February, 2022

• 4 February

  In Ukraine, Erdogan emphasizes agreements with Moscow

  

  Striking a different tone from many of his Western counterparts, the Turkish president’s remarks in Kyiv reflect a position that factors in Moscow’s demands on the Ukraine standoff. Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan underscored the role of existing agreements for a “peaceful and diplomatic solution” in the Ukraine standoff during …

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• 4 February

  Turkish inflation hits two-decade high, inches toward 50%

  

  With annual producer inflation reaching 93.5%, further price increases appear in store for Turkish consumers in February and March after consumer inflation sets a two-decade record in January. Turkey’s consumer prices rose 11.1% in January, bringing annual inflation to 48.7%, the highest rate in two decades, data released Thursday by …

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• 4 February

  North Korea mocks US overtures for diplomacy in wake of January missile tests

  

  The North Korean Foreign Ministry scorned diplomatic overtures from Washington, D.C., this week and advised it “to halt its military threat to our country.” The ministry’s Wednesday statement mocked the “so-called ‘diplomatic solution’ and ‘dialogue,’” called for by the United States after a burst of missile tests by North Korea …

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• 4 February

  Russian ships watch as US carrier group operates with NATO allies in Mediterranean

  

  U.S. and NATO officials said that the Russian military was shadowing U.S. ships participating in a multinational exercise in the Adriatic Sea, adding that “outside observance” wasn’t unusual and not necessarily related to rising tensions over Ukraine. The comments Wednesday came as the U.S. announced that it will send 3,000 …

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• 4 February

  Raid on ISIS leader’s home in Syria meant to capture him alive, reduce civilian harm, Pentagon officials say

  

  The pre-dawn raid Thursday by U.S. special operations forces in northeastern Syria was designed to capture the leader of the Islamic State group, who instead blew himself up along with members of his family rather than be taken alive, top Pentagon officials said. Elite American troops spent months planning and …

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• 4 February

  U.S. Strategic Competition with Russia

  A central theme of the 2017 U.S. National Security Strategy is the “growing political, economic, and military competitions” that the United States faces, including with Russia. Russia’s annexation of Crimea made it clear how far Moscow would go to advance its interests, including redrawing internationally recognized borders. This Perspective presents …

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• 4 February

  Le Pen gets Hungarian bank loan to finance presidential campaign

  French far-right leader Marine Le Pen has obtained a €10.6 million loan from a Hungarian bank to finance her presidential election campaign, according to RTL radio on Wednesday. This comes after the presidential candidate for Rassemblement National said she was having trouble obtaining bank loans at home. Le Pen’s party …

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• 4 February

  Deteriorated Situations

  US/Russia Diplomatic row between Moscow and Washington over Russian military build-up in Ukraine and European security more broadly escalated. As U.S. and Russia continued negotiations during month, notably in swiss city Geneva 10 Jan, Moscow continued to demand legally binding guarantees from U.S. and NATO against Ukraine’s accession to NATO …

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• 4 February

  Conflict Risk Alerts

  Ukraine U.S. rejected Russian demands for legal guarantees prohibiting NATO expansion, while tensions over Russian military build-up continued ahead of planned military exercises in Feb. After Moscow 15 Dec proposed to U.S. draft agreement on security guarantees that included provision not to expand NATO eastward, U.S. 26 Jan provided written …

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• 4 February

  Russia Ramping Up Disinformation Regarding Ukraine, Say Western Officials

  The Kremlin is ramping up a disinformation offensive aimed at demoralizing Ukraine and Western powers, using Russian state-owned broadcasters and trolls on social media platforms to portray the West as the aggressor and the government in Kyiv as a puppet of NATO, say Western officials and information war experts. Scare …

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