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Zelenskyy holds 'long and substantive' call with Trump, says will meet US president on Monday
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Saturday said that he will meet Donald Trump on Monday (August 18), as he held a 'long and substantive' call with the US president, hours after the Alaska Summit.
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First Post
29 minutes ago
- First Post
Was the US First Lady's 'peace letter' to Putin in Alaska written by AI?
During the Alaska summit, Donald Trump hand-delivered a 'peace letter' from Melania Trump to Putin, which urged the Russian President to 'singlehandedly restore' the 'melodic laughter' of Ukrainian children living through years of war. However, many say the letter is 'vague' and 'says a whole lot of nothing', sparking doubts about whether the US first lady actually penned it While Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked First lady Melania Trump for highlighting the plight of children in her 'peace letter' to Putin, many online users question if it was penned using AI. File image/ Reuters When Donald Trump met Vladimir Putin in Alaska, the summit grabbed global headlines. But it wasn't just about the talks. During the meeting, Trump hand-delivered a 'peace letter' from First Lady Melania Trump, asking the Russian leader to 'singlehandedly restore' the 'melodic laughter' of Ukrainian children living through more than three years of war. The letter instantly drew attention. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy publicly thanked Melania for highlighting the plight of children. But as the copy of the letter circulated online, many called it 'vague' and raised questions about whether it was truly penned by the First Lady herself, or was it generated using artificial intelligence? STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Here's a closer look. What did Melania's letter say? According to Fox News, soon after Donald Trump handed over the letter at the Alaska summit, Vladimir Putin chose to read it aloud in front of both the American and Russian delegations. 'Dear President Putin,' it began. 'Every child shares the same quiet dreams in their heart, whether born randomly into a nation's rustic countryside or a magnificent city-center. They dream of love, possibility, and safety from danger.' The First Lady went on to frame the role of parents and leaders in safeguarding those dreams. 'As parents, it is our duty to nurture the next generation's hope. As leaders, the responsibility to sustain our children extends beyond the comfort of a few,' she wrote. 'Undeniably, we must strive to paint a dignity-filled world for all — so that every soul may wake to peace, and so that the future itself is perfectly guarded. A simple yet profound concept, Mr. Putin, as I am sure you agree, is that each generation's descendants begin their lives with a purity — an innocence which stands above geography, government, and ideology.' 'In today's world, some children are forced to carry a quiet laughter, untouched by the darkness around them — a silent defiance against the forces that can potentially claim their future.' She then placed the responsibility directly on Putin. 'Mr. Putin, you can singlehandedly restore their melodic laughter. In protecting the innocence of these children, you will do more than serve Russia alone — you serve humanity itself.' 'Such a bold idea transcends all human division, and you, Mr. Putin, are fit to implement this vision with a stroke of the pen today. It is time,' it concluded. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Did Melania write the letter using AI? Soon after Melania Trump shared the 'peace letter' on her official Instagram, online users began speculating whether it had actually been written by artificial intelligence. While there has been no official comment from the White House yet, critics pointed out that the letter was vague about which 'children' it referred to, or what exactly she wanted Putin to do. While the message seemed to gesture at Ukrainian children, it never directly mentioned the suffering they've endured since Russia's invasion in February 2022, wrote the American nonprofit magazine Mother Jones. Democratic strategist Keith Edwards was also blunt in his reaction. Posting on X, he wrote that the letter 'says a whole lot of nothing,' adding that it 'may have been written by AI.' STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD This letter to Putin from Melania: 1. Says a whole lot of nothing. 2. May have been written by AI. — Keith Edwards (@keithedwards) August 16, 2025 Others took it a step further. One account even asked Grok, X's AI chatbot, to weigh in on the letter. The bot responded that the message was 'likely 85 per cent AI-drafted, with minor human edits for tone.' @grok based on the text in this letter and what you know about the output of LLMs, please analyze how much of this letter was written by AI? — Jim Stewartson, Antifascist 🇨🇦🇺🇦🏴☠️🇺🇸 (@jimstewartson) August 17, 2025 STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Zelenskyy thanks Melania for 'sincere attention' Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said in a post to social media that Zelenskyy had 'conveyed his gratitude' to Trump during a conversation on Saturday following the summit for the first lady's 'sincere attention and efforts to bring forcibly deported Ukrainian kids back.' Kyiv has long accused Moscow of abducting thousands of children during the war and relocating them to Russia or occupied territories – calling it a war crime. A UN report said that at least 200 children were transferred in the first year of the invasion, while independent estimates put the number far higher: Yale researchers suggested more than 35,000, and Ukraine's rights commissioner claimed over 19,500 – with only about 1,000 returned so far. Kyiv has long accused Moscow of abducting thousands of children during the war and relocating them to Russia or occupied territories – calling it a war crime. File image/Reuters In 2023, the International Criminal Court even issued arrest warrants for Vladimir Putin and Russia's children's commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova, over the deportations. Yet none of this appeared in Melania's so-called 'peace letter.' Instead, it struck a vague tone with many, despite Trump himself telling reporters last month that his wife has been deeply unsettled by the war. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD 'I go home, tell the First Lady, 'I spoke to Vladimir today, we had a wonderful conversation.' She says, 'Oh really? Another city was just hit,'' the President told reporters in the Oval Office. With input from agencies
Time of India
29 minutes ago
- Time of India
Army Jawan Pinned To Pole, Beaten By Toll Plaza Workers On Meerut-Karnal Highway; 4 Arrested
Zelensky Does It AGAIN! From EU HQ, He Rejects Trump Plan, Lists His Own Conditions For Peace Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky pushed for a ceasefire before a peace deal with Russia, ahead of his meeting tomorrow with US President Donald Trump at the White House in Washington, DC. Speaking alongside the chief of the European Commission, Ursula Von Der Leyen, Zelensky said it is 'impossible' to give up territory under Ukraine's Constitution. He also called on the Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the killings in Ukraine. Watch this video to know more. 5.8K views | 12 hours ago
Economic Times
29 minutes ago
- Economic Times
Not so much Putin-Trump summit, it's Modi's GST rationalisation promise that is pushing market up: Sunil Subramaniam
Sunil Subramaniam, Market Expert, says the Trump-Putin Peace Summit signals a potential easing of US-Russia relations, benefiting countries like India by reducing the risk of additional sanctions. Even if all agreements aren't met, it won't be seen as a failure of the meeting, as Putin has the authority to make decisions unilaterally. However, a bigger thing for India will be the GST rationalisation that the prime minister announced on August 15. Almost 98% of the items are going to see GST cut and it is likely to be signed before Diwali. ADVERTISEMENT Post the joint press conference with Putin, Donald Trump said that many points were agreed to, but a few remain. What could possibly he be hinting at or referring to when he says that a few remain but many were agreed upon? Sunil Subramaniam: I think that it is basically territory driven. Russia has occupied certain key Ukrainian territories and two big things are which territories Putin is willing to give away and what he wants to retain. Otherwise, he said 8 out of 10 areas have been mostly conclusive. In fact, he has rated the meeting 10 on 10 from that perspective. I am saying this because he was very clear that he was not seeking a solution from this meeting. Even before this meeting he said that yes, the next stage would be for a meeting with Mr Zelenskyy and Russia and the US probably together. From what he wanted to get away with, he has gotten away with that. So, to that extent, the meeting must be described as a success because people were expecting a solution to the war from this, I think that was not even what Mr Trump was expecting. So, these two big things are one thing. China's $11 trillion stock market is a headache for both Xi and Trump But more importantly it indicates an easing of relationship between the US and Russia and that is extremely good news. Let us say that Mr Putin has agreed to certain things and these two are disputable. Now Trump is going to speak to NATO, and get them to agree to Putin's demands. If they do not, Mr Trump can always claim that look I brought a deal to the table, you guys are not accepting, now do what you want. So, this clearly represents that Mr Trump and Putin have agreed on certain things and as an India-based observer and from our country's perspective, Russia and the US getting there is positive for us because additional sanctions could come through if this meeting was a disaster. That is not going to if all things do not go through, it is not a failure of Putin-Trump meeting. It is not Mr Trump's failure. Remember, he is dealing with a leader who has no democracy to go and represent his case to. Mr Putin is the ultimate decision maker. Even if he decides to give up some Russian wins there, nobody is going to object to him. So, he is talking to a person who can conclude a deed, whereas that is not necessarily true in other countries with our democracy. So, to that extent, it is positive from an India perspective that the danger of secondary sanctions is removed there and if things worsen, he may now need to act on China and not put more pressure on India because he has taken the India pressure to the maximum extent already. ADVERTISEMENT With respect to the Indian market, FIIs have been on a selling spree leading to a bit of volatility. Is that going to continue? How do you see the Indian market moving forward in the near term? Are we going to be largely insulated due to domestic investor interest? Sunil Subramaniam: Markets will be relatively calm about this news. They do not need to jump up. We have a big thing in India in terms of GST rationalisation that the prime minister announced on August 15 in his independence day speech. The details are to come out and almost 98% of the items are going to see a reduction in GST and it is likely to be signed before Diwali. The markets should react positively on the consumption stocks and the banking related stocks on Monday. So, the markets will be up. How much of it can be attributed to this easing of Trump-Putin relation and how much to the local factors we have to see. Unlock 500+ Stock Recos on App I expect the markets to be positive and FII also because they will see this growth in the Indian consumption sector may come in and start buying into FMCG and consumer discretionary stocks. So, the Indian market will respond positively. Not all can be attributed to the Trump-Putin meeting but definitely there are enough wins here. ADVERTISEMENT The second point is Pakistan is taking an edge over India in terms of ties with the US and that is what the main problem is. But two things I would like to say here, one is that India is not for sale. We are not willing to give up our Bitcoin just to make up with the president. We are not going to propose his name for a Nobel Prize just because of a deal. We are a nation which is strong on our own. So, there is pride at stake here. We are not going to put all those just to have a good relationship with Mr Trump. Number two is that Mr Trump has not helped that cause by using very damaging language. He called them obnoxious tariff related things. He also called India a dead economy. He is not the most popular person in India right now and India has also taken an iron hand in a velvet glove stance on this. We are not fighting tooth for tooth or throwing insult after insult, but we are staying firm on saying that buying oil from Russia will be based on our economic needs and what our citizens need. So there is going to be a different way that this relationship pans out. So, to that extent, secondary sanctions may ease away. Regarding the 50% tariff on India, I treat the 25% as an economic tariff, the second 25 as a political tariff. ADVERTISEMENT The chances of political tariff may ease up in the coming weeks based on how this goes because I do not think Mr Trump is going to be angry with Putin for anything because Putin has said I am looking to end the war. So, to that extent, whatever he wanted to punish India for as a route to make Putin agree to a meeting and do something that has been achieved. He could ease up on the 25% that if announced in the next couple of weeks, will be a huge positive for Indian markets. That is my take on this situation here. The geopolitics does not affect the Indian market so much. The Indian markets react to the Indian impact due to these talks. (You can now subscribe to our ETMarkets WhatsApp channel)
