
Melania Trump sends letter to Putin about abducted children, World News
President Trump hand-delivered the letter to Putin during their summit talks in Alaska, the officials told Reuters. Slovenian-born Melania Trump was not on the trip to Alaska.
The officials would not divulge the contents of the letter other than to say it mentioned the abductions of children resulting from the war in Ukraine.
The existence of the letter was not previously reported.
Russia's seizure of Ukrainian children has been a deeply sensitive one for Ukraine.
Ukraine has called the abductions of tens of thousands of its children taken to Russia or Russian-occupied territory without the consent of family or guardians a war crime that meets the UN treaty definition of genocide.
Previously Moscow has said it has been protecting vulnerable children from a war zone.
The United Nations Human Rights Office has said Russia has inflicted suffering on millions of Ukrainian children and violated their rights since its full scale invasion of Ukraine begun in 2022.
Trump and Putin met for nearly three hours at a US military base in Anchorage without reaching a ceasefire deal in the war in Ukraine.
[[nid:714237]]
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Business Times
an hour ago
- Business Times
Asia: Stocks up, oil down before Trump-Zelensky talks
ASIAN stocks were mostly higher on Monday while oil dipped ahead of talks between Donald Trump, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, and European leaders in Washington. US President Trump met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday, but the summit failed to yield any breakthrough on a ceasefire in Ukraine. Zelensky, who will be joined in Washington by European leaders, however called a US offer of security guarantees to Ukraine 'historic'. 'Trump and Putin walked away without a ceasefire, without even the illusion of one,' said Stephen Innes at SPI Asset Management. 'What they did offer was theatre: enough 'progress' for Trump to declare victory and quietly holster his double-barreled threat - tariffs on Beijing for buying Russian barrels and sanctions on Moscow's crude,' Innes said. Before the Alaska talks, US stocks wavered on Friday after mixed economic data, with retail sales up but an industrial production index and a consumer survey both down. BT in your inbox Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox. Sign Up Sign Up Oil prices, which have been volatile for several days - Russia is a major crude producer - fell back on Monday, adding to a drop on Friday. Japan's Nikkei was up, posting a new record high and adding to gains on Friday after better-than-expected economic growth data. The Hang Seng, Shanghai, and Sydney were also higher while Taipei fell back. This week investor eyes will be on any clues on US interest rates at the Federal Reserve's annual retreat at Jackson Hole. AFP


CNA
an hour ago
- CNA
Asia stocks up, oil down before Trump-Zelenskyy talks
TOKYO: Asian stocks were mostly higher on Monday (Aug 18) while oil dipped ahead of talks between Donald Trump, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and European leaders in Washington. US President Trump met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday, but the summit failed to yield any breakthrough on a ceasefire in Ukraine. Zelenskyy, who will be joined in Washington by European leaders, however, called a US offer of security guarantees to Ukraine "historic". "Trump and Putin walked away without a ceasefire, without even the illusion of one," said Stephen Innes at SPI Asset Management. "What they did offer was theatre: enough 'progress' for Trump to declare victory and quietly holster his double-barreled threat -- tariffs on Beijing for buying Russian barrels and sanctions on Moscow's crude," Innes said. Before the Alaska talks, US stocks wavered on Friday after mixed economic data, with retail sales up but an industrial production index and a consumer survey both down. Oil prices, which have been volatile for several days -- Russia is a major crude producer -- fell back on Monday, adding to a drop on Friday. Japan's Nikkei was up, posting a new record high and adding to gains on Friday after better-than-expected economic growth data. The Hang Seng, Shanghai, and Sydney were also higher, while Taipei fell back.


AsiaOne
2 hours ago
- AsiaOne
Global markets face shaky week ahead as US pressure mounts on Ukraine, Money News
LONDON — Defence stocks and energy markets are likely to be in focus this week, as European leaders rushed to back Ukraine in talks with US President Donald Trump that may pressure Kyiv to accept a peace deal favouring Russia. Investors are watching for signs that the US may move closer to Russia in a bid to exploit vast, untapped Arctic energy resources, in a major geopolitical shift that piles pressure on Europe to rapidly boost defence spending. Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin ended their weekend summit in Alaska without securing a Ukraine ceasefire agreement, with the US President then saying he now wanted a rapid peace deal that Kyiv should accept. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy is travelling to Washington on Monday for talks that leaders of nations including Germany, the UK and France will now join. "Trump seems inclined to reduce or even end US support for Ukraine. Putin got him interested in business deals," Berenberg Chief Economist Holger Schmieding said in a note to clients. "As a result, the US may lift its sanctions on Russia and invest in Russia instead," he added. "Europe will have to spend a lot more for its own defence." Defence stock rally Investors have bet on that outcome since February 2022, driving a supercharged rally in European aerospace and defence stocks with gains of over 600 per cent for Leonardo and 1,500 per cent for Germany's Rheinmetall. The euro has rallied 13 per cent against the dollar this year and traded at about US$1.17 (S$1.50) on Friday. Bank of America strategist Michael Hartnett highlighted the potential for US-Russia Arctic drilling projects to exploit 15 per cent of the world's undiscovered oil and 30 per cent of the world's undiscovered natural gas, resulting in a deep energy bear market. Brent crude, which dropped more than one per cent to near US$66 a barrel, on Friday, was still priced for a Ukraine peace deal, Hartnett cautioned, while Trump wanted lower energy prices for US consumers. Ukraine's government bonds — key mood indicators — rallied when news of the summit emerged earlier this month but have stalled at a still-distressed 55 cents per dollar. "I would think they will be a bit weaker following the recent strength as the mood seems to favour Russia following Friday's summit," Aegon Asset Management head of emerging market debt Jeff Grills said. [[nid:721430]]