Russia welcomes US-brokered Armenia-Azerbaijan deal, warns against foreign meddling
The agreement, signed on Friday during a meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump, includes exclusive U.S. development rights to a transport corridor through Armenia, linking Azerbaijan to its Nakhchivan exclave bordering Turkey.
In its first comments, Russia's Foreign Ministry said Moscow supported efforts to promote stability and prosperity in the region, including the Washington meeting, despite earlier statements from Baku and Yerevan favouring direct talks without mediators.
The ministry said that lasting solutions should be developed by regional countries with support from neighbours like Russia, Iran, and Turkey.
"The involvement of non-regional players should strengthen the peace agenda, not create new divisions," the ministry said, adding that it hoped to avoid the "unfortunate experience" of Western-led conflict resolution in the Middle East.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
5 minutes ago
- The Independent
Mapped: What parts of Ukraine does Russia control as Trump suggests land swap for peace?
US President Donald Trump has signalled that Ukraine might have to give up territory to end the war with Russia as he prepares to meet Vladimir Putin for peace talks. Announcing the talks with the Russian president, set to take place in Alaska on Friday, Mr Trump said: 'There will be some swapping of territories'. The White House is reportedly trying to sway European leaders to accept an agreement that would include Russia taking the entire Donbas region in eastern Ukraine and keeping Crimea. In exchange, it would give up the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions, areas which Russia is partially occupying, CBS reported. But in a statement on Saturday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky rejected the idea, saying that 'Ukrainians will not give their land to the occupier'. The Wall Street Journal reported that Mr Putin had already proposed a similar land swap agreement to US envoy Steve Witkoff at a meeting in Moscow. Ukraine had previously warned that no peace deal is possible if it is forced to give up territory to Russia, after the US said supporting Kyiv to retake occupied land was 'unrealistic'. US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has previously said that 'we must start by recognising that returning to Ukraine's pre-2014 borders is an unrealistic objective. Chasing this illusionary goal will only prolong the war and cause more suffering". The position is markedly different from that of the previous Joe Biden administration, which supported Ukraine in ejecting Russian forces from its land completely. The hardline stance under the Trump regime has already faced backlash, with accusations that the US is 'betraying' Ukraine. On Saturday, European leaders reaffirmed their backing of Ukraine in a joint statement from the UK, France, Italy, Germany, Poland, Finland and the European Commission. Insisting that Ukraine be part of any peace talks, they said: 'The path to peace in Ukraine cannot be decided without Ukraine. We remain committed to the principle that international borders must not be changed by force. The current line of contact should be the starting point of negotiations.' Russia currently occupies around 20 per cent of Ukraine, including parts of four regions of mainland Ukraine, as well as the Crimean peninsula. Mr Putin first invaded Ukraine in 2014, when he illegally annexed Crimea. It is widely believed he then ordered unmarked soldiers known as 'little green men' to fight on behalf of Russia in the eastern Ukrainian regions of Donetsk and Luhansk. In February 2022, he then ordered the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, reportedly hoping to take the country in just three days. After being pushed back from Kyiv and northeastern Ukraine, the latest iteration of Mr Putin's land grab focused on the four regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson. In September 2022, he illegally annexed these four regions, none of which are completely controlled by Russian forces. He has since repeatedly claimed that he will only agree to end his invasion of Ukraine if Kyiv cedes these four regions to him. Ukraine and the country's European supporters have suggested this would amount to rewarding Mr Putin for his illegal land grab. Ceding the Donbas region would mean giving up an area with cities and industrial centres, and Ukraine abandoning its defensive line in northern Donetsk.
Reuters
36 minutes ago
- Reuters
Kallas says any deal between US and Russia must include Ukraine and EU
BRUSSELS, Aug 10 (Reuters) - European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said on Sunday that any deal between Washington and Moscow to end the war in Ukraine must include Ukraine and the EU, adding that she will convene a meeting of European foreign ministers on Monday to discuss next steps. 'The U.S. has the power to force Russia to negotiate seriously. Any deal between the U.S. and Russia must have Ukraine and the EU included, for it is a matter of Ukraine's and the whole of Europe's security,' Kallas said in emailed comments. U.S. President Donald Trump plans to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday. Kallas said that 'as we work towards a sustainable and just peace, international law is clear: all temporarily occupied territories belong to Ukraine'. 'A deal must not provide a springboard for further Russian aggression against Ukraine, the transatlantic alliance and Europe,' she added. Kallas also said that ministers will discuss the situation in Gaza.
South Wales Guardian
an hour ago
- South Wales Guardian
Zelensky thanks European allies for support ahead of Trump-Putin meeting
Mr Trump has said Friday's meeting in Alaska with his Russian counterpart was to discuss ending the more than three-year war. Mr Zelensky responded by thanking European allies and wrote on X on Sunday: 'The end of the war must be fair, and I am grateful to everyone who stands with Ukraine and our people.' The end of the war must be fair, and I am grateful to everyone who stands with Ukraine and our people today for the sake of peace in Ukraine, which is defending the vital security interests of our European nations. Ukraine values and fully supports the statement by President… — Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) August 10, 2025 Saturday's statement by top European leaders emphasising that peace cannot be achieved without Kyiv's involvement came after the White House confirmed the US president was willing to grant Mr Putin the one-on-one meeting Russia has long pushed for, and suggestions from Mr Trump that a peace deal could include 'some swapping of territories'. This raised fears Kyiv may be pressured into giving up land or accepting other curbs on its sovereignty. A White House official, who spoke on condition of anonymity as they are not allowed to speak publicly, told The Associated Press that Mr Trump remained open to a trilateral summit with both the Russian and Ukrainian leaders, but for now, he will have a bilateral meeting requested by Mr Putin. Meanwhile, US Vice President JD Vance on Saturday met top European and Ukrainian officials at the UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy's weekend residence to discuss how to end the war. Mr Trump had earlier said he would meet Mr Putin even if the Russian leader would not meet with Mr Zelensky. The Trump-Putin meeting may prove pivotal in a war that began when Russia invaded its western neighbour and has led to tens of thousands of deaths, although there is no guarantee it will stop the fighting since Moscow and Kyiv remain far apart on their conditions for peace. Saturday's statement, signed by the president of the European Union and leaders of the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Poland and Finland, stressed the need for a 'just and lasting peace' for Kyiv, including 'robust and credible' security guarantees. 'Ukraine has the freedom of choice over its own destiny. Meaningful negotiations can only take place in the context of a ceasefire or reduction of hostilities,' the statement said. 'The path to peace in Ukraine cannot be decided without Ukraine. We remain committed to the principle that international borders must not be changed by force,' the Europeans added. A month-long US-led push to achieve a truce in Ukraine has so far proved fruitless, with Kyiv agreeing in principle while the Kremlin has held out for terms more to its liking. Mr Trump had also moved up an ultimatum to impose additional sanctions on Russia and introduce secondary tariffs targeting countries that buy Russian oil if the Kremlin did not move toward a settlement. The deadline was Friday. The White House did not answer questions on Saturday about possible sanctions. The Kremlin earlier this week reiterated demands that Ukraine gives up territory, abandons its bid to join Nato, and accepts limits on its military, in exchange for a withdrawal of Russian troops from the rest of the country. Mr Zelensky said on Saturday that Ukraine 'will not give Russia any awards for what it has done' and that 'Ukrainians will not give their land to the occupier'. Ukrainian officials previously told the AP privately that Kyiv would be amenable to a peace deal that would de facto recognise Ukraine's inability to regain lost territories militarily. But Mr Zelensky on Saturday insisted that formally ceding land was out of the question.
