Putin holds call with North Korea's Kim, discusses US-Russia talks, Kremlin says
North Korea's state news agency KCNA later reported the two leaders' call without mentioning the meeting scheduled on Friday between Putin and Trump.
Kim and Putin discussed the development in the countries' ties under a strategic partnership agreement signed last year "confirming their will to strengthen cooperation in the future," KCNA said.
Putin expressed appreciation for North Korea's help in "liberating" the Kursk region in western Russia in the war against Ukraine and "the bravery, heroism and self-sacrificing spirit displayed by service personnel of the Korean People's Army," it said.
North Korea has dispatched more than 10,000 troops to support Russia's campaign in western Russia in the Ukraine conflict and is believed to be planning another deployment, according to a South Korean intelligence assessment.
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Daily Mail
7 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Keir Starmer and European leaders scramble to halt Donald Trump handing parts of Ukraine to Russia's Vladimir Putin at Alaska summit
Sir Keir Starmer and European leaders will today put pressure on Donald Trump not to hand parts of Ukraine to Russia during his upcoming talks with Vladimir Putin. The Prime Minister will join a call at lunchtime with Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky, France 's Emmanuel Macron and Germany 's Friedrich Merz. They will then be joined by Mr Trump and US vice president JD Vance for an emergency virtual summit, ahead of Mr Trump's talks with Mr Putin in Alaska on Friday. The US President is meeting the Russian leader as he attempts to fulfil his promise to bring to an end the three year-long conflict in Ukraine. But there are worries in European capitals that Mr Trump will offer to cede Ukrainian territory to Russia as part of a ceasefire deal. 'There'll be some land swapping going on,' Mr Trump stated this week, although he also vowed to try and recover some of Ukraine's territory currently held by Russia. Ahead of the Trump-Putin meeting, Mr Zelensky has declared he will not hand his country's eastern Donbas region to Russia as the price for peace. He warned, if handed to the Kremlin, Mr Putin would merely use the region as a 'springboard for a future new offensive' on Ukraine. Sir Keir is set to support Mr Zelensky's stance in Wednesday's call with Mr Trump, with the PM having insisted a peace deal 'must be built with Ukraine, not imposed upon it'. Both the PM and EU leaders are also expected to argue that Mr Putin cannot be rewarded for his aggression against Ukraine by gaining territory. A European diplomatic source told The i Paper that permanent changes to the Ukraine-Russia border would not be accepted. They added that land swaps must be off the table in Mr Trump's discussions with Mr Putin. But there are also reported tensions between the UK and EU capitals, with a British official revealing concerns about 'unhelpful running commentary' from European leaders about the Trump-Putin talks. 'Unlike our European colleagues, we are not publicly out there making demands of the Americans,' they told The Telegraph. 'A lot of the way the Europeans seem to be behaving, they're going to annoy the Americans, they're going to annoy Trump if they start making demands and if they put out red lines.' It comes after Mr Merz and Kaja Kallas, the EU's top diplomat, both publicly called for Mr Zelensky to be allowed to attend the talks in Alaska. Ms Kallas said: 'We cannot accept that territorial issues between Russia and America are discussed or even decided over the heads of Europeans and Ukrainians.' Later on Wednesday, Sir Keir will co-chair a meeting of the so-called 'coalition of the willing' meeting to update wider partners on the day's discussions. The coalition of the willing is an international effort to support Ukraine towards a lasting peace, led by the UK, France and Ukraine. It is made up of 31 countries that have pledged strengthened support for Kyiv, including 27 European countries, as well as Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Japan. Ahead of Wednesday's call, a Downing Street spokesperson said: 'The PM remains absolutely focused on a solution to this conflict grounded in Ukraine's national interests. 'He is determined to achieve a just and lasting peace in Ukraine, backed by robust and credible security guarantees that will deter Russia from threatening Ukraine in future.' Mr Zelensky said at a news briefing on Tuesday that Mr Putin wants Ukraine to withdraw from the remaining 30 per cent of the Donetsk region that Kyiv controls as part of a ceasefire deal. This was conveyed to him by US officials, Mr Zelensky added. However, he reiterated that Ukraine would not withdraw from territories it controls because it is unconstitutional and would only serve as a springboard for a future Russian invasion. Mr Trump has also signalled he thinks Ukraine might need to cede territory in order to end the conflict, stating there is likely to be 'some land-swapping going on'. Speaking during a lengthy press conference on Monday, Mr Trump pledged to 'try to get back' some of Ukraine's 'oceanfront property' from Russia. He said: 'We're going to change the lines, the battle lines. Russia has occupied a big portion of Ukraine. They've occupied some very prime territory. We're going to try and get some of that territory back for Ukraine. 'They have taken largely – in real estate we call it oceanfront property. That's always the most valuable property.' A statement released by the EU on Tuesday read: 'A just and lasting peace that brings stability and security must respect international law, including the principles of independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity and that international borders must not be changed by force. 'The people of Ukraine must have the freedom to decide their future. The path to peace in Ukraine cannot be decided without Ukraine. 'Meaningful negotiations can only take place in the context of a ceasefire or reduction of hostilities.' In response, Mr Zelensky said on X (formerly Twitter): 'I am grateful to the leaders of Europe for their clear support for our independence, territorial integrity, and precisely such an active approach to diplomacy that can help end this war with a dignified peace. 'Indeed, We all support President Trump's determination, and together we must shape positions that will not allow Russia to deceive the world once again. 'We see that the Russian army is not preparing to end the war. On the contrary, they are making movements that indicate preparations for new offensive operations. 'In such circumstances, it is important that the unity of the world is not threatened. 'As long as they continue the war and the occupation, all of us together must maintain our pressure – the pressure of strength, the pressure of sanctions, the pressure of diplomacy.'
Reuters
7 minutes ago
- Reuters
Russia's Ukraine advances, DC homeless, inflation and India-US boycott calls
Follow on Apple or Spotify. Listen on the Reuters app. Russia intensifies efforts to capture more territory in eastern Ukraine ahead of Trump-Putin summit on Friday. Homeless people in Washington, D.C. face jail threat if they do not comply with President Donald Trump's crack down. Markets digest the latest inflation news holding on to hopes of Fed rate cut. And there are growing calls in India to boycott U.S. goods over huge tariffs. Sign up for the Reuters Econ World newsletter here. Listen to the Reuters Econ World podcast here. Visit the Thomson Reuters Privacy Statement for information on our privacy and data protection practices. You may also visit to opt out of targeted advertising. Further Reading Ukraine, sidelined in Trump-Putin summit, fights Russian grab for more territory Homeless who refuse to cooperate with Trump crackdown may go to jail, White House says Dollar slips to a two week low as investors eye Fed cut In India, Trump's tariffs spark calls to boycott American goods Exclusive: Pentagon Golden Dome to have 4-layer defense system, slides show Solitary cell with mattress on the floor for South Korea's once powerful ex-first lady Recommended Read: 'Cooked alive': Europe's wildfires hit tourism spots and forests
The Guardian
34 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Trump alone in a room with Putin is a recipe for disaster – just look to their last meeting
The lessons of Helsinki are clear: putting Donald Trump alone in a room with Vladimir Putin is an unpredictable – and often dangerous – affair. It was 2018 when the two leaders met at the invitation of Sauli Niinistö, the Finnish president, to discuss a collapse in US-Russia relations, accusations of elections interference, and the grinding war in east Ukraine, among other topics. By the time he came out of the room, Trump looked dazzled by the Kremlin leader. Asked at a press conference about the conclusions of the US intelligence community that Russia had interfered in the elections, Trump said: 'President Putin says it's not Russia. I don't see any reason why it would be.' Fiona Hill, Trump's senior Kremlin adviser on the US national security council, later said that she had considered pulling a fire alarm or faking a medical emergency to end the press conference. Somehow, the stakes are even higher as Trump and Putin plan to meet on Friday in Anchorage, Alaska, where Trump has said the two will discuss 'land swapping' in Putin's first meeting with a G7 leader since his invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. European leaders are fearful that Trump could once again emerge from a closed-door meeting preaching the Kremlin gospel. The White House has been lowering expectations for the summit – a sign that no concrete deal is on the table. 'This is really a feel-out meeting, a little bit,' Trump said during a news conference on Monday. He said he would know within the first few minutes whether or not Putin was ready for a ceasefire and would pass that on to Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European leaders. 'I may say, 'Lots of luck, keep fighting.' Or I may say, 'We can make a deal,'' he said. But Putin will still try his luck to shape Trump's image of what a peace deal could entail in a way that will bring maximum benefit to the Kremlin. Putin 'wants a deal with Trump that will be presented to Kyiv and other European capitals as a fait accompli,' wrote John Herbst, senior director of the Atlantic Council's Eurasia Center and a former ambassador to Ukraine. The lack of invites for European leaders 'has the smell of the Yalta Conference in 1945 … where the United States, the Soviet Union, and the United Kingdom decided the fate of half of Europe over the heads of those nations'. Europe and Ukraine have pushed back. Ahead of the summit, Zelenskyy said that Ukraine would not cede Russia territory that it could use to launch a new offensive, effectively ruling out Trump's predictions that 'there will be some [land] swapping'. The ad-hoc nature of Trump's approach to foreign policy can play into the hands of the US's foreign adversaries – but it has frustrated them too. Leaders like president Xi Jinping of China are said to prefer more advance work before getting into the room with Trump specifically because of his unpredictability. Russia too has become frustrated with the lack of process in the Trump administration. But that has not stopped Putin from taking his chances by stepping into the ring with Trump for their first one-on-one meeting of this administration. Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, said on Tuesday that the meeting between Trump and Putin would be one-on-one, and a 'listening exercise' for Trump during which he could suss out the Russian point of view. 'That's the way Trump does it. He just wings it,' said Hill, the former presidential aide. 'And Putin likes sparring … he prides himself on being able to be light on his feet in these kinds of settings,' she said. The lack of advisers in the room has raised a key question: will any agreements made in a private setting, even if interpreters or other notetakers are present, lead to lasting outcomes? 'It's kind of like a meeting falling in the forest,' said Hill. A similar event took place during the Helsinki summit, when Trump exited the room and said that he had made an agreement with Putin for US law enforcement to have access to the GRU operatives accused of influencing the US elections. Putin later said in turn that he would have access to Americans responsible for pushing for the anti-corruption Magnitsky Act. 'Of course, that went nowhere,' Hill said. 'Trump hadn't fully understood what Putin had said to him.' 'In other words, you know, there is a meeting or something, it doesn't solidify into something,' she said.
