Russia's Putin says UAE one of the suitable places to meet Trump
Putin said that he was not 'on the whole' against meeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, adding that 'certain conditions should be created' for such a meeting. He stressed that the current situation was 'far' from being ready for it.
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Khaleej Times
4 hours ago
- Khaleej Times
All eyes on Alaska: What we know so far on upcoming Putin-Trump summit
US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin will hold talks in Alaska next Friday in a bid to end the war in Ukraine, which was triggered by Russia's February 2022 invasion. There was yet no mention of Ukraine's participation in the meeting, despite multiple calls from Kyiv and Europe that the war-torn country must be part of the negotiations. This has sparked fury in Kyiv, with President Volodymyr Zelensky saying his country "won't give land to the occupier" and that "any decisions without Ukraine, are also decisions against peace". Trump has spent his first months in office trying to broker peace, after boasting he could end the war in 24 hours, but multiple rounds of peace talks, phone calls and diplomatic visits have failed to yield a breakthrough. Here is what we know about the summit so far: When and where? On his Truth Social site, Trump announced that his meeting with Putin would be held in the far-north US state of Alaska on August 15, which was later confirmed by the Kremlin. The announcement came after days of both sides indicating the two leaders would hold a summit next week. The Kremlin confirmed the summit in Alaska on Friday, calling it "quite logical." "They would like to meet with me, I'll do whatever I can to stop the killing," Trump said on Thursday, speaking of both Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. At the White House, Trump said, "There'll be some swapping of territories to the betterment of both Ukraine and Russia, without providing further details. Why Alaska? The meeting will be held in Alaska, which Russia sold to the United States in 1867. The western tip of the state is not far, just across the Bering Strait, from the easternmost part of Russia. "Alaska and the Arctic are also where our countries' economic interests intersect, and there are prospects for large-scale, mutually beneficial projects," Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said in a statement on Telegram. "But, of course, the presidents themselves will undoubtedly focus on discussing options for achieving a long-term peaceful settlement of the Ukrainian crisis," he added. Ushakov also expressed hope that next time the two presidents would meet on Russian territory. "A corresponding invitation has already been sent to the US president," he added. An International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant for Putin, which obliges members to detain the Russian leader if he visits their country, had been thought to narrow the potential number of venues. Putin had previously mentioned the United Arab Emirates as a possible host for the talks, while media speculated Turkey, China or India could be probable venues. Ukraine not involved Zelensky has been pushing to make it a three-way summit and has frequently said meeting Putin is the only way to make progress towards peace. In his address hours after Moscow and Washington confirmed the meeting, Zelensky called any decisions made without Ukraine "stillborn". Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff proposed a trilateral meeting when he held talks with Putin earlier this week, but the Russian leader has appeared to rule out meeting his Ukrainian counterpart. At talks in Istanbul in June, Russian negotiators said a Putin-Zelensky meeting could only take place at the "final phase" of negotiations, once the two sides had agreed on terms for peace. Asked if Putin had to meet Zelensky as a prerequisite for their summit, Trump said on Friday: "No, he doesn't." When did they last meet? Trump and Putin last sat together in 2019 at a G20 summit meeting in Japan during Trump's first term. They have spoken by telephone several times since January. Putin previously held a summit with Trump in Helsinki in 2018. Trump raised eyebrows at the time by appearing to side with Putin over the US intelligence community's finding that Russia had interfered in the US election to support the New York tycoon. The last time Putin met a US president in the United States was during talks with Barack Obama at the UN General Assembly in 2015. Negotiating positions Despite the flurry of diplomacy and multiple rounds of peace talks, Russia and Ukraine appear no closer to agreeing on an end to the fighting. Putin has rejected calls by the United States, Ukraine and Europe for an immediate ceasefire. At talks in June, Russia demanded Ukraine pull its forces out of four regions Moscow claims to have annexed, demanded Ukraine commit to being a neutral state, shun Western military support and be excluded from joining NATO. Kyiv wants an immediate ceasefire and has said it will never recognize Russian control over its sovereign territory -- though it acknowledged securing the return of land captured by Russia would have to come through diplomacy, not on the battlefield. Kyiv is also seeking security guarantees from Western backers, including the deployment of foreign troops as peacekeepers to enforce any ceasefire.
Khaleej Times
4 hours ago
- Khaleej Times
Trump says to move homeless people 'far' from Washington
President Donald Trump said Sunday that homeless people must be moved "far" from Washington, after days of musing about taking federal control of the US capital where he has falsely suggested crime is rising. The Republican billionaire has announced a press conference for Monday in which he is expected to reveal his plans for Washington -- which is run by the locally elected government of the District of Columbia under congressional oversight. It is an arrangement Trump has long publicly chafed at. He has threatened to federalize the city and give the White House the final say in how it is run. "I'm going to make our Capital safer and more beautiful than it ever was before," the president posted on his Truth Social platform Sunday. "The Homeless have to move out, IMMEDIATELY. We will give you places to stay, but FAR from the Capital," he continued, adding that criminals in the city would be swiftly imprisoned. "It's all going to happen very fast," he said. Washington is ranked 15th on a list of major US cities by homeless population, according to government statistics from last year. While thousands of people spend each night in shelters or on the streets, the figure are down from pre-pandemic levels. Earlier this week Trump also threatened to deploy the National Guard as part of a crackdown on what he falsely says is rising crime in Washington. Violent crime in the capital fell in the first half of 2025 by 26 percent compared with a year earlier, police statistics show. The city's crime rates in 2024 were already their lowest in three decades, according to figures produced by the Justice Department before Trump took office. "We are not experiencing a crime spike," Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser said Sunday on MSNBC. While the mayor, a Democrat, was not critical of Trump in her remarks, she said "any comparison to a war torn country is hyperbolic and false." Trump's threat to send in the National Guard comes weeks after he deployed California's military reserve force into Los Angeles to quell protests over immigration raids, despite objections from local leaders and law enforcement. The president has frequently mused about using the military to control America's cities, many of which are under Democratic control and hostile to his nationalist impulses.
Khaleej Times
5 hours ago
- Khaleej Times
Video: UAE President offers condolences over passing of Hamad Al Hamli
UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan today offered his condolences over the passing of Hamad Jaber Al Hamli. He expressed his sincere condolences to the family, praying that God bestows mercy and forgiveness upon the deceased, grants him eternal peace, and brings his loved ones patience and solace. The President was also accompanied by Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Chairman of the Presidential Court for Special Affairs; Sheikh Mohammed bin Hamad bin Tahnoon Al Nahyan, Advisor to the UAE President; and a number of officials.
