Mistrust and fear: The complex story behind strained Syria-Lebanon relations
In Lebanon, a bruising war with Israel dealt a serious blow to Hezbollah — the Iran-backed and Assad-allied Shiite Lebanese militant group that had until recently been a powerful force in the Middle East — and a U.S.-negotiated deal has brought a fragile ceasefire .
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Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
NATO-like protection for Ukraine in focus as Zelensky, European leaders head for Trump meeting
European and NATO leaders are joining Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Washington on Monday to present a united front in talks with President Donald Trump as US special envoy Steve Witkoff on Sunday said Russia is open to the idea of the US and its European allies offering Ukraine a security guarantee resembling NATO's collective defence mandate. European leaders said Sunday they would join Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in talks with US President Donald Trump on Monday, as they try to find a way to end Russia's offensive. Trump met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday but the talks failed to yield any breakthrough on a ceasefire – though White House envoy Steve Witkoff said both leaders had agreed to provide "robust security guarantees" to Ukraine. Read moreRed carpet welcome but no Ukraine deal: key takeaways from the Trump-Putin summit Witkoff, who took part in the Trump-¨Putin talks 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 Zelensky and major European leaders meet with Trump at the White House. 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 US 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, US officials had offered few details even as both Trump and Putin said their meeting was a success. Zelensky hails 'historic' US security guarantees reports European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen on Sunday hailed the reports of robust security guarantees for Ukraine. But Zelensky, speaking alongside her at a news conference in Brussels, rejected the idea of Russia offering his country security guarantees. "What President Trump said about security guarantees is much more important to me than Putin's thoughts, because Putin will not give any security guarantees," he said. Zelensky later said on social media that the US offer regarding security guarantees was "historic". Moscow denounces Macron French President Emmanuel Macron, who will take part in the Washington meeting along with von der Leyen and others, said European leaders would ask Washington "to what extent" they were ready to contribute to the security guarantees offered to Ukraine in any peace agreement. Read moreUkraine and Europe must present 'united front', says Macron ahead of White House meeting Of Moscow's position, he said: "There is only one state proposing a peace that would be a capitulation: Russia." Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova called that an "abject lie" in a statement on Telegram later Sunday. Moscow had been proposing a "peaceful resolution" of the conflict for seven years under the terms of the Minsk Accords, she said. Macron, she added, was trying to convince Ukraine that it could win on the battlefield even when he knew that that was "impossible". Hopes for 'productive meeting' Trump, who pivoted after the Alaska meeting to say he was now seeking a peace deal rather than a ceasefire, on Sunday posted "BIG PROGRESS ON RUSSIA. STAY TUNED!" on his Truth Social platform, without elaborating. Trump's sudden focus on a peace deal aligns with the stance long taken by Putin, one which Ukraine and its European allies have criticised as Putin's way to buy time while trying to make battlefield gains. Zelensky also said he saw "no sign" the Kremlin leader was prepared to meet him and Trump for a three-way summit, as had been floated by the US president. The leaders heading to Washington on Monday to appear alongside Zelensky call themselves the "coalition of the willing". As well as von der Leyen and Macron, they include British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte. Also heading to Washington will be Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Finnish President Alexander Stubb, who get on well with Trump. On Sunday they all held a video meeting to prepare their joint position. (FRANCE 24 with AFP and AP)
Wall Street Journal
2 hours ago
- Wall Street Journal
What Kind of Peace in Ukraine?
President Trump conducts foreign policy on personal instinct and tactical impulse, and his abrupt Friday turn on Russia and Ukraine is a classic illustration. Whether it's the start of a road to peace, or to appeasement, is impossible to know. We're not sure if Mr. Trump knows himself. The President went into the summit promising 'severe consequences' if there was no agreement on a cease-fire. He left the summit having dropped the cease-fire with no consequences in favor of Vladimir Putin's wish for a long-term peace deal as the war continues. Mr. Trump took new sanctions on buyers of Russian oil off the table.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Geraldo Sucks Up to Trump With Lame Reason to Give Him Nobel Peace Prize
Geraldo Rivera thinks that President Donald Trump deserves the Nobel Peace Prize—even if he doesn't actually deliver any peace. The former talk show host and Fox News personality appeared on Newsmax's Finnerty on Wednesday morning to discuss the U.S. effort to end the war in Ukraine. 'If he does end this war, Geraldo, can they deny him the Nobel Peace Prize?' host Rob Finnerty asked. 'Hell no,' Rivera said. 'I think that this and/or Gaza would put him on the fast track, and anyone to deny that, I think, would really be putting their partisan politics in front of their logic.' 'If you have a president of the United States trying so hard... for peace, even if he's not totally successful, just the effort is so, it's so overt, it's so public, it's so aggressive. You know, he deserves recognition at least for that.' Rivera, a longtime Republican who describes himself as socially liberal, has said that Trump was the 'first rich guy [he] ever knew' and that the two were close friends for decades. However, the TV personality told Interview Magazine that their friendship ended after January 6, which Rivera said showed Trump was 'a sore loser who could not be trusted to honor the Constitution.' Rivera endorsed Kamala Harris in 2024, but now he seems to have changed his tune. Both the war in Ukraine and the war in Gaza seem far away from resolution, despite Trump's upcoming summit with Vladimir Putin on Friday to discuss the conflict. On Wednesday, Trump was asked if Putin would face any consequences if he did not agree to stop the war after their meeting—which will take place without the presence of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. 'There will be very severe consequences,' he said, without specifying what those consequences will be. Meanwhile, the Israeli government announced plans to occupy Gaza City last week in order to 'free Gaza from Hamas.' Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's announcement sparked an international outcry and an arms embargo from Germany. In July, Netanyahu formally nominated Trump for the Nobel Prize, which has been awarded to three U.S. presidents (most recently to Barack Obama in 2008). Netanyahu's letter to the Norwegian Nobel Committee praised Trump for his role in negotiating the Abraham Accords in 2020 and claimed that Trump was 'forging peace, as we speak, in one country in the region after another.' Trump has made no secret that he wants the award and envies his predecessor for winning it. 'If I were named Obama, I would have had the Nobel Prize given to me in 10 seconds,' he said at the Detroit Economic Club last year. Trump fought ISIS with intense air strikes in Iraq and Syria in his first term and ordered the assassination of a prominent Iranian general. So far in his second term, he has conducted airstrikes on Iran and suggested that the U.S. should occupy the Gaza Strip. 'Let the United States get involved and make it just a freedom zone,' he said in March.
