Macron urges 'pressure' on Russia until 'solid peace' in Ukraine
Following a meeting of US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, Macron on X called for "unbreakable" security guarantees for any future peace deal, and cautioned against what he said was Russia's "well-documented tendency to not keep its own commitments".
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Gulf Insider
an hour ago
- Gulf Insider
Trump Pushing For Summit With Putin & Zelensky Next Friday
President Trump has stated in the wake of the historic Alaska summit that he and Russian President Vladimir Putin had a productive meeting, but they were unable to reach an agreement on a ceasefire or peace deal for Ukraine. 'We didn't get there' on a ceasefire, Trump described. And yet there appears to be real momentum this time, coming out of Alaska. Ukrainian President Zelensky is meanwhile set to arrive in Washington Monday to discuss peace in the Oval Office. Of course, talks didn't go so well last time – and there's likely to be persisting tensions – given that the conflict, as explained by Putin on Friday, would never have happened if Trump had been president, something which Trump himself has long asserted. Trump had told European leaders in a post-summit call that he's now seeking a trilateral summit with Putin and Zelensky as soon as next Friday, according to sources in Axios . 'I think the meeting was a 10,' Trump said in a post-summit interview with Fox News. 'In the sense, we got along great, and it's good when two big powers get along, especially when they're nuclear powers. We're No. 1 and they're No. 2 in the world.' And yet Putin's firm conditions make such a trilateral summit unlikely at such a near date – also given the Russian president has in the recent past made clear he would only meet with Zelensky if the two were ready to sign a deal, or essentially already at the goal line. The Kremlin has still maintained that Zelensky doesn't have legal legitimacy, given the cancelation of elections in Ukraine and extension far past his term expiration. According to more from Axios, this is where things stand in terms of Putin's demands, based on admin sources: They said Putin had demanded that Ukraine cede two of the four regions to which Russia has laid claim (Donetsk and Luhansk) , and freeze the front lines in the other two (Kherson and Zaporizhzhia). Russia controls nearly all of Luhansk, but only about three-quarters of Donetsk. Putin presented his willingness to stop pushing forward in Kherson and Zaporizhzhia as a concession, in exchange for Ukraine withdrawing from Donetsk, one source briefed on the call said. In reality, Russia hasn't made any progress in those areas for some time. A Ukrainian source said the U.S. side had the impression Putin was willing to negotiate over the small slivers of the Sumy and Kharkiv regions under Russian control. If it is accurate that Putin is only demanding full political recognition for the Russian Federation over just two of the territories, this suggests Moscow is willing to make compromise – or at least have substantial top level discussions – to end the war, thought Western pundits are still calling these 'maximalist' demands. The hawks certainly don't want to entertain this. That real negotiations involving Putin, Trump, and Zelensky are opening up based on these aggressive White House diplomatic moves is a very positive development toward final settlement – though plenty of immense hurdles remain. For staters, with Zelensky headed back to D.C., his European backers are doing everything to ensure it is only Ukraine's maximum demands which are recognized. The popular X commentator Russian Markets points out the 'Germans are in panic as Zelensky goes alone to meet Trump, so all the EU leaders together with NATO's chief are preparing to answer the questions Trump will put to Zelensky. So, do you see who is truly at war with Russia?' As it stands, Zelensky has repeatedly assured his population and allies that Ukraine won't cede an inch of territory, and he's still not even offered political recognition of Crimea as Russia's. What Russia could permanently come away with if a final settlement is reached on the Kremlin's terms. So a lot will be known by Monday after Zelensky's Oval Office visit – given he's going to have to bring some compromise to the table which is substantial, if there are hopes of finally ending the war. The question also remains: is Trump ready to exert the necessary pressure, and also push back against the hawks in Europe and in Congress?
Daily Tribune
a day ago
- Daily Tribune
Russia, Ukraine launch drones before Zelensky-Trump summit
Kyiv and Moscow launched attack drones at each other Sunday, a day before Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is due in the United States for talks with President Donald Trump on ending three years of war with Russia. Fighting has continued to rage during a flurry of diplomatic moves to end Moscow's invasion. Kyiv's air force said Russia attacked Ukraine with 60 Iranian-made Shahed and other drones as well as an Iskander missile. The governor of the embattled eastern Donetsk region, Vadym Filashkin, said Russian attacks killed five people in the area on Saturday. In Russia, the defence ministry said Kyiv launched 46 drones at the country, mostly over border regions but also over the Nizhny Novgorod region east of Moscow, hundreds of kilometres from Ukraine. The acting governor of the border Kursk region, Alexander Khinstein, said a Ukrainian drone attack killed a man in his car. The governor of the southern Voronezh region, Alexander Gusev, said a railway worker was wounded by a drone in the region. Ukraine has launched drones into Russia throughout Moscow's full-scale offensive, which has killed thousands of people and displaced millions. Zelensky is due in Washington on Monday, three days after Trump hosted Russian leader Vladimir Putin in Alaska for talks. Following the Putin meeting, Trump dropped his push for a ceasefire in Ukraine in favour of pursuing a peace deal -- a position that Moscow has been pushing for. Putin launched the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and Moscow's forces now occupy large swathes of the south and east of the country.
Daily Tribune
a day ago
- Daily Tribune
European Leaders to Join Zelensky in Washington Talks with Trump
European leaders will accompany Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on his visit to Washington on Monday to meet US President Donald Trump. The announcement came after a video call held a day earlier, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said. 'This afternoon, I will welcome President Zelensky in Brussels,' von der Leyen wrote on X. 'At his request, I will join the meeting with President Trump and other European leaders at the White House tomorrow.'
