War in Ukraine: 'Eventually there will be justice,' Amnesty International head says
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Euronews
4 hours ago
- Euronews
Trump-Putin summit in Alaska: One meeting, different goals
As the countdown is on for the much-anticipated Alaska one-on-one meeting between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin, Moscow and Washington have been sending conflicting messages on what are their main goals and expectations for the summit. The US president said he believes that Vladimir Putin is heading to the meeting wanting to make a deal to end Moscow's war in Ukraine. "I believe now he's convinced that he's going to make a deal. He's going to make a deal. I think he's going to. And we're going to find out — I'm going to know very quickly," Trump said during an appearance on Fox News Radio. This isn't the first time Trump has made such a statement. He repeatedly stated that Putin wants to put an end to his full-scale invasion of Ukraine or at least that he can convince or even push Putin to make some sort of a deal. These statements have not materialised, at least not until now. Every time Trump mentioned a possible ceasefire, Russia continued or even intensified its frontline assaults and aerial attacks against Ukraine. The US president's rhetoric has somehow changed over the past few days, becoming a little less convincing and a lot less optimistic. Earlier this week the White House officials even called the Alaska meeting merely a "listening exercise." Over the past few days the US president himself played it down, describing the Friday summit as "setting the table for the second meeting," purportedly between Zelenskyy and Putin in the presence of Trump and possibly European leaders. "We are going to have the second meeting if the first one goes well," Trump said, adding that he would prefer the second meeting between Putin and Zelenskyy to take place "almost immediately." Asked if he believed he could convince Putin to stop targeting civilians in Ukraine, Trump replied: "I guess the answer to that is no, because I've had this conversation (with Putin)." And yet Trump still says he believes some sort of a deal will be signed in Alaska. What does Moscow want? But for Moscow the agenda seems different. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said no documents are expected to be signed during the Alaska summit. Although Peskov said it would be a "mistake" to predict the outcome of Friday talks, he stressed that there are no plans for Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump to formalise any agreements. "President Putin and President Trump are ready to talk and will discuss the most difficult issues," he added. Putin's aide Yuri Ushakov, who is part of the Russian delegation at the Friday meeting, said the central topic of the Alaska summit is "settlement" of Russia's war in Ukraine, though economic cooperation and global security will also be discussed. Putin himself held a special meeting on Thursday morning with the Russian authorities saying the US administration is "making sufficiently energetic and sincere efforts to end the hostilities, resolve the crisis, and reach agreements that are in the interests of all parties involved in this conflict." Pointing at the Kremlin's main goal of restarting and possibly even normalising Russia's relations with the US - which for the Kremlin have nothing to do with Ukraine - Putin said the meeting is important "In order to create long-term conditions for peace between our countries, in Europe, and in the world as a whole." The Russian president did not mention any steps towards ending his war against Ukraine and instead focused on Moscow's contact with Washington, in an effort to position the Friday meeting as a summit of the world's superpowers. The US-based Institute for Study of War assesses that the Kremlin is using the Alaska summit to portray Russia as a world power equal to the United States and to position Putin as an equal to Trump. On Wednesday, leading Russian negotiator and Russian Direct Investment Fund CEO Kirill Dmitriev alluded to the 1945 Yalta Conference between the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union, claiming that the Yalta conference "won World War II" and that Putin and Trump will similarly "prevent World War III." The Russia-installed head of the annexed Crimea region, Sergei Aksyonov, claimed that Trump should visit the region in order to agree to a "new Yalta peace." Russian state-controlled media have also been pushing the Yalta summit comparison, claiming that "people who have a real influence on global processes" will be at the table in Alaska. Donald Trump rejected the claims that a one-on-one meeting with the US president could be perceived as a reward for Vladimir Putin. But even if the meeting doesn't go well and there is no second summit with the leaders of Ukraine and Europe, Putin will already have emerged from diplomatic isolation for the first time since the beginning of his full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
LeMonde
8 hours ago
- LeMonde
Mali junta accuses foreign powers of destabilization plot
The authorities in Mali on Thursday, August 14, said a French national had been arrested on suspicion of working for French intelligence services, and accused "foreign states" of trying to destabilize the country. The ruling junta, which came to power after back-to-back coups in 2020 and 2021, also said that dozens of soldiers had been detained in recent days for allegedly seeking to overthrow the government. Impoverished Mali has been gripped by a security crisis since 2012, fueled notably by violence from groups affiliated with Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State jihadist group, as well as local criminal gangs. In a statement read on national television, the military said "fringe elements of the Malian armed security forces" were held for seeking to "destabilize the institutions of the republic." "These soldiers and civilians" are said to have obtained "the help of foreign states," the government said. The French national was held on suspicion of working "on behalf of the French intelligence service." Security sources told AFP that at least 55 soldiers had been arrested, and the government said it was working to identify "possible accomplices." The junta confirmed the arrest of two generals, including Abbas Dembélé, a highly respected figure in the army and a former governor who was recently dismissed from his position. Security sources told AFP the arrests were made mainly within the national guard – a branch of the army from whose ranks emerged Defence Minister Sadio Camara, a key figure in the junta. Several observers noted that some of those arrested were close to Camara, but he has not been questioned so far. 'Misappropriation' On Tuesday, Mali's civilian former prime minister Choguel Maiga and a number of his former colleagues were taken into custody as part of an investigation into claims of "misappropriation of public funds." Maiga, a former junta heavyweight, was appointed prime minister in 2021 before being dismissed at the end of last year after criticizing the military government. He had criticized being excluded from decisions about the continued leadership of the generals, who had initially promised to hand power back to elected civilians in March 2024. No connection has been made between his arrest and those of the soldiers accused of wanting to overthrow the government. The junta, led by President Assimi Goita, has turned away from Western partners, notably former colonial power France, to align itself politically and militarily with Russia in the name of national sovereignty. The Malian army and its Russian mercenary allies have been tasked with hunting down the jihadists and are regularly accused of committing abuses against civilians.
LeMonde
16 hours ago
- LeMonde
Trump warns Alaska summit with Putin has '25 percent chance' of failing
US President Donald Trump on Thursday, August 14, acknowledged his high-stakes summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin may fail, and said any Ukraine deal would come through a future three-way meeting with Kyiv to "divvy things up." Putin flies to Alaska on Friday at the invitation of Trump on his first visit to a Western country since he ordered the 2022 invasion of Ukraine that has killed tens of thousands of people. The Kremlin said that the two presidents planned to meet one-on-one, heightening fears by European leaders that Putin will cajole Trump into a settlement imposed on Ukraine. Trump, on the eve of the summit, insisted that he would not finalize any deal with Putin and that he would include Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in any decisions. "This meeting sets up the second meeting, but there is a 25 percent chance that this meeting will not be a successful meeting," Trump told Fox News Radio. "The second meeting is going to be very, very important, because that's going to be a meeting where they make a deal. And I don't want to use the word 'divvy' things up. But you know, to a certain extent, it's not a bad term," Trump said. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said any future deal needed to ensure Ukraine's security. "To achieve peace, I think we all recognize that there will have to be some conversation about security guarantees," Rubio told reporters in Washington, saying he was "hopeful" about the summit. Shifting tone Trump had boasted that he could end the war within 24 hours of returning to the White House in January. But his calls to Putin – and intense pressure on Zelensky to accept concessions – have failed to move the Russian leader and Trump has warned of "very severe consequences" if Putin keeps snubbing his overtures. Putin on Thursday welcomed US efforts to end the conflict and said that talks could also help yield an agreement on nuclear arms control. "The US administration... is making quite energetic and sincere efforts to end the fighting," Putin told a meeting of top officials in Moscow. The talks are set to begin at 11:30 am (1930 GMT) Friday at the Elmendorf Air Force Base, a major US military installation in Alaska that has been crucial in monitoring Russia. "This conversation will take place in a one-on-one format, naturally with the participation of interpreters," Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters in Moscow. He said that delegations would continue discussions over a working lunch and that Putin and Trump would hold a joint news conference. The White House has not confirmed any plans for a joint press appearance. Zelensky, who will not attend Friday's summit in Alaska, met Thursday with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, after talks a day earlier in Berlin. Starmer greeted the Ukrainian leader with a warm hug and handshake on the steps of his Downing Street residence and later voiced solidarity. European leaders expressed relief after a call with Trump on Wednesday, saying he appeared focused on a ceasefire rather than concessions by Ukraine.
