there should be a unified government led by the Palestinian Authority for Gaza and the West Bank, a step toward Palestinian statehood. Speaking with reporters at a meeting of G7 foreign ministers in Tokyo, Blinken reiterated the Biden administration’s rejection of a return to Israeli control in Gaza, and he rejected an Israeli intelligence ministry recommendation to push Gazan Palestinians into neighboring Egypt. Blinken also said that Israeli leaders have said Israel does not intend to re-occupy Gaza, and that the only question is whether “some transition period” might be necessary to ensure security.  Associated Press Financial Times New York Times

Clinton Says Israel, Palestinians Both Need New Leadership.  Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said in an interview with Bloomberg News during the Bloomberg New Economy Forum in Singapore on Thursday that both Israel and the Palestinians need new leadership to achieve a peace agreement once the war in Gaza ends. Pressed on whether Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu could be a partner in a two-state solution, Clinton said she does not think there is “any evidence of that.”  Bloomberg 

More Than 100 Democrats Urge Biden to Grant Palestinians Protected Status. On Wednesday, over 100 Democratic lawmakers signed a letter urging President Joe Biden to allow Palestinians in the U.S. extended protection amid the Israel-Hamas conflict. The group, led by Senator Dick Durbin, also requested that Biden extend deportation relief and additional work permits to Palestinians.  Protections would only apply to Palestinians already within the U.S.  One lawmaker said, “In light of ongoing armed conflict, Palestinians already in the U.S. should not be forced to return to the Palestinian territories, consistent with President Biden's stated commitment to protecting Palestinian civilians.”  This comes a week after Republican Representative Ryan Zinke and ten others proposed legislation that would expel Palestinians from the U.S. and bar entry of Palestinian passport holders.  Reuters

France Opens Gaza Aid Conference.  France is hosting a conference aimed at coordinating aid for Gaza.  Representatives of Arab nations, Western countries and Group of 20 states were attending.  Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh was present, though Israel was not invited and few other heads of state and senior government officials were participating.  International aid organizations and aid agencies at the meeting called for an immediate, sustained ceasefire to get aid into Gaza and stop the “hemorrhage of human lives” in the territory.  French President Emmanuel Macron said he is calling for a “humanitarian pause” followed by a “push for a ceasefire.”  Philippe Lazzarini, Commissioner General of the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), said all crossing into Gaza should be opened.  Cyprus has proposed establishing a maritime corridor to send humanitarian aid into Gaza and evacuate the wounded via sea lanes.  Diplomats have also suggested establishing field hospitals either in southern Gaza close to the border with Egypt or on the Egyptian side.  However, it likely will be difficult to set up the hospitals in Gaza without a humanitarian pause or ceasefire, and Cairo is reportedly reluctant to establish field hospitals on its territory since it believes they could be used as a pretext to displace Palestinians into the Sinai.  Associated Press Reuters

Italy Plans to Send Hospital Ship to Aid Gaza Conflict Victims. Italian Defence Minister Guido Crosetto announced plans to send a hospital ship to the Gaza coast to treat the ongoing conflict victims. The ship reportedly departed from the port of Civitavecchia on Wednesday with a total of 170 staff, 30 of whom specialize in handling medical emergencies. Crosetto also told reporters that the two Italian naval vessels already in the region will likely remain there to provide security. “We will evaluate whether to keep them in the area, but I prefer to keep three ships there and not have any regrets,” Crosetto said.  Reuters Wall Street Journal

Iran, Turkey, Pakistan Leaders in Uzbekistan.  Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Pakistani Prime Minister Anwaar ul Haq Kakar and Central Asian leaders are meeting in Uzbekistan for a summit of the Economic Cooperation Organization.  While not on the official agenda, attendees at the regional economic summit discussed the Israel-Hamas conflict.  Erdogan used his address at the meeting to urge Muslim countries to “raise our voices together to defend our Palestinian cause” and criticize the West for its “hypocrisy” in supporting Israel amid civilian casualties in Gaza.  Raisi took a similar tone in his address, criticizing Israel’s “terrible crimes” in Gaza and accusing the U.S. of being a “partner in these crimes.”  The Turkish president’s office said Erdogan and Raisi met in a separate bilateral meeting to discuss the conflict.  Al Jazeera France 24

THE UKRAINE UPDATE

Ukrainian Defenses Holding Amid Russian Offensives near Avdiivka.  Ukraine’s military says that its forces are holding defensive positions near the embattled eastern town of Avdiivka.  The town, which has become a symbol of Ukrainian resistance, is reportedly the focus of Russia’s forces in the region.  Reuters reports that Russia’s military, which has significantly strengthened its numbers near Avdiivka, appears to be ‘tightening the vice’ around the city.  Ukrainian regional military officials say that Russian forces are on three sides of the city, but the senior Ukrainian military officer for the region says his forces are ‘stoutly’ defending their positions against an onslaught of Russian artillery.  Ukraine’s military regards Avdiivka as a gateway for future operations to recapture territory lost to Russia.  Reuters 

Ukraine Launches 16 Attacks on Concentrated Russian Units.  The General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces said on Thursday that Ukrainian forces launched 12 attacks on concentrated groups of Russian troops and equipment using air forces and four more using missiles over the past day. The report said Ukraine also conducted three air strikes against Russian air defense systems and launched missile attacks on eight Russian artillery systems, three ammunition depots, a radar station, three electronic warfare stations and one unspecified military target. The report cited 78 skirmishes with Russian forces as well as two Russian missile strikes, 48 air strikes and 79 attacks by multiple-launch rocket systems against both military and civilian targets. More than 100 Ukrainian settlements were targeted by Russian artillery, the General Staff added.  Kyiv Independent

Ukrainian Official Claims ‘Huge Gains’ with Recent Strikes on Crimea.  Ukrainian National Security and Defense Council Secretary Oleksii Danilov said on Wednesday that Kyiv has made great progress and “huge gains” in annexed Crimea by destroying Russian military assets. Danilov asserted that Ukrainian forces are experiencing “great success in the Crimea direction," such as the destruction of one of Russia’s cruise missile vessels, a Karakurt-class Askold warship, early in November. On Tuesday, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said the vessel will likely be “inoperable for the foreseeable future” due to damage.  Ukraine has launched successful attacks against Russian targets in Crimea, including a Russian missile system, ships and docks in Sevastopol, where the headquarters of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet is located, and the Crimean bridge.  Danilov also expressed hope that there would be more ‘good news’ regarding future Ukrainian operations in occupied Crimea.  This comes as Ukraine’s Air Force commander reported on his Telegram channel that Ukrainian forces had successfully struck another Russian ship, a small missile ship called the Karakurt, which had been docked in Kerch.  Ukrinform Kyiv Independent

Ukraine Says Russia has Lost Over 300,000 Soldiers in War.  According to a Thursday report from the General Staff of Ukraine’s  Armed Forces, Russia has lost 308,720 troops in Ukraine since the start of the war in 2022. The report claimed Russia’s military suffered 1,080 casualties over the last 24 hours. The report also claims that Russia has suffered the loss of  10,014 armored fighting vehicles, 9,853 vehicles and fuel tanks, 7,475 artillery systems, 5,593 drones,  5,316 tanks, 875 multiple launch rocket systems, 577 air defense systems, 322 airplanes, 324 helicopters, 20 ships and boats, and one submarine. Kyiv Independent Ukraine General Staff Facebook

Russian Missile Hit Civilian Vessel in Black Sea Port.  Ukrainian officials report that a Russian missile damaged a Liberia-flagged civilian vessel as it entered the Odesa port of Pivdennyi on Wednesday, killing one person and injuring four others.  Ukraine Infrastructure Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov said the ship was supposed to transport iron ore to China.  He added that Russia has since launched 21 targeted attacks against Ukrainian port infrastructure since withdrawing from the Black Sea grain deal.  Ukraine has since opened a temporary humanitarian corridor in the western Black Sea to facilitate shipments from its ports.  Reuters

Russia Attacks 9 Communities in Sumy Region.  Ukrainian officials reported that Russia attacked 9 communities in the northeastern Sumy region on Wednesday.  The attacks involved artillery, drones, mines, and mortars and caused 149 explosions.  There were no reported casualties, nor damage to civilian infrastructure.  Russia has struck settlements in the Sumy region almost daily. Kyiv Independent 

Hungary Says Ukraine Unprepared for E.U. Membership.  Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said on Wednesday that Ukraine is not yet ready for E.U. membership and that its accession could cause conflict in the bloc. He asserted that Ukraine has not managed to meet the correct conditions for membership, focusing on what he called Kyiv’s “egregious” violations of “the most fundamental rights of the E.U. on the issue of national minority rights.”  Szijjarto also criticized Ukraine for what he said was its lack of free elections, full press freedom, and freedom of speech.  He also said that Ukrainian membership in the E.U. would bring war.  Balazs Orban, Political Director to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, said earlier this week that Hungary would oppose the opening of accession negotiations as long as a certain contentious language law is upheld in Ukraine.  The rejection from Budapest comes as the European Commission recommended the opening of formal negotiations for Ukraine to join the E.U.  Hungary has clashed with Ukraine over what it says are curbs on the rights of around 150,000 ethnic Hungarians in Ukrainian territory.  Olga Stefanishyna, the minister overseeing Ukraine’s European integration, said Ukraine’s Hungarian minority is adequately protected and that Kyiv will overcome Budapest’s political opposition to its E.U. membership bid.  Kyiv Independent Reuters 

THE CYBER AND TECH RUNDOWN

Chinese State Hackers Conduct Cyber Espionage Campaign Against Cambodia.  Two well-known hacking groups affiliated with the Chinese government are carrying out cyberespionage operations against Cambodian organizations through cloud backup services.  In its report on the cyberespionage campaign, Palo Alto Networks Unit 42 does not identify the threat actors but expresses “high confidence that these Cambodian government entities were targeted and remain compromised by Chinese APT actors.”  Meanwhile, the Washington Post attributed the infrastructure intrusions to China’s Ministry of State Security (MSS).  The compromises of Cambodian government systems were discovered by researchers monitoring telemetry linked to Chinese APT groups.  Servers used by the hacking groups operated several host subdomains masquerading as cloud storage services, which disguised the traffic generated by data exfiltration.  This infrastructure was active in September and October and impacted Cambodian agency systems including National Defense, National Treasury, Election Oversight, and Telecommunications.  Palo Alto researchers described these organizations as the likely targets of “long-term cyberespionage activities that have leveraged this infrastructure for persistent access to government networks of interest.”  Cambodia has been a strong ally of China and has been criticized by other Southeast Asian nations for defending Chinese territorial claims in the South China Sea.  Washington Post The Record

Microsoft Anticipates Moscow-Beijing-Tehran Disinformation Targeting 2024 Elections.  A Microsoft analysis finds that Russia, China, and Iran will likely launch sophisticated campaigns to influence and interfere in a number of 2024 elections around the world, including the U.S. presidential contest.  While all three countries are committed to shaping geopolitical events in their favor, Russia remains “the most committed and capable threat” to the U.S. presidential election.  Microsoft's Threat Analysis Center (MTAC) assessed that the trio of authoritarian governments are "unlikely to sit out next year's contest — the stakes are simply too high."  The U.S. election, Microsoft said, could be the first in which Moscow, Tehran, and Beijing simultaneously seek to manipulate the outcome.  The analysis notes that the U.S. social media landscape is dominated by visual and audio elements — "memes, gifs, podcasts, video clips, and influencers are the means of today's influence operations — not bots and pithy text posts."  Microsoft has tracked Russian propaganda targeting Western military aid to Ukraine and to candidates who support it.  Russian campaigns also are likely to use generative AI tools to exploit divisions over Ukraine and to attribute blame for the Hamas-Israel conflict to the U.S.  Regarding China, MTAC has detected Beijing-affiliated fake social media personas and accounts circulating derogatory content concerning U.S. candidates, so far with little discernible effect.  MTAC believes, nevertheless, that China is preparing for greater engagement as the elections draw nearer.  CBS News

OpenAI ChatGPT Services Interrupted by Second ‘Major Outage’ Wednesday.  For the second time on Wednesday, the OpenAI’s ChatGPT service experienced a significant outage.  The first disruption Wednesday morning was described by OpenAI as a “major outage.”  The company attributed the issue to usage of the chatbot “far outpacing our expectations” in the wake of new feature launches at OpenAI’s developer conference.  CEO Sam Altman posted on X that “there will likely be service instability in the short term due to load.”  OpenAI has not yet posted information on the second outage, but Altman earlier noted that the launch of user -customizable AI agents, known as GPT’s, likely will be delayed.  San Francisco Standard BleepingComputer Cybernews

EU AI Act Co-Sponsor Envisions Legislation as ‘Blueprint’ with Global Applications.  One of the European Parliament’s co-sponsors of the EU AI Act, Brando Benifei, told the Reuters NEXT conference that this legislation will serve as a “blueprint” for use by countries around the world.  Benifei said the risk framework developed for the AI Act could be used in a different format by other countries, possibly with less stringent rules than the EU model.  He noted that the EU is  “in line with many issues that are in the voluntary commitments we see all over the world,” adding, "but we put it in a law so that it's not a voluntary commitment."  Liz O’Sullivan, who advises the National AI Advisory Committee on AI strategy, said Wednesday that AI is a conservative rather than creative tool since it mimics situations to which it has been exposed, including bias.  Among possible elements of AI regulation, she mentioned audits from outside stakeholders, risk impact assessments and controls like the ability to turn off AI.  Reuters

ELSEWHERE IN THE WORLD

China Criticizes G7 Ministers’ Communique.  The Chinese embassy in Japan issued a statement today expressing pointed dissatisfaction with comments by G7 foreign ministers at their summit in Tokyo relating to China, accusing the group of inciting confrontation. In a joint statement, the ministers called on China to address anti-market policies, not to assist Russia in its war in Ukraine, to maintain peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, and to allow a high degree of autonomy for Hong Kong. The embassy statement said China “will resolutely counter any smear campaigns from external forces.”  Reuters 

China Urges Britain to Cease Efforts to ‘Enhance’ Relations with Taiwan.  China’s embassy in London called on the British government to stop efforts to “enhance” ties with Taiwan and not use “trade cooperation as an excuse” to strengthen relations with Taipei.  The embassy’s statement came after top British and Taiwanese trade officials signed an Enhanced Trade Partnership agreement on Wednesday.  Taiwan reportedly hopes the deal will help bolster its ties with other European states and support its bid to join the wider Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) treaty.  Reuters

Blinken Raises Concerns Over North Korea-Russia Ties.  U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with South Korean foreign minister Park Jin in Seoul on Thursday.  Blinken said he and Park share “profound” concerns about increased military cooperation between North Korea and Russia.  Blinken and Park also said they discussed a so-called extended deterrence strategy to counter threats from North Korea, as well as steps towards bolstering cooperation with Japan, including by “real-time sharing of DPRK missile warning data, trilateral defense exercises and efforts to counter DPRK’s malicious cyber activities.”  Park said he and Blinken also urged North Korea to not conduct a planned attempt to launch a spy satellite.  North Korea has been accused of sending military equipment to Russia in exchange for technical help on its military satellite program.  Both North Korea and Russia have denied any arms deals, though they have pledged to strengthen military cooperation.  Blinken also met South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol during his trip to Seoul, which came after a G7 foreign ministers meeting in Japan and a Middle East tour.  Blinken is headed to India next.  ABC News Reuters

Pacific Islands Forum Starts; Australia Faces Climate and AUKUS Questions.

The 18-member Pacific Islands Forum continued on Thursday on the Cook Islands, where talks covered climate change, regional security, the economy and nuclear issues. Though Australia has committed to reducing emissions by 43 percent by 2030 and to reaching net zero by 2050, it has come under increasing pressure from some Pacific Island countries to do more. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was seen as likely to face questions over the AUKUS nuclear submarine deal as well. A growing number of Pacific countries are pushing to strengthen the South Pacific Nuclear Free Zone Treaty of 1985, which bans the placement of nuclear weapons and the storage of nuclear waste in the South Pacific, among other provisions. While the U.S. and China are not signatories to the treaty, Australia is.  Reuters Bloomberg

U.S. to Finance $553m Deep-Sea Terminal in Sri Lanka.  Officials say the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) will lend Sri Lanka $553 million for construction of a $700 million deep-sea container terminal, a project seen as countering China’s increasing influence in the Indian Ocean region. Sri Lanka is positioned along the world’s busiest shipping route, linking Asia and the Middle East. The new Colombo West International Terminal will have an annual capacity of 3.2 million containers. The terminal, to be built by a consortium led by India’s Adani Group, will be adjacent to a similar Chinese-operated facility at Colombo’s port.  Al Jazeera

Russia's Putin Visits Kazakhstan for Agricultural Talks.  Russian President Vladimir Putin is calling for the development of transport routes in Asia for wheat and fertilizer cargo as Russia seeks new trade routes because of Western sanctions. Western sanctions on Russian banks and companies have made it harder for Russian exporters to ship grains and to arrange payments, even though the sanctions do not specifically target grains. Chairing a conference on agricultural cooperation with Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tkayev, Putin said Russia would have about 60 million metric tons of wheat to export from this year’s strong crop. Putin also called for further development of shipping routes to large Asian markets such as China and India. Tokayev has maintained neutrality in the Ukraine war, but has pledged to comply with Western sanctions against Moscow.  Putin’s visit to Kazakhstan marks his latest foreign trip since the International Criminal Court issued a warrant for his arrest for his alleged role in the deportation of children from Ukraine.  Reuters Associated Press Barron’s

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Brad Christian, Ethan Masucol, Bruce Wilmot, Ken Hughes, Emma Fisk, and Katharine Campbell.

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