Trump to meet Putin in Alaska for Ukraine peace deal talks
Ahead of the Alaska summit – European leaders have swung behind Kyiv – with President Macron insisting the future of Ukraine 'cannot be decided without Ukrainians'.
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Daily Mail
28 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
JD Vance says Zelensky meeting Putin would not be 'productive'
U.S. Vice President JD Vance has doubled down on President Donald Trump 's dealmaking reputation, amid the anticipated meeting between the U.S. President and Russian leader Vladimir Putin in Alaska this week. Vance is reportedly in the UK meeting with Zelenskyy, being hosted by Foreign Secretary David Lammy. Before Vance left Washington for the trip, he sat down for an interview on Fox News which aired on Sunday, in which he told host Maria Bartiromo that a meeting between Putin and Zelenskyy would not be productive without Trump. 'I think fundamentally, the President of the United States has to be the one to bring these two together. We're, of course, going to talk to the Ukrainians. I actually spoke with the Ukrainians this morning. Marco has been talking to them quite a bit. We're going to keep that dialogue open,' Vance noted, describing the delicate balancing act that America is currently playing in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. Vance then added that 'fundamentally, this is something where the President needs to force President Putin and President Zelenskyy to really sit down to figure out their differences.' US President Donald Trump confirmed on his Truth social media platform that he would meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin on August 15. 'The highly anticipated meeting between myself, as President of the United States of America, and President Vladimir Putin, of Russia, will take place next Friday, August 15, 2025, in the Great State of Alaska,' Trump wrote. 'Further details to follow. Thank you for your attention to this matter!' Meanwhile, the Ukrainian President has warned that 'decisions without Ukraine' would not bring peace to the region. Zelensky has ruled out ceding any territory to Russia as Putin continued his offensive last Friday, killing four civilians and wounding 10. Writing on social media, the Ukrainian President said: 'Any decisions against us, any decisions without Ukraine, are also decisions against peace. They will achieve nothing. 'Ukrainians will not give their land to the occupier.' He said Ukraine was 'ready for real decisions that can bring peace' but added it should be a 'dignified peace', without giving details. A Downing Street spokesperson said that Keir Starmer and Volodymyr Zelensky both agreed that the meeting between Vance, Lammy, and the Ukrainian would be a 'vital forum to discuss progress towards securing a just and lasting peace'. 'Both leaders welcomed President Trump's desire to bring this barbaric war to an end and agreed that we must keep up the pressure on Putin to end his illegal war,' the spokesperson added. Vance publicly dressed down Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for not being respectful enough to President Donald Trump during a dramatic Oval Office meeting at the White House back in February. At the time, the vice president launched into attack mode after he felt Trump was being disrespected by the Ukrainian president. 'Mr. President, with respect, I think it's disrespectful for you to come into the Oval Office and try to litigate this in front of the American media,' Vance said after Zelensky repeatedly interrupted and disputed statements made by Trump. A source familiar with the meeting at the White House told at the time that Zelensky's demeanor was surprising to American officials in the room. 'No one expected the meeting to play out as it did, because nobody expected [him] to act that way,' the source said. Vance noted that Biden stood up for four years and 'talked tough' while 'thumping his chest' but Putin invaded Ukraine anyway. 'The path to peace and the path to prosperity is maybe engaging in diplomacy,' he said back in February.
Times
28 minutes ago
- Times
Sleepy Cotswolds hamlet shut down as JD Vance's holiday gets under way
As Janet and Jean headed off for their traditional Sunday walk through the shaded woods of the Cotswolds hamlet of Dean, they were stopped by two police officers blocking the footpath. The friends, in their seventies, were caught out by the massive security operation closing off all roads and footpaths into Dean so that JD Vance, the US vice-president, could enjoy a quiet family holiday at Dean Manor, the 18th century country house which neighbours David Cameron's Oxfordshire home. 'I told the police 'we are two old ladies, we are hardly terrorists',' Janet, who didn't want to give her real name, said. 'The police officers were very nice, one had come from High Wycombe and the other came from Marlow. 'We said 'you poor things, guarding this awful man'. It must be costing us a fortune. Another few thousands pounds down the pan.' The friends, who live in nearby Chadlington, said villagers had become resigned to the nuisance caused by visitors to Jeremy Clarkson's Diddly Squat farm shop, which is on the outskirts of the village, but this was on another level. 'It's one blinking pantomime after the other,' Jean said. 'We are used to the great and good here. Before David Cameron moved in we had Douglas Hurd and he was lovely. We have Ben Kingsley in Spelsbury and we see him in the woods walking his dog, but to close off the roads is ridiculous.' US Secret Service officers, dressed down in cream chinos and pale blue T-shirts, and uniformed officers from Thames Valley Police, were stationed at every road and footpath entrance to Dean on Sunday, checking the identity of residents trying to get in and out of their hamlet. American officials were overheard at one road block mimicking a British accent and asking each other about hoping to try 'a bacon butty' and a 'Sunday dinner' during their trip. One Secret Service member said to another: 'I didn't know I'd need sunblock in the UK.' Sniffer dogs were used to search vans coming through the roadblocks. One bemused driver in a removals van asked for directions to Dean Manor. When he was asked by The Times what he was delivering, he said: 'It's for some American guy. I don't know, it's all top secret.' Inside the security cordon, the single road through the small collection of honey-coloured stone houses was quiet, apart from the regular comings and goings of police vans and people carriers and minibuses with blacked out windows, ferrying personnel back and forth from the manor. One resident, who runs a fresh eggs honesty box, was not phased by the operation. 'We had Vivienne Westwood driving up here in a tank to protest against David Cameron when he was prime minister, so there's all sorts that have gone on,' she said. 'It's no great hassle. As long as they don't bother me I don't bother with them.' Another resident said they didn't know Vance was staying at Dean Manor until security tents were erected on the roads into the hamlet on Saturday. The roadblocks began on Sunday. 'I've told some friends in America what's happening and they hate him,' he said. 'They live in Pennsylvania and they're lifelong Democrats. When I told them they just sent me an emoji of some sort of horror. Anyway, I've got nothing against the guy. If he wants to have a holiday that's fine. 'But what sort of holiday can you have when you've got thousands of security guys around you?' Johnny and Pippa Hornby, the millionaire owners who bought Dean Manor as their home in 2017, have apologised to some locals for 'the circus for the next few days' and said they hoped it would not be 'too disruptive'. Mr Hornby, chief executive of Luceco, the lighting and electricals company, and his wife open their 18th century manor house's gardens to the public and have hosted artist residencies. Tatler, the society bible, gave Dean Manor the 'best swimming pool' award in their Country House Awards in 2023, saying: 'Johnny and Pippa Hornby have transformed an Edwardian garden into a waterworld, filled with friends and family. Even the Camerons have been known to pop over for a dip.' Vance, his wife Usha, and their three children Ewan, eight, Vivek, five, and Mirabel, three, will be able to enjoy the outdoor pool during the heatwave, as well as the tennis court and six acres of manicured gardens. Their description on the National Garden Scheme website says the garden's 'stone walls are home to an abundant and varied selection of climbing/rambling roses, clematis and hydrangeas'. 'The formal gardens include complex yew hedging and herbaceous borders, kitchen and cutting garden, areas of wildflower meadow, an orchard and water gardens make up areas around the house.' Before arriving in the Cotswolds, Vance kept hundreds visitors to Hampton Court Palace locked out of the historic attraction on Sunday morning as it was shut down while his family enjoyed a tour of Henry VIII's former residence. The vice-president was seen yawning as he left the palace to join his 20-vehicle motorcade. Hundreds of bewildered ticket holders, mostly families with children standing outside, were denied entry at 11am and told to come back at 12pm. They weren't able to begin their visits until 12.30pm. Vance has previously had to cut holidays short and take extra safety precautions following protests by locals. In March, he curtailed his Vermont ski trip after crowds turned out to protest a day after he 'ambushed' President Zelensky in a bad-tempered meeting between Donald Trump and the Ukrainian leader in the White House. When the Vances visited Rome the following month, the Colosseum was closed early to accommodate them, which infuriated tourists. The Stop Trump Coalition is holding a protest on Tuesday in Charlbury, the nearby village which is home to The Bull pub, where celebrities such as Kamala Harris, the previous US vice- president, Ellen DeGeneres and Robbie Williams have dined in the past month. Laura Macy, an American resident of Charlbury, said she hoped to join the protest but did not want Vance's children to be intimidated. 'Let's all who deplore Trump, Vance, and the deplorable situation in the US raise our voices in any way we can,' she said. 'But let's be careful not to catch any innocent children in the crossfire. 'I have the faces of the young Obama girls, hearing the opposing side's jeers and racist abuse on election night 2008, seared on my memory. They didn't deserve that, and not just because their father is on my side of the political fence. They were children.'
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
'We know': JD Vance rips into Bill Clinton over Epstein Island allegations
Vice President JD Vance has added fuel to the GOP 's investigation into former President Bill and First Lady Hillary Clinton's ties to former financier and convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein. During an appearance on Fox News ' Sunday Morning Futures, Vance told host Maria Bartiromo that 'We know Clinton allegedly went to Epstein's infamous 'island 26 times, 28 times.' The vice president also added that it was 'totally appropriate' for House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) 'to be asking what was going on on that island.' Comer issued deposition subpoenas on Tuesday to Former President Bill Clinton and Former Secretary of State and First Lady Hillary Clinton, who have been called to appear before his Committee in October."The Democrats have tried to make this Epstein thing about anything but the fact that Democrat billionaires and Democrat political leaders went to Epstein island all the time, who knows what they did, it's totally reasonable to ask these questions,' Vance told Bartiromo. 'What you saw in the House's subpoena is, they're trying to investigate all of the things related to this particular case. I know a lot of Americans want answers, I certainly want answers, and I think James Comer and the team in the House, they're doing the right thing,' Vance added during his segment. Several former Trump-era Department of Justice officials, as well as historical Democrat power players, were subpoenaed over the files as well. Attorneys General Bill Barr and Jeff Sessions, who served under President Trump during his first term, are among the Republicans who have been subpoenaed for testimony. Chairman Comer also issued a subpoena to the current Trump-led US Department of Justice for records related to Epstein. It's a spectacular move by Republicans to pressure Trump's Attorney General Pam Bondi to put out more documents as the administration has been embroiled in controversy over Epstein 'cover-up' claims. House Republicans voted in favor of subpoenaing former President Bill Clinton and his wife for testimony about Epstein on July 23rd. The effort also called for other high-profile Democrats with expected ties to the late pedophile to be subpoenaed. Former Attorneys General Eric Holder and Merrick Garland will also be compelled to testify. So will former special counsel Robert Mueller, who oversaw Trump's Russia collusion case. The full list of officials called to appear before House Oversight also includes Former US Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, Former FBI Director Robert Mueller, Former US Attorney General Loretta Lynch, Former US Attorney General Eric Holder, Former US Attorney General Merrick Garland, and Former FBI Director James Comey.
