Diplomacy 101: Undiplomatically Speaking
Where Beliefs Clash and Stories Flash
Grain Corridors, Power Shortages, and Parallel Summits
Ukraine and Turkey signed a renewed Black Sea grain export corridor deal—with Qatar underwriting insurance premiums for participating ships. Russia, though not a party to the deal, signaled it would not interfere for now, as domestic grain prices have stabilized. The EU praised the agreement as a “model of regional burden-sharing,” though skeptics warn that the corridor remains militarily vulnerable.
In India, rolling blackouts across several states reignited criticism of the government’s slow transition away from coal. As COP29 approaches, New Delhi reaffirmed its net-zero 2070 target, but offered no new measures. Germany and South Africa announced a joint climate finance facility to assist fossil fuel phaseout, suggesting that South–South and triangular partnerships may increasingly replace top-down pledging systems.
Finally, while the G7 held a virtual foreign ministers’ meeting focused on Israel-Gaza stabilization and Red Sea shipping threats, BRICS members met in-person in Cape Town to discuss global reserve diversification and digital currencies. Both groups cited stability as their goal—but offered wildly different diagnoses and prescriptions.