Bilal meets Trump Council boss
During the meeting, both sides discussed ways to enhance cooperation between Pakistan and the United States in the field of digital assets. Key areas of discussion included Bitcoin, future partnerships, and potential collaboration in the evolving global digital economy.
They also discussed strategic alignment on digital assets, Bitcoin integration and the future of decentralized infrastructure.
A major topic of the meeting was Pakistan's recently announced strategic Bitcoin reserves, which were explored in detail as a step toward strengthening the country's position in the digital finance space.
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Express Tribune
2 hours ago
- Express Tribune
Moscow hails Alaska summit as victory for Russia's Ukraine narrative
In the early hours of Saturday morning following a summit in Alaska between the leaders of Russia and the United States, senior politicians in Moscow were quick to trumpet the meeting as a win for Russia and its narrative of the war in Ukraine. "The meeting in Alaska confirmed Russia's desire for peace, long-term and fair," said Andrei Klishas, a senior lawmaker from President Vladimir Putin's United Russia party. He portrayed the summit as a coup for Russia and a loss for Ukraine and its European allies, who have been pushing for an unconditional ceasefire. "The tasks of the SMO will be accomplished either by military or diplomatic means," Klishas wrote, using the acronym for Special Military Operation, the Kremlin's term for the war. "A new architecture for European and international security is on the agenda, and everyone must accept it." The highly-anticipated summit on Friday in Anchorage yielded no agreement to resolve or pause the conflict, now in its fourth year, although both Putin and US President Donald Trump described the talks as productive. Read More: Russia readying nuclear-powered cruise missile test The two men met for nearly three hours before giving a brief media appearance and boarding separate planes home. Dmitry Medvedev, a former Russian president known for his hawkish views, said the summit proved that it was possible to hold talks without conditions - as Moscow has insisted - while the fighting in Ukraine rages on. Russia's flagship Channel One morning state news bulletin on Saturday stressed the pageantry around the summit, its global profile, and the warm welcome extended to Putin, who had been ostracized by Western leaders since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. "The Red carpet, handshakes and footage and photographs that are in all global publications and TV channels," it said, saying it was the first time that Trump had met a visiting leader off their plane at the airport. Its correspondent in Alaska said the two leaders had obviously agreed about a lot of things, but did not say what those things were. "The very fact of the meeting in Alaska, its tone, and its outcome represent a significant and joint success for both presidents, each of whom made a tremendous personal contribution to achieving the best possible result at this time," Konstantin Kosachyov, a chair of the foreign affairs committee of Russia's upper house of parliament, wrote on Telegram. Also Read: At least 11 dead, over 100 injured in factory blast in Russia Other commentators struck a sourer tone. Writing for War Gonzo, a pro-war Telegram channel with over 800,000 subscribers, one blogger praised Putin's remarks as "quite strong", but added that the meeting had delivered no visible outcomes beyond the mere fact that it took place. "What will happen next? If our strikes on Ukrainian regime targets resume, Trump will have a reason to declare once again that 'Putin is talking nonsense' and to impose sanctions and interrupt the negotiation process that has begun," wrote the blogger, Old Miner.
Business Recorder
3 hours ago
- Business Recorder
US proposed NATO-style joint defence guarantees for Kyiv: source
KYIV: The US has proposed security guarantees for Ukraine similar to – but separate from – those enjoyed by NATO member countries, a diplomatic source told AFP on Saturday. The suggestion was raised during a call US President Donald Trump held with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and European leaders earlier on Saturday, the source said. 'As one of the security guarantees for Ukraine, the American side proposed a non-NATO Article 5 type guarantee, supposedly agreed with (Russian leader Vladimir) Putin,' the diplomatic source said on condition they not be identified in any way. NATO's collective security is based on its Article 5 principle: if one member is attacked, the entire alliance comes to its defence. Trump says Ukraine needs to make a deal after summit with Putin ends without ceasefire Trump, Zelensky and European leaders – who included NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte – spoke early Saturday to discuss Trump's summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin held on Friday in Alaska. Before that joint call, Trump also had a call with Zelensky as flew back from Alaska. 'The American side voiced this (joint security proposal) during a conversation with the president (Zelensky) and then repeated it during a joint conversation with the Europeans,' the diplomatic source said. Another source with knowledge of the matter confirmed the NATO-like guarantees had been discussed. But that source added: 'No-one knows how this could work and why Putin would agree to it if he is categorically against NATO and obviously against really effective guarantees of Ukraine's sovereignty.' Kyiv has long aspired to join NATO – but Russia has given that as one of its reasons for its war in Ukraine, and some Western circles have expressed resistance to the idea. Trump has repeatedly ruled out Ukraine joining the Western military alliance. Zelensky is due in Washington on Monday for talks with Trump. The second source told AFP that Zelensky is to discuss what form a possible Trump-Putin-Zelensky summit would have, the role of Kyiv's European allies in peace talks, territories, and security guarantees.
Business Recorder
4 hours ago
- Business Recorder
Trump says Ukraine needs to make a deal after summit with Putin ends without ceasefire
WASHINGTON/MOSCOW: U.S. President Donald Trump said Ukraine should agree a deal to end the war with Russia, after holding a summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin that yielded no agreement on a ceasefire. At a brief appearance before the media after nearly three hours of talks in Alaska on Friday, Trump and Putin said they had made progress on unspecified issues. But they offered no details and took no questions, with the normally loquacious Trump ignoring shouted questions from reporters. 'We've made some headway,' Trump said, standing in front of a backdrop that read, 'Pursuing Peace.' 'There's no deal until there's a deal,' he added. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Saturday that Ukraine was ready for constructive cooperation after a conversation with Trump following the summit. He said he would travel to Washington on Monday. Putin however signaled no movement in Russia's long-held position on Ukraine, saying it was necessary to eliminate the 'root causes' of the crisis and address Moscow's 'legitimate concerns'. He said he agreed with Trump that Ukraine's security must be 'ensured'. Trump says Putin summit a prelude to real Ukraine dealmaking 'We are ready to work on this. I would like to hope that the understanding we have reached will allow us to get closer to that goal and open the way to peace in Ukraine,' Putin said. 'We expect that Kyiv and the European capitals will perceive all of this in a constructive manner and will not create any obstacles. That they will not attempt to disrupt the emerging progress through provocation or behind-the-scenes intrigue.' Neither leader specified any concrete move towards a ceasefire in the war in Ukraine, a goal that Trump had set ahead of Friday's summit. The war - the deadliest in Europe for 80 years - has killed or injured well over a million people from both sides, including thousands of mostly Ukrainian civilians, according to analysts. Trump signaled that he discussed potential land swaps and security guarantees for Ukraine with Putin, telling Fox News' Sean Hannity: 'I think those are points that we negotiated, and those are points that we largely have agreed on.' 'I think we're pretty close to a deal,' he said, adding: 'Ukraine has to agree to it. Maybe they'll say no.' Putin 'won this round' When asked by Hannity what he would advise Zelenskiy, Trump said: 'Gotta make a deal.' 'Look, Russia is a very big power, and they're not. They're great soldiers,' Trump added. Trump warns of make-or-break chance with Putin as pressure mounts Trump's talk of land swaps before the summit had prompted fears in Kyiv and Europe that he and Putin might reach an agreement between themselves and try to impose it on Ukraine, forcing Kyiv to accept deeply unfavorable terms. Those fears apparently did not materialize. But simply sitting down face-to-face with the U.S. president represented a victory for Putin, who had been ostracized by Western leaders since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and just a week earlier had been facing a threat of new sanctions from Trump. 'Putin is a determined opponent, and, yes, he basically won this round because he got something for nothing. Still, Trump did not sell out Ukraine,' Cold War historian Sergey Radchenko posted on X. Trump told Fox News that a meeting would now be set up between Putin and Ukraine's Zelenskiy, which he might also attend. He gave no further details on who was organizing the meeting or when it might be. Putin made no mention of meeting Zelenskiy when speaking to reporters earlier. Russian state news agency TASS quoted Putin's foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov as saying the possibility of a three-way summit including Zelenskiy had not been discussed. Trump will seek to squeeze Ukraine ceasefire deal out of Putin at Alaska summit After Trump landed in Washington on Saturday, the White House said the president was on the phone with NATO leaders following a lengthy call with Zelenskiy. 'We must continue to put pressure on Russia, and even increase it, to give the clear signal to Russia that it must pay the price (for its invasion of Ukraine),' Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide told reporters in Oslo. In another reaction from a NATO country, Czech Defence Minister Jana Cernochova said: 'The Trump-Putin talks in Alaska did not bring significant progress toward ending the war in Ukraine, but they confirmed that Putin is not seeking peace, but rather an opportunity to weaken Western unity and spread his propaganda.' 'Next time in Moscow' Both Russia and Ukraine carried out overnight air attacks, a daily occurrence in the war that Russia launched in February 2022 with its full-scale invasion of its neighbor. Russia launched 85 attack drones and a ballistic missile targeting Ukraine's territory, Ukraine's Air Force said on Saturday. It said its air defense units destroyed 61 of them. The General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces said 139 clashes had taken place on the front line over the past day. Russia said its air defenses intercepted and destroyed 29 Ukrainian drones overnight. Trump told Fox that he would hold off on imposing tariffs on China for buying Russian oil after making progress with Putin. He did not mention India, another major buyer of Russian crude, which has been slapped with a total 50% tariff on U.S. imports that includes a 25% penalty for the imports from Russia. 'Because of what happened today, I think I don't have to think about that now,' Trump said of Chinese tariffs. 'I may have to think about it in two weeks or three weeks or something, but we don't have to think about that right now.' Trump has threatened sanctions on Moscow as well but has thus far not followed through, even after Putin ignored a Trump-imposed ceasefire deadline earlier this month. The anticlimactic end to the closely watched summit was in stark contrast to the pomp and circumstance with which it began. When Putin arrived at an Air Force base in Alaska, a red carpet awaited him, where Trump greeted the Russian president warmly as U.S. military aircraft flew overhead. Putin is wanted by the International Criminal Court, accused of the war crime of deporting hundreds of children from Ukraine. Russia denies the allegations, and the Kremlin has dismissed the ICC warrant as null and void. Russia and the United States are not members of the court. Trump ended his remarks on Friday by telling Putin, 'I'd like to thank you very much, and we'll speak to you very soon and probably see you again very soon.' 'Next time in Moscow,' a smiling Putin responded in English. Trump said he might 'get a little heat on that one' but that he could 'possibly see it happening.' Zelenskiy said ahead of Friday's summit that the meeting should open the way for a 'just peace' and three-way talks that included him, but added that Russia was continuing to wage war. 'It's time to end the war, and the necessary steps must be taken by Russia. We are counting on America,' Zelenskiy wrote on Telegram.
