Explore World News Today
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Al Arabiya
an hour ago
- Al Arabiya
Macron calls for sanctions against Russia if Putin doesn't agree to peace deal
French President Emmanuel Macron called Monday for stepping up sanctions against Russia if its leader Vladimir Putin does not move forward on peace with Ukraine. 'President Trump believes we can get an agreement and believes that President Putin also wants a peace accord,' Macron told reporters after talks at the White House. 'But if at the end this process is met by refusal, we are also ready to say that we need to increase sanctions.' He pointed to recent secondary sanctions imposed by the Trump administration on India, which has emerged as a major buyer of Russian energy as Western nations cut back due to sanctions following Putin's invasion of Ukraine. The secondary sanctions on India have 'had a lot of effects,' Macron said. Trump invited Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to the White House three days after the US president welcomed Putin for talks in Alaska. Over the weekend, Trump publicly again pressured Ukraine to concede territory, siding with Putin and not Zelenskyy, who has insisted on defending all territory which Russia has taken by force. Asked by reporters if Trump had said that concessions were necessary before any US security guarantees to Ukraine, Macron said, 'No, that wasn't discussed at all. We're well away from that.' He said that Trump and the European leaders also agreed that there can be no restrictions on the size of Ukraine's military in a future deal with Russia. All the leaders meeting in Washington support a 'robust Ukrainian army that can resist any attempted attack.' Macron said that he hoped Russia and Ukraine would resume contact 'in the coming days' with a potential three-way summit involving Trump, Putin and Zelenskyy 'in two to three weeks.'
Arab News
5 hours ago
- Arab News
US archbishop's meeting with Putin denounced as ‘betrayal of Christian witness'
ALASKA: An American Orthodox archbishop's meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska, in which they exchanged warm greetings and gifts of holy icons — is drawing a denunciation by Ukrainian Orthodox bishops in the US They called it a 'betrayal of Christian witness' in the wake of the Russia-Ukraine war. Archbishop Alexei — the bishop of Alaska for the Orthodox Church in America, the now-independent offspring of the Russian Orthodox Church — met Friday with Putin at the Fort Richardson National Cemetery in Anchorage following Putin's summit with US President Donald Trump. Putin also placed flowers at the graves of Soviet-era airmen killed during World War II. 'Russia has given us what's most precious of all, which is the Orthodox faith, and we are forever grateful,' Alexei told Putin, alluding to Russian missionaries who brought the faith to Alaska when it was a czarist territory. He added that he visits Russia regularly and that when his priests and seminarians go there, they report back, 'I've been home.' Putin told him: 'Please feel at home whenever you come.' But critics said the meeting conferred legitimacy on Putin, on top of his being hosted by Trump on US soil despite an arrest warrant issued in 2023 from the International Criminal Court, accusing Putin of war crimes in the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Severe criticism from one church's leaders Leaders of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA blasted the meeting between the archbishop and Putin. 'Such gestures are not merely unfortunate — they are a betrayal of the Gospel of Christ and scandalous to the faithful,' the statement said, signed by the New Jersey-based church's top two leaders, Metropolitan Antony and Archbishop Daniel. The Russian regime 'is responsible for the invasion of the independent and peaceful nation of Ukraine and for the death of hundreds of thousands, for the disappearance of countless innocents, for the tearing of families apart, and for the deliberate destruction of Ukraine,' the statement said. 'To extend warm words of welcome and admiration to this 'leader' is nothing less than an endorsement of his actions.' The statement said that while the church preaches love and forgiveness, it 'can never excuse or whitewash evil.' The meeting between the archbishop and Putin is notable in how American churches are embroiled in controversies involving Orthodoxy in Ukraine, which arose even before the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and have worsened since. Orthodox Christianity is the majority religion in Russia and Ukraine. There are multiple Eastern Orthodox jurisdictions in the United States, rooted in various immigrant communities of different nationalities. That includes Russia with the OCA and Ukraine with the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA. They generally share communion and cooperate in some areas but have separate hierarchies. Putin gave Alexei icons of St. Herman — an early Russian missionary to Alaska — and of the Mother of God, which the archbishop received making the sign of the cross and kissing each icon. Alexei gave the Russian president an icon he had previously received as a gift upon becoming bishop. The two did not discuss the war during the brief conversation, according to a video recording. Alaska archbishop explains himself In a follow-up message emailed to Alaska priests, defending the visit, Alexei noted he had overseen three days of special services in Orthodox parishes across Alaska, in which worshippers offered prayers for peace in the name of Alaska saints and the Mother of God. 'When I expressed gratitude in that public moment, it was not praise for present politics, but a remembrance of the missionaries of earlier generations … who brought us the Orthodox faith at great cost,' Alexei said. He also defended the icon exchange. 'I must be clear: the veneration we give to holy icons is directed not to the one who gives them, but to the saint or feast they represent,' he said. 'Even if the greatest sinner were beside me, the honor passes not to him but to heaven itself.' He added: 'I know that sacred gestures can be misunderstood, and I grieve if this has caused confusion or scandal.' He said it's important 'to open whatever small door may be given for a pastoral word of peace.' Moscow Patriarch Kirill has strongly supported the war, saying Russian soldiers who die in the line of duty in Ukraine have all of their sins forgiven and presiding over a council that declared the Russian invasion a 'holy war.' Putin himself regularly displays Orthodox piety — reflected in his making the sign of the cross at the Soviet graves and kissing the icons he gave to Alexei. Putin recently asserted without elaboration that one of the conditions for peace would have to be 'providing an adequate environment for the Orthodox Church and the Christian faith in Ukraine.' How Orthodox factions in Ukraine are affected Ukraine's Orthodox population has been torn by schism. There are currently two main Orthodox groups with similar-sounding names there. The Ukrainian Orthodox Church has historically been under the Moscow Patriarchate, which claims jurisdiction in Ukraine. Meanwhile, the breakaway Orthodox Church in Ukraine received recognition as an independent church by the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople. Both churches have denounced the Russian invasion, but the UOC has remained under suspicion even though it has tried to assert it is also independent of Moscow's control. (Neither should be confused with the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA, which operates on American soil.) Ukraine's parliament last year passed a law banning religious groups tied to the Russian Orthodox Church or any other faith group supporting Russia's invasion. The measure was widely seen as targeting the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, and the Ukrainian government has insisted that church take various steps to show its independence, which its leader has refused to do, asserting the government's process is flawed and citing the church's proclamation of its independence in 2022. The Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organizations — a coalition that includes the Orthodox Church of Ukraine — issued a statement supporting the government's insistence that the UOC comply with its demands. It said Russia has broadly violated religious liberties in occupied Ukrainian territories. It contended that Ukraine honors religious freedom and pluralism while maintaining the right to make sure religion isn't being used to abet the invasion. 'It is widely known that the Russian Federation uses religion, particularly the Russian Orthodox Church, as a weapon to pursue its neo-imperial goals in various countries,' the statement said.
Arab News
5 hours ago
- Arab News
Trump says arranging Putin-Zelensky peace summit
WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump said Monday he had started arranging a peace summit between Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky and Russia's Vladimir Putin, after intensive talks with Zelensky and European leaders at the White House. Trump said he had spoken by phone with Putin — whom he met in Alaska last week — following a 'very good' meeting with the Europeans and the Ukrainian president in the White House. 'At the conclusion of the meetings, I called President Putin, and began the arrangements for a meeting, at a location to be determined, between President Putin and President Zelensky,' Trump said on his Truth Social platform. Trump, 79, said that he himself would then hold a three-way summit with the Ukrainian and Russian leaders. 'Everyone is very happy about the possibility of PEACE for Russia/Ukraine,' Trump wrote. Putin told Trump that he was ready to meet Zelensky, a source familiar with talks told AFP. The US president also said he had discussed security guarantees for Ukraine as part of a peace deal with Russia, with Europe taking the lead and coordinating with Washington. Trump said earlier that Putin had agreed to Western security guarantees for Ukraine, despite the Russian leader ruling out Kyiv's long-held dream of joining the NATO alliance. 'During the meeting we discussed Security Guarantees for Ukraine, which Guarantees would be provided by the various European Countries, with a coordination with the United States of America,' Trump said on Truth Social. The White House was the venue for an extraordinary — and pointed — meeting gathering Trump with Zelensky plus the leaders of Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Finland, the European Commission and NATO. Zelensky also met one-on-one in the Oval Office with Trump in their first encounter in the heart of the US presidency since their acrimonious blow-up there in February. The Ukrainian president said the meeting was their 'best' yet. This time the atmosphere was far calmer than when Trump and Vice President JD Vance berated Zelensky in front of TV cameras less than six months ago for not being 'grateful' for US support. Trump even complimented Zelensky on his black jacket, after the Ukrainian was criticized by right-wing media because he failed to change his trademark war-leader's outfit for a suit during the February visit. The US president meanwhile expressed optimism over the chances of ending Russia's invasion . 'In a week or two weeks, we're going to know whether or not we're going to solve this or is this horrible fighting going to continue,' Trump said as he opened the meeting. The presence of the European leaders however also underscored continuing nervousness about Trump's pressure on Kyiv to make concessions to Moscow. Trump had pushed Ukraine ahead of the meeting to give up Crimea and abandon its goal of joining NATO — both key demands made by Putin. Trump said that during the White House talks on Monday they also 'need to discuss the possible exchanges of territory' between Russia and Ukraine. Reports had said Putin was pushing for Ukraine to cede its eastern Donbas region, much of which is still partly in Kyiv's hands, in exchange for freezing the frontline elsewhere. Ukraine has rejected any such move. The Europeans nevertheless lined up to praise Trump as they called for a lasting peace to end Russia's invasion. 'I'm really excited. Let's make the best out of today,' NATO chief Mark Rutte said as the US president went round the table asking them to comment. French President Emmanuel Macron, however, called for a separate four-way meeting including Europeans to deal with a grinding conflict that is on their doorstep. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz meanwhile contradicted Trump's call to go straight for a full peace deal instead of an immediate ceasefire, calling for a truce before any leaders' summit. He also sounded a note of caution after the talks, saying Ukraine must not be forced to give up territory to Russia. Russian strikes overnight killed at least seven people in Ukraine, including two children.
