What is Europe's stance on the Israel-Iran conflict?
The German leader and European Commission president were quick to back Israel as the conflict began with Iran last Friday.
The European Union has since called for de-escalation, reflecting growing anxiety over what might happen next.
So, what is the thinking in European capitals – and how much influence does Europe really have?
Presenter: Neave Barker
Guests:
Pieter Cleppe – Editor-in-chief at BrusselsReport.eu
Steven Erlanger – Chief diplomatic correspondent in Europe at The New York Times in Berlin
Ellie Geranmayeh – Deputy director of the Middle East and North Africa programme at the European Council on Foreign Relations
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Qatar Tribune
an hour ago
- Qatar Tribune
Europeans insist on security guarantees for Ukraine
dpa Berlin While fears that US President Donald Trump might agree to unacceptable concessions for Ukraine did not materialise at Trump's Friday summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin, it does not appear that the two sides are any closer to a peace agreement. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is due in Washington on Monday to speak with Trump, and European leaders are to hold a conference on Sunday at 3pm (1300 GMT) to discuss the summit. On Saturday, Europeans stressed the need for strong security guarantees for Ukraine and warned against believing anything Putin says. 'The harsh reality is that Russia has no intention of ending this war anytime soon,' Kaja Kallas, the EU's top diplomat, wrote on X. She noted that while Trump and Putin met in Alaska, Russia launched new attacks on Ukraine. 'The real root cause of the war is Russia's imperialist foreign policy, not an imaginary imbalance in the European security architecture,' she wrote. She said Putin is intentionally dragging out the negotiations 'and hopes he gets away with it.' Ceasefire before peace deal There has also been much talk over the last two days about whether it would be better for Ukraine to have a ceasefire first and then a peace deal. On Saturday, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said that if a peace deal can be obtained quickly, that would be better than first agreeing to a ceasefire. 'If that succeeds, it is worth more than a ceasefire that might last for weeks without further progress in political and diplomatic efforts,' he told German public broadcaster ZDF. The German government and other European governments had insisted, ahead of the Alaska summit, that an immediate ceasefire must mark the beginning of a peace process in Ukraine. Trump had also supported this position but abandoned it, as he made clear after the summit. Putin has long lobbied against a ceasefire. But on Saturday, a top Zelensky aide rejected that. 'Our view is: first a ceasefire, then everything else,' Serhiy Leshchenko, an adviser to Zelensky, said on Ukrainian television. If the fighting continued during the talks, there would be 'great risks of blackmailing Ukraine,' Leshchenko said. Trump wrote earlier on his Truth Social network after consultations with Zelensky and European allies that 'all' agreed the best way to achieve peace in Ukraine was to reach a peace agreement directly - and not with a ceasefire agreement, which often does not hold. Ukraine has been defending itself against a full-scale Russian invasion for almost three and a half years. Trilateral meeting not discussed It remained entirely unclear whether Putin made any concessions during the roughly three-hour meeting with Trump. According to sources in Moscow, a trilateral meeting involving Trump, Putin, and Zelensky was not discussed. In comment after comment, European leaders stressed the need for Ukraine to have security guarantees, but it is unclear whether Washington would agree to this. 'We are clear that Ukraine must have ironclad security guarantees to effectively defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity,' a joint statement by European leaders issued on Saturday said. According to the signatories, Trump confirmed his willingness to provide Ukraine with appropriate guarantees together with Europe in a call with European leaders after his talks with Putin in the city of Anchorage on Friday. Trump made no mention of US security guarantees either on Saturday, surrounding the summit or in comments afterwards. But Trump's reported willingness to provide such guarantees, along with Europe, was welcomed in the statement by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Finnish President Alexander Stubb, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk and European Council President António Costa. In Paris, French President Emmanuel Macron on Saturday stressed the need to maintain pressure on Moscow to end its war in Ukraine, saying Europeans agree that a robust peace must be accompanied by unshakeable security guarantees. 'I welcome, in this regard, the readiness of the United States to contribute,' Macron wrote on X. Macron also urged that lessons be learned from the past 30 years, and 'in particular from Russia's well-established tendency not to honour its own commitments.'
Qatar Tribune
an hour ago
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Disarmament plan could trigger civil war, warns Hezbollah chief
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Al Jazeera
18 hours ago
- Al Jazeera
Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 1,269
Here is how things stand on Saturday, August 16: Fighting The Ukrainian military said that it struck the Syzran oil refinery in Russia's Samara region overnight, reporting a fire and explosions at the refinery, which it said produces a range of fuels and is one of the biggest in Russian energy company Rosneft's system. The Ukrainian military also said it struck the port of Olya in Russia's Astrakhan region, hitting a ship transporting drone parts and ammunition from Iran. Russia is preparing to test its new nuclear-capable, nuclear-powered cruise missile and, if successful, plans to use the results to bolster its negotiating position with the West, Ukrainian military intelligence said. Ukrainian regional officials said Russia fired a ballistic missile into the Dnipropetrovsk region in eastern Ukraine, killing one person and wounding at least one other, while a drone damaged civilian infrastructure and caused a fire in the Sumy region in the northeast. Russian troops also took control of the settlement of Oleksandrohrad in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine, Moscow's Ministry of Defence said. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy criticised Russia for continuing to attack Ukraine in advance of the meeting in Alaska between United States President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin. 'On the day of the negotiations, they also kill people. And that says a lot,' Zelenskyy said. Alaska summit Trump and Putin held their much-anticipated meeting in the Alaskan city of Anchorage, with the Russian leader receiving the red carpet treatment and a US military flyover as he deplaned. Both leaders provided brief statements to reporters after the shorter-than-expected meeting, which failed to achieve its primary goal – a deal bringing an end to Russia's war in Ukraine. Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Putin said his country is committed to ending the war, but the conflict's 'primary causes' must be eliminated. Putin also warned Ukraine and its European allies not to throw a 'wrench in the works' and cautioned against attempts to use 'backroom dealings to conduct provocations to torpedo the nascent progress'. Trump praised the 'extremely productive meeting', in which he said 'many points were agreed to'. He conceded, however, that there remain sticking points with Moscow, including at least one 'significant' one. Trump said he would call NATO officials and President Zelenskyy to discuss the meeting, and cautioned that 'there's no deal until there's a deal'. As Trump thanked Putin for his time, he said he hoped they would meet again soon. Putin quickly responded by saying, in English with a laugh, 'Next time, in Moscow' – a proposal which Trump appeared reticent to accept. Speaking to Fox News later, Trump said Zelenskyy and Putin intend to set up another meeting to try to reach a ceasefire. He also emphasised that it is up to the Ukrainian leader to 'get it done'. New consultations aimed at resolving points of tension in bilateral relations between Russia and the US will take place soon, said Russia's ambassador to the US, Alexander Darchiev, according to the RIA Novosti state news agency. International aid USAID is concerned that the Trump administration's cancellation of independent aid monitoring contracts for Ukraine has increased the risk of waste, fraud and abuse, according to the Department of State, Pentagon and USAID inspectors general in a new report. Norway's government said it was donating one billion kroner ($98.29m) to Ukraine for the purchase of natural gas ahead of winter. Ukraine had been forced to increase gas imports after Russian missile attacks damaged production facilities in the east of the country.
