![Burundi. Source:
Tom[le]Chat/flickr](../../../blogs-sub/blouinbeatworld/files/2016/02/5521849905_32ee7e55ed_z.jpg)
The African Union was poised to enact a never-before-used article of its charter allowing it to impose a peacekeeping force on violence-plagued Burundi, but some African leaders ultimately felt uneasy about setting a precedent that could come back to haunt them.
In what is perhaps the best example thus far of Riyadh’s recently reassessed foreign policy approach, Saudi foreign minister Saud al-Faisal announced on Tuesday that his government had invited Iran’s foreign minister to visit the kingdom.
Saudi spy chief Prince Bandar bin Sultan’s ouster from his position earlier this week was the first real indication that Saudi Arabia’s government has begun to reassess its unusually assertive approach to its foreign policy in recent months.
The announcement that his administration would consider allowing shipments of air defense systems to Syrian rebels should help Obama as he heads into talks with the Saudis who have previously lobbied for this exact measure.
With Obama preparing to assuage Saudi concerns over Washington’s Middle East policy, the appearance of fractures within the administration will not help his case and will only validate the position of skeptics in Riyadh.
Arab ally Jordan is set to pursue Saudi Arabia’s rejected Security Council seat.
Prince Bandar’s reemergence on the Saudi foreign policy scene reflects the monarchy’s growing impatience with the Obama administration’s regional diplomacy.
Chile was selected to be one of the two representatives for Latin America and the Caribbean in the United Nations Security Council.
The annual contest to fill the rotating non-permanent seats on the council has in years past proven to be highly competitive.
The ICC was flawed from its inception.
