The EU urges China to lift 'unjustified' sanctions on Lithuanian banks
Beijing announced the measures this week against Urbo Bank and Mano Bank in retaliation for EU penalties on two Chinese lenders.
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Yahoo
24 minutes ago
- Yahoo
European leaders including Starmer to join Zelenskyy in Washington for meeting with Trump
European leaders including Keir Starmer will join Volodymyr Zelenskyy at a White House meeting with Donald Trump on Monday in an extraordinary joint effort to push back on a US-backed plan that would allow Russia to take further Ukrainian territory. As well as the UK prime minister, the French president, Emmanuel Macron, Germany's chancellor, Friedrich Merz, Italy's PM, Giorgia Meloni, and the Finnish president, Alexander Stubb, will all accompany Zelenskyy in the Oval Office. Nato's secretary general, Mark Rutte, and the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, will also attend. The unprecedented show of support seems designed to prevent a repeat of the public mauling experienced by Zelenskyy during his last trip to the White House, in February, when Trump and the US vice-president, JD Vance, accused him of ingratitude and disrespect and told him: 'You're not in a good position. You don't have the cards right now.' Trump, after his summit on Friday with Vladimir Putin in Alaska, has reportedly endorsed the Kremlin's one-sided plan to end the war in Ukraine. It includes Kyiv giving up territory that Russia has been unable to seize and no ceasefire until a final deal has been agreed. Posting on Truth Social, Trump accused the media of misrepresenting his 'great meeting in Alaska' – an encounter widely seen as a victory for Putin and a humiliation for the US president. On Sunday, Trump claimed he had made 'big progress' on Russia, without giving details. European leaders on Monday will reaffirm their support for Ukraine's territorial integrity and argue against a land swap plan that rewards Russian aggression. They will also seek further clarity on what security guarantees the US is willing to offer in the event of a settlement. In a conciliatory statement announcing his visit to Washington, Starmer praised Trump for his 'efforts to end Russia's illegal war in Ukraine'. At the same time, Starmer reasserted Europe's red lines. He said the 'path to peace' could not be decided without Zelenskyy and said Russia should be 'squeezed' with further sanctions. Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff told CNN that Putin had agreed for the first time for the US and Europe to provide protection to Ukraine as part of a deal. This would be outside the auspices of Nato but would be the equivalent of the alliance's article 5 self-defence pact, Witkoff indicated. Speaking in Brussels alongside von der Leyen, Zelenskyy rejected Putin's latest demand for more land. The Russians want Ukraine to cede the entirety of the Donetsk region, including a number of Ukrainian-controlled cities, as well as Luhansk province, which Moscow mostly occupies. Zelenskyy said Putin had been trying for 12 years to fully capture Donetsk oblast, without success. He said the current frontline should form the basis for negotiations, adding that territory could only be discussed in a three-way format with Kyiv at the table. A powerful Ukrainian army was the best security guarantee, he added. Starmer, Merz and Macron hosted a video call with European allies on Sunday before their Washington trip. 'Ukraine must be a steel porcupine, indigestible for potential invaders,' von der Leyen said, stressing there could be no Russian-mandated limits on Ukraine's armed forces. According to the New York Times, Trump told European leaders he believed a peace deal could be negotiated if Zelenskyy agreed to give up the Donetsk region. They were unconvinced. The EU shares the Ukrainian view that Putin would use any new territory as a springboard for a further attack. Two sources with direct knowledge of the talks in Alaska told the Guardian that Putin had offered to freeze the frontline in southern Ukraine if he got Donbas. The plan would mean thousands of civilians would be forced to abandon their homes in key eastern cities such as Kramatorsk and Sloviansk, which have withstood years of Russian attacks. Before Friday's Alaska summit, Trump said he wanted an immediate ceasefire. Over the weekend, however, the US president endorsed Russia's demand for a peace deal first and a truce second. Ceasefires 'often times do not hold up', Trump said in a social media post. Trump also appears to have dropped his threat of economic penalties on countries that buy Russian oil if Moscow refuses a deal. He has repeatedly threatened to impose secondary sanctions, setting various deadlines and failing to follow through when they expire. Trump on Sunday expressed his frustration at recent media coverage. 'It's incredible how the Fake News violently distorts the TRUTH when it comes to me,' he posted. 'There is NOTHING I can say or do that would lead them to write or report honestly about me. I had a great meeting in Alaska on Biden's stupid War, a war that should have never happened!!!' He added: 'If I got Russia to give up Moscow as part of the Deal, the Fake News, and their PARTNER, the Radical Left Democrats, would say I made a terrible mistake and a very bad deal.' Speaking to the BBC, the former British defence secretary Ben Wallace described Trump's apparent support for Putin's demands as 1930s-style 'appeasement'. He said the strategy – with pressure piled on Ukraine to agree – may save lives 'in the short term' but in the long term 'would probably put us at greater risk'. A joint statement issued by European leaders on Saturday said they were 'ready to work with US President Trump and Ukrainian President Zelenskyy towards a trilateral summit with European support' but 'it will be up to Ukraine to make decisions on its territory. International borders must not be changed by force.' They said they welcomed 'President Trump's efforts to stop the killing in Ukraine, end Russia's war of aggression, and achieve just and lasting peace'. Zelenskyy said in a statement after his conversations with Trump and the European leaders: 'The positions are clear. A real peace must be achieved, one that will be lasting, not just another pause between Russian invasions. Killings must stop as soon as possible, the fire must cease both on the battlefield and in the sky, as well as against our port infrastructure. All Ukrainian prisoners of war and civilians must be released, and the children abducted by Russia must be returned.' Related: Donald Trump reportedly delivered letter from first lady to Vladimir Putin Olga Tokariuk, a fellow at the Centre for European Policy Analysis, said Zelenskyy had a 'difficult task' in Washington. He had to 'demonstrate that Ukraine wants peace, but not at any cost, to ensure Ukraine still gets US support,' she said. At the same time he could not make concessions 'unacceptable for Ukrainians'. Trump was unlikely to treat Zelenskyy with the 'same friendliness as Putin', she predicted. 'The US under Trump is no longer willing to stand by its democratic allies, while instead it is embracing the tyrants,' she added. Additional reporting by Peter Walker
Yahoo
29 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Putin agrees that US, Europe could offer NATO-style security guarantees to Ukraine, Trump envoy says
NEW YORK (AP) — Russian leader Vladimir Putin agreed at his summit with President Donald Trump that the United States and its European allies could offer Ukraine a security guarantee resembling NATO's collective defense mandate as part of an eventual deal to end the war, a U.S. official said Sunday. Trump envoy Steve Witkoff, who took part in the talks Friday at a military base in Alaska, said it 'was the first time we had ever heard the Russians agree to that' and called it 'game-changing.' 'We were able to win the following concession: That the United States could offer Article 5-like protection, which is one of the real reasons why Ukraine wants to be in NATO," Witkoff told CNN's 'State of the Union.' Witkoff offered few details on how such an arrangement would work. But it appeared to be a major shift for Putin and could serve as a workaround to his deep-seated objection to Ukraine's potential NATO membership, a step that Kyiv has long sought. It was expected to be a key topic Monday as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and major European leaders meet with Donald Trump at the White House to discuss ending the 3 1/2-year conflict. 'BIG PROGRESS ON RUSSIA,' Trump said in a social media post. 'STAY TUNED!' Hammering out a plan for security guarantees Article 5, at the heart of the 32-member trans-Atlantic military alliance, says an armed attack against one or more member nations shall be considered an attack against them all. What needed to be hammered out at this week's talks were the contours of any security guarantees, said Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who also participated in the summit. Ukraine and European allies have pushed the U.S. to provide that backstop in any peace agreement to deter future attacks by Moscow. 'How that's constructed, what we call it, how it's built, what guarantees are built into it that are enforceable, that's what we'll be talking about over the next few days with our partners," Rubio said on NBC's 'Meet the Press.' It was unclear, however, whether Trump had fully committed to such a guarantee. Rubio said it would be 'a huge concession." The comments shed new light on what was discussed in Alaska. Before Sunday, U.S. officials had offered few details even as both Trump and Putin said their meeting was a success. Witkoff also said Russia had agreed to enact a law that it would not 'go after any other European countries and violate their sovereignty.' 'The Russians agreed on enshrining legislatively language that would prevent them from — or that they would attest to not attempting to take any more land from Ukraine after a peace deal, where they would attest to not violating any European borders," he said on 'Fox News Sunday.' Europe welcomes US openness to such guarantees European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, speaking to reporters in Brussels alongside Zelenskyy, applauded the news from the White House at a time when a European coalition is looking to set up a force to police any future peace in Ukraine. "We welcome President Trump's willingness to contribute to Article 5-like security guarantees for Ukraine and the 'coalition of the willing' — including the European Union — is ready to do its share,' she said. Zelenskyy thanked the U.S. for recent signals that it was willing to support such guarantees but said much remained unclear. 'There are no details how it will work, and what America's role will be, Europe's role will be and what the EU can do — and this is our main task: We need security to work in practice like Article 5 of NATO, and we consider EU accession to be part of the security guarantees,' he said. Defending Trump's shift from ceasefire to peace deal Witkoff and Rubio defended Trump's decision to abandon a push for a ceasefire, arguing that the Republican president had pivoted toward a full peace agreement because so much progress had been made at the summit. 'We covered almost all the other issues necessary for a peace deal,' Witkoff said, without elaborating. 'We began to see some moderation in the way they're thinking about getting to a final peace deal.' Rubio, who appeared on several TV news shows Sunday, said it would have been impossible to reach any truce Friday because Ukraine was not there. 'Now, ultimately, if there isn't a peace agreement, if there isn't an end of this war, the president's been clear, there are going to be consequences,' Rubio said on ABC's 'This Week.' 'But we're trying to avoid that." Rubio, who is also Trump's national security adviser, also voiced caution on the progress made. 'We're still a long ways off," he said. 'We're not at the precipice of a peace agreement. We're not at the edge of one. But I do think progress was made towards one.' Land swaps are on the table Among the issues expected to dominate Monday's meeting: What concessions Zelenskyy might accept on territory? In talks with European allies after the summit, Trump said Putin reiterated that he wants the key Donetsk and Luhansk regions that make up the Donbas, European officials said. It was unclear among those briefed whether Trump sees that as acceptable. Witkoff said the Russians have made clear they want territory as determined by legal boundaries instead of the front lines where territory has been seized. 'There is an important discussion to be had with regard to Donetsk and what would happen there. And that discussion is going to specifically be detailed on Monday,' he said. Zelenskyy has rejected Putin's demands that Ukraine give up the Donbas region, which Russia has failed to take completely, as a condition for peace. In Brussels, the Ukrainian leader said any talks involving land must be based on current front lines, suggesting he will not abandon land that Russia has not taken. 'The contact line is the best line for talking, and the Europeans support this,' he said. 'The constitution of Ukraine makes it impossible, impossible to give up territory or trade land.' ___ Associated Press writers John Leicester in Le Pecq, France, and Samya Kullab in Kyiv, Ukraine, contributed to this report.
Yahoo
30 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Trump envoy says Putin made 'robust' concessions during Alaska meeting talks on Ukraine
U.S. Special Envoy for Peace Missions Steve Witkoff claims Russian President Vladimir Putin made "robust" steps toward peace during his meeting with President Donald Trump last week. Witkoff made the statement during an appearance on "Fox News Sunday" with host Shannon Bream. The official was in the room for the Alaska meeting and has met previously with Putin several times. "We agreed on much more robust security guarantees," Witkoff said. "The Russians agreed on enshrining legislatively language that they would attest to not attempting to take any more land from Ukraine after a peace deal, where they would attest to not violating any European borders." Witkoff also said Trump spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European leaders directly after the meeting. He said the meeting was "absolutely acknowledged as a win." Zelenskyy To Meet With Trump In Washington, Dc Following Us-russia Talks Bream pressed Witkoff to explain why Trump did not push Putin for a ceasefire agreement during the meeting as well. Trump had previously said a ceasefire was a top priority and claimed Putin would face consequences if he didn't agree to one. Read On The Fox News App Zelenskyy Outlines Peace Demands Before High-stakes White House Meeting With Trump "The president has always talked about a ceasefire, until he made a lot of different wins in this meeting and began to realize that we could be talking about a peace deal. The ultimate deal here is a peace deal, and we were talking about much more robust security guarantees than anyone ever imagined," he said. In a statement after the call with Trump, major European leaders did not address whether they preferred a peace deal over a ceasefire. Trump: We're Going Straight To Russia-ukraine Peace Deal, 'Not A Mere Ceasefire' The leaders said they "welcomed President Trump's efforts to stop the killing in Ukraine, end Russia's war of aggression, and achieve just and lasting peace." Putin described his talks with Trump in Alaska as "very frank." "We, of course, respect the position of the American administration, which sees the need for a speedy end to military actions," Putin said at the follow-up meeting at the Kremlin, adding that "we would like to move to resolving all issues by peaceful means." Fox News' Landon Mion and the Associated Press contributed to this article source: Trump envoy says Putin made 'robust' concessions during Alaska meeting talks on Ukraine
