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Spectator
16 minutes ago
- Spectator
What will happen in Alaska?
The Trump-Putin summit in Alaska could be the flop of the century or turn out to be the first step towards negotiating a ceasefire in Ukraine and eventually an end to the war. The White House has been trying to downgrade expectations of any breakthrough and has described the meeting on Friday as an opportunity for President Trump to listen to President Putin's pitch and assess whether the Russian leader actually wants peace or not. Trump says he will be able to do this within two minutes. While it might be sensible to lower expectations, always a favourite ploy of political leaders, the Anchorage summit might just be different. First of all, Putin asked for it, and secondly, he has hanging over his head Trump's threats to ratchet up economic sanctions. If Putin plans to pursue his war in Ukraine and, possibly, have other military adventures in the future, he can ill afford Russia's economy to worsen. The key to the summit will be whether Putin shows even a hint of compromise. If Putin starts the session with a drawn-out monologue about how the war can never come to an end without the 'root causes' being accepted and respected by Trump – principally Nato's open-door policy which allowed Ukraine to be considered as a future member of the alliance – then the talks may never get off the ground. However, Putin has learned much from his relatively long association with Trump. He knows Trump is sceptical of Ukraine ever joining Nato, and he will be hopeful that he can get that in writing, something which America's western alliance partners will be desperate to prevent. The alternative, at this stage no doubt unacceptable in Moscow, would be a cleverly-framed security guarantee agreement in which Ukraine would have US and European military backing to deter Moscow from launching any future invasion of Ukraine. It would be a sort of Nato-lite arrangement. If that were to happen, then Kyiv might be persuaded to give up some of the Russian-occupied territory in eastern and southern Ukraine (as well as Crimea). At the moment, President Zelensky and nearly all European leaders are adamantly opposed to any land-swap. The wily Senator Lindsey Graham, a Trump supporter and a veteran international security affairs protagonist, said in an NBC News interview at the weekend that land exchanges would only happen 'after you have security guarantees to Ukraine to prevent Russia from doing this again.' 'You need to tell Putin what happens if he does it a third time,' Graham said, referencing Russia's annexing of Crimea in 2014 and the invasion of Ukraine on 24 February, 2022. One bizarre option for the occupied territories supposedly discussed by Steve Witkoff, Trump's special envoy, is to convert them into Moscow-governed regions without Kyiv having to concede sovereignty. According to a report in the Times, it would be a formula similar in style and structure to the Palestinian territory of the West Bank, which is occupied by Israeli troops. The idea would be to get round Ukraine's constitution which disallows any ceding of territory unless approved by a national referendum. The White House gave the idea short shrift. So who will have the upper hand at the Friday summit to be held at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, 11 miles north-east of Anchorage and 4,500 miles from Moscow? Despite being a self-professed dealmaker, Trump will be at a disadvantage. He has already indicated that any peace deal is bound to involve Moscow holding on to some of the territory it is currently occupying. Crimea is a given in his mind and key parts of Donbas, consisting of the eastern regions of Luhansk and Donetsk, are also likely to be prominent in his land-swap blueprint. But he has President Zelensky and European allies ranged against him. Zelensky refuses to consider any handover of territory occupied by Russian invaders and he, and Europe, say concessions of this nature would be an invitation to Putin to plot further aggression in the future. This argument will have been underlined during the video conference yesterday between Trump, Zelensky and key European leaders, including Keir Starmer. Trump knows all the arguments. He has heard them over and over again. But he seems to feel that Putin is ready for a deal of some sort, and he wants to exploit that to find a way of avoiding all the fears emanating from Kyiv and European capitals. Trump does have cards of his own. If Putin declines a ceasefire, Trump has serious sanctions at- the-ready, including penalising all countries still buying cheap Russian oil. He can also tell Putin that if he rejects all attempts to stop the bombing of Ukrainian cities, the US will start delivering to Kyiv on a large scale the sort of long-range weapons which can put military targets inside Russia at much greater risk. Putin doesn't have everything going his way. The battlefield landscape has changed in his favour, but not dramatically so. For example, Russian troops are trying to encircle and overcome Pokrovsk, a strategic city northwest of Donetsk which is vital for Ukrainian military resupply logistics. Although Russian forces have made tactical advances, they have failed to follow through with any significant success. This has been the story of the war in eastern Ukraine. Putin would have wanted a victory on the battlefield in this region to provide him with leverage at the Alaska summit. But Ukrainian temerity and the exploitation of advanced drone warfare have stymied the Russians. For the summit in Alaska to be deemed successful, much will obviously depend on the personal relationship between Trump and Putin. Trump seemed genuinely angry after he spoke on the phone to the Russian leader in early July only for Russia to launch 550 drones and missiles in one of the largest attacks on Ukraine. This is why Zelensky has emphasised repeatedly that Putin must agree to a ceasefire before any serious peace negotiations can begin. After Putin's previous blatant rejection of Trump's phone-call peace efforts, the US President will surely demand new ground rules when they sit down together at the military base near Anchorage. Ceasefire first, and then a framework for peace, with Zelensky invited as a co-participant.
Wales Online
16 minutes ago
- Wales Online
Staff at Admiral get major reward after record half year
Staff at Admiral get major reward after record half year The Cardiff car insurance to loans group has reported a 69% rise in pre-tax profits Chief executive of Admiral Milena Mondini de Focatiis (Image: Matthew Horwood) Car insurance to loans group Admiral has reported a record half year financial performance with 13,000 staff being rewarded with free shares with a value worth up to £1,800. Following record revenues and profit for full year 2024, the Cardiff headquartered venture and Wales' only FTSE 100 business, maintained a strong upwards trajectory in the first half of this year. Admiral, which employs more than 7,000 in South Wales but also has insurance businesses in Spain, Italy and France, posted a 69% rise pre-tax profits from continuing operations (not including its US car insurance business which is being sold to J.C. Flower) from £307.6m in the first half of 2024 to £521m. Its UK insurance business (mainly car, but also with other lines like pet) performed strongly adding more than a million customers on the first half of 2024 to reach 11.42 million with profits up 56%. However, European customers were down marginally (3%) from 1.96 million to 1.91 million. Overall group customers were up more than two million at 11.42 million Group revenues came in the same as the first half of 2024 at £3.1bn. It also announced an interim dividend payment of 115p per say (71p last year). The dividend will be paid to shareholders on October 3. Following the publishing of the interim results Admiral's price was up more than 7%. Never miss a Cardiff story by signing up to our daily newsletter here Article continues below The group's lending business, Admiral Money, increased its loan balances on a year earlier by 25% to £1.28bn. Welcoming the financial results, chief executive Milena Mondini de Focatiis said: 'We have delivered another excellent first half with strong execution across all strategic objectives. Group profit increased 69% to a record £521. "We have an additional one million customers across our diversified businesses compared to this time last year, due to our focus on offering competitively priced cover and excellent service across our diversified businesses. 'In the UK, car insurance prices have been falling for the last 18 months due to softer inflation. Our disciplined approach to pricing and growth means that we reported a great performance across the board. "Our UK motor business increased its profit by 56% and the UK Household and Admiral Money businesses continued to grow, more than doubling their respective profit. In Europe, we saw good progress with growth in France and Italy close to restoring profitability. 'In March, we said that our priority was to stay efficient and agile and we are continuously investing in our data and technological capabilities to future-proof our competitive advantage. We are enhancing the customer experience so we can help our 11 million customers safely back onto the road, back into their home or back from abroad faster than ever. "I'm proud of our colleagues' customer-centric approach which has resulted in an excellent group net promoter score. I am also proud of the way that we are supporting customers' transition to a lower carbon economy and boosting their resilience and preparedness for extreme weather. 'I'm very excited to see our businesses go from strength to strength. I'm confident in our fundamentals and adaptability which mean that we are well-placed for further success, delivering even more value for our shareholders and our growing customer base." Get Cardiff news updates on your phone by joining our WhatsApp community here . We occasionally treat members to special offers, promotions, and ads from us and our partners. See our Privacy Notice Article continues below
Scottish Sun
16 minutes ago
- Scottish Sun
Kremlin confirms details of Putin-Trump talks in Alaska including JOINT press conference that may decide Ukraine's fate
CRUNCH SUMMIT Kremlin confirms details of Putin-Trump talks in Alaska including JOINT press conference that may decide Ukraine's fate Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) KREMLIN has confirmed key details of Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin's crunch talks in Alaska. The programme for the talks between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin has been agreed, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov says. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 1 Trump is reportedly planning to make a bombshell offer to Vladimir Putin to crack a ceasefire deal Credit: Reuters Ushakov said it will be a one-on-one meeting where "sensitive matters" will be discussed. Russian state news agency TASS revealed that the meeting will start at 11.30am Alaskan time (8.30pm UK). The crunch talks will be followed by a joint press conference by both leaders. More to follow... For the latest news on this story, keep checking back at The U.S. Sun, your go-to destination for the best celebrity news, sports news, real-life stories, jaw-dropping pictures, and must-see videos. Like us on Facebook at TheSunUS and follow us on X at @TheUSSun
