EsadeGeo Daily Digest, 13/10/2022

Al Jazeera / UN condemns Russia’s move to annex parts of Ukraine

• The United Nations General Assembly has voted to condemn Russia’s “attempted illegal annexation” of four partially occupied regions in Ukraine and urged countries not to recognise the move.
• In Wednesday’s vote, three-quarters of the 193-member General Assembly — 143 countries — backed a resolution that also reaffirmed the sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity of Ukraine within its internationally recognised borders.
• “It’s amazing,” Ukraine’s UN Ambassador Sergiy Kyslytsya told reporters after the vote, as he stood next to the United States Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield who said the result showed Russia could not intimidate the world.
• Four countries joined Russia in voting against the resolution – Belarus, Nicaragua, North Korea, and Syria. Another 35 countries abstained from the vote, including China, India, Pakistan and South Africa. The rest did not vote.
• The Washington Post – The Editorial Board / After war, after Putin, what’s next for Russia?

The Guardian – Stephanie Kirchgaessner and Julian Borger / Democrats issue fresh ultimatum to Saudi Arabia over oil production

• Democrats in the US Congress have issued a fresh ultimatum to Saudi Arabia, giving the kingdom weeks to reverse an Opec+ decision to roll back oil production or face a potential one-year freeze on all arms sales.
• The threat came as Joe Biden reiterated his pledge to take action over Riyadh’s decision last week to cut oil output by 2m barrels a day, which Democrats have said would help “fuel Vladimir Putin’s war machine” and hurt American consumers at the petrol pump.
• The White House national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, told reporters the US president was also looking at a possible halt in arms sales as part of a broader re-evaluation of the US relationship with Saudi Arabia, but that no move was imminent.
• On Capitol Hill, anger with the Saudi move was far more palpable, as was the desire for swift and specific retribution for what has been seen as a stunning blunder by a key ally in the Middle East.
• Bloomberg – Annmarie Hordern, Saleha Mohsin and Jennifer Jacobs / Biden team grows concerned Russia oil price cap may backfire after OPEC+ cut

The Guardian – Oliver Homes / Vladimir Putin blames the west for energy market disruptions

• Vladimir Putin has blamed the west for disruptions to the energy market and spiralling heating costs, claiming that desperate Europeans had begun to stock up on firewood ahead of the cold winter months.
• The Russian president has sought to deflect blame for the oil and gas crisis sparked by his invasion of Ukraine, and tried to pressure European governments to drop sanctions against Moscow.
• “Ordinary Europeans are suffering,” the Russian president told an energy forum in Moscow on Wednesday, “the population, like in the middle ages, has begun to stock up on firewood for the winter”.
• Putin’s anger, major world economies are discussing a cap on Russian oil prices. “[With] their cavalier decisions,” he said, “some western politicians are destroying the global market economy and are in fact posing a threat to the wellbeing of billions of people”.
• Politico -  Karl Mathiesen, Victor Jack, Giovanna Coi and Charlie Cooper / Putin’s war accelerates the EU’s fossil fuel detox

Politico – Wilhelmine Preussen / European Commission recommends candidate status for Bosnia and Herzegovina

• The European Commission on Wednesday recommended naming Bosnia and Herzegovina as an official EU candidate if several conditions are met — a key step in the long process of joining the bloc.
• The move is a major milestone for Bosnia and Herzegovina, which applied for EU membership in 2016. And it comes amid a renewed push to enlarge the EU, prompted by Russia’s war in Ukraine. In June, EU leaders granted Ukraine and Moldova candidate status.
• Speaking before the European Parliament, EU Enlargement Commissioner Olivér Várhelyi called the recommendation “a historic moment for the citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina.”
• But the Commission’s decision does come with some conditions attached: Bosnia and Herzegovina must first implement a series of rule-of-law and anti-corruption reforms.
• European Commission / 2022 Enlargement package: European Commission assesses reforms in the Western Balkans and Türkiye and recommends candidate status for Bosnia and Herzegovina

Today’s longer reads:

• Foreign Policy – James Palmer / What to expect at China’s 20th Party Congress
• Foreign Affairs – Thomas J Christensen, M. Taylor Fravel, Bonnie S. Glaser, Andrew J. Nathan, and Jessica Chen Weiss / How to avoid a war over Taiwan