Global Geopolitical Series: Key updates from across the world

Here are some key events to keep a tab on,

• Russia-U.S. - Syria: Representatives of Russia, Syria, Turkey, and Iran are holding a two-day meeting in Sochi over the Syrian peace process. This group is more popularly known as the Astana group in the Syrian peace talks that handle more technical military cooperation and negotiations.     
   
• Iraq: Political unrest continues in Iraq with a spread across cities. The protest against the government, amid years of economic stagnation, has now reportedly reached Baghdad. However, in the latest move, thanks to the intervention of the French government, the two sides have agreed to hold elections instead of military violence.
   
• Korean Peninsula: The effect of the peace prospect continues. North Korea reportedly pushing the South to finally and formally end the Korean War, however, the Trump administration has warned that peace progress unlikely without a significant step towards denuclearization. In the area of sports, after North and South had a very successful friendly table tennis tournament, North Korea will be sending its athletes to compete in the shooting world championship in South Korea.
   
• Palestine - Israel: The surge of violence near the Gaza border continues amid rocket fires, gunfire exchanges, and airstrikes. From the violence, it looks like that the prospect of a real peace remains far off. Last Friday, Israeli authorities closed down the Al-Aqsa Mosque after a surge in violence in the premises. The mosque is the third most important holy site in the Muslim faith.  
   
• Turkey-Israel-United States: The relations have taken a turn for the worse, as President Trump has threatened to sanction Turkey if the captured U.S. Pastor, who has been in jail for the past two years and recently put two house arrest.
   
• Italy vs. EU: Italy’s interior minister Matteo Salvini, who is the leader of the Lega Nord Party said that the European Union is swindling the UK over Brexit. He has called on Prime Minister May to walk away without an agreement.
   
• Trade war: Last week, U.S. President Donald Trump and the EU Commission President Jean Claude Juncker announced that the United States has reached an agreement with the European Union in principle, which would formally begin the negotiation process with an aim to work together toward zero tariffs, zero non-tariff barriers, and zero subsidies on non-auto industrial goods. Barriers would be reduced and trade is services, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, and agricultural products will increase. The EU would immediately increase imports of U.S. soybeans, along with an increase in imports of U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG). Both parties would resolve the steel and aluminum tariffs as well as other retaliatory measures as part of the negotiation process.