Brazil unveils aid package for exporters hit by U.S. tariffs
The South American nation will extend a program that returns part of the exported value to all companies that ship to the United States, Vice President Geraldo Alckmin told an event in Brasilia.
The plan also includes government purchases of products that would initially be exported to the United States, he added.
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Reuters
12 minutes ago
- Reuters
Outline emerges of Putin's offer to end his war in Ukraine
LONDON, Aug 16 (Reuters) - Russia would relinquish tiny pockets of occupied Ukraine and Kyiv would cede swathes of its eastern land which Moscow has been unable to capture, under peace proposals discussed by Russia's Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump at their Alaska summit, sources briefed on Moscow's thinking said. The account emerged the day after Trump and Putin met at an airforce base in Alaska, the first encounter between a U.S. president and the Kremlin chief since before the start of the Ukraine conflict. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy is due to travel to Washington on Monday to discuss with Trump a possible settlement of the full-scale war, which Putin launched in February 2022. Although the summit failed to secure the ceasefire he said he had wanted, Trump said in an interview with Fox News' Sean Hannity that he and Putin had discussed land transfers and security guarantees for Ukraine, and had "largely agreed". "I think we're pretty close to a deal," he said, adding: "Ukraine has to agree to it. Maybe they'll say 'no'." The two sources, who requested anonymity to discuss sensitive matters, said their knowledge of Putin's proposals was mostly based on discussions between leaders in Europe, the U.S. and Ukraine, and noted it was not complete. Trump briefed Zelenskiy and European leaders on his summit discussions early on Saturday. It was not immediately clear if the proposals by Putin were an opening gambit to serve as a starting point for negotiations or more like a final offer that was not subject to discussion. At face value, at least some of the demands would present huge challenges for Ukraine's leadership to accept. Putin's offer ruled out a ceasefire until a comprehensive deal is reached, blocking a key demand of Zelenskiy, whose country is hit daily by Russian drones and ballistic missiles. Under the proposed Russian deal, Kyiv would fully withdraw from the eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions in return for a Russian pledge to freeze the front lines in the southern regions of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, the sources said. Ukraine has already rejected any retreat from Ukrainian land such as the Donetsk region, where its troops are dug in and which Kyiv says serves as a crucial defensive structure to prevent Russian attacks deeper into its territory. Russia would be prepared to return comparatively small tracts of Ukrainian land it has occupied in the northern Sumy and northeastern Kharkiv regions, the sources said. Russia holds pockets of the Sumy and Kharkiv regions that total around 440 square km, according to Ukraine's Deep State battlefield mapping project. Ukraine controls around 6,600 square km of Donbas, which comprises the Donetsk and Luhansk regions and is claimed by Russia. Although the Americans have not spelled this out, the sources said they knew Russia's leader was also seeking - at the very least - formal recognition of Russian sovereignty over Crimea, which Moscow seized from Ukraine in 2014. It was not clear if that meant recognition by the U.S. government or, for instance, all Western powers and Ukraine. Kyiv and its European allies reject formal recognition of Moscow's rule in the peninsula. They said Putin would also expect the lifting of at least some of the array of sanctions on Russia. However, they could not say if this applied to U.S. as well as European sanctions. Trump said on Friday he did not immediately need to consider retaliatory tariffs on countries such as China for buying Russian oil - which is subject to a range of Western sanctions - but might have to "in two or three weeks." Ukraine would also be barred from joining the NATO military alliance, though Putin seemed to be open to Ukraine receiving some kind of security guarantees, the sources said. However, they added that it was unclear what this meant in practice. European leaders said Trump had discussed security guarantees for Ukraine during their conversation on Saturday and also broached an idea for an "Article 5"-style guarantee outside the NATO military alliance. NATO regards any attack launched on one of its 32 members as an attack on all under its Article 5 clause. Joining the Atlantic alliance is a strategic objective for Kyiv that is enshrined in the country's constitution. Russia would also demand official status for the Russian language inside parts of, or across, Ukraine, as well as the right of the Russian Orthodox Church to operate freely, the sources said. Ukraine's security agency accuses the Moscow-linked church of abetting Russia's war on Ukraine by spreading pro-Russian propaganda and housing spies, something denied by the church which says it has cut canonical ties with Moscow. Ukraine has passed a law banning Russia-linked religious organisations, of which it considers the church to be one. However, it has not yet started enforcing the ban.
Telegraph
12 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Once again Vladimir Putin has left Donald Trump looking weak
SIR – The sight of Donald Trump applauding Vladimir Putin, the butcher of Ukraine, when the two met in Alaska was the most powerful symbol yet of Mr Trump's weakness ('Putin got exactly what he wanted from Trump', Analysis, August 16). He even purred at Putin's words: 'Next time in Moscow.' No deal, no ceasefire and no mention of sanctions: the Kremlin achieved a rout. Europe must now redouble its support for Volodymyr Zelensky. Adrian Charles Enfield, Middlesex SIR – For all Mr Trump's boasts, his summit with Putin produced no deal and no movement from a war-mongering Moscow. Russia left with a clear diplomatic win, embarrassing America. Mr Trump's idea of '10/10', as he described the meeting, is a curious one. Sebastian Monblat London SE14 SIR – No one can blame Donald Trump for trying, but he needs to face reality. Vladimir Putin is not interested in finishing a war he thinks he is winning. He regards Volodymyr Zelensky as the illegitimate leader of a country he doesn't recognise. He will only accept peace if it involves the capitulation of Ukraine as an independent country. David Kenny Tredunnock, Monmouthshire SIR – I am appalled that on VJ Day, while we honoured those who both died and survived, Mr Trump was insensitive enough to meet the aggressor Putin in his pursuit of a Nobel Peace Prize. Nick Kester Wattisfield, Suffolk SIR – If Nato had deployed into Ukraine before Vladimir Putin's invasion, it would not be in the position it finds itself in now. The alliance has been shown up as weak, and seems to have forgotten that deterrence is a proven way to contain military aggression. Lt Col Jeremy Prescott (retd) Southsea, Hampshire
BreakingNews.ie
42 minutes ago
- BreakingNews.ie
Starmer to speak with allies ahead of Zelenskiy-Trump meeting
Keir Starmer will speak to western allies on Sunday ahead of Volodymyr Zelenskiy's White House meeting with Donald Trump. The British Prime Minister, France's Emmanuel Macron and Germany's Friedrich Merz will host the meeting of the coalition of the willing on Sunday afternoon. Advertisement Mr Zelenskiy will fly to Washington DC on Monday, where he will meet the US president for the next stage of talks. The one-on-one in the Oval Office could pave the way for a three-way meeting alongside Russian leader Mr Putin, the US president has said. The coalition of the willing, made up of 30-plus nations, is prepared to deter Russian aggression by putting troops on the ground in Ukraine once the war is over. The meeting, which is expected to take place at approximately 2pm UK time, comes on the heels of Mr Trump's summit in Alaska with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Advertisement Donald Trump shakes hands with Vladimir Putin after their joint news conference on Friday (Gavriil Grigorov, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP) Mr Trump hoped to secure a peace deal from the talks at a military base in Anchorage, but both he and Mr Putin walked away without agreement on how to end the war in Ukraine. The US leader, however, insisted 'some great progress' was made, with 'many points' agreed and 'very few' remaining. Several news outlets have cited sources which claimed that during the negotiations Mr Putin demanded full control of Donetsk and Luhansk – two occupied Ukrainian regions – as a condition for ending the war. In exchange he would give up other Ukrainian territories held by Russian troops. Advertisement Other outlets reported that Mr Trump is inclined to support the plan, and will speak to Mr Zelenskiy about it on Monday when they meet in the Oval Office. After the Alaska summit, the US president told Fox News it was now up to the Ukrainian to 'make a deal' to end the war. Starmer commended Mr Trump's 'pursuit of an end to the killing' following a phone call with the US president, Mr Zelenskiy and Nato allies on Saturday morning. But he insisted Ukraine's leader must not be excluded from future talks to broker a peace in Ukraine. Advertisement The British Prime Minister and European leaders appeared increasingly confident that Mr Trump will offer a 'security guarantee' of air support to back up allied troops on the ground in Ukraine. Mr Starmer welcomed 'the openness of the United States, alongside Europe, to provide robust security guarantees to Ukraine as part of any deal'. 'This is important progress and will be crucial in deterring Putin from coming back for more,' he said. But Mr Trump also appeared to have a change of heart on what he wants to achieve from the talks, indicating that he wants a permanent peace settlement rather than a ceasefire. Advertisement Writing on his Truth Social platform, the US president said: 'It was determined by all that the best way to end the horrific war between Russia and Ukraine is to go directly to a peace agreement, which would end the war, and not a mere ceasefire agreement, which often times do not hold up.' Mr Putin described the meeting as 'timely' and 'useful' after leaving Alaska. Experts have warned the face-to-face summit has risked legitimising the Russian leader, after he has been made a pariah by the international community for years. Dr Neil Melvin, director of international security at the Royal United Services Institute (Rusi), said: 'Vladimir Putin came to the Alaska summit with the principal goal of stalling any pressure on Russia to end the war. 'He will consider the summit outcome as mission accomplished.' I received a report from Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi. The front, the defense of positions, and up-to-date information on the intentions and movements of the Russian army. We are defending our positions along the entire front line, and for the second day in a row, we have… — Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) August 16, 2025 Ukraine's president Mr Zelenskiy warned Russia may ramp up its strikes against his country in the coming days 'in order to create more favourable political circumstances for talks with global actors'. Kyiv's troops are 'defending our positions along the entire front line', he added on social media site X. Mr Zelenskiy had earlier insisted a ceasefire must include an end to fighting on land, in the sea and the air, as well as the return of all prisoners of war and captured civilians, including children. Sanctions on Moscow 'should be strengthened if there is no trilateral meeting or if Russia tries to evade an honest end to the war', Mr Zelenskiy said.
