Anti-war protests form in New York City following U.S. strikes in Iran
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Scottish Sun
7 minutes ago
- Scottish Sun
Putin has laid cunning trap that makes Zelensky's White House visit a minefield… Russian leader knows the peace he wants
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) AT first sight, Friday's summit meeting between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin came to no clear conclusion. But the Russian leader has cunningly laid a trap, hoping that Volodymyr Zelensky is the one to say 'No' to President Trump's peace plan. 6 Russian leader Vladimir Putin has cunningly laid a trap Credit: Reuters 6 He is hoping that Zelensky is the one to say 'No' to President Trump's peace plan Credit: AP 6 Putin got what he wanted when Trump treated him as an equal partner Credit: AFP Since Alaska, Trump has shifted from demanding an immediate ceasefire to calling for immediate and full peace agreement. This is what Putin wants — to bounce Zelensky into a take-it-or-leave-it deal. But what would peace be like? To be sure, Putin knows what he means by peace — Ukraine surrenders to his key demands. Kyiv gives up a swathe of territory to Russia. It abandons any hope of integrating into Western institutions such as Nato or the EU. And it disarms so it cannot repeat the tough fight it has put up since February 2022, in case Russia decides to re-invade. In the meantime, sanctions on Russia are lifted and the Kremlin gets back its $300billion assets frozen in the West. A fast-tracked peace deal means Ukraine agreeing to complicated things such as who gets what territory, to what kind of country it will be internally. Putin wants to keep the Crimea peninsula plus the four southern regions which his army occupies. He might swap a slither of land for the tiny bit of Russia's Kursk region which Ukraine's army holds, but he will never give up Crimea. Crimea is a floating aircraft carrier and naval base which would give the Kremlin dominance of the Black Sea. Its surrounding waters hold huge oil and gas reserves which can only be exploited once the fighting stops. Trump-Putin latest- Don says 'no deal' on Ukraine war & holds call with Zelensky after saying it's now 'up to him' Seizing Crimea without a shot in 2014 was a huge boost to Putin's prestige at home. Similarly, the western part of the Donetsk region is a fortress which blocks any future Russian grab into the heart of Ukraine. Putin is prepared, apparently, to make superficial concessions in other places to get the Ukrainians out of that key strategic area. Although it sounds like a swap, in reality Putin is prepared to give up his claim to places he doesn't fully control such as the cities of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia — though not the nuclear power station there — in return for Zelensky handing over places in Donetsk which the Ukrainian army still holds. Annexing this key region would be an achievement he's been unable to achieve in years of fighting. Putin also wants to reverse many of the changes Ukrainians voted for in the past ten years. Most of all, he wants Zelensky out of office. As the hero of Ukraine's resistance, he is Putin's biggest bugbear. 6 6 That makes Zelensky's visit to Washington tomorrow such a minefield for him. Zelensky needs to avoid the kind of Oval Office ambush he faced in February when he had a shouting match with US leaders. To be fair, Trump looks likely to offer Ukraine carrots to make any concessions to Russia easier to swallow. Already, Washington has got the Ukrainians to agree to an economic partnership worth up to $500billion to develop the country's mineral and rare earth resources. Trump sold that deal by saying it would be worthwhile for Ukraine to share 50 per cent of the profits with America because Putin wouldn't reinvade if US companies' assets were in the line of fire. Well, that didn't stop him in 2022. Putin and Zelensky both know Trump is a man in a hurry Mark Almond But that selling point goes to the heart of what Ukraine sees as an acceptable peace settlement. Zelensky wants the US to guarantee any agreement with Russia will be kept. It has to be a cast-iron guarantee like Nato's promise to defend each member's territory if it is attacked. Ukrainians remember how Bill Clinton and John Major persuaded them to hand over the Soviet nuclear missiles on their territory to Russia in 1994 in return for a guarantee of their borders. We know what that piece of paper was worth. Keir Starmer and his European partners say they are a 'coalition of the willing' ready to put troops on the ground to enforce any deal that Trump and Putin concoct. 6 But without US involvement that force would be a paper tiger. Think back to how pathetic the European peacekeepers were in the Balkans in the 1990s until the US cavalry came over the horizon to stop the wars in ex-Yugoslavia. Trump knows his voters are bitterly opposed to US boots on the ground in foreign danger zones. Putin and Zelensky both know Trump is a man in a hurry. Got what he wanted They are at war but it is the President who wants a deal most urgently. Trump sees himself as a peacemaker worthy of the Nobel Prize. To be fair he has knocked heads together between smaller, weaker states like Armenia and Azerbaijan. But Putin's Russia sees itself as a global superpower. Putin got what he wanted on Friday when Trump treated him as an equal partner. The devil will be in the details of any peace deal. Putin is a master of detail. Trump is a master of ceremonies, lavishing attention on the media image of signing deals. Zelensky has to tread very carefully. A weekend is a very short time to prepare a peace to end three brutal years of war. Meeting 'a big win for Vlad' By Michael Hamilton VLADIMIR Putin will feel emboldened after the summit in the US, a former top military intelligence officer is warning. Colonel Philip Ingram said he feared Kremlin's tyrant had come out on top after the Alaska talks. The security and terror analyst added: 'This is a big win for Putin. His body language afterwards showed he had achieved more than Trump. 'Donald Trump was treating this as a business transaction, and wanted a quick victory. 'But Putin is tickling the fish and playing a longer game.' He warned it would be alarming to Ukraine but stressed that, importantly, the US had not made any concessions.
Rhyl Journal
26 minutes ago
- Rhyl Journal
Starmer to speak with coalition of the willing ahead of Zelensky-Trump meeting
The Prime Minister, France's Emmanuel Macron and Germany's Friedrich Merz will host the meeting of the coalition of the willing on Sunday afternoon. Mr Zelensky will fly to Washington DC on Monday, where he will meet the US president for the next stage of talks. The one-on-one in the Oval Office could pave the way for a three-way meeting alongside Russian leader Mr Putin, the US president has said. The coalition of the willing, made up of 30-plus nations, is prepared to deter Russian aggression by putting troops on the ground in Ukraine once the war is over. The meeting, which is expected to take place at approximately 2pm UK time, comes on the heels of Mr Trump's summit in Alaska with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Mr Trump hoped to secure a peace deal from the talks at a military base in Anchorage, but both he and Mr Putin walked away without agreement on how to end the war in Ukraine. The US leader, however, insisted 'some great progress' was made, with 'many points' agreed and 'very few' remaining. Several news outlets have cited sources which claimed that during the negotiations Mr Putin demanded full control of Donetsk and Luhansk – two occupied Ukrainian regions – as a condition for ending the war. In exchange he would give up other Ukrainian territories held by Russian troops. Other outlets reported that Mr Trump is inclined to support the plan, and will speak to Mr Zelensky about it on Monday when they meet in the Oval Office. After the Alaska summit, the US president told Fox News it was now up to the Ukrainian to 'make a deal' to end the war. Sir Keir commended Mr Trump's 'pursuit of an end to the killing' following a phone call with the US president, Mr Zelensky and Nato allies on Saturday morning. But he insisted Ukraine's leader must not be excluded from future talks to broker a peace in Ukraine. The Prime Minister and European leaders appeared increasingly confident that Mr Trump will offer a 'security guarantee' of air support to back up allied troops on the ground in Ukraine. The Prime Minister welcomed 'the openness of the United States, alongside Europe, to provide robust security guarantees to Ukraine as part of any deal'. 'This is important progress and will be crucial in deterring Putin from coming back for more,' he added. But Mr Trump also appeared to have a change of heart on what he wants to achieve from the talks, indicating that he wants a permanent peace settlement rather than a ceasefire. Writing on his Truth Social platform, the US president said: 'It was determined by all that the best way to end the horrific war between Russia and Ukraine is to go directly to a peace agreement, which would end the war, and not a mere ceasefire agreement, which often times do not hold up.' Mr Putin described the meeting as 'timely' and 'useful' after leaving Alaska. Experts have warned the face-to-face summit has risked legitimising the Russian leader, after he has been made a pariah by the international community for years. Dr Neil Melvin, director of international security at the Royal United Services Institute (Rusi), said: 'Vladimir Putin came to the Alaska summit with the principal goal of stalling any pressure on Russia to end the war. 'He will consider the summit outcome as mission accomplished.' I received a report from Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi. The front, the defense of positions, and up-to-date information on the intentions and movements of the Russian army. We are defending our positions along the entire front line, and for the second day in a row, we have… — Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) August 16, 2025 Ukraine's president Mr Zelensky warned Russia may ramp up its strikes against his country in the coming days 'in order to create more favourable political circumstances for talks with global actors'. Kyiv's troops are 'defending our positions along the entire front line', he added on social media site X. Mr Zelensky had earlier insisted a ceasefire must include an end to fighting on land, in the sea and the air, as well as the return of all prisoners of war and captured civilians, including children. Sanctions on Moscow 'should be strengthened if there is no trilateral meeting or if Russia tries to evade an honest end to the war', Mr Zelensky added.
Powys County Times
27 minutes ago
- Powys County Times
Starmer to speak with coalition of the willing ahead of Zelensky-Trump meeting
Sir Keir Starmer will speak to western allies on Sunday ahead of Volodymyr Zelensky's White House meeting with Donald Trump. The Prime Minister, France's Emmanuel Macron and Germany's Friedrich Merz will host the meeting of the coalition of the willing on Sunday afternoon. Mr Zelensky will fly to Washington DC on Monday, where he will meet the US president for the next stage of talks. The one-on-one in the Oval Office could pave the way for a three-way meeting alongside Russian leader Mr Putin, the US president has said. The coalition of the willing, made up of 30-plus nations, is prepared to deter Russian aggression by putting troops on the ground in Ukraine once the war is over. The meeting, which is expected to take place at approximately 2pm UK time, comes on the heels of Mr Trump's summit in Alaska with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Mr Trump hoped to secure a peace deal from the talks at a military base in Anchorage, but both he and Mr Putin walked away without agreement on how to end the war in Ukraine. The US leader, however, insisted 'some great progress' was made, with 'many points' agreed and 'very few' remaining. Several news outlets have cited sources which claimed that during the negotiations Mr Putin demanded full control of Donetsk and Luhansk – two occupied Ukrainian regions – as a condition for ending the war. In exchange he would give up other Ukrainian territories held by Russian troops. Other outlets reported that Mr Trump is inclined to support the plan, and will speak to Mr Zelensky about it on Monday when they meet in the Oval Office. After the Alaska summit, the US president told Fox News it was now up to the Ukrainian to 'make a deal' to end the war. Sir Keir commended Mr Trump's 'pursuit of an end to the killing' following a phone call with the US president, Mr Zelensky and Nato allies on Saturday morning. But he insisted Ukraine's leader must not be excluded from future talks to broker a peace in Ukraine. The Prime Minister and European leaders appeared increasingly confident that Mr Trump will offer a 'security guarantee' of air support to back up allied troops on the ground in Ukraine. The Prime Minister welcomed 'the openness of the United States, alongside Europe, to provide robust security guarantees to Ukraine as part of any deal'. 'This is important progress and will be crucial in deterring Putin from coming back for more,' he added. But Mr Trump also appeared to have a change of heart on what he wants to achieve from the talks, indicating that he wants a permanent peace settlement rather than a ceasefire. Writing on his Truth Social platform, the US president said: 'It was determined by all that the best way to end the horrific war between Russia and Ukraine is to go directly to a peace agreement, which would end the war, and not a mere ceasefire agreement, which often times do not hold up.' Mr Putin described the meeting as 'timely' and 'useful' after leaving Alaska. Experts have warned the face-to-face summit has risked legitimising the Russian leader, after he has been made a pariah by the international community for years. Dr Neil Melvin, director of international security at the Royal United Services Institute (Rusi), said: 'Vladimir Putin came to the Alaska summit with the principal goal of stalling any pressure on Russia to end the war. 'He will consider the summit outcome as mission accomplished.' I received a report from Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi. The front, the defense of positions, and up-to-date information on the intentions and movements of the Russian army. We are defending our positions along the entire front line, and for the second day in a row, we have… — Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) August 16, 2025 Ukraine's president Mr Zelensky warned Russia may ramp up its strikes against his country in the coming days 'in order to create more favourable political circumstances for talks with global actors'. Kyiv's troops are 'defending our positions along the entire front line', he added on social media site X. Mr Zelensky had earlier insisted a ceasefire must include an end to fighting on land, in the sea and the air, as well as the return of all prisoners of war and captured civilians, including children.
