
President Nawrocki representing Poland during Trump call, his office says
The office of Prime Minister Donald Tusk, a political opponent of Nawrocki, had earlier posted on X that Tusk was taking part in a video conference with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and European leaders.
However, right-wing private broadcaster TV Republika, which supports Nawrocki and his backers in the nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) party, reported that the president was taking part in the call with Trump at 1300 GMT and had been briefed by the foreign ministry.
"... Prime Minister Donald Tusk is not participating in the meeting with President Trump," Nawrocki's spokesperson Rafal Leskiewicz said on X. "Poland is represented by President Karol Nawrocki."
Government spokesman Adam Szlapka later clarified that Tusk was representing Poland in two separate calls taking place on Wednesday and involving European leaders but not Trump.
Nawrocki, a conservative nationalist and eurosceptic, is an ally of Trump's MAGA movement and visited the White House during Poland's presidential election campaign this year.
However, Nawrocki and PiS are strong supporters of Ukraine in its war with invading Russian forces, as is Tusk and his centrist government.

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The Guardian
29 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Ukraine war briefing: ‘Up to Zelenskyy' to reach ceasefire with Russia, says Trump after Putin summit
Donald Trump has put the onus on Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, to reach a ceasefire with Russia after the US leader held direct talks with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, in Alaska on Friday. Trump said Zelenskyy and Putin were going to set up a meeting to try to reach a ceasefire to end the war in Ukraine. 'Now, it's really up to President Zelenskyy to get it done,' Trump told Fox News' Sean Hannity after his meeting with Putin. 'And I would also say the European nations, they have to get involved a little bit. But it's up to President Zelenskyy … And if they'd like, I'll be at that next meeting.' Trump said the direct talks with Putin on Friday did not yield an agreement to pause the war in Ukraine, though he claimed 'great progress' during the nearly three-hour-long summit. 'I believe we had a very productive meeting,' the US president said at a joint press conference with Putin after the talks. 'There were many, many points that we agreed on.' Putin, speaking through an interpreter, suggested the two leaders had hammered out 'an understanding'. He said he expected Ukraine and its European allies to accept the results of the US-Russia negotiation constructively and not try to 'disrupt the emerging progress'. The Russian leader agreed that Ukraine's security must be guaranteed – but also said that the 'root causes' of the conflict must be resolved. Zelenskyy said Russia was continuing to attack Ukraine ahead of the Trump-Putin summit, but claimed its attempt to 'show strength' with a new assault in the east had failed. 'On the day of the negotiations, they also kill people. And that says a lot,' Zelenskyy said on Telegram on Friday. 'The war continues. It continues precisely because there is no order, nor any indication that Moscow is preparing to end this war.' Ukraine said it had conducted a long-range drone attack on a supply ship that it claims was carrying drone components from Iran, hours before the Trump-Putin summit. Photographs showed a partially sunken cargo vessel at Olya, near Astrakhan, north of the Caspian Sea. Ukraine's military claimed credit for the attack and the overnight bombing of an oil refinery at Samara on the Volga River, deep inside Russia. Ukraine's general staff said the ship was 'loaded with components' for Shahed-type drones 'and ammunition from Iran'. Russia launched a ballistic missile into Ukraine's Dnipropetrovsk region hours before the Trump-Putin summit, killing one person and wounding at least one other, and causing a fire. 'A truck and a minibus were damaged in a hostile attack on the Dnipro district. A man was killed. Another person was injured,' the regional governor, Serhiy Lysak, said on Telegram. The city of Dnipro is a logistics hub for Ukrainian forces. The Ukrainian military says it has retaken six villages in the east that Russia captured in a push this week. On Tuesday, Russia made a swift advance to the town of Dobropillia, piercing through Ukraine's defences. 'The advance of the enemy was stopped by the forces of the 1st Corps of the National Guard of Ukraine (NGU) 'Azov', together with adjacent and subordinate units, over the past three days,' Ukraine's general staff said. The town is now under constant Russian drone and shell fire. Ukrainian military intelligence claimed that Russia is preparing to test its new nuclear-capable, nuclear-powered cruise missile and, if successful, plans to use the results to bolster its negotiating position with the west. Military intelligence spokesperson Andriy Yusov told Reuters that Moscow saw the test as diplomatic leverage. 'Russia is preparing for another round of tests of the 9M730 Burevestnik,' his statement said. 'The purpose of these tests is to validate scientific and technical solutions implemented by the missile. If successful, Russia will leverage the test results to defend its interests in negotiations.'


Reuters
29 minutes ago
- Reuters
TAKEAWAYS Warm words contrast with cold reality of no deal at Trump-Putin summit
Aug 15 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin exchanged warm words on Friday but left the much anticipated Alaska summit without an agreement to end Moscow's war against Ukraine and gave no details about what they discussed. Here are some takeaways from the talks: There was no lack of warmth between the two leaders when they met on the tarmac shortly after landing at a U.S. military base in Alaska. Trump and Putin greeted each other like old friends on a red carpet rolled out for their first meeting since 2019. They shook hands, smiled broadly and touched each other on the arm in an expression of apparent affection. That warmth seemed to have waned when they appeared before the media hours later, though both men still took pains to praise each other. Trump, who was hosting the summit, deferred to Putin, who spoke first and said he was glad to see Trump alive, a reference to the assassination attempt Trump survived last year. Trump said he had always had a fantastic relationship with the Kremlin chief, referred to him by his first name and called Putin's words profound. Gone was any mention of Trump's frustration with Putin over the war he initiated in 2022 or the threat of sanctions if no moves are made to end it. But their efforts to project a positive personal relationship belied an underlying truth: friendship aside, they did not announce an agreement to end the war. Hours before he met Putin, Trump said his goal for the summit was a halt to the fighting between Russia and Ukraine. Hours later, when the leaders emerged from their meeting with advisers, no such deal had materialized. "We really made some great progress today," Trump told reporters without elaborating. "There's no deal until there's a deal." Before the summit, Trump and his advisers had sought to downplay expectations of a breakthrough, a far cry from his vow as a presidential candidate to end the war in 24 hours. But Trump made clear he wanted a ceasefire pact, and the backdrops at the summit venue said "Pursuing Peace." Trump left Alaska with little to show for his efforts, puncturing a hole in his dealmaker-image and depriving him of an accomplishment to tout in his not-so-subtle campaign for the Nobel Peace Prize. Putin showed a mastery of saying things Trump likes to hear, even without giving significant ground. He gave credence to Trump's unproven assertion that had Trump been president four years ago instead of Democrat Joe Biden, the war in Ukraine would never have started. "I'm quite sure it would indeed be so," he said. Russia invaded Ukraine under Putin's direction. Biden warned him not to. Despite playing into Trump's theory on the origins of the war, Putin signaled that the Ukraine conflict was a ways away from being solved. "In order to make the settlement last long-term we need to eliminate all the roots of that conflict," Putin said. "Russia has its own national interests." While Putin didn't give details, he has long told local audiences that NATO's eastward expansion was the main cause of the war because it put his country's survival at risk, a view the Western military alliance rejects. Putin has committed to fight until he could guarantee a Ukraine that's demilitarized and neutral. With those goals far from reach, Putin's focus on Friday on "the roots of that conflict" and "national interests" suggest he is prepared to fight on. At their 2018 summit in Helsinki, under questioning, opens new tab from U.S. journalists, Trump sided with Putin over U.S. intelligence agencies about allegations that Russia intervened in the 2016 election and blamed both Washington and Moscow for the deterioration in U.S.-Russia relations. His words drew sharp criticism from Democrats and Republicans at home. Putin, meanwhile, confirmed he had wanted Trump to win the 2016 election. The two leaders avoided the chance for mishaps in front of the media on Friday. After making statements, they declined to take questions, depriving reporters of a chance to probe for details about their talks. But Putin got a win with the invitation alone. The Russian president has been ostracized by other world leaders, so his meeting with the most powerful man in the world was a victory for the former KGB spy, and his seeming satisfaction with that showed.


The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
Trump tells Fox News that Zelensky has ‘got to make a deal' with Putin after Alaska summit
President Donald Trump insists Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has 'gotta make a deal' with Russian President Vladimir Putin following his Alaska summit with the Russian leader. After the nearly three-hour meeting between the two leaders, with no agreement having been reached on the future of the war in Ukraine, Trump appeared for an interview on Fox News ' 'Hannity'. Host Sean Hannity asked what advice he would give to Zelensky and Trump replied: 'Make the deal. Gotta make a deal.' 'Russia's a very big power. And they're not,' Trump said, adding that the U.S. has supplied Ukraine with weaponry. Hours earlier, during a joint statement with Putin, where neither took questions, the U.S. president admitted that while 'great progress' had been made, he emphasized: 'There's no deal until there's a deal.' Trump noted that he planned to call Zelensky and NATO members following the meeting. On Fox News, Hannity asked Trump about next steps, alluding to the U.S. president's previous comments about a possible meeting between Putin and Zelensky. 'I don't know if I trust the two of them in a room alone together. I think it would be better if you are there,' the Fox News host suggested. Trump agreed: 'They both want me there, and I'll be there. You got to see it out.' What exactly was discussed in the high stakes meeting and what was agreed remains a mystery. Both Putin and Trump used vague terms to describe the meeting and refused to take questions from reporters. Still, both men flattered one another in front of the world's cameras. The Russian president called the United States a 'dear neighbor.' He also repeated one of Trump's claims: the war in Ukraine would not have started if Trump had remained in office after the 2020 election. Trump touted his 'fantastic relationship' with his Russian counterpart and branded the meeting 'extremely productive.' The U.S. president continued laying on the praise for Putin during his interview with Hannity. 'I think we've agreed on a lot, and I can tell you, the meeting was a very warm meeting,' he said. Referring to Putin, he continued: 'He's a strong guy, he's tough as hell and all of that, but the meeting was a very warm meeting between two very important countries, and it's very good when they get along.' Earlier in the day, Trump rolled out the red carpet for Putin, greeting him warmly before they jumped into his U.S. limousine, dubbed 'The Beast.' At the end of their joint speech to press Putin suggested the pair next meet on his home turf: Moscow. 'That's an interesting one, I'll get a little heat on that one,' Trump replied. 'But I could see it possibly happening.' Following the summit, some pundits slammed Trump's performance. A Fox News host said he was 'steamrolled' by Putin while former White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said Trump's warm welcome of the Russian leader dealt a 'big victory' for Putin. Despite the flack, Trump told Hannity he believed on a scale of one to 10, the meeting was a 10. 'It's good when two big powers get along, especially when they're nuclear powers. We're number one, they're number two in the world. And it's a big deal. That's a big deal,' the U.S. president said.