Fear and dread of a new Oval Office fiasco over Ukraine
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The Independent
4 minutes ago
- The Independent
Democrat Senator said Alaska summit was ‘great day' for Russia: Putin was ‘absolved of his crimes in front of the world'
A key senator on the Foreign Relations committee called Donald Trump's Alaska summit with Vladimir Putin a 'disaster' Sunday and blamed the U.S. president for legitimizing his Russian opponent in front of the world. 'It was an embarrassment for the United States. It was a failure. Putin got everything he wanted,' said Chris Murphy, the ranking Democratic member of the Foreign Affairs subcommittee on European security cooperation. Murphy told NBC's Meet the Press that Trump was forced to abandon his main commitment — a call for a ceasefire — during the meeting and was similarly unable to convince Putin to drop demands for Ukraine to cede more territory, something the senator from Connecticut said was 'stunning' to see a U.S. president consider. 'He wanted to be absolved of his war crimes in front of the world. He was invited to the United States — war criminals are not normally invited to the United States of America,' Murphy said. Trump 'walked out of that meeting saying, 'I didn't get a ceasefire. I didn't get a peace deal. And I'm not even considering sanctions,'' the senator continued. 'And so Putin walks away with his photo op, with zero commitments made, and zero consequences. What a great day for Russia.' Murphy's comments to NBC come as two top Trump officials who traveled with the president to Alaska for the summit Friday, Marco Rubio and Steve Witkoff, did the rounds on separate Sunday morning programs defending the outcome of the president's meeting with Putin. The optics of the meeting are being endlessly scrutinized in the mainstream press, partly due to the few specifics released so far about what the two men discussed. Among those moments been picked apart by analysts included the arrival of the Russian president, which was preceded by U.S. troops, in uniform, rolling out a red carpet on the tarmac. On Sunday, Witkoff told CNN'S State of the Union t hat the U.S. secured what he claimed was a 'game-changing' development in the discussions: Putin's willingness to consider accepting a U.S. security agreement protecting the future sovereignty of Ukraine's borders. This was the first time negotiators were able to gain ground on the issue, he explained. 'We were able to win the following concession: That the United States could offer Article 5-like protection, which is one of the real reasons why Ukraine wants to be in NATO," he said. Witkoff wouldn't specify whether the security guarantee could lead to what Trump and his followers have long opposed — a promise to directly engage U.S. troops in defense of Ukraine should Russia continue crossing Trump's red lines. Murphy, on Sunday, seemed to imply that such a guarantee would be the bare minimum standard necessary for any peace agreement between Ukraine and Russia. 'That [security guarantee] is an essential element of a peace agreement because any commitment that Vladimir Putin makes to not invade Ukraine again isn't worth the paper that it's written on,' said the senator. 'He's made that commitment many times. So yes, there has to be a guarantee that if Putin were to enter Ukraine after a peace settlement, that there would be some force there, a U.S. force, a U.S.-European force there to defend Ukraine.' He would go on to hammer Trump over reports that Witkoff wouldn't confirm when pressed by CNN's Jake Tapper, which revealed that Trump had signaled his own willingness to accept Russian demands for Ukraine to cede the entire occupied Donbas region as part of a potential agreement. Murphy said that the reported development was 'another sense that Putin is just in charge of these negotiations.' Chris Van Hollen, another Democrat on the Foreign Relations panel, was equally critical of Trump's meeting with the Russian president during an interview with ABC's Martha Raddatz on This Week. Heading into Friday's summit, Trump warned of 'severe consequences' if Russia continued to oppose peace efforts and said that he was working towards an immediate ceasefire. Afterwards, he claimed in a Truth Social post that "It was determined by all [in attendance] that the best way to end the horrific war between Russia and Ukraine is to go directly to a Peace Agreement, which would end the war, and not a mere Ceasefire Agreement, which often times do not hold up.' Van Hollen called this news a 'setback' for the U.S.'s European allies and Ukraine, while accusing Trump of being 'flattered' by Putin. 'There's no sugarcoating this. Donald Trump, once again, got played by Vladimir Putin. Vladimir Putin got the red carpet treatment on American soil. But we got no ceasefire, no imminent meeting between Putin and Zelensky,' said Van Hollen. Jake Sullivan, national security adviser to the Biden administration, agreed. "President Trump's stated goals were very simple, get an immediate ceasefire, and in the absence of a ceasefire, impose what he called severe consequences," Sullivan said. "Well, the summit has come and gone. There is no ceasefire. There are no consequences.' Trump is now scheduled to meet Monday with European leaders including Finnish president Alexander Stubb, German chancellor Friedrich Merz, French president Emmanuel Macron and the UK's Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer. Stubb is known for his personal relationship with Trump, and is poised to be on-hand to quell any disputes between Trump and Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky, who will also be in attendance. Zelensky is reported to be wholly opposed to any demand to recognize Russian occupation of the Donbas as legitimate.
Daily Mirror
5 minutes ago
- Daily Mirror
Donald Trump's Gaza blackout as US President BANS visas for desperate and starving kids
Visas for starving and sick children from Gaza have been halted by Donald Trump's administration following pressure from a conservative activist who questioned why they were allowed into the US Donald Trump's administration has stopped giving US visas to children in urgent need of medical help from Gaza. A day after conservative activist Laura Loomer posted videos on social media of kids from Gaza arriving in the US for medical treatment and questioning how they got visas, the State Department said it was halting all visitor visas for people from Gaza pending a review. The State Department said the visas would be stopped while it looks into how "a small number of temporary medical-humanitarian visas" were issued in recent days. Secretary of State Marco Rubio today told "Face the Nation" on CBS that the action came after "outreach from multiple congressional offices asking questions about it". Rubio said there were "just a small number" of the visas issued to children in need of medical aid but that they were accompanied by adults. The congressional offices reached out with evidence that "some of the organisations bragging about and involved in acquiring these visas have strong links to terrorist groups like Hamas," he asserted, without providing evidence or naming those organisations. As a result, he said, "we are going to pause this programme and reevaluate how those visas are being vetted and what relationship, if any, has there been by these organisations to the process of acquiring those visas." Loomer on Friday posted videos on X of children from Gaza arriving earlier this month in San Francisco and Houston for medical treatment with the aid of an organisation called HEAL Palestine. "Despite the US saying we are not accepting Palestinian 'refugees' into the United States under the Trump administration," these people from Gaza were able to travel to the US, she said. She called it a "national security threat" and asked who signed off on the visas, calling for the person to be fired. She tagged Rubio, President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance, GOP Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat. Trump has downplayed Loomer's influence on his administration, but several officials swiftly left or were removed shortly after she publicly criticised them. The State Department on Sunday declined to comment on how many of the visas had been granted and whether the decision to halt visas to people from Gaza had anything to do with Loomer's posts. HEAL Palestine said that it was "distressed" by the State Department decision to stop halt visitor visas from Gaza. The group said it is "an American humanitarian nonprofit organisation delivering urgent aid and medical care to children in Palestine." A post on the organisation's Facebook page last Thursday shows a photo of a boy from Gaza leaving Egypt and heading to St Louis for treatment. It said he is "our 15th evacuated child arriving in the US in the last two weeks." The organisation brings "severely injured children" to the US on temporary visas for treatment they can't get at home, the statement said. Following treatment, the children and any family members who accompanied them return to the Middle East, the statement said. "This is a medical treatment programme, not a refugee resettlement programme," it said. The World Health Organization has repeatedly called for more medical evacuations from Gaza, where Israel's over 22-month war against Hamas has heavily destroyed or damaged much of the territory's health system. "More than 14,800 patients still need lifesaving medical care that is not available in Gaza," WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Wednesday on social media, and called on more countries to offer support. A WHO description of the medical evacuation process from Gaza published last year explained that the WHO submits lists of patients to Israeli authorities for security clearance. It noted that before the war in Gaza began, 50 to 100 patients were leaving Gaza daily for medical treatment, and it called for a higher rate of approvals from Israeli authorities. The UN and partners say medicines and even basic health care supplies are low in Gaza after Israel cut off all aid to the territory of over 2 million people for more than 10 weeks earlier this year. "Ceasefire! Peace is the best medicine," Tedros added Wednesday.
South Wales Argus
24 minutes ago
- South Wales Argus
Starmer hails Zelensky's desire for ‘just peace' amid fears of Russian land grab
The Prime Minister and French President Emmanuel Macron chaired a meeting of the coalition of the willing on Sunday afternoon, where allied leaders prepared for a meeting with US President Donald Trump alongside Mr Zelensky in Washington on Monday. European leaders appear poised to join Mr Zelensky in a show of solidarity with the Ukrainian president, after his last encounter with his American counterpart in the Oval Office resulted in a diplomatic crisis. Giving a readout of the video call between coalition allies, a Downing Street spokesman said: 'The leaders reaffirmed their continued support to Ukraine, and praised President Zelensky's desire for a just and lasting peace as he prepares for further consultations with President Trump in Washington DC. 'The leaders also commended President Trump's commitment to providing security guarantees to Ukraine, in which the coalition of the willing will play a vital role through the Multinational Force Ukraine, among other measures. 'They re-emphasised the readiness to deploy a reassurance force once hostilities have ceased, and to help secure Ukraine's skies and seas and regenerate Ukraine's armed forces.' The call followed fears that Mr Trump may have been swayed by Vladimir Putin's demands for ending the war when the pair met in Alaska on Friday. News reports suggested Mr Putin wants full control of Donetsk and Luhansk, two occupied Ukrainian regions, in exchange for withdrawing troops from other areas. Mr Trump is inclined to press the Ukrainian president to accept the demands at their meeting on Monday, the reports added. President Donald Trump listens as Russia's President Vladimir Putin speaks during a news conference (Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP) The US leader also appeared to change his mind about the need for a ceasefire following his meeting with Mr Putin, who has refused to lay down arms ahead of a sustained peace deal. US secretary of state Marco Rubio has since insisted Russia will face 'additional consequences' if no peace deal is reached. Fresh sanctions are not off the table, Mr Rubio told American broadcasters, though he claimed they would not lead Russia to accept a ceasefire. European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said it did not matter that Mr Trump was no longer aiming for a ceasefire before brokering a wider peace, as either would 'stop the killing'. Appearing alongside her at a press conference before the coalition of the willing call, Mr Zelensky agreed, but insisted negotiations needed to result in the 'correct steps to have lasting peace, to stop Putin' rather than simply a pause in the war. Earlier, Mr Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff said Mr Putin had agreed to Nato-like protection for Ukraine for the first time at the Alaska summit, as a concession to western allies. 'We were able to win the following concession: That the United States could offer Article 5-like protection, which is one of the real reasons why Ukraine wants to be in Nato,' he told CNN. European leaders on Saturday suggested Mr Trump had indicated he is now willing to provide American air support for the alliance, a 'security guarantee' said to be vital to its operation. Those travelling to Washington on Monday alongside Sir Keir include Mr Macron, Germany's Friedrich Merz, Finland's Alexander Stubb, EU Commission president Ms von der Leyen and Nato chief Mark Rutte. Ahead of the Oval Office encounter, the allies are likely to be mindful of the previous time Mr Zelensky appeared in the room – February's bust-up, which resulted in American aid to Ukraine being temporarily halted.
