Starmer to welcome Zelensky to No 10 ahead of Trump meeting with Putin
Meanwhile, Mr Trump threatened Russia with 'severe consequences' if a ceasefire was rejected by its leader.
During a call with the US president and European allies on Wednesday, Sir Keir praised Mr Trump for his work to bring forward a 'viable' chance of an end to the war.
But concerns have been raised over Mr Zelensky's exclusion from the meeting between the Mr Trump and Mr Putin, which is set to take place in Alaska on Friday.
Speaking on Wednesday, Sir Keir said: 'This meeting on Friday that President Trump is attending is hugely important.
'As I've said personally to President Trump for the three-and-a-bit years this conflict has been going on, we haven't got anywhere near a prospect of actually a viable solution, a viable way of bringing it to a ceasefire.
'And now we do have that chance, because of the work of that the president has put in.'
Further sanctions could be imposed on Russia should the Kremlin fail to engage, and the UK is already working on its next package of measures targeting Moscow, he said.
'We're ready to support this, including from the plans we've already drawn up to deploy a reassurance force once hostilities have ceased,' he told allies.
'It is important to remind colleagues that we do stand ready also to increase pressure on Russia, particularly the economy, with sanctions and wider measures as may be necessary.'
Sir Keir and European leaders have repeatedly said discussions about Ukraine should not happen without it, amid concerns the country is being sidelined in negotiations about its own future.
Asked if it was his decision to not invite Mr Zelensky to the meeting, Mr Trump said 'no just the opposite', before adding that a second meeting with the Ukrainian president could take place afterwards.
'We had a very good call, he was on the call, President Zelensky was on the call. I would rate it a 10, you know, very, very friendly,' he told reporters in Washington.
He added: 'There's a very good chance that we're going to have a second meeting which will be more productive than the first, because the first is I'm going to find out where we are and what we're doing.'
The US president has previously suggested a truce could involve some 'swapping' of land.
It is believed one of the Russian leader's demands is for Ukraine to cede parts of the Donbas region which it still controls.
But Mr Zelensky has already rejected any proposal that would compromise Ukraine's territorial integrity, something that is forbidden by the country's constitution.
A joint statement from the Coalition of the Willing, which is co-chaired by Sir Keir, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, said 'international borders must not be changed by force'.
It added: 'Sanctions and wider economic measures to put pressure on Russia's war economy should be strengthened if Russia does not agree to a ceasefire in Alaska.'
The Coalition of the Willing is a European-led effort to send a peacekeeping force to Ukraine in the event of truce.
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Times
24 minutes ago
- Times
What Putin said and what he meant, with a flash of sharp teeth
Unlike his American counterpart, President Putin chooses his words carefully. His closing remarks after his meeting with President Trump on Friday speak volumes both for what he did and did not say. • Trump-Putin meeting: follow the latest updates Putin pitched this meeting as an opportunity to bring US-Russian relations back on track — and in effect, to relegate the Ukraine issue to the sidelines. His well-known obsession with history, even if a deeply slanted version that suits his political needs, was soon in evidence. After praising the way the talks had been 'held in a constructive atmosphere of mutual respect', he quickly moved on to stressing not just that the meeting in Alaska highlighted the degree to which Russia and the United States, 'though separated by the oceans, are close neighbours' — just 2.4 miles apart at the closest point — but also that there was much shared history. (Of course, Alaska had been Russian until it was sold to America in 1867.) In the closed-door talks, Trump was apparently spared the kind of 30-minute lecture with which Putin began his interview with the US journalist Tucker Carlson. Instead, in both those talks and his public statement, Putin tried to mobilise history to develop his fundamental point: that Russia and America ought to be allies rather than adversaries. On his way to Anchorage, Putin had stopped over in Magadan in the Russian far east, where he made a point of laying flowers at the 'Heroes of Alsib' memorial commemorating pilots killed on the Alaska-Siberia route in the Second World War, when the US was helping to supply the Soviets. Noting that Soviet pilots had also been buried at a cemetery close to the airbase where the meeting with Trump was held, Putin offered a little light flattery to 'the citizens and the government of the US for carefully taking care of their memory. I think that's very worthy and noble'. He continued to make the point: 'We'll always remember other historical examples when our countries defeated common enemies together in the spirit of battle camaraderie and allyship that supported each other and facilitated each other.' In other words, when Moscow and Washington co-operate, no one can stand in their way. Putin here presented the war as something of a distraction which has unnecessarily interrupted co-operation between two great nations. 'This time has been very hard for bilateral relations, and let's be frank, they've fallen to the lowest point since the Cold War,' he said. 'I think that's not benefiting our countries and the world as a whole. It is apparent that sooner or later, we have to amend the situation to move on from the confrontation to dialogue.' This was Putin sounding conciliatory, yet wanting to have his cake and eat it: to restate his fundamental position, while posing as a peacemaker. The tell comes a few moments later. • Four key moments from Trump-Putin press conference This is Putin's usual code for demands that Kyiv must surrender territory, be barred from Nato membership and shrink its military to a level that leaves it perpetually vulnerable. He emphasised that from his perspective 'to make the settlement lasting and long-term, we need to eliminate all the primary roots, the primary causes of that conflict.' He is of course not talking about the unprovoked Russian invasion that started the war (which he ordered) but rather the supposedly 'legitimate concerns of Russia' and the need 'to reinstate a just balance of security in Europe and in the world' which would be more advantageous to Moscow. Meanwhile, he invoked what sounded like kinship with the Ukrainians, adding even that 'naturally, the security of Ukraine should be ensured as well'. This might have surprised those Ukrainian civilians hiding in their air raid shelters at the time. However, his claim that Russians have 'always considered the Ukrainian nation … a brotherly nation' as 'we have the same roots' was really just a sugar-coated rendition of his usual claim that Ukraine is not really a genuine country, more an annexe of a greater Russia. It is not yet clear what Putin meant by this arch suggestion. The official translation of his word ponimanie is 'agreements' but really the looser 'understandings' is more accurate. We therefore don't know if there is any framework for an agreement — although there are recurring suggestions of a halt to mutual air attacks on Russia and Ukraine's cities and infrastructure — or just a sense of progress being made. In any case, Putin was astute enough not to dwell on this too much and instead to refocus on the Russian and American relationship. First he dangled the benefit to the United States of improved dialogue with Russia. 'It is clear that the US and Russian investment and business co-operation has tremendous potential,' he said. 'Russia and the US can offer each other so much in trade, digital, high tech and in space exploration. We see that Arctic co-operation is also very possible.' Then he spoke warmly of his own bond with his American counterpart. Trump may be the leader of the most powerful nation in the world, but he still manifests an insecurity that Putin is happy to exploit. Speaking of the outbreak of war in Ukraine in 2022 the Russian said: 'President Trump is saying that if he was the president back then, there would be no war, and I'm quite sure that it would indeed be so' (as if the invasion had been some natural disaster, rather than something he initiated). As for Trump's peacemaking efforts, it was the Europeans and Ukrainians who were frustrating him, Putin suggested. He expressed the pious hope that they 'will not make any attempts to use some backroom dealings to conduct provocations to torpedo the nascent progress.' It was, of course, naked flattery, but it was also different from the kind of fawning obeisances some European leaders have adopted. Rather it was calibrated to convey a sense that the two men were equals and it came with the hint of an invitation to the club of strongman leaders: 'The president of the US has a very clear idea of what he would like to achieve. He sincerely cares about the prosperity of his nation. Still, he understands that Russia has its own national interests.' This sounded like a compliment, not condescension. Putin is not a rigid strategist but an opportunist. He likes to keep his options open. Having averted any ultimatum on a ceasefire, he made it clear that he will pursue both military and diplomatic tracks simultaneously, the very thing Kyiv has been trying to prevent. He can see if some deal that suits him emerges — or just use continuing negotiations to keep Trump paralysed and try to paint the Ukrainians and the Europeans as the obstacle. At this stage, he doesn't have to decide, and that's the way he likes it. One might think that this would be enough for him, but Putin wouldn't be Putin without a snarky parting shot. Just as Trump was wrapping up the brief press conference with a vague suggestion that the two men would 'probably' see each other again soon, Putin pounced. By inviting him, in English, to the Russian capital for their next meeting, he knew he was putting Trump very much on the spot. Obviously, this would be an even greater fillip for Putin, and pretty much guarantee that President Zelensky wasn't going to be present. It was a closing flash of the sharp teeth behind the bland smile: I am not, Putin could have been saying, just another second-tier national leader who can be pushed around. Professor Mark Galeotti's book, Forged in War: A Military History of Russia from its Beginnings to Today, is published by Osprey/Bloomsbury
The Herald Scotland
40 minutes ago
- The Herald Scotland
Trump's ‘art of the deal' fails again outflanked by a wily Putin
EMBLAZONED on the podium's backdrop were the words, 'Pursuing Peace'. But just around the time that US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin were wrapping up their much vaunted meeting in Alaska on Friday, at least seven regions of Ukraine were under air raid alert. 'Elusive Peace' instead it seems was the prevailing message to come out of this the first meeting between a US president and Putin since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. After nearly three hours of talks, there was a brief appearance before the media, during which Trump and Putin said they had made progress on unspecified issues, but offered no details and took no questions, from the journalists gathered. Trump, usually loquacious and ready to bat off reporters' questions, seemed to sense that he would be asked about his pre-summit threats of 'very severe consequences' if Russia did not end the conflict. Instead, the assembled global press had to settle for both men hinting at 'progress made,' 'points agreed on' and talk of a follow up meeting with a glum looking Trump insisting, 'There is no deal until there is a deal.' Trump's much sought after ceasefire deal it seems remains out of reach for now, but what followed the summit was a lengthy phone conversation between Trump and Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy with the leaders of some NATO countries including UK Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, joining for part of the conversation. Trump and Zelenskyy also agreed to meet in Washington on Monday. It's long been recognised that successful diplomacy of any kind requires give and take on both sides, but for now that - in public at least – does not seem sufficiently forthcoming for any major breakthrough. (Image: Jordan Pettitt/PA Wire) So, what then does the outcome of the Alaska summit mean for both Trump and Putin. What too does it signify for Ukraine and its European allies in terms of the way forward? To take Putin first, the consensus among many observers is that the Russian president came out of the summit having achieved one of his major goals, which is the start of his rehabilitation as a world leader. The Alaska get-together with the powerful photo opportunity it presented, ended Putin's isolation from the West. Almost from the moment he stepped off his plane onto the red-carpeted tarmac, Putin will have been pleased with what the Kremlin will view as a triumph. Read more Tears and trauma: David Pratt in Ukraine DAVID PRATT ON THE WORLD: Whatever happens in Brazil's resentful and rancorous election, the result will have major repercussions for us all David Pratt in Ukraine: It's hard to comprehend this level of destruction David Pratt: Kremlin's protestations have a hollow ring as atrocities mount up War Criminal NOT only was the Russian leader – a man wanted by the International Criminal Court as a war criminal - greeted with applause from his host, Trump, but his welcome stood in marked contrast to the public humiliation that Trump and his advisers inflicted on Zelenskyy during his visit to the White House earlier this year. 'The meeting looks like a win for Putin,' observed Oleh Shamshur, a former Ukrainian ambassador to the US and now a non-resident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council's Eurasia Center. 'There was high ceremony and a warm reception -painful for Ukrainians to watch - a breaking out of diplomatic isolation, and a delaying again of a round of harsher direct and secondary sanctions. There was, in other words, quite a bit to sell his new 'victory' to the Russian public and to an international audience of both friends and foes,' Shamshur added. It helped Putin too that the Alaskan venue was rife with symbolism: the proximity of Russia and America across the Bering Strait, the sale of Alaska by Tsarist Russia to the United States in 1867; and the American lend-lease agreements that armed the Soviet Union to help it resist Nazi Germany (an important supply route ran through Alaska). Putin of course made the most of all this and in his closing speech recounted how, on arrival on the red carpet, he had greeted Trump with 'Good afternoon, dear neighbour.' But as the New York Times (NYT) noted, this was more than a photo op and move towards international rehabilitation for Putin. 'In addition to thawing Russia's pariah status in the West, the summit has sowed discord within NATO - a perennial Russian goal - and postponed Mr. Trump's threat of tough new sanctions,' the newspaper said. 'Little more than two weeks ago, he vowed that if Mr. Putin did not commit to a cease-fire by last Friday, he would punish Moscow and countries like China and India that help Russia's war effort by buying its oil and gas.' the NYT added. It went on to cite Ryhor Nizhnikau, a Russia expert and senior researcher at the Finnish Institute of International Affairs as saying, 'Instead of getting hit with sanctions, Putin got a summit.' According to the independent Russian online news portal Meduza, even before the start of Friday's summit the Kremlin had issued instructions to Russia's state-controlled media on how to cover it. The guidelines says Meduza told pro-Kremlin outlets to emphasise that Putin spoke to Trump about 'Kyiv's unwillingness to negotiate,' that Moscow is 'ready for various scenarios in the talks,' and that the Russian president 'sets the agenda for Russian-American relations.' Meduza detailed how a media strategist working with the Kremlin's political team had told them told them that pro-government audiences were being prepped for the possibility that the summit 'may not lead to a pause in fighting.' 'It's a warm-up to keep expectations low -and avoid disappointment,' the source said. 'The main point is dialogue with the US for the sake of dialogue. Putin and Trump are working on an agreement, and it's Putin who sets the terms of that agreement.' Economic Pressure IN short, Putin got to share the stage with the US president and proffer enough flattery and meaningless talk of respecting Ukrainian security to stave off further immediate sanctions and economic pressure. Some observers say the Alaska summit was a stark reminder of their last infamous encounter in Helsinki in 2018. Back then by the time Trump came out of the room after his one to one meeting he 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 US elections, Trump said: 'President Putin says it's not Russia. I don't see any reason why it should 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 such was the extent to which Putin had embarrassingly put one over on Trump. Putin's negotiating abilities of course are a point of record. In his 2020 memoir, A Promised Land, former US president Barack Obama in an assessment of foreign leaders, told how when his aide David Axelrod asked him his impression of Putin, he responded that he 'found him strangely familiar, 'like a ward boss, except with nukes and a UN Security Council veto.' 'Putin did, in fact, remind me of the sorts of men who had once run the Chicago machine or Tammany Hall (a historical New York City political organisation) -tough, street-smart, unsentimental characters who knew what they knew, who never moved outside their narrow experiences, and who viewed patronage, bribery, shakedowns, fraud, and occasional violence as legitimate tools of the trade,' Obama wrote. It might have been an unflattering characterisation, but many agree on its accuracy nonetheless. This weekend despite trying to put considerable spin on the outcome of the Alaska summit, Trump appears to have once again been outmanoeuvred by Putin's cunning and uncompromising tactics. As the Financial Times (FT) and others see it, Trump's lacklustre performance they say resulted in a political backslash on his return to Washington. The newspaper cited a number of political figures uneasy with the outcome. On the Democrat side, Illinois congressman Mike Quigley said: 'Trump rolled out the red carpet for Putin - literally - and he walked away with a green light to continue his conquest.' But it will be criticism from his fellow Republicans that will bother Trump most. Brian Fitzpatrick, a Pennsylvania Republican, said it was time to reckon with one conclusion: 'This simple fact remains: true and lasting security can only be achieved with our allies - most importantly with Ukraine - at the table.' (Image: Jordan Pettitt/PA Wire) Europe's Relief BUT it is in Europe that there will be a certain cautionary relief that Trump did not announce a deal with Putin that he would then present to them as a fait accompli. Trump's pre-summit talk of 'land swaps' had left some with frayed nerves. Many in Europe remain concerned about Trump's willingness to hold a summit on Ukraine that excluded Zelenskyy. It was significant then that almost immediately in the wake of the summit in a moment of coordination, European leaders put out a joint statement pushing for three- way talks between the US, Ukraine and Russia. In a statement, Keir Starmer - clearly in part designed to flatter Trump - insisted that 'President Trump's efforts have brought us closer than ever before to ending the war in Ukraine.' He went on to reiterate that the next steps must involve Zelenskyy and that peace cannot be decided without him. Clearly the uncertain outcome of the summit, with nothing agreed on paper, has bought the Europeans and Ukrainians time to try and shape Trump's future thinking. 'We are clear that Ukraine must have ironclad security guarantees to effectively defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity,' the European leaders said in a statement. 'No limitations should be placed on Ukraine's armed forces or on its cooperation with third countries. Russia cannot have a veto against Ukraine's pathway to EU and NATO,' they said. According to two EU diplomats cited by Politico magazine, an extraordinary meeting of ambassadors representing all 27 member countries was convened yesterday morning to discuss the bloc's next steps. Envoys were asked to meet in 'restricted format,' without aides or telephones to minimise the risks of information leaking. Trump's remark that the US might get involved in guaranteeing Ukrainian security will be music to the ears of Kyiv's European allies and something they will want to build on in moving forward. But this being Donald Trump means that things remain unpredictable If Trump himself is unhappy and the unsatisfactory outcome of the summit eats away at him with his prospect of securing that coveted Nobel Peace Prize vanishing, then there is no guarantee he will end up directing his ire at Putin. There is always the fear too that Trump will walk away and be involved only from the sidelines. 'Now Trump seems to be shifting most of the responsibility to Kyiv and Europe but reserving some role for himself,' observed Tatiana Stanovaya, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center in the wake of the summit. All eyes now will turn to tomorrow's talks at the White House with Zelenskyy. 'If all works out, we will then schedule a meeting with President Putin. Potentially, millions of people's lives will be saved,' insisted Trump yesterday still hinting that the Alaska talks went better than they appeared to. Trump's Motives FOR his part the Ukrainian president will doubtless be on his guard given a certain previous encounter at the White House, and also because back home most of his fellow Ukrainians remain equally wary of Trump's motives. As an editorial in the Kyiv Independent noted about the summit; 'If the two presidents failed to reach an agreement, it means that, despite all the chumminess on display, Trump didn't approve of Russia's absurd demands for Ukraine - demands that amount to Kyiv's capitulation.' If Trump went to Alaska with a degree of optimism as to striking a deal then he clearly he left disappointed. For his part Putin meanwhile no doubt went home with a smile on his face. In all, the summit turned out to be strange affair and there remains a prevailing sense that something surprising might yet come of it. If nothing else it certainly underscored the challenge of bringing this the biggest war in Europe since 1945 to a just and peaceful end.
Spectator
41 minutes ago
- Spectator
How Ireland became a haven for Hezbollah's cocaine
In the end, it was a combination of the Irish weather, European maritime intelligence and engine trouble that scuppered a massive Hezbollah-cartel drugs shipment. The Irish government's failure to patrol the coastline has made Ireland a safe harbour for the fast-evolving drug trafficking network merging terror and narco finance. Hezbollah's involvement in the transnational drugs trade to fund its war against Israel is well documented, with the ports of Antwerp and Rotterdam its main conduit into Europe. But evidence from an Irish court last month revealing 'a major Iranian nexus' in a cocaine ship off Ireland's coast indicates that Hezbollah now sees Ireland's under patrolled coastline as a 'point of least resistance' into the lucrative European market. One security expert is reported as saying Ireland was being targeted for 'tonnage loads by Iranian Hezbollah.' In September 2023, a Panamanian registered cargo ship, MV Matthew, set sail from Venezuela heading for Irish waters. It had 2.2 tonnes of pure cocaine on board, funded by an alliance of Hezbollah, the Dubai-based Irish Kinahan crime gang and a South American cartel. The ship was to rendezvous at sea with a fishing trawler, the Castlemore, which would drop the drugs ashore at isolated coves for onward transport to the UK and Europe. Unknown to the Iranian captain, Soheil Jelveh, the European Maritime Analysis and Operations Centre (MAOC), was tracking the ship across the Atlantic and tipped off the Irish authorities. But with just one large vessel to actively patrol a coastline ten times the size of Ireland's land mass and depleted navy personnel, monitoring and intercepting both ships was always going to be challenging. So many things could have gone wrong. Luckily, the Irish weather lent a hand. A raging storm hit Ireland the day the Castlemore was due to rendezvous with MV Matthew anchored 13 nautical miles off the east coast. After two failed attempts in storm force winds and swelling seas, the Castlemore ran aground. Its crew put in a distress call to the Irish coastguard, setting a train of action in motion. The eventual capture of the Matthew was like a scene from an action movie. Over the course of two days the ship played a game of cat and mouse with the Navy ship, LE William Butler Yeats, engaging in evasive manoeuvres in lashing winds and swelling seas. The Iranian captain, Soheil Jelveh refused to comply with orders from the Yeats, saying the ship had developed engine trouble. In reality, he was receiving orders from a Dubai-based individual, 'Captain Noah,' a shadowy figure linked to Hezbollah, to change course and head for Sierra Leone. The Matthew was successfully captured after Army Rangers were lowered onto the deck from a rope suspended by a helicopter hovering overhead and the ship was stormed. The 2.2 tonnes of pure cocaine was valued at £136 million, rising to £650 million when cut, making it the largest drugs seizure in the history of the state. Jelveh, Iranian crewman, Saeid Hassani, and six other crewmen were jailed for a total of 129 years at the non-jury Special Criminal Court last month. It was a stunning success for the defence forces, thanks to the skill and bravery of the individual members involved. But it could have gone badly wrong. Just two of eight Irish navy vessels are currently in operation; the rest are tied up at Cork harbour because of insufficient personal. A former officer in the Army Ranger Wing, Cathal Berry, has said: 'By not resourcing our Navy we have handed the keys of the country over to the drugs cartels to do with us as they wish. It is painful to see €250 million of naval vessels tied up at Cork Harbour unable to be put at sea due to a lack of crew.' Irish and international law agencies are now examining the ship's telecommunication equipment to access the extent of the Iranian-Hezbollah involvement. There is little doubt Hezbollah is trying to increase its drug activity because it is under financial pressure. As one international law enforcement official put it: 'When you are getting hit the way Hezbollah is getting hit right now by the Israelis, the only way you can make money exponentially fast is with drugs.' It is extremely unlikely that the Hezbollah-cartel alliance would have risked such a massive investment on the first run. It is a safe bet that Matthew was not the first or the last shipment to use Ireland as a gateway to the lucrative European market. Former head of MAOC, Michael O'Sullivan, said: 'The Irish Navy is very strapped and that has not gone unnoticed. We cover an area almost ten times the size of Ireland. And time is of the essence. If you find where a vessel has left and you're trying to track where it is, it's not gonna stay in one place, it's not going to go in the one direction… You have got to get somebody out there to get a sighting of it. If you don't find it, it's gone.' The implication is clear: Ireland is not just a strategic waypoint, but an exposed hub in a fast-evolving trafficking network merging terror and narco finance for which the depleted Irish Navy is ill equipped to deal with.
