LEADING INDICATORS: OFF THE RADAR NEWS ROUNDUP
Judah Grunstein

World Politics Review (blog)
28 Jan 2010

– Following up on their $20 billion nuclear reactor deal, the UAE and
South Korea reopened talks for the UAE’s $1.4 billion purchase of South
Korean supersonic trainer jets. The deal would be accompanied by closer
defense cooperation, with South Korea promising to technology transfers
for UAVs, ballistic missiles and electromagnetic pulse bombs. That’s
one bilateral relationship I’d have had trouble imagining.

– Armenia’s president said the country’s army "is an iron guarantee
that ensures our survival and is a cold, sobering shower for any
hot-headed adventurers." The remarks were construed as a warning
to Azerbaijan, but I read them more as an evocative, if ultimately
confusing mixed metaphor. "Cold, sobering shower" is an odd choice of
imagery for the army, but having gone with it, steel would have been a
more appropriate metal to serve as a complement. I would welcome more
of this kind of rhetoric in American foreign policy discourse, though.

– Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt offered an insightfully nuanced
take on Turkey’s role in the Caucasus, the Middle East and the Balkans,
and how Turkey as an EU member would benefit the union.

– France and Germany officially denied reports that the EU was
exploring ways to bail out the troubled Greek government, although
such talks are widely believed to be ongoing.

– The head of Russia’s state-run arms exporter stated that it was
"planning to supply" Russian arms to NATO countries, without offering
any further details. He also declared that Russia has no reason to
not sell weapons to Iran, a veiled reference to the tensely watched
S300 missile defense system, for which a contract has been signed
but delivery repeatedly delayed. Finally, he put the figure for
Russia’s 2009 arms sales at $7.4 billion, and forecasted similar
numbers for 2010.

– An opposition leader was sworn in as Guinea’s interim civilian
prime minister, with elections scheduled for six months from now.

Researched by Kari Lipschutz.