Ukraine: All smiles as Vladimir Putin meets Donald's Trump's envoy
It was all smiles in the Kremlin."It's so good to see you," gushed Steve Witkoff as he shook the hand of the Russian president.From his broad smile you could tell that Donald Trump's special envoy was indeed delighted to see Vladimir Putin.In fact, he's been seeing rather a lot of him.This was their fourth meeting in just over two months.In that period Witkoff has surely had more face time with Russia's president than any other American.The Kremlin released 27 seconds of video from the meeting. What caught my attention wasn't so much the body language or the greetings - it was the table.On one side sat the combined might of the Russian delegation: President Putin, flanked by his veteran foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov, his envoy on foreign investment Kirill Dmitriev, plus an interpreter.On the other side, clearly outnumbered: Witkoff and a translator.This is not traditional diplomacy - but then again, Witkoff is not a traditional diplomat. He is a billionaire New York real estate developer and long-time confidant of Trump - who himself is not a traditional president.Like Trump, Witkoff has made a career in doing deals.This is how high-level US-Russian diplomacy is being conducted now in the Trump era.It's how crucial decisions with potential implications for the global order are being debated.
Following this round of talks, Ushakov held a conference call for reporters. He insisted that the negotiations with Witkoff had been "constructive and very useful"."May I ask a question?" I began. "What are the main sticking points, the obstacles to peace in Ukraine?""Thank you," Ushakov said. "We'll end it there." Conference call over.From the various alleged peace proposals that have been leaked to the press, there seem to be plenty of "sticking points". There are differences over the territorial concessions Ukraine would be required to make, security guarantees, sanctions relief for Russia and the sequencing - that is, the order in which obligations undertaken be carried out.The day Witkoff flew to Moscow, on the edge of the city, peace was shattered.A car bomb killed a senior Russian general.Yaroslav Moskalik was deputy head of the Main Operations Directorate of the Russian General Staff. The Kremlin accused Kyiv of assassinating him.If that's true, it's a sign of how Russia's war in Ukraine has come much closer to home.There is no guarantee that talks between Putin and Witkoff will bring peace. And there will be concern in Kyiv and in Europe that they were not at the table.What is clear is that Putin and Trump are determined to bring their countries closer - whatever happens with the Ukraine peace process.For Moscow and Washington, now their watchword is co-operation.
On Friday, I attended a ceremony at a Moscow military park symbolising this. It marked the moment, 80 years ago, when American and Soviet soldiers met on the Elbe River in the dying days of World War Two. That was a time when Russia and America were allies. A military band played as people lined up to lay flowers at a memorial to the Meeting on the Elbe.Putin's invasion of Ukraine put the US and Russia on opposite sides, but times are changing again. The White House and the Kremlin are trying to repair relations. Could they secure a peace deal, one that's acceptable to Ukraine?"We are just re-establishing contact," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova told me at the ceremony. "We are just trying to find a way out of this terrible crisis which was created by the previous American administration. They ruined many things."Moscow presents itself as peacekeeper. It blames Kyiv and the "collective West" for the fighting.And yet in February 2022, it was President Putin who ordered Russian troops to invade a sovereign neighbouring country, to force it back into Moscow's orbit.So much has changed, not least the attitude of the White House. President Biden had promised to support Ukraine "for as long as we can".Earlier this month, Trump blamed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for starting the war."You don't start a war against someone 20 times your size and then hope that people give you some missiles," Trump said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
20 minutes ago
- The Independent
Cold as ICE! Protestor goes viral for his withering comments on National Guard tactics in LA
A man who was caught up in the battle between protestors and the National Guard in Los Angeles has gone viral for his comments on the Trump administration's response. When asked by a reporter from CBS LA about being in the middle of the action, the unnamed man in sunglasses replied 'tasted a little tear gas, tasted like fascism.' His comments have been applauded online by people online shocked by President Donald Trump 's decision to send 2000 National Guard troops into the City of Angels to crackdown on anti-ICE protests without the permission of Governor Gavin Newsom.
Scottish Sun
22 minutes ago
- Scottish Sun
Putin could attack Nato by 2030, alliance boss warns as ‘Europe needs to build its own Golden Dome defence system'
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) VLADIMIR Putin could launch an assault on NATO by 2030, an alliance chief has warned. Mark Rutte, NATO's secretary general, has urged Europe to build "its own Golden Dome defence system" to protect countries from Russia's looming threat. 6 The NATO chief warned the end of the war in Ukraine won't stop the Russian threat Credit: AP 6 The alliance boss warned of Russia's threat to the UK and other European countries Credit: Getty 6 Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte spoke about Russia's looming threat at Chatham House Credit: PA The NATO head said that the alliance would need to take a "quantum leap" in building up its defence systems as Putin's war machine is "speeding up, not slowing down." Speaking at the world-leading policy institute, Chatham House, he urged European leaders to increase their air and missile defence capabilities by a staggering 400 per cent. Europe should also be prepared to protect its skies, as Russia's war on Ukraine has shown the despot leader "delivers terror from above". He said: "The fact is, we need a quantum leap in our collective defence. "The fact is, we must have more forces and capabilities to implement our defence plans in full. "The fact is, danger will not disappear even when the war in Ukraine ends." In an urgent plea to leaders, he called for militaries to be armed with thousands more vehicles and tanks, and millions more artillery shells. He also insisted allies double their resources supporting military power including logistics, transport and medical aid. Terrifyingly, Rutte also hinted at a potential triple threat - with Mad Vlad teaming up with despot leaders in China, North Korea and Iran. Russia currently produces in three months what the whole of NATO produces in a year, he said. Russia's ambassador to the UK 'blames Britain' for Ukraine's daring drone attack & warns of 'WWIII risk' China is also modernising and expanding its military, with its battle force expected to increase to 435 ships by 2030. He warned: "Wishful thinking will not keep us safe. We cannot dream away the danger. "Hope is not a strategy. So NATO has to become a stronger, fairer and more lethal alliance." The alliance chief's comments came as he pushed for NATO members to commit to ramping up defence spending at a key summit of the western military alliance later this month. Rutte is urging NATO members to commit to 3.5 percent of GDP on direct military spending by 2032, and an additional 1.5 percent on broader security-related expenditure. The proposal is a compromise deal designed to satisfy US President Donald Trump, who has demanded that allies each spend 5 percent of economic output on defence, up from a current commitment of two percent. Rutte said he "expects" leaders to agree to the proposal at the summit of the 32-country alliance on June 24-25 in The Hague. 6 The Israeli Iron Dome air defence system has protected the state from missile attacks Credit: AP 6 Donald Trump recently unveiled plans to build a Golden Dome over America "It will be a NATO-wide commitment and a defining moment for the alliance," he said in his speech. Russia condemned Rutte's comments before he took to the stage, denouncing NATO as "an instrument of aggression". NATO "is demonstrating itself as an instrument of aggression and confrontation", Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters in Moscow. This follows Rutte's meeting with the UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer - their second Downing Street talk since the Labour leader came into power last year. Starmer's government this year pledged to increase defence spending to 2.5 percent of GDP by 2027, but has not yet set a firm timeline for further hikes. Meanwhile, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney announced Canada would hit two percent this year. US Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth said last week the allies were close to an agreement on the split five-percent target. "That combination constitutes a real commitment, and we think every country can step up," he said on Thursday. Space rockets & hypersonic interceptors…Trump unveils half-a-trillion dollar Golden Dome air defence to be ready by 2029 DONALD Trump has unveiled plans for a high-tech "Golden Dome" missile defence system, which the president claims should be operational by the end of his term in office. The futuristic concept announced by Trump would see American weapons put in space for the first time ever. Trump had already signalled his intent to set up a Golden Dome following his return to the White House, calling missile attacks the "most catastrophic threat facing the United States". The idea is modelled on Israel's Iron Dome defence system, which uses radar to detect incoming missiles and calculates which ones pose a threat to populated areas. But the Golden Dome would be an infinitely bigger project, not least because the United States is more than 400 times larger than Israel. During his announcement in the Oval Office yesterday, Trump said his new Golden Dome would be "capable of intercepting missiles even if they are launched from the other side of the world". NATO members have been scrambling to bolster their defence capabilities since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Trump's return to the White House in January, and question marks over his commitment to European security, has added urgency. Rutte warned: "Danger will not disappear even when the war in Ukraine ends. "We must have more forces and capabilities to implement our defence plans in full." He added that if countries cannot commit to 5 percent for defence spending "you could still have the National Health Service, or in other countries, their health systems, the pension system, etc, but you better learn to speak Russian. I mean, that's the consequence". Britain announced plans last week to build up to 12 nuclear-powered attack submarines and six munitions factories to rearm the country in response to what it said were threats from Russia.
The Sun
34 minutes ago
- The Sun
Trump backs arresting Newsom and blasts California governor as ‘grossly incompetent' after LA riot carnage & 200 arrests
Trump vs California Despite the carnage flooding the streets, California's government has said they have the situation under control. Governor Gavin Newsom even accused Trump of "inflaming tensions" by deploying the National Guard. The pair have a long history of heated disputes over policy. Newsom formerly requested Trump remove the guard members, which he called a "serious breach of state sovereignty". Los Angeles mayor Karen Bass added the arrival of troops is a "dangerous escalation". She said: "We do not want to play in to the [Trump] administration's hands." "What we're seeing in Los Angeles is chaos provoked by the administration." Trump fired back at California's government as he called them "incompetent". Newsom and Trump reportedly spoke for 40 minutes by phone on Saturday, though details of their conversation have not been disclosed. The deployment of troops marks the first time in six decades that a state's National Guard was activated without a request from its governor, according to the Brennan Center for Justice.
