Why CIA director Bill Burns visited Moscow; COP26 limited results

CIA Director Bill Burns Visits Moscow Amid Heightened Tensions | Europe In :60 | GZERO Media

Carl Bildt, former Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Sweden, shares his perspective from Europe:

What was the CIA director doing in Moscow the other day?

I think it was an attempt to bring more stability to the long-term relationship between the US and Russia. That does not hide that there are serious concern when it comes to the Russian intention versus Ukraine. And you never know, you might have a crisis there, if not any day, then at any time. But of course, stability and the long-term relationship is good anyhow.

What's the nature of the different agreements that are concluded at the COP26 deliberations in Glasgow?

Well, there have been a number of them, minor, if you compare it to the big issue, but I mean, important in themselves. Deforestation is of course important. Methane gases to limit their exposure to the atmosphere, is of course extremely important, more coming. But it doesn't hide the fact that it seems to be very difficult to get progress on the real big issue. And that is more substantial reductions of fossil fuel in the major emitters of the world.

More from GZERO Media

US National Security adviser Jake Sullivan speaks with GZERO founder and president Ian Bremmer at 92Y in New York City, on December 17, 2024.
Dan Martland/GZERO Media

Joe Biden's top foreign policy adviser shares his views on the transition to Trump, the risks in Syria, the choices for China, the false narrative about Russia, and what keeps him up at night as he prepares to leave office.

Argentina's President Javier Milei gestures during the Atreju political meeting organized by the young militants of Italian right-wing party Brothers of Italy (Fratelli d'Italia) at Circo Massimo in Rome.
Stefano Costantino / SOPA Images via Reuters Connect

A year ago, Argentina’s eccentric, wolverine-haired, “anarcho-libertarian” president Javier MIlei took office with a chainsaw and a plan: to tackle the country’s triple-digit inflation and chronic debt problems, he would hack government spending to pieces — and it seems to be working.

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol delivers an address to the nation at the Presidential Office in Seoul, South Korea, December 12, 2024.
The Presidential Office/Handout via REUTERS

On Tuesday, the floor leader for South Korea’s newly-impeached President Yoon Suk-yeol’s party said it would be inappropriate to fill vacancies on the constitutional court with the powers of an acting president, setting up a fight aimed at slow-rolling Yoon’s final removal from office.

Palestinians inspect damage at the site of an Israeli strike on a house amid the Israel-Hamas conflict at the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip on December 13, 2024.
(Photo by Majdi Fathi/NurPhoto)