CND Press Roundup - 14 December

Nuclear weapons

• Russian tests
• On Saturday, a Russian nuclear submarine successfully test-fired four ICBMs in the Pacific ‘in a show of readiness of Moscow’s nuclear forces amid tension with the U.S.’ The Russian Defence Ministry said that the submarine launched four Bulava missiles with dummy warheads, all of which hit their targets on a shooting range 5,500km away.
• The submarine from which the missiles were launched, the Vladmir Monomakh, is part of a new class of nuclear submarines which can carry 16 missiles each, and are ‘intended to serve as the core of the naval component of the nation’s nuclear forces for decades to come.’ Source: Bloomberg.

US-China

• Cold War return?
• Financial Times analysis suggests that China’s recent advances in space exploration and quantum computer technology “echo the cold war competition between the US and the Soviet Union, when the two superpowers attempted to better each other’s scientific exploits.” This comes amidst increasing tensions between China and the ‘Five Eyes’ Alliance.
• There are signs that relations will improve little under the Biden Administration. After a Chinese diplomat warned the Five Eyes countries to be careful lest their “eyes be plucked out”, Biden’s incoming National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said that Washington will “stand shoulder to shoulder with our ally Australia and rally fellow democracies to advance our shared security, prosperity and values.”
• Shi Yinhong, an international relations professor at Renmin University in Beijing, said that there is a now a consensus between the US and its allies that “they need to to treat China as a threat.” Source: FT. 

Iran nuclear deal

• Business wary
• Investors are sceptical of the prospects of the revival and endurance of the Iran nuclear deal, according to reports. “Please use the sharing tools found via the share button at the top or side of articles. “Investors have started approaching us, but cautiously. We are also cautious. Both sides are taking their time and are no longer daydreaming about what a nuclear deal can do”, said the head of business at Griffon Capital. Source: FT.
• EU condemns execution
• The EU has condemned Iran’s execution of journalist Rouhollah Zam, a few days before the Commission’s head of foreign policy is due to speak alongside Javad Zarif. “The European Union condemns this act in the strongest terms and recalls once again its irrevocable opposition to the use of capital punishment under any circumstances”, said an EU spokesperson. Source:Politico.

NATO

• Turkey tensions
• Angela Merkel has said that EU leaders plan to discuss the future of arms exports to Turkey with NATO allies and Washington, after Greece pushed for an arms embargo Ankara. The German Chancellor told a news conference: “We … spoke about how questions about arms exports must be discussed within NATO. We said that we want to coordinate with the new U.S. administration about Turkey.” Her comments suggests a hardening stance on Turkey in European capitals.
• EU governments agreed last year to limit their arms sales to Turkey, but did not institute a total ban. Arms sales are currently banned to several countries including Russia, Belarus, Syria, and Venezuela. Source: Reuters.
• Turkey’s relationship with Russia, meanwhile, remains stable if fraught, according to analysts. Putin and Erdogan continue to cooperate “despite their mutual differences of opinion”, Sinan Ulgen, executive chairman of Istanbul-based think-tank EDAM and a visiting scholar at Carnegie Europe in Brussels, said. Putin hopes to capitalise on rifts between Ankara and Europe/Washington. Source: World Oil.