Trump Wants to Play Global Peacemaker. Derailed Gaza Ceasefire Shows How Daunting That Ambition Is
The derailing of talks to solve the 21-month Israel-Hamas war is the latest blow to Trump as several of his efforts to broker agreements for fraught conflicts and complex global threats have stalled.
Though the Republican president has only been back in office for six months, he has sought to be known as a peacemaker. In some cases, he has set ambitious goals that have fallen short, like a promise to end the still-ongoing war in Ukraine before he took office.
Trump has said he's seeking the deals to stop destruction and loss of life. But he has also been open about his ambition to be awarded a Nobel Peace Prize, prompting some of those seeking to cultivate favor with Trump to nominate him for the prestigious recognition.
Here's a look at where some of Trump's efforts to strike peace and security deals stand.
Gaza
STATUS: No major breakthroughs in recent talks.
THE BACKSTORY: Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff said Thursday that the U.S. was bringing home its negotiating team from Qatar, where talks were ongoing, to assess its next steps. Witkoff said the move was made because Hamas was not showing 'good faith' toward reaching a ceasefire, but U.S. officials did not offer specifics.
No major breakthroughs have occurred despite weeks of talks in Qatar, along with a visit early this month to the White House by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Witkoff said the U.S. would 'consider alternative options to bring the hostages home,' but U.S. officials did not answer questions about what those options could include.
When asked about next steps on Friday, Trump told reporters that Hamas didn't want to make a deal and said, 'I think what's going to happen is they're going to be hunted down.'
Russia-Ukraine
STATUS: War still going on.
THE BACKSTORY: Before he returned to office, Trump repeatedly said he would solve the Russia-Ukraine war in 24 hours — and even before he was sworn in as president. That didn't happen, and both sides remain far apart on reaching an agreement.
Trump has become increasingly critical of President Vladimir Putin in recent months and is losing patience with his continued offensive in Ukraine. But Trump has resisted backing a bipartisan U.S. bill to impose steep sanctions on Russia, instead giving Russia 50 days to accept a peace deal or face sanctions on its energy exports. The delay has given Russia a window to continue a stepped-up offensive in Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy this week reiterated his willingness to meet face-to-face with Putin to end the conflict. Russia has rejected the offer, saying the countries are too far apart. Lower-level Ukrainian and Russian officials met Wednesday for talks in Istanbul, but no breakthroughs were announced.
Putin has said any peace deal should include Ukraine withdrawing from the four regions that Russia illegally annexed in September 2022 but did not fully capture. He also wants Ukraine to renounce its bid to join NATO and accept limits on its military. Ukraine and its Western allies have rejected those terms.
Iran
STATUS: Open conflict ended for the moment. Many unanswered questions remain.
THE BACKSTORY: Trump was able to broker a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Iran after the U.S. joined Israel in launching strikes on Iran's nuclear program. But the status of Iran's nuclear program is another unanswered question for the Trump administration. While the recent U.S. and Israeli strikes dealt a blow to Iran's nuclear capacities, the United States has still not struck an agreement with Iran over its nuclear program.
An Iranian diplomat said Wednesday that his country was ready to engage in talks on its nuclear program with the United States, but only after Washington takes meaningful steps to rebuild trust.
Meanwhile, Iran has opened the door to a separate yet related negotiation track with Britain, France and Germany, three of the remaining members of a 2015 nuclear deal, which Trump withdrew the United States from in his first term. Foreign ministers from the four countries met in Istanbul on Friday to discuss European threats to reimpose sanctions on Iran if there is no progress on a deal to limit its nuclear program by August.
Other conflicts
While deals in some of the most pressing conflicts have remained elusive to Trump, he has helped to broker agreements in the months he's been back in office.
RWANDA-DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO: In June, he invited leaders from Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo to the White House to sign an agreement seen as a major step toward peace after decades of conflict. The U.S.-brokered deal emphasizes the two neighboring countries' sovereignty and territorial integrity and includes a commitment to end hostilities and backing of armed groups. The deal also helps the U.S. government and American companies gain access to critical minerals in the region.
INDIA-PAKISTAN: In May, when a series of military strikes brought longtime nuclear adversaries India and Pakistan closer to war, Trump's administration intervened. The nations agreed to stop fighting after the U.S.-led talks, and Trump said he would work to provide a 'solution' to the long-running dispute over the Indian-controlled Kashmir region. The ceasefire has held, but it's not clear what progress has been made on any long-term agreement. Last month, Trump had lunch at the White House with Asim Munir, Pakistan's army chief.
SYRIA-ISRAEL: Earlier this month, after Israel intervened in fighting between Syrian government forces and rival armed groups, Trump's special envoy to Syria, Tom Barrack, announced a limited ceasefire agreement between Israel and Syria. Barrack, who's also the U.S. ambassador to Turkey, said he met in Paris on Thursday with representatives from both countries to discuss de-escalation. Barrack said on social media that 'we accomplished precisely that' and that both sides committed to continuing the effort.
Israel's intervention, however, caught Trump off guard and stymied his administration's push to get both countries to reach a full normalization of diplomatic relations.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
NHK
38 minutes ago
- NHK
Nobel Committee Chair calls on young people to carry on legacy of peace
The chair of the committee which awarded last year's Nobel Peace Prize to Nihon Hidankyo has called on the young generations to pass down the experiences of atomic-bomb survivors. Nihon Hidankyo, the Japan Confederation of A- and H- Bomb Sufferers Organizations, represents the survivors of the attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. They are known as hibakusha. Norway's Joergen Frydnes attended an event on nuclear disarmament at Tokyo's Sophia University on Sunday. He appeared at a news conference with Nihon Hidankyo co-chair Tanaka Terumi. Frydnes said his trip marked the first time ever for the Nobel Committee to travel to the home country of a Peace Prize laureate. He said, "This is a unique opportunity to us, and it's a unique time because we are here to listen and to learn, and we believe the world should listen and learn to the voices of the hibakusha." Frydnes said Nihon Hidankyo members "have been instrumental in turning memory, turning pain and suffering into a force for change into a force for peace." He added that ever since the committee announced Nihon Hidankyo's award in October last year, they have seen "social movements, anti-nuclear movements, and civil society and private individuals from all over the world who are re-engaged in the issue of nuclear disarmament." Frydnes said that he believes the 80th anniversary of the attacks in August could be an opportunity for a turning point on the issue. In a speech he gave after the news conference, Frydnes said that many analysts now warn the world is standing on the edge of a "new and more unstable nuclear age." He said the survivors and their supporters "helped the world see with clear eyes what nuclear weapons really mean." He called them "the light the world needs." Frydnes addressed the young people in the room, telling them that they are "the future custodians of this memory" and "the new stewards of this truth." He urged them: "Take up the torch. Do not let silence grow. Tell the stories. Study the history. Resist the forgetting. Raise your voice."
Nikkei Asia
an hour ago
- Nikkei Asia
US and EU agree to 15% tariff on EU goods, $600bn in investments
TURNBERRY, Scotland (Reuters) -- The United States struck a framework trade deal with the European Union on Sunday, imposing a 15% U.S. import tariff on most EU goods but averting a spiraling battle between two allies which account for almost a third of global trade. The announcement came after European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen traveled for talks with U.S. President Donald Trump at his golf course in western Scotland to push a hard-fought deal over the line. "I think this is the biggest deal ever made," Trump told reporters after an hourlong meeting with von der Leyen, who said the 15% tariff applied "across the board." "We have a trade deal between the two largest economies in the world, and it's a big deal. It's a huge deal. It will bring stability. It will bring predictability," she said. The deal, that also includes $600 billion of EU investments in the United States and significant EU purchases of U.S. energy and military equipment, will indeed bring clarity for EU companies. However, the baseline tariff of 15% will be seen by many in Europe as a poor outcome compared to the initial European ambition of a zero-for-zero tariff deal, although it is better than the threatened 30% rate. The deal mirrors parts of the framework agreement the United States clinched with Japan last week. "We are agreeing that the tariff ... for automobiles, and everything else will be a straight-across tariff of 15%," Trump said. However, the 15% baseline rate would not apply to steel and aluminum, for which a 50% tariff would remain in place. Trump, who is seeking to reorder the global economy and reduce decades-old U.S. trade deficits, has so far reeled in agreements with Britain, Japan, Indonesia and Vietnam, although his administration has failed to deliver on a promise of "90 deals in 90 days." He has periodically railed against the European Union, saying it was "formed to screw the United States" on trade. Arriving in Scotland, Trump said that the EU wanted "to make a deal very badly" and said, as he met with von der Leyen, that Europe had been "very unfair to the United States." His main bugbear is the U.S. merchandise trade deficit with the EU, which in 2024 reached $235 billion, according to U.S. Census Bureau data. The EU points to the U.S. surplus in services, which it says partially redresses the balance. Trump also talked on Sunday about the "hundreds of billions of dollars" that tariffs were bringing in. On July 12, Trump threatened to apply a 30% tariff on imports from the EU starting on Aug. 1, after weeks of negotiations with the major U.S. trading partners failed to reach a comprehensive trade deal. The EU had prepared countertariffs on 93 billion euros ($109 billion) of U.S. goods in the event there was no deal and Trump had pressed ahead with 30% tariffs. Some member states had also pushed for the bloc to use its most powerful trade weapon, the anticoercion instrument, to target U.S. services in the event of a no-deal.
Nikkei Asia
3 hours ago
- Nikkei Asia
Trump, EU's von der Leyen meet to clinch trade deal, rating chances 50-50
TURNBERRY, Scotland (Reuters) -- European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen met with U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday to clinch a trade deal that would likely result in a 15% tariff on most European Union goods but end months of uncertainty for EU companies. U.S. and EU negotiators huddled in final talks on tariffs facing crucial sectors like cars, steel, aluminum and pharmaceuticals before the meeting began at Trump's golf course in Turnberry, western Scotland. Trump, who had earlier played a round with his son, told reporters as he met with von der Leyen that he wanted to correct a trading arrangement he said was "very unfair to the United States" and repeated his comments from Friday that the chances of a U.S.-EU deal were 50-50, a view echoed by von der Leyen. "We have three or four sticking points I'd rather not get into. The main sticking point is fairness," he said, insisting the EU had to open up to American products. Von der Leyen acknowledged there was a need for "rebalancing" EU-U.S. trade. "We have a surplus, the United States has a deficit and we have to rebalance it ... we will make it more sustainable," she said. U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, who flew to Scotland on Saturday, told "Fox News Sunday" that the EU needed to open its markets for more U.S. exports to convince Trump to reduce a threatened 30% tariff rate that is due to kick in on Aug. 1. "The question is, do they offer President Trump a good enough deal that is worth it for him to step off of the 30% tariffs that he set?" Lutnick said, adding that the EU clearly wanted -- and needed -- to reach an agreement. A separate U.S. administration official was upbeat that a deal was possible. "We're cautiously optimistic that there will be a deal reached," the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. "But it's not over till it's over." The EU deal would be a huge prize, given that the U.S. and EU are each other's largest trading partners by far and account for a third of global trade in goods and services. Ambassadors of EU governments, on a weekend trip to Greenland organized by the Danish presidency of the EU, held a teleconference with European Commission officials on Sunday to agree on the amount of leeway von der Leyen would have. In case there is no deal and the U.S. imposes 30% tariffs from Aug. 1, the EU has prepared countertariffs on 93 billion euros ($109 billion) of U.S. goods. EU diplomats have said a deal would likely include a broad 15% tariff on EU goods imported into the U.S., mirroring the U.S.-Japan trade deal, along with a 50% tariff on European steel and aluminum for which there could be export quotas. EU officials are hopeful that a 15% baseline tariff would also apply to cars, replacing the current 27.5% auto tariff. Some expect the 27-nation bloc may be able to secure exemptions from the 15% baseline tariff for its aerospace industry and for spirits, though probably not for wine. The EU could also pledge to buy more liquefied natural gas from the U.S., a long-standing offer, and boost investment in the United States. Trump told reporters there was "not a lot" of wiggle room on the 50% tariffs that the U.S. has on steel and aluminum imports, adding that "because if I do it for one, I have to do it for all." The U.S. president, in Scotland for a few days of golfing and bilateral meetings, said a deal with the EU should draw to a close discussions on tariffs but also said pharmaceuticals, for which the United States is looking into new tariffs, would not be part of a deal. The EU now faces U.S. tariffs on more than 70% of its exports, with 50% on steel and aluminum, an extra 25% on cars and car parts on top of the existing 2.5%, and a 10% levy on most other EU goods. EU officials have said a "no-deal" tariff rate of 30% would wipe out whole chunks of transatlantic commerce. A 15% tariff on most EU goods would remove uncertainty but would be seen by many in Europe as a poor outcome compared to the initial European ambition of a zero-for-zero tariff deal on all industrial goods. Seeking to learn from Japan, which secured a 15% baseline tariff with the U.S. in a deal almost a week ago, EU negotiators spoke to their Japanese counterparts in preparation for Sunday's meeting. For Trump, aiming to reorder the global economy and reduce decades-old U.S. trade deficits, a deal with the EU would be the biggest trade agreement, surpassing the $550 billion deal with Japan. So far, he has reeled in agreements with Britain, Japan, Indonesia and Vietnam, although his administration has failed to deliver on a promise of "90 deals in 90 days."
