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Los Angeles Times
26 minutes ago
- Los Angeles Times
European leaders to join Ukraine's Zelensky for meeting with Trump
KYIV, Ukraine — European and NATO leaders announced Sunday they will join President Volodymyr Zelensky in Washington for talks with President Trump on ending Russia's war in Ukraine, with the possibility of U.S. security guarantees now on the negotiating table. European leaders, including heavyweights France, Britain and Germany, are rallying around the Ukrainian leader after his exclusion from Trump's summit on Friday with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Their pledge to be at Zelensky's side at the White House on Monday is an apparent effort to ensure the meeting goes better than the Ukrainian leader's last one in February, when Trump berated him in a heated Oval Office encounter. 'The Europeans are very afraid of the Oval Office scene being repeated, and so they want to support Mr. Zelensky to the hilt,' said retired French Gen. Dominique Trinquand, a former head of France's military mission at the United Nations. 'It's a power struggle and a position of strength that might work with Trump,' he said. Special U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff said Sunday that Putin agreed at the meeting in Alaska with Trump to allow the U.S. and European allies to offer Ukraine a security guarantee resembling NATO's collective defense mandate as part of an eventual deal to end the 3½-year war. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, speaking at a news conference in Brussels with Zelensky, said, 'We welcome President Trump's willingness to contribute to Article 5-like security guarantees for Ukraine. And the 'coalition of the willing' — including the European Union -- is ready to do its share.' Von der Leyen was joined Sunday by French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Finnish President Alexander Stubb in saying they will take part in Monday's talks at the White House, as will the secretary general of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Mark Rutte. The European leaders' demonstration of support could help ease concerns in Kyiv and other European capitals that Ukraine risks being railroaded into a peace deal that Trump says he wants to broker with Russia. Neil Melvin, director of international security at the London-based Royal United Services Institute, said European leaders are trying to 'shape this fast-evolving agenda.' After the Alaska summit, the idea of a ceasefire appears all but abandoned, with the narrative shifting toward Putin's agenda of ensuring Ukraine does not join NATO or even the EU. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on NBC's 'Meet the Press' on Sunday that a possible ceasefire is 'not off the table' but that the best way to end the war would be through a 'full peace deal.' Putin has implied that he sees Europe as a hindrance to negotiations. He has also resisted meeting Zelensky in person, saying that such a meeting can only take place once the groundwork for a peace deal has been laid. Speaking to reporters after his meeting with Trump, the Russian leader raised the idea that Kyiv and other European capitals could 'create obstacles' to derail potential progress with 'behind-the-scenes intrigue.' For now, the Zelensky meeting offers the Europeans the 'only way' to get into the discussions about the future of Ukraine and European security, Melvin said. But the sheer number of European leaders potentially in attendance means the group will have to be 'mindful' not to give 'contradictory' messages, he said. 'The risk is they look heavy-handed and are ganging up on Trump,' he added. 'Trump won't want to be put in a corner.' Although details remain hazy on what Article 5-like security guarantees from the U.S. and Europe would entail for Ukraine, it could mirror NATO membership terms, in which an attack on one member of the alliance is seen as an attack on all. In remarks made on CNN's 'State of the Union,' Witkoff said Friday's meeting with Trump was the first time Putin has been had heard to agree to such an arrangement. Zelensky continues to stress the importance of both U.S. and European involvement in any negotiations. 'A security guarantee is a strong army. Only Ukraine can provide that. Only Europe can finance this army, and weapons for this army can be provided by our domestic production and European production. But there are certain things that are in short supply and are only available in the United States,' he said at the news conference Sunday alongside Von der Leyen. Zelensky also countered Trump's assertion — which aligned with Putin's preference — that the two sides should negotiate a complete end to the war rather than first securing a ceasefire. Zelensky said a ceasefire would provide breathing room to review Putin's demands. 'It's impossible to do this under the pressure of weapons,' he said. 'Putin does not want to stop the killing, but he must do it.' Kullab and Leicester write for the Associated Press and reported from Kyiv and Le Pecq, France, respectively. AP writers Pan Pylas in London and Katie Marie Davies in Manchester, England, contributed to this report.
Metro
27 minutes ago
- Metro
Adult-only hotels that ban children 'like dogs' could be made illegal in France
Children cannonballing into pools, running through the lobby and spaghetti on the floor in the restaurant. This is the kind of youthful chaos that a growing number of adults are keen to avoid while going on holiday – Metro readers included. Yet French politicians are looking at ending grown-up escapes as venues treat children as 'troublesome pests'. Should adult-only hotels be banned, or should adults be able to book time away from youngsters? Email us at: webnews@ Former French families minister Laurence Rossignol was quoted by The Guardian as saying: 'We can't organise society by separating children off from ourselves in the same way some establishments don't take dogs.' The Oise senator has proposed a bill to make it illegal to ban children from venues by considering it age discrimination under the Penal Code. These child-free spaces, according to Rossignol, amount to 'organising society around people's intolerance of others'. They 'allow people to say, 'I don't like children and I don't want to see them',' she said. 'And that is not acceptable, because to not like children is to not like humanity itself.' Our readers aren't so sure about that. Gid Eon told us: 'Surely that's also a form of discrimination. Discriminatory for those who don't want to be around a load of screaming kids?' Bliss Natasha added: 'People who choose not to have children should be able to go on holiday and have some peace.' Arwen Carol, a part-time supply teacher, said not wanting to be around children isn't discrimination, it's wanting to relax. 'There's plenty of spaces that cater really well for families with kids and there's space for both without turning it into an issue,' she commented. It's not just Rossingnol mourning the loss of the hotels with kids' clubs, teen zones with pool tables and face-painting sessions. Sarah El Haïry, the French government's high commissioner for childhood, believes excluding families from accommodation is 'real violence'. Haïry has launched a 'Family Choice' campaign for parents to recommend businesses that offer child-friendly prices, events and facilities. 'A child shouts, laughs and moves… we are institutionalising the idea that silence is a luxury and the absence of children is a luxury,' she told the broadcaster RTL. Adult-only holidays are nothing new, being popular since the 1970s in hotspots like Greece, Thailand and the US. Adverts for these child-free hotels, cruises and camps often feature smiling adults clinking glasses of wine in complete and utter silence. An Expedia survey in 2023 found that guests at these resorts were 63% more likely to rate their time as 'exceptional' compared to those at mixed-age resorts. Some Metro readers, including parents and guardians of children, said they'd even be willing to pay extra for a child-free hotel, flight or cinema. They described how it's not so much children not being on the premises that they're willing to pay for, but it's not being around childish behaviour. Shannon Baird said: 'As a mother of two, no, I don't think they should be banned. Not everyone wants to deal with our kids screaming and running around playing all the time.' Alex Doody wrote that, if he's paying thousands of pounds for a holiday, he expects a certain level of service. 'That level of service cannot be achieved if there are packs of 'free-range' kids running around unchecked, creating mayhem and iPad kids having a meltdown every time they're parted from Minecraft for two seconds,' he said. Thomas Pennington said that a simple reason why adult-only venues shouldn't be banned is that 'not everyone wants kids'. One in 10 French people say they don't want children, more than twice the number from 2005. As fewer French people have children, researchers estimate that up to 5% of the holiday market in France is adult-only. Hotels like Saint-Delis in Honfleur in Normandy promise 'peaceful' experiences away from youth, while Camp Laurent in the sunflower fields of Poitou-Charentes brands itself as 'exclusively for adults'. French tour operators like Fram and Kuoni are also catering more to 'adult-only' holiday experiences. More Trending No family in France has ever taken legal action against a venue for hanging a sign reading 'no children', according to French legal experts. Article 225-1 says people who discriminate against someone 'based on age or family status' face three years in prison and €45,000 (£39,000) fine. As much as the majority of Metro readers disagreed with the idea of banning child-free hotels, Sue Dudley said she feels differently. 'Each to their own,' she commented, 'but I find adult-only very boring.' Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@ For more stories like this, check our news page. MORE: Virgin orders 12 new high-speed trains in biggest challenge to Eurostar yet MORE: Manchester Airport flights grounded after easyJet planes 'clip wings' on runway MORE: Four bodies pulled from the same spot in the River Seine in Paris
Indian Express
27 minutes ago
- Indian Express
European leaders, Zelenskyy hold pre-Washington talks on Ukraine
A meeting of European leaders and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, held ahead of talks in Washington, has concluded, Poland's foreign minister said on Sunday. 'The Western Coalition of the Willing for Ukraine meeting concluded ahead of tomorrow's talks in Washington,' Radoslaw Sikorski wrote on X. 'I emphasised that for peace to come, pressure must be placed on the aggressor, not the victim.' Zakończyło się spotkanie zachodniej Koalicji Chętnych na rzecz Ukrainy przed jutrzejszymi rozmowami w Waszyngtonie. Podkreśliłem, że aby nastał pokój, trzeba wywrzeć nacisk na agresora a nie na ofiarę agresji. — Radosław Sikorski 🇵🇱🇪🇺 (@sikorskiradek) August 17, 2025 The gathering took place by video link and included several of Ukraine's key allies. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and French President Emmanuel Macron joined the talks, with Zelenskyy appearing on screen, CNN reported. Finland's President Alexander Stubb also confirmed his participation. 'Today, I participated in a meeting of heads of state and government from the Coalition of the Willing in support of Ukraine,' he wrote on X. Today, I participated in a meeting of heads of state and government from the Coalition of the Willing in support of Ukraine. There is a strong consensus among the Coalition countries on the need to continue supporting Ukraine. Europe and the United States are further… — Alexander Stubb (@alexstubb) August 17, 2025 He added that 'there is a strong consensus among the Coalition countries on the need to continue supporting Ukraine.'
