France and Germany scrap fighter jet plan
France and Germany pulled the plug on plans to jointly build a next-generation fighter jet on Monday, a core pillar of Europe’s largest defense project. The $115.6 billion Future Combat Air System (FCAS) defense initiative was launched by Macron and former German Chancellor Angela Merkel back in 2017, but months of disagreements between the companies involved, France’s Dassault Aviation and European Airbus representing Germany, culminated in its collapse. Hinted at being primarily a backout by Berlin, the scrapped plans are less than ideal for hopes of greater European security collaboration in an era of growing concern about American defense commitments and fears of Russian aggression on the continent.
Venezuela’s Rodríguez takes her show on the road
As part of her first major international tour since the US seized her former boss Nicolás Maduro, Venezuela’s Interim President Delcy Rodríguez met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in Ankara on Monday with the aim of boosting trade with the transcontinental state. Maduro and Erdoğan got along well: the ousted Venezuelan strongman attended the Turkish leader’s 2023 inauguration, while Erdoğan was one of the few world leaders to recognize Maduro as the Venezuelan leader. Ankara, for its part, is interested in Venezuela’s energy, mining, and gold. Rodríguez’s trip to Turkey follows one to India last week, highlighting her efforts to boost trade with countries outside the West. What’s notable is that neither India nor Turkey is a close ally of China, either, suggesting that Rodríguez is still mindful of Washington as she bids to boost Venezuela’s standing on the world stage.
