Venezuela

• Venezuela’s opposition on Friday voted to remove Juan Guaido as the “interim president” and to dissolve the US-backed “interim government,” a move that came after resuming talks with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. AWC
• Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said Sunday that Venezuela is “ready” to work toward normalization with the US, which would involve the Biden administration lifting crippling economic sanctions on the South American country. AWC
• The State Department said Tuesday that the US approach toward Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro is “not changing” and said crippling economic sanctions on the South American country will remain. AWC

Russia

• The Russian Defense Ministry said Monday that 63 Russian soldiers were killed in a Ukrainian rocket strike in the eastern Donestk Oblast in one of the deadliest Ukrainian strikes against Russian troops of the war. AWC
• NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg claimed in an interview published Friday that the quickest path to peace in Ukraine is through NATO countries sending more weapons to Kyiv. AWC
• Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky both delivered New Year’s Eve addresses to their countries, where they vowed to continue fighting as the war shows no sign of slowing down in 2023. AWC
• About 4,000 members of the US Army’s 101st Airborne Division are still deployed in Romania as part of a military buildup in Eastern Europe that President Biden ordered last year, as the Pentagon is still deciding whether to maintain current troop levels. AWC
• Russia’s Defense Ministry said Wednesday that 89 Russian soldiers were killed in the Ukrainian HIMARS strike on a facility housing Russian troops in Donetsk that took place on January 1, raising the death toll from 63. AWC
• NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Tuesday that some alliance members would like to push others to increase military spending by setting a minimum target of 2% of a country’s gross domestic product. AWC
• French President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday pledged to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that Paris will provide Kyiv with AMX-10 RC armored combat vehicles as Ukraine has been seeking Western-made tanks. AWC

China

• Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Wednesday vowed to expand Tokyo’s alliance with the US under his new controversial military spending plan that breaks from the country’s post-World War II pacifism. AWC
• Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. met with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing on Wednesday, and the two leaders agreed to handle maritime disputes in a “friendly” manner through consultations. AWC
• The US is sending a delegation to Taiwan next week for trade talks with Taipei, the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) said on Wednesday, in a move sure to anger Beijing. AWC

Korea

• South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol has said that Seoul is in talks with the US on holding joint exercises with US nuclear forces as tensions continue to rise on the Korean Peninsula. AWC
• North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on Sunday called for an “exponential” increase in the production of nuclear weapons as tensions continue to soar on the Korean Peninsula. AWC
• The White House said Tuesday that the US and South Korea are stepping up cooperation and preparing a coordinated response to any potential “nuclear use” by North Korea. AWC

Middle East

• Israel’s new foreign minister, Eli Cohen, spoke with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Tuesday and passed a message from the US, The Times of Israel reported. AWC
• The State Department on Tuesday said that the US opposes other countries normalizing with the Syrian government of President Bashar al-Assad following high-level talks between Syria and Turkey. AWC
• Israel launched more missile strikes on Syria early Monday, targeting the Damascus International Airport and putting it out of service as Israeli strikes against Syrian airports have become more frequent. AWC
• Ten oil field workers were killed in an attack Friday on a bus in Syria’s eastern Deir Ezzor province, Syrian state media reported. AWC
• US Central Command (CENTCOM) on Wednesday said two rockets were fired at a base in eastern Syria housing US troops earlier in the day and reported there were no casualties in the incident. AWC
• Yemen’s Houthis seek a “permanent ceasefire” with the US-backed Saudi-led coalition, a Houthi spokesman told Yemeni TV on Sunday. AWC