Russia, Ukraine Top NATO Agenda 

NATO foreign ministers meet Friday in Brussels, where tensions with Russia are set to top the agenda. 

The summit comes weeks after Western countries accused Moscow of poisoning a former spy in Britain. Tensions were further increased following Russia ally Syria’s alleged chemical weapons attack, and the retaliatory airstrikes by the United States, France and Britain. While that military action was not organized through NATO, the bloc offered its approval at the time.

Friday’s summit will be the last big meeting in NATO’s old Brussels building before its international staff and 29 embassies move to a new $1.5 billion headquarters in June. The same challenges remain, however. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Thursday that the primary focus would be what he called Moscow’s “dangerous behavior.”

“This includes the illegal and illegitimate annexation of Crimea, the destabilization of eastern Ukraine, meddling in democratic processes, cyberattacks and disinformation,” Stoltenberg told reporters.

Foreign ministers will also discuss security in the Middle East and north Africa, especially Iraq.

“We are currently planning for a training mission of several hundred [people]. They will train Iraqi instructors and help build Iraqi military schools,” added Stoltenberg.

New U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is headed to Brussels for the NATO talks ahead of a trip to the Middle East. Pompeo, who was sworn in on Thursday, succeeds Rex Tillerson, whom President Donald Trump fired last month. Trump is expected at the leaders’ summit in July. Analysts say NATO allies will be hoping for further reassurances of U.S. commitment.

Enlargement also is on the summit agenda, with Ukraine restating its ambitions to join the organization. At a Kyiv security conference last week, NATO’s deputy secretary-general, Rose Gottemoeller, offered measured encouragement to her hosts.

“I think those are very important and realistic goals but I’m not going to hide from you that you have a lot of heavy lifting to do before you are ready for NATO membership. Important reforms have to be carried out. They are the reforms of defense institutions, the security institutions,” said Gottemoeller.

The conflict with Russia has driven a big change in Ukrainians’ attitudes toward NATO, according to Orysia Lutsevych of Chatham House, a London-based policy institute.

“If you compare the public support before the war with Russia and now, it almost doubled. So, there’s also a public support for that policy. Now again, as with many things in Ukraine, the devil is in the implementation. And if Ukraine manages to pool all the necessary human, financial resources and proper coordination, then I think it has a success story to tell to its NATO partners,” said Lutsevych.

Ukraine’s admission would open up a new NATO border with Russia in a highly volatile region, and the process is expected to take years or decades. NATO’s secretary-general emphasized Thursday that dialogue with Moscow was crucial, adding that the organization was working toward a meeting of the NATO-Russia Council. That forum was suspended in 2014 following Russia’s forceful annexation of Crimea.

Trump Trip to UK Announced

A long-anticipated visit by U.S. President Donald Trump to the United Kingdom has been set for July 13. It will be a “working visit,” however, and not a more formal state occasion during which the president would have met Queen Elizabeth.

The announcement was made Thursday, separately by White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders and 10 Downing Street, the office of British Prime Minister Theresa May.

“It’s been a tortuous and very difficult process” to arrange a Trump trip to Britain, according to Andrew Marshall, the Atlantic Council’s vice president of communications. “This visit was born under a bad sign,” amid unhappiness over comments made by the president on social media, including criticism of London Mayor Sadiq Khan.

A planned visit to Britain by Trump was canceled earlier this year, during which he was to open the new U.S. embassy in London, a $1 billion cube-shaped building surrounded by sunken trenches and raised terraces that the president criticized as too expensive.

U.K. conservative groups, which support Trump, previously urged the president to avoid going to London because of a risk of “major protests, crime and disorder.” The organizations, in a letter, suggested instead that Trump visit his “ancestral home” of Scotland and if there were to be an official state visit, he should meet the queen at her castle in Balmoral.

The president’s mother was born in the Outer Hebrides archipelago on the Isle of Lewis. Trump, as a private businessman, visited Scotland frequently.

No location for the visit has yet been announced and speculation is widespread that it will occur outside London, perhaps at the prime minister’s country estate at Chequers, 65 kilometers from the capital.

Trade will be a major topic on the working visit’s agenda, with the British prime minister eager to move toward a new economic pact with the United States, one of its main trading partners.

It’s politically and economically important for May “in terms of what she’s staked her future on, which is a good, safe and prosperous future for the U.K. outside the European Union,” Marshall told VOA.

The U.S.-U.K. alliance is usually among the closest between any two nations, and U.S. leaders traditionally make visits to England early in their presidencies.

Officials on both sides of the Atlantic will be looking to resolidify that relationship with the Trump visit.

“At the moment, the U.K. is maybe standing a little aside from that role. We’ve just seen President [Emmanuel] Macron of France come here and absolutely wow Washington. Many noses will be out of joint in Downing Street and elsewhere about that. There’s a friendly rivalry with the French,” Marshall, a former foreign editor of The Independent newspaper in London, told VOA.

So far, though, with Trump and May “that chemistry is not there,” according to Marshall, who contrasts the president’s “forthright, direct and outspoken” personality with the prime minister — “a contained figure who looks sometimes like she’s walked out of a Jane Austen novel.”

Russia Presents Unharmed Syrians to OPCW

Russia and Syria presented several unharmed people from Gouta, Syria, at the premises of the Organization for the Prohibition for Chemical Weapons on Thursday to support claims that there was no chemical attack in the city earlier this month.

Britain dismissed the move as a stunt, and said allied powers including France and the United States had boycotted the closed-door briefing.

“The OPCW is not a theater,” said Peter Wilson, Britain’s envoy to the watchdog in a statement. “Russia’s decision to misuse it is yet another Russian attempt to undermine the OPCW’s work, and in particular the work of its Fact Finding Mission investigating chemical weapons use in Syria.”

Russia and Syria intend to hold a news conference near the OPCW premises in the Hague later. An invitation said the event would include “participation of witnesses from Syria who were used in staged videos of the ‘chemical attack’ in Douma.”

OPCW investigators are looking into whether chemical weapons were used in Gouta in the April 7 attack that killed dozens of people. They visited a second site in Gouta, an enclave outside of the Syrian capital, on Wednesday to take samples.

The attack led to air strikes by the United States, France and Britain against sites in Syria. They accused the government of President Bashar al-Assad of using chemical weapons, possibly a nerve agent. Syria and its ally Russia have denied the accusation and said rebel forces staged the attacks.

France’s Ambassador to the OPCW Philippe Lalliot called the display of Syrians in The Hague “obscene.”

“This … does not come as a surprise from the Syrian government, which has massacred and gassed its own people for the last 7 years,” he told Reuters.

He said it was more surprising coming from Russia.

“One cannot but wonder if the weaker [Syria] is not taking the stronger [Russia] on a path beyond its interests, if not its values.”

EU Piles Pressure on Social Media Over Fake News

Tech giants such as Facebook and Google must step up efforts to tackle the spread of fake news online in the next few months or potentially face further EU regulation, as concerns mount over election interference.

The European Commission said on Thursday it would draw up a Code of Practice on Disinformation for the 28-nation EU by July with measures to prevent the spread of fake news such as increasing scrutiny of advertisement placements.

EU policymakers are particularly worried that the spread of fake news could interfere with European elections next year, after Facebook disclosed that Russia tried to influence U.S. voters through the social network in the run-up to the 2016 U.S. election. Moscow denies such claims.

“These [online] platforms have so far failed to act proportionately, falling short of the challenge posed by disinformation and the manipulative use of platforms’ infrastructure,” the Commission wrote in its strategy for tackling fake news published on Thursday.

“The Commission calls upon platforms to decisively step up their efforts to tackle online disinformation.”

Advertisers and online platforms should produce “measurable effects” on the code of practice by October, failing which the Commission could propose further actions, including regulation “targeted at a few platforms.”

Companies will have to work harder to close fake accounts, take steps to reduce revenues for purveyors of disinformation and limit targeting options for political adverts.

The Commission, the EU’s executive, will also support the creation of an independent European network of fact-checkers and launch an online platform on disinformation.

Tech industry association CCIA said the October deadline for progress appeared rushed.

“The tech industry takes the spread of disinformation online very seriously…when drafting the Code of Practice, it is important to recognize that there is no one-size-fits-all solution to address this issue given the diversity of affected services,” said Maud Sacquet, CCIA Europe Senior Policy Manager.

Weaponizing fake news

The revelations that political consultancy Cambridge Analytica – which worked on U.S. President Donald Trump’s campaign – improperly accessed the data of up to 87 million Facebook users has further rocked public trust in social media.

“There are serious doubts about whether platforms are sufficiently protecting their users against unauthorized use of their personal data by third parties, as exemplified by the recent Facebook/Cambridge Analytica revelations,” the Commission wrote.

Facebook has stepped up fact-checking in its fight against fake news and is trying to make it uneconomical for people to post such content by lowering its ranking and making it less visible. The world’s largest social network is also working on giving its users more context and background about the content they read on the platform.

“The weaponization of online fake news and disinformation poses a serious security threat to our societies,” said Julian King, EU Commissioner for security. “The subversion of trusted channels to peddle pernicious and divisive content requires a clear-eyed response based on increased transparency, traceability and accountability.”

Campaign group European Digital Rights warned that the Commission ought not to rush into taking binding measures over fake news which could have an effect on the freedom of speech.

King rejected any suggestion that the proposal would lead to censorship or a crackdown on satire or partisan news.

“It’s a million miles away from censorship,” King told a news conference. “It’s not targeting partisan journalism, freedom of speech, freedom to disagree, freedom to be, in some cases, a bit disagreeable.”

Commission Vice-President Andrus Ansip said there had been some debate internally over whether to explicitly mention Russia in the fake news strategy.

“Some people say that we don’t want to name just one name. And other people say that ‘add some other countries also and then we will put them all on our list’, but unfortunately nobody is able to name those others,” the former Estonian prime minister said.

Asylum or Not: Migrants at the US/Mexico Border Consider Choices

A caravan of Central American migrants crossing north toward the United States has arrived on the U.S.-Mexico border, where fear of persecution at home has led many of them to apply for asylum in the U.S. Others, doubtful of their chances of entering the U.S., have decided to stop short. VOA’s Ramon Taylor and Arturo Martinez report from Baja California, Mexico.

Trump’s Interactions With Macron, Merkel Tell Different Stories

With President Donald Trump hosting two major European leaders at the White House this week, analysts and body language experts are paying close attention to the contrasts in his warm embrace of French President Emmanuel Macron and his past frosty exchanges with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. VOA’s Diplomatic Correspondent Cindy Saine takes a closer look at what Trump’s “bromance” with Macron, and his more distant relationship with Merkel might mean for U.S. diplomacy.

Facebook’s Rise in Profits, Users Shows Resilience 

Facebook Inc. shares rose Wednesday after the social network reported a surprisingly strong 63 percent rise in profit and an increase in users, with no sign that business was hurt by a scandal over the mishandling of personal data.

After easily beating Wall Street expectations, shares traded up 7.1 percent after the bell at $171, paring a month-long decline that began with Facebook’s disclosure in March that consultancy Cambridge Analytica had harvested data belonging to millions of users.

The Cambridge Analytica scandal, affecting up to 87 million users and prompting several apologies from Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg, generated calls for regulation and for users to leave the social network, but there was no indication advertisers immediately changed their spending.

“Everybody keeps talking about how bad things are for Facebook, but this earnings report to me is very positive, and reiterates that Facebook is fine, and they’ll get through this,” said Daniel Morgan, senior portfolio manager at Synovus Trust Company. His firm holds about 73,000 shares in Facebook.

Facebook’s quarterly profit beat analysts’ estimates, as a 49 percent jump in quarterly revenue outpaced a 39 percent rise in expenses from a year earlier. The mobile ad business grew on a push to add more video content.

Facebook said monthly active users in the first quarter rose to 2.2 billion, up 13 percent from a year earlier and matching expectations, according to Thomson Reuters.

The company reversed last quarter’s decline in the number of daily active users in the United States and Canada, saying it had 185 million users there, up from 184 million in the fourth quarter.

Resilient business model

The results are a bright spot for the world’s largest social network amid months of negative headlines about the company’s handling of personal information, its role in elections and its fueling of violence in developing countries.

Facebook, which generates revenue primarily by selling advertising personalized to its users, has demonstrated for several quarters how resilient its business model can be as long as users keep coming back to scroll through its News Feed and watch its videos.

It is spending to ensure users are not scared away by scandals. Chief Financial Officer David Wehner told analysts on a call that expenses this year would grow between 50 percent and 60 percent, up from a prior range of 45 percent to 60 percent.

Spending on security

Much of Facebook’s ramp-up in spending is for safety and security, Wehner said. The category includes efforts to root out fake accounts, scrub hate speech and take down violent videos.

Facebook said it ended the first quarter with 27,742 employees, up 48 percent from a year earlier.

“So long as profits continue to grow at a rapid rate, investors will accept that higher spending to ensure privacy is warranted,” Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter said.

It has been nearly two years since Facebook shares rose 7 percent or more during a trading day. They rose 7.2 percent on April 28, 2016, the day after another first-quarter earnings report.

Net income attributable to Facebook shareholders rose in the first quarter to $4.99 billion, or $1.69 per share, from $3.06 billion, or $1.04 per share, a year earlier.

Analysts on average were expecting a profit of $1.35 per share, according to Thomson Reuters.

Total revenue was $11.97 billion, above the analyst estimate of $11.41 billion.

Some details secret

The company declined to provide some details sought by analysts. It has not shared the revenue generated by Instagram, the photo-sharing app it owns, and it declined to provide details about time spent on Facebook. Facebook also owns the popular smartphone apps Messenger and WhatsApp.

Tighter regulation could make Facebook’s ads less lucrative by reducing the kinds of data it can use to personalize and target ads to users, although Facebook’s size means it could also be well positioned to cope with regulations.

Facebook and Alphabet Inc’s Google together dominate the internet ad business worldwide. Facebook is expected to take 18 percent of global digital ad revenue this year, compared with Google’s 31 percent, according to research firm eMarketer.

The company said it was increasing the amount of money authorized to repurchase shares by an additional $9 billion. It had initially authorized repurchases up to $6 billion.

Central American Asylum Seekers Reach US Border

About 130 Central Americans, mostly women and children, have arrived at the U.S. border with Mexico in a caravan of asylum-seeking immigrants that has drawn the fury of President Donald Trump.

Two busloads arrived late Tuesday in the Mexican border city of Tijuana at two migrant shelters just steps from one of the most fortified stretches of border separating the U.S. from Mexico. They joined another 50 or so who arrived in Tijuana over the last week or two.

Four more busloads of about 200 Central Americans, mostly women and children but including some men, were expected to arrive in Tijuana Wednesday, said Alex Mensing, project coordinator for Pueblos Sin Fronteras, which is organizing the effort.

U.S. lawyers planned to lead clinics later this week on U.S. asylum law to tell them what to expect when they seek asylum. The first groups are expected to try to enter the U.S. on Sunday at a border crossing in San Diego.

 

WATCH: Asylum or Not: Migrants at the US/Mexico Border Consider Choices

Trump tweets

Trump and senior aides have portrayed the caravans and the asylum seekers as evidence of a dysfunctional border and a serious threat. The president tweeted this week that he has issued orders “not to let these large Caravans of people into our Country. It is a disgrace.”

The caravans have been a fairly common tactic for years among advocacy groups to bring attention to Central American citizens seeking asylum in the U.S. to escape political persecution or criminal threats from gangs.

But the latest one drew more attention because Trump’s tweets from almost moment it began March 25 in the Mexican city of Tapachula, near the Guatemalan border, and while it slowly traveled across Mexico. Trump used it as an example to try to win more support for his planned border wall, even though the asylum-seekers plan to turn themselves in to border inspectors.

Taxi driver Jovanne Torres from El Salvador said Wednesday after arriving in Tijuana Tuesday that Trump’s attacks on the caravan makes him doubt whether he’ll succeed in getting asylum for himself, his wife and his daughters ages 4 and 10 months, but he still plans to try.

Torres, 37, said he fled his hometown near the country’s capital of San Salvador and joined the caravan days after a gang threatened to kill him and his wife after he refused to give a free ride to a gang member.

He thinks he’s almost certain to be killed if he goes home and decided against seeking asylum in Mexico because he wants to join relatives in Houston.

“Trump’s words have made it difficult for us,” he said.

Numbers pale to 2014

This caravan’s numbers pale compared with roughly 200,000 people who were arrested at the border in Texas’ Rio Grande Valley during the spring of 2014 during the administration of President Barack Obama, many of them Central American women and children. And thousands of Haitians seeking to enter the U.S. turned themselves in to U.S. border inspectors at the Tijuana-San Diego border crossing, the nation’s busiest.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection has space to hold about 300 people at the crossing, said Pete Flores, director of the agency’s San Diego field office. It turns them over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to determine if they should be held long-term of if they can be released while their cases are pending, often wearing ankle monitors that track their movements.

The San Diego border crossing was so overwhelmed by Haitians in 2016 that U.S. officials worked with their Mexican counterparts to create a ticketing system that let the Haitians in over time. Some waited their turn in Tijuana more than five weeks.

More recently, asylum seekers have had to wait at most only a few hours, never overnight, Flores said. If asylum-seekers make it through initial screenings with asylum officers by establishing “credible fear” of being returned to their homelands, they are allowed in and face what can be lengthy proceedings before U.S. immigration judges.

Concerns ‘overblown’

Ginger Jacobs, a San Diego immigration attorney who helped Haitians seeking entry into the U.S. in 2016, said Trump’s concerns about a rush of Central Americans seeking asylum were “completely overblown.”

“I don’t see this caravan thing being a big deal,” she said. “I see it as something the port will be able to handle competently and professionally.”

Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen said Monday that U.S. authorities may detain asylum-seekers “while their claims are adjudicated efficiently and expeditiously.” Others will be criminally prosecuted for illegal entry, she said.

U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions said he may assign additional immigration judges to handle caravan cases.

The Juventud 2000 migrant shelter, on the edge of Tijuana’s red-light district, is filled with dome-shaped tents to accommodate more than 200 arrivals.

Its director, Jose Maria Garcia Luca, said two previous caravans in May and November of last year had about 100 people each. Those who sought asylum reported no significant delays entering the U.S.

“This is nothing like the Haitians,” Garcia Luca said. “That was chaos.”

Dutch PM Rutte Survives Censure Vote

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte survived a censure vote in the early hours of Thursday called by lawmakers who believe he withheld information about how his Cabinet reached an unpopular decision to scrap a tax on dividends.

Almost all opposition lawmakers believe Rutte misled them when he said in November he did not remember there being any memos prepared during negotiations on the issue. On Tuesday, the government released nearly 60 pages of documentation uncovered after a freedom of information request.

A motion denouncing Rutte’s handling of the matter failed to gain a simple majority in the 150-seat house with 67 votes in favor and 76 against. Seven legislators did not cast votes.

The decision to scrap the tax was part of a successful campaign to entice Unilever to choose the Netherlands, rather than Britain, for its head office. The documents showed Unilever considered the tax cut “decisive.”

The affair became the center of a political storm for Rutte, who had repeatedly said he had no memory of documents showing the decision-making process Rutte admitted during roughly eight hours of debate that ran past midnight Wednesday that he had “made a mistake” by telling parliament he could not remember and later finding out the memos had been used in negotiations.

“The Prime Minister has given us no transparency, no full answer, but has twisted around the truth like a slippery eel,” opposition leader Geert Wilders said in parliament before the vote.

But coalition partners defended Rutte’s lack of memory, saying the decision to drop the dividend tax was not a contentious topic during the government talks.

“There was no long clash about the proposal, so I have no strong memories of the process,” Christian Democrats leader Sybrand van Haersma Buma said.

The cut was announced in October as part of the governing pact of Rutte’s new center-right government. The government explained the decision as a step to promote employment and attract foreign businesses, while the opposition criticised it as a 1.4 billion euro ($1.71 billion) boon to foreigners.

Until last week, Rutte maintained he could not remember seeing any detailed written documents prepared during coalition talks last summer explaining pros and cons of the tax cut.

After a freedom of information request revealed that such documents did exist, Rutte said they could not be released because they were confidential.

He bowed to pressure on Tuesday night, and the government published a file of 12 memos, totalling more than 50 pages, outlining a months-long internal decision process.

The documents, prepared by officials in Rutte’s previous cabinet for the coalition talks that kept him in power, showed senior politicians initially opposing scrapping the tax only to be persuaded as big firms made their case.

Royal Dutch Shell has said it consistently opposed the tax. The press office of Unilever in the Netherlands was not immediately available to comment on Wednesday.

Macron, Merkel US Visits Highlight Policy Tensions With Trump

U.S President Donald Trump Tuesday praised the strength of America’s partnership with France — and the personal friendship he has developed with his French counterpart. President Emmanuel Macron’s visit to Washington will be closely followed by the arrival of German Chancellor Angela Merkel later this week. And, as Henry Ridgwell reports from London, the two European leaders are lobbying hard for Trump to shift his position on trade tariffs and the Iran nuclear deal.

Kasparov: Armenia Unrest Is Political Bellwether

Former world chess champion Garry Kasparov is today one of the most renowned figures of the Russian opposition and was the organizer of the recently concluded Free Russia Forum in Vilnius. In an exclusive interview with Voice of America’s Russian service about the latest dramatic events in Yerevan, he said that the will of the people in Armenia for change was a key factor in the development of the situation in that country.

“History is not over, but there is one very important lesson we can learn from there: When people are lied to, they get tired of it; when they are ready to defend their freedom and their right to choose who will lead them, power retreats,” said Kasparov, who is half-Armenian. “The main lesson is that it’s a demonstration of the unity of the nation. When we see students, workers, priests, some in the military [participating in the protest], it makes it impossible for the authorities to suppress it by force.”

Armenian Prime Minister Serzh Sargsyan resigned unexpectedly Monday after days of protests against him by opposition supporters who claimed he was clinging to power after serving the maximum 10 years as president.

Armenia’s turmoil deepened Wednesday as tens of thousands of people took to the streets after the opposition accused the ruling Republican Party of refusing to cede power following Sargsyan’s departure. Later in the day, the Armenian Revolutionary Federation, the Republican Party governing partner, announced that it had quit Armenia’s ruling coalition, calling for the election of a prime minister with “the people’s confidence.”

​Domestic focus, honest elections

In a region dominated by “strongman” politics, the grass-roots demonstrations, which protest leaders have been careful not to paint as pro-Western or anti-Russian, are focused on a domestic agenda led by honest elections.

Armenia, which seceded from the Soviet Union in 1991, has, like neighboring Caucasus nations, struggled to overcome the legacy of central planning and remains dependent on Russia for aid and investment.

But Kasparov believes that prevailing conditions in Armenia are nonetheless specific to that country.

“It is a special situation there: a practically monoethnic state, three decades of war — one day sluggish, another day turning into a more acute phase,” he said. “There is the Karabakh clan [Karabakh military], and there is the Yerevan party — that is, there are many specific factors that do not apply to Russia.”

The opposition figure also noted that Russia’s powerful influence on the situation in Armenia continued. Russia, which maintains a military base in the country, has said that it is “very attentively observing what is happening in Armenia,” but ultimately considers the unrest a domestic issue.

On Wednesday, Russia’s Foreign Ministry issued a statement calling on political forces in Armenia to engage in dialogue and act within the law to resolve the situation. They also dismissed any parallels to events that inspired Ukraine’s 2014 Maidan revolution.

The United States responded to developments by thanking Sargsyan for his many years of service and called for a transparent democratic process to determine his successor.

Russian influence

“Armenia is effectively under the all-powerful influence of [President Vladimir] Putin’s Russia, and it is clear that the majority of enterprises are one way or another controlled by Russian oligarchs. These ties were formed over a very long time, including military ties,” Kasparov said. “Armenia, unlike Ukraine, has no borders with the West. It is trapped between Azerbaijan, Turkey; Iran, Georgia are also there; you can’t go too far [without reaching] either Turkey or Russia, if we talk about the border.”

Nevertheless, according to Kasparov, Sargsyan’s resignation is a bellwether for Russia.

“Today, the whole world is in motion. Revolutionary changes are taking place everywhere,” he said. “Many of them are negative and destructive, but it is clear that we have entered a period of change. Armenia, I think, is a bellwether, showing that attempts to preserve the situation in Russia, attempts to return to the past … all the same end with a revolutionary explosion. Armenia is simply this bellwether indicating that change is inevitable. And the question is how peaceful and nonviolent these changes will be.

“Armenia has avoided, largely due to its national peculiarity, bloodshed and violent confrontation/ The extent to which this is possible in Russia is difficult for me to say. I fear that we missed the possibility for such a peaceful, nonviolent transition in 2011-2012, and that the changes in Russia will, of course, be more volatile.”

Thus, he said, it is necessary to prepare for such changes.

“It is necessary now, it seems to me, to think about what will happen in Russia when the day comes that patience completely runs out,” Kasparov said. “Why will that happen? There are landfills that make it impossible to breathe, corruption is monstrous, a sharp deterioration in living standards, banking collapses. There are many examples in history when such a combination of factors produced this explosive combination. And what needs to be done, I think, is what we talked about at the last Free Russia Forum in Vilnius: We need to prepare for this moment in order to propose a plan of action.”

​Darker outlook for Russia

While former Soviet republics such as Armenia may see long-term political changes emerge from this week’s protests, Kasparov believes that the situation in which changes could arrive in Russia is less favorable than the collapse of the Soviet Union.

“We cannot again, as in 1991, be caught by surprise. That will be unforgivable,” he said. “Because if at that time it was unexpected — and any change then seemed good — then today Russia has no such window of opportunity. There is no such upside. There was still economic and industrial potential then, but today the situation is different. It is much worse. Russia is mired in corruption, industrial devastation and wars. And its international reputation is actually much worse than it was 27 years ago. And society does not have the potential for change, the desire to make the country better, the desire to become part of the civilized world.”

“The most important task now is to talk seriously about constitutional reform, about what Russia should look like, what will be the path of this transition,” Kasparov said. “We have our own economic, political, social and foreign policy factors, and we need to take them all into account in order to have a sufficiently well-articulated program of action that can be proposed. The person that offers a program of action — even if it is, as articulated, radical in the opinion of many — is usually the one that inspires the people to follow.”

This story originated in VOA’s Russian Service.

Merkel Expected to Press Trump on Trade, Iran Deal

German Chancellor Angela Merkel will pay a one-day working visit to the White House on Friday following a three-day state visit by French President Emmanuel Macon.

The back-to-back visits are seen a tag-team effort to persuade U.S. President Donald Trump not to abandon the Iran nuclear deal and to grant permanent exemption of the steel and aluminum tariffs to EU member countries.

While Trump and Macron’s ‘bromance’ was on full display during the French president’s visit, Trump’s relationship with Merkel is unquestionably cooler. It is widely reported that during their inaugural meeting in March 2017, Trump appeared to withhold a handshake with Merkel, and the two leaders did not speak for five months until a phone call on March 1.

“Where Emmanuel Macron is much more successful at charming President Trump, Angela Merkel doesn’t really make the charm offensive a priority and works instead on the basis of principle, common values, and shared interests,” said Eric Jones, Director of European and Eurasian Studies at Johns Hopkins University.

Nile Gardiner, Director of Margaret Thatcher Center for Freedom at Heritage Foundation told VOA he expected Merkel to take a more confrontational and adversarial approach towards the Trump administration than her French counterpart.

“The Germans have been a lot more critical of Trump’s foreign and economic policies,” he said. “And I think Angela Merkel is likely to be adopting a harder line than Macron on certain issues, but she’ll also be keen to make an effort to save the Iran nuclear deal,” he said.

Gardiner added that “it would be interesting to see the degree to which Merkel and Macron put forth the same proposals with regard to strengthening the Iran nuclear deal.”

Indeed, Center for Strategic and International Studies Europe Program Director Heather Conley told reporters the visits by two European leaders this week will be dubbed “the save the Iran nuclear agreement trip.”

During his visit, Macron repeatedly urged Trump and U.S. Congress not to walk away from the 2015 deal the six major powers — the United States, Britain, Germany, France, Russia and China — made with Iran to curb its nuclear program in exchange for relief from international sanctions that hobbled its economy.

Trump has called the agreement crafted under the Obama administration “the worst deal ever negotiated.” He contends Iran would quickly achieve nuclear capability at the end of the 10-year agreement and often assails its current military adventures in Syria, Yemen, and Lebanon.

Trump again called the deal as “insane” and “ridiculous” during Macron’s visit, but gave no indication as to whether he will pull the U.S. out of the existing nuclear deal with Tehran.

Trans-Atlantic trade

Trans-Atlantic trade will be another crucial issue during Merkel’s visit. Jeff Rathke, Deputy Director of Europe program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies emphasized that this issue is particularly crucial for Germany.

“Germany is the largest EU economy. It is a trade-driven economy,” he said. “I would highlight that the European Union is poised to retaliate if the United States does not extend the exemption on aluminum and steel tariffs, so there is a bit of a threat there of reaction.”

Rathke pointed out Germany has the same concerns as the United States regarding China’s trade practices and its economic role.

“The question is whether they can put aside the relatively less important trans-Atlantic trade disagreements and focus on addressing those much larger and longer-term issues ” he noted.

NATO, Syria

Other issues expected to be discussed during the bilateral meeting include the importance of the NATO alliance and the way forward in Syria.

Johns Hopkins University professor Erik Jones said he doesn’t think the Europeans have high expectations of changing Trump’s mind on these issues at the end of Merkel’s visit.

“If they get an extension of the waiver on US sanctions, that’s a big deliverable; if they were to get a formal commitment to extend the exemptions on steel tariffs, that would be a deliverable; if they were to get a firm commitment on a potential to restart Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) talks; that would be a deliverable as well,” he said.

But Jones said he doubts the Europeans “are bringing a big bag to carry these things home with.” He said they are going to bring “a very small folder and hope they’ve got at least something in it when they leave at the end of the day.”

YouTube Overhauls Kids’ App

YouTube is overhauling its kid-focused video app to give parents the option of letting humans, not computer algorithms, select what shows their children can watch.

The updates that begin rolling out April 26, 2018, are a response to complaints that the YouTube Kids app has repeatedly failed to filter out disturbing content.

Google-owned YouTube launched the toddler-oriented app in 2015. It has described it as a “safer” experience than the regular YouTube video-sharing service for finding “Peppa Pig” episodes or watching user-generated videos of people unboxing toys, teaching guitar lessons or experimenting with science.

Failure of screening system

In order to meet U.S. child privacy rules, Google says it bans kids under 13 from using its core video service. But its official terms of agreement are largely ignored by tens of millions of children and their families who don’t bother downloading the under-13 app.

Both the grown-up video service and the YouTube Kids app have been criticized by child advocates for their commercialism and for the failures of a screening system that relies on artificial intelligence. The app is engineered to automatically exclude content that’s not appropriate for kids, and recommend videos based on what children have watched before. That hasn’t always worked to parents’ liking — especially when videos with profanity, violence or sexual themes slip through the filters. 

Updates give parents option

The updates allow parents to switch off the automated system and choose a contained selection of children’s programming such as Sesame Street and PBS Kids. But the automated system remains the default.  

“For parents who like the current version of YouTube Kids and want a wider selection of content, it’s still available,” said James Beser, the app’s product director, in a blog post Wednesday. “While no system is perfect, we continue to fine-tune, rigorously test and improve our filters for this more-open version of our app.”

Beser also encouraged parents to block videos and flag them for review if they don’t think they should be on the app. But the practice of addressing problem videos after children have already been exposed to them has bothered child advocates who want the more controlled option to be the default. 

Cleaner, safer kids’ app

“Anything that gives parents the ability to select programming that has been vetted in some fashion by people is an improvement, but I also think not every parent is going to do this,” said Josh Golin, director of the Boston-based Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood. “Giving parents more control doesn’t absolve YouTube of the responsibility of keeping the bad content out of YouTube Kids.”

He said Google should aim to build an even cleaner and safer kids’ app, then pull all the kid-oriented content off the regular YouTube — where most kids are going — and onto that app. 

Golin’s group recently asked the Federal Trade Commission to investigate whether YouTube’s data collection and advertising practices violate federal child privacy rules. He said advocates plan to meet with FTC officials next week.

ConocoPhillips Wins $2 Billion Arbitration Against Venezuela

ConocoPhillips says it won a $2 billion arbitration award against Venezuela’s state oil company over the seizure a decade ago of investments in two projects in the OPEC nation.

The award represents the equivalent of more than 20 percent of the cash-strapped Venezuelan government’s foreign currency reserves.

The Houston-based company said in a statement the ruling against PDVSA was made by an international tribunal constituted under the rules of the International Chamber of Commerce.

It said the award is final and binding and that it intends to seek financial recovery of the award to the full extent of the law.

ConocoPhillips is pursuing a separate legal against Venezuela’s government under the auspices of the World Bank’s investment dispute mechanism.

Don’t Turn Your Back on us, Albania PM Tells EU

Denying Albania the prospect of one day becoming a European Union member could fuel Muslim radicalization in the Balkan country, endangering regional stability, its prime minister Edi Rama said.

Rama, in Berlin to lobby for the opening of accession talks after the European Commission gave its go-ahead last week, also condemned European politicians who stoked anti-Muslim sentiments, labeling them “investors in radicalization”.

Ahead of a meeting later with Chancellor Angela Merkel, Rama warned that Russia was also intent on radicalizing Albania’s Muslims, and urged the EU not to “leave a space for other countries to fill”.

The EU’s executive is keen to offer the prospect of membership to six Balkan states, including Albania, seeking to counter growing Russian and Chinese influence in the region.

The EU’S chief executive, Jean-Claude Juncker, said last week that the bloc needed to accept new members from the Western Balkans to avoid the risk of a new war there.

But member governments, mindful of popular skepticism about opening the EU’s doors to more poor countries, are more cautious.

From Britain to Hungary, populist parties have made electoral gains by playing on the alleged dangers of large-scale Muslim immigration, while the opening of west European labor markets to poorer new members has been blamed for stagnant wages.

“Statistically, Albania is a Muslim-majority country, but I would say the main religion in Albania is Europe,” Rama told Reuters. “So all these forces, they are practically the main investors in radicalization from the side of Europe. So I abhor them.”

The closing off of a European perspective for Albania would also leave a gap that Russia was poised to exploit, he added, warning that Moscow’s alleged interference in Montenegro’s 2016 election could be repeated elsewhere in the Balkans.

European officials have praised Albania’s progress in strengthening the independence of its judiciary, combating corruption and embedding its democracy, but many in Brussels have been stung by perceived democratic backsliding of Hungary and Poland since joining in 2004.

Acknowledging that Albania could not guarantee it would not follow suit, Rama said his country had no alternative to pursuing European integration.

“It’s like what you ask of people when they get married,” he said. “You can’t ask more than their commitment to be together for the rest of their lives – and then things happen.

“It is important that our idealism about Europe be respected and not taken as naivete,” he added.

UN: Nicaragua Crackdown Deaths May Be ‘Unlawful Killlings’

The United Nations human rights office says some of the more than two dozen deaths of peaceful protestors in Nicaragua may amount to “unlawful killings.”

U.N. human rights spokeswoman, Liz Throssell, says reliable sources report Nicaraguan police and other security forces killed at least 25 people during recent nationwide protests against planned social security reforms.

“We are particularly concerned that a number of these deaths may amount to unlawful killings. We call on the Nicaraguan authorities to ensure that there are prompt, thorough, independent and transparent investigations into these deaths,” said Throssell.

This deadly crackdown occurred during a week of peaceful protests aimed at getting the Nicaraguan government to back down from its proposed changes to the country’s social security system. Under this plan, citizens in this impoverished Central American nation would be required to contribute five percent of their pensions to help reduce a ballooning national deficit.

Throssell says her agency has received disturbing reports that dozens of people have been injured or detained over the past few days. She says other acts of violence and cases of looting allegedly took place during the protests.

“It is essential that all allegations of excessive use of force by police and other security forces are effectively investigated to ensure those responsible are held to account,” she said. “Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega has announced a halt to the planned reforms. However, we understand that further demonstrations are likely.”

The U.N. human rights office is urging demonstrators to protest peacefully. At the same time, it is calling on Nicaragua’s government to abide by its international obligations and allow people to exercise their right to freedom of expression and assembly.

The U.N. agency says this also applies to human rights defenders and journalists. It says they have the right to monitor developments and report on events without being harassed and attacked in the course of their work.

 

 

 

 

Danish Inventor Convicted of Reporter’s Murder, Gets Life

Danish submarine inventor Peter Madsen was found guilty Wednesday of torturing and murdering Swedish reporter Kim Wall during a private submarine trip. He was sentenced to life in prison.

Judge Anette Burkoe at the Copenhagen City Court said she and two jurors unanimously decided Wall’s death was a murder, saying Madsen didn’t given “a trustworthy” explanation.

 

It was a “cynical murder” of a journalist who was performing her duties, the court said in its ruling, which was not broadcast live due to a court order.

In Denmark, life equates to 16 years, which can be extended if necessary.

Throughout the trial that started March 8, Madsen, 47, has denied murder, saying 30-year-old Wall died accidentally inside the submarine — though he changed his story about how she had died.

 

Wall embarked on Madsen’s submarine on Aug. 10 to interview the entrepreneur.

 

He initially denied dismembering her, then confessed that he had done so and said he’d thrown her body parts into the Baltic Sea.

 

He listened quietly as the verdict was read, looking down at the desk in front of him.

 

Prosecutor Jakob Buch-Jepsen claimed Wall’s murder was sexually motivated and premeditated because Madsen brought along tools he normally didn’t take when sailing, including a saw and sharpened screwdrivers.

 

Madsen’s defense lawyer had argued for his acquittal on the charge of murder, saying he had only been guilty of has said he should only be sentenced the lesser charge of cutting Wall’s body into pieces.

 

The cause of death has never been established but the court found that Madsen “cut the body into pieces to hide what had happened.”

 

It was not immediately clear whether Madsen would appeal the verdict.

 

 

 

Armenians Protest as Political Talks Called Off

Thousands of anti-government protesters marched in Armenia’s capital on Wednesday after planned talks between an opposition leader and the country’s acting prime minister were canceled.

The meeting was meant to discuss steps for a political transition following Monday’s resignation of Prime Minister Serzh Sargsyan.

Acting Prime Minister Karen Karapetian, a Sargsyan ally, said the opposition was making new demands. He also proposed holding snap parliamentary elections as a way to resolve the political turmoil.

Opposition leader Nikol Pashinian of the Armenian National Congress said his side would boycott such an election if a member of the ruling Republican Party remains prime minister. He earlier said he was prepared to lead the country.

Largely peaceful protests began two weeks ago, triggered by accusations that Sargsyan, who served as president for a decade, manipulated the constitution to remain in power.

Will Robot Baristas Replace Traditional Cafes?

There has been a long tradition of making and drinking coffee across cultures and continents. Now, a tech company in Austin is adding to this tradition by creating robot baristas to make the coffee-drinking experience more convenient. For a similar price of a cup of Starbucks designer coffee, a robot can now make it, too. VOA’s Elizabeth Lee finds out whether robots will replace traditional baristas.

Trump ‘Honored’ to Host Macron for First White House State Dinner

U.S. President Donald Trump said Tuesday he was “profoundly honored” to host French President Emmanuel Macron for the first official state dinner of his administration.

Trump called the bond between the United States and France a “very remarkable friendship” at the opulent event in front of more than 100 guests.

“May our friendship grow even deeper. May our kinship grow even stronger and may our sacred liberty never die,” Trump said.

Macron said the two leaders share a determination and willingness to serve their countries and the rest of the world. He also toasted to the “unbreakable friendship” between the U.S. and France.

The event also served as a chance for first lady Melania Trump to have a turn in the spotlight as she and President Trump hosted President Macron and his wife Brigitte Macron.

The first lady selected a menu of rack of lamb and nectarine tart, along with after-dinner entertainment provided by the Washington National Opera.

Tuesday’s dinner was a relatively low-key affair compared with the first state dinner from previous administrations, with few celebrities and big Washington names on the guest list. 

Among those joining the main guests of honor were Apple CEO Tim Cook who brought as his guest former Obama EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson, statesman Henry Kissinger, Chief Justice John Roberts, media mogul Rupert Murdoch, managing director of the IMF Christine Lagarde and the president’s daughter and son-in-law Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner.

The dinner capped a larger itinerary of ceremonial events in Macron’s honor on Tuesday. Macron was welcomed to the White House with a traditional military arrival ceremony involving 500 members of the military, and complete with a 21-gun salute, cannon-firings and patriotic music.

The dinner comes after Trump and Macron called for more talks with Iran, but gave no clear sign if Trump will pull the U.S. out of the existing nuclear deal with Tehran.

Trump, Macron Eye ‘New Deal’ as Iran Deadline Looms

U.S. President Donald Trump vowed on Tuesday to look for common ground with his French counterpart in dealing with Iran but made no commitment to stick with the nuclear agreement he described as “insane” and “ridiculous.”

Alongside visiting French President Emmanuel Macron, Trump repeated his criticism of the agreement to freeze Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief, saying it does not address Iran’s missile program or attempts to stir up unrest in the region.

Macron, who will address a joint session of the U.S. Congress on Wednesday before returning home, has tried to persuade Trump not to withdraw from the 2015 agreement struck between Iran and a group that includes the United States, France, Britain, China, Russia and Germany.

WATCH: Macron visit

​The French leader said he discussed with Trump the desire for “a new deal with Iran” that would also address the country’s ballistic missile program and include a political solution to constrain Iran’s activities in Syria, Yemen, Lebanon and Iraq.

European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini defended the existing Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), telling reporters Wednesday it needs to be preserved.

“The deal is working,” she said. “President Macron stressed it yesterday in the White House very clearly that we believe that the full implementation of the JCPOA is essential for European security and for the security of the region, and the Europeans will stick to that.”

Trump gave no indication Tuesday as to whether he will pull the U.S. out of the existing nuclear deal with Tehran, but he issued a warning to Iran.

“If they restart their nuclear program, they will have bigger problems than they have ever had before,” Trump said during a meeting with Macron in the Oval Office. “You can mark it down.”

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani dismissed talk of a new deal, questioning Wednesday what right the United States and France have to make decisions about a seven-nation agreement. Rouhani warned earlier of severe consequences if Trump does pull out of the deal.

U.S. withdrawal could create major discord between key trans-Atlantic partners and throw the Middle East into even deeper turmoil. 

“Macron essentially dangled the prospect of a grand bargain with four pillars — the JCPOA, a promise by Iran to never develop nuclear weapons, preventing Iran from further expanding its ballistic missile technology, and addressing Iran’s broader role in the Middle East — in order to try and keep Trump on board and to stop him from withdrawing from the JCPOA on May 12,” American University School of International Service Professional Lecturer Garret Martin tells VOA. “It remains to be seen whether that will be enough to sway Trump, and if other major powers and regional players, including Iran, would even be open to a grand bargain.”

Macron also wants Trump to keep American forces in northern Syria to avoid the risk of giving up the country to the Assad regime and Iran.

Trump told reporters that “I’d love to get out” of Syria, where the United States has 2,000 U.S. troops seeking to eradicate the Islamic State terror group. 

“We want to come home. We’ll be coming home,” predicted Trump. “But we want to leave a strong and lasting footprint.” 

The U.S. president also criticized other countries in the region for not doing enough with their own forces to fight terrorism and to counter the Iranian threat. 

Trump said the United States had spent seven trillion dollars in the Middle East over an 18-year period and has “less than nothing” to show for it.

Some wealthy countries there “wouldn’t last a week” without the United States ensuring their security, according to Trump who declared — without naming any particular states — that they would have to step up and pay and put soldiers on the ground. 

“President Trump agreed that he didn’t want to give Iran a free hand in Syria, but his solution was to have regional states — presumably Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries — fund the reconstruction and humanitarian expenses and to provide their own troops to stabilize the country,” said Jeffrey Rathke, the deputy director of the Europe program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. 

Rathke, a former U.S. diplomat, tells VOA that Trump’s idea “has currency in some Washington quarters at the moment, but is unlikely to gain traction in the region.”

A 21-gun salute echoed across the South Lawn on Tuesday morning while nearly 500 service members from the five branches of the U.S. military stood at attention to officially welcome Macron to the White House. 

Tuesday night, Trump hosted Macron and his wife Brigette for the first state dinner of his administration. The dinner came 15 months after Trump’s inauguration, relatively late compared to previous administrations which typically hosted elaborate ceremonial sitdowns by the end of their first year in office. Tuesday’s dinner was a relatively low-key affair, with few celebrities and big Washington names on the guest list.

VOA’s Victor Beattie contributed to this story.

Beijing Auto Show Highlights E-cars Designed for China

Volkswagen and Nissan have unveiled electric cars designed for China at a Beijing auto show that highlights the growing importance of Chinese buyers for a technology seen as a key part of the global industry’s future. 

General Motors displayed five all-electric models Wednesday including a concept Buick SUV it says can go 600 kilometers (375 miles) on one charge. Ford and other brands showed off some of the dozens of electric SUVs, sedans and other models they say are planned for China. 

Auto China 2018, the industry’s biggest sales event this year, is overshadowed by mounting trade tensions between Beijing and U.S. President Donald Trump, who has threatened to hike tariffs on Chinese goods including automobiles in a dispute over technology policy. 

The impact on automakers should be small, according to industry analysts, because exports amount to only a few thousand vehicles a year. Those include a GM SUV, the Envision, and Volvo Cars sedans made in China for export to the United States. 

China accounted for half of last year’s global electric car sales, boosted by subsidies and other prodding from communist leaders who want to make their country a center for the emerging technology. 

“The Chinese market is key for the international auto industry and it is key to our success,” VW CEO Herbert Diess said on Tuesday. 

Volkswagen unveiled the E20X, an SUV that is the first model for SOL, an electric brand launched by the German automaker with a Chinese partner. The E20X, promising a 300-kilometer (185-mile) range on one charge, is aimed at the Chinese market’s bargain-priced tiers, where demand is strongest. 

GM, Ford, Daimler AG’s Mercedes unit and other automakers also have announced ventures with local partners to develop models for China that deliver more range at lower prices. 

On Wednesday, Nissan Motor Co. presented its Sylphy Zero Emission, which it said can go 338 kilometers (210 miles) on a charge. The Sylphy is based on Nissan’s Leaf, a version of which is available in China but has sold poorly due to its relatively high price. 

Automakers say they expect electrics to account for 35 to over 50 percent of their China sales by 2025.

First-quarter sales of electrics and gasoline-electric hybrids rose 154 percent over a year earlier to 143,000 units, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers. That compares with sales of just under 200,000 for all of last year in the United States, the No. 2 market. 

That trend has been propelled by the ruling Communist Party’s support for the technology. The party is shifting the financial burden to automakers with sales quotas that take effect next year and require them to earn credits by selling electrics or buy them from competitors. 

That increases pressure to transform electrics into a mainstream product that competes on price and features. 

Automakers also displayed dozens of gasoline-powered models from compact sedans to luxurious SUVs. Their popularity is paying for development of electrics, which aren’t expected to become profitable for most producers until sometime in the next decade. 

China’s total sales of SUVs, sedans and minivans reached 24.7 million units last year, compared with 17.2 million for the United States. 

SUVs are the industry’s cash cow. First-quarter sales rose 11.3 percent over a year earlier to 2.6 million, or almost 45 percent of total auto sales, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers. 

On Wednesday, Ford displayed its Mondeo Energi plug-in hybrid, its first electric model for China, which went on sale in March. Plans call for Ford and its luxury unit, Lincoln, to release 15 new electrified vehicles by 2025. 

GM plans to launch 10 electrics or hybrids in China from through 2020. 

VW is due to launch 15 electrics and hybrids in the next two to three years as part of a 10 billion euro ($12 billion) development plan announced in November. 

Nissan says it will roll out 20 electrified models in China over the next five years. 

New but fast-growing Chinese auto trail global rivals in traditional gasoline technology but industry analysts say the top Chinese brands are catching up in electrics, a market with no entrenched leaders. 

BYD Auto, the biggest global electric brand by number sold, debuted two hybrid SUVs and an electric concept car. 

The company, which manufactures electric buses at a California factory and exports battery-powered taxis to Europe, also displayed nine other hybrid and plug-in electric models. 

Chery Automobile Co. showed a lineup that included two electric sedans, an SUV and a hatchback, all promising 250 to 400 kilometers (150 to 250 miles) on a charge. They include futuristic features such as internet-linked navigation and smartphone-style dashboard displays. 

“Our focus is not just an EV that runs. It is excellent performance,” Chery CEO Chen Anning said in an interview ahead of the show. 

Electrics are likely to play a leading role as Chery develops plans announced last year to expand to Western Europe, said Chen. He said the company has yet to decide on a timeline. 

Chery was China’s biggest auto exporter last year, selling 108,000 gasoline-powered vehicles abroad, though mostly in developing markets such as Russia and Egypt. 

“We do have a clear intention to bring an EV product as one of our initial offerings” in Europe, Chen said.