Beijing files WTO suit against Canada, opposes EU sanctions on Iran
WTO
case targets tariffs and quotas on steel. Those measures were "typical trade protectionism" that disregarded China's legitimate rights and interests and flouted WTO rules, China's ministry of commerce said in a statement on Friday.
Helping Iran
China said on Friday that it opposed invoking sanctions on Iran over its nuclear programme after three Western nations told the UN they would reimpose them if no diplomatic solution was found by the end of August.
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First Post
an hour ago
- First Post
Putin agrees to US-Europe plan for NATO-style security guarantees for Ukraine, says Trump envoy
Russia's Vladimir Putin agreed at his summit with President Donald Trump to allow the United States and its European allies to offer Ukraine a security guarantee resembling NATO's collective defence mandate as part of an eventual deal to end the 3 1/2year war in Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin has agreed in principle to allow the United States and its European partners to extend Ukraine a form of collective security guarantee modelled on NATO's Article 5, according to U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff. Speaking on CNN's State of the Union on Sunday, Witkoff described the concession as 'game-changing,' noting that this was the first time Moscow had accepted the possibility of such protections. 'We were able to win the following concession: that the United States could offer Article 5-like protection, which is one of the real reasons Ukraine wants to be in NATO,' he said. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Read Also: A non-NATO pact for Ukraine? US floats Western alliance-style security guarantees for Kyiv Article 5 of NATO stipulates that an attack on one member is considered an attack on all. While details remain scarce, the offer could provide a pathway around Putin's longstanding opposition to Ukraine joining the Western military alliance. Witkoff, who attended Friday's talks in Alaska alongside Secretary of State Marco Rubio, also said Russia agreed to legislate against infringing the sovereignty of other European nations. 'There was plenty more,' he added, without giving specifics. Outlining some of the details about the private discussions, Witkoff also said Russia had agreed to enact a law that it would not 'go after any other European countries and violate their sovereignty. And there was plenty more.' European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, speaking at a news conference in Brussels with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, applauded the move. 'We welcome President Trump's willingness to contribute to Article 5-like security guarantees for Ukraine and the 'Coalition of the willing' — including the European Union — is ready to do its share,' she said. Zelenskyy thanked the United States for recent signals that Washington was willing to support such guarantees, but that much was unclear. 'It is important that America agrees to work with Europe to provide security guarantees for Ukraine,' he said, 'But there are no details how it will work, and what America's role will be, Europe's role will be and what the EU can do, and this is our main task, we need security to work in practice like Article 5 of NATO, and we consider EU accession to be part of the security guarantees,' he said. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Witkoff defended Trump's decision to abandon his push that Russian agree to an immediate ceasefire, which Trump had set as a benchmark going into the meeting. Witkoff said the Republican president had pivoted toward a peace deal because so much progress was made. 'We covered almost all the other issues necessary for a peace deal,' Witkoff said, without elaborating. 'We began to see some moderation in the way they're thinking about getting to a final peace deal.' Rubio, who appeared on three Sunday news shows, said there was not going to be any kind of truce reached because Ukraine was not at the summit. 'Now, ultimately, if there isn't a peace agreement, if there isn't an end of this war, the president's been clear, there are going to be consequences,' Rubio said on ABC's 'This Week.' 'But we're trying to avoid that.' Rubio, who is also Trump's national security adviser, said he did not believe imposing new U.S. sanctions on Russia would force Putin to accept a ceasefire. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD 'The minute you issue new sanctions, your ability to get them to the table, our ability to get them to table will be severely diminished,' Rubio told NBC's 'Meet the Press.' He also said 'we're not at the precipice of a peace agreement' and that getting there would not be easy and would take a lot of work. 'We made progress in the sense that we identified potential areas of agreement, but there remains some big areas of disagreement. So we're still a long ways off,' Rubio said. Zelenskyy and Europeans leaders, who heard from Trump after the summit, are scheduled to meet with him at the White House on Monday. 'I think everybody agreed that we had made progress. Maybe not enough for a peace deal, but we are on the path for the first time,' Witkoff said. He added: 'The fundamental issue, which is some sort of land swap, which is obviously ultimately in the control of the Ukrainians — that could not have been discussed at this meeting' with Putin. 'We intend to discuss it on Monday. Hopefully we have some clarity on it and hopefully that ends up in a peace deal very, very soon." STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD With inputs from agencies
Hindustan Times
2 hours ago
- Hindustan Times
Putin, Trump break the ice, Kyiv feels the chill
It was a meeting of the two titans. On the morning of August 15, Russian president Vladimir Putin landed at Anchorage Airport in Alaska. US president Donald Trump stood on the carpet awaiting his guest's arrival, and Putin, alighting from the plane, set the tone and tempo for the summit with his 'dear neighbour'. So far, Trump hasn't accorded the honour of a personal welcome to even any of his Western allies. Many started drawing positive conclusions about the summit from the body language of the two leaders. But the Alaska summit, of which expectations had been high, failed to reach a conclusion and has left behind a fog of new concerns. There's a host of reasons for such a conclusion. The summit was expected to last for five to six hours, but it ended within three hours. A day earlier, Trump had said he wouldn't be happy if a ceasefire (in the Ukraine war) didn't materialise from the summit. He had even threatened Russia with harsher sanctions if there was no ceasefire. However, his threats proved ineffective. During the press conference, he grudgingly accepted that while they made some progress, many important issues remained unresolved. Putin said he hoped both the countries could work together on key concerns. The summit should be seen as a diplomatic thaw with little concrete outcomes. At most, Alaska can pave the way for another discussion. Trump said as much when he announced that he would be talking to the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky and Nato allies to fix a date and venue for further talks. In an interview to Fox News just before the summit, Trump hinted that now it's up to Zelensky to take a call on the future of his nation. Could Zelensky end up isolated? Remember how Trump and his deputy, JD Vance, bullied Zelensky in full media glare at the White House? Experts argue that last year in Istanbul, Turkey, Russia and Ukraine were on the verge of a deal but Zelensky stopped short of it on the assurance of full US support. Ukraine is surviving with the help of European nations, but as the conflict slides into an endless morass, Europe will find it difficult to keep supporting. Putin understands this and is in no hurry for peace. During the Alaska summit, Trump interestingly seemed to have controlled his usual urge to hog the limelight by offering the opening address to Putin. In a 12-minute presser, Putin spoke for a little over eight minutes while Trump took less than four minutes. He ended in his characteristic style saying, 'Vladimir, I hope we meet soon'. Not missing the opportunity, Putin quickly replied in English: 'This time, in Moscow'. The statement caught Trump off guard. No media questions were allowed. It was clear both the leaders did not have much to say. The summit did not reach any conclusion because Putin isn't budging from his four core demands: A large portion of land annexed by Russia from Ukraine be recognised as Russian territory; annexed Crimea be recognised similarly; immediate ban on Nato's expansion; and urgent lifting of sanctions on Russia. Trump can neither accept these demands nor does he have the political capital to force Ukraine or his Western allies to accept these. Contrary to his claims, Trump is not bothered about lives being lost in Ukraine or in any conflict areas. His eyes are set on Ukrainian minerals and agricultural products, and he's wary of the increasing closeness between Moscow and Beijing. He also perceives a new threat in Brics. If the group keeps gaining heft, it may end up being a threat to the US in future. The combined economic strength of China, India, Brazil and Russia is almost twice that of Europe. These statistics don't favour the US in a changing global scenario. Trump knows that tariffs and economic sanctions alone can't contain Russia. Many of his predecessors failed in their attempts to tame Russia. This is the reason the US maintains the façade of sanctions on Russia but uses back-channel diplomacy to increase trade with it. Since Trump's second presidency, Russia-America trade has witnessed a 20% surge. As for India, after the Alaska summit, Trump said he may not impose 'additional tariffs' as a penalty or punishment on countries buying Russian oil. It's not clear whether he was talking about the 25% penalty he imposed or any new tariff that he was working on. With the Alaska meeting having ended as a damp squib, New Delhi is keenly watching. Shashi Shekhar is editor-in-chief, Hindustan. The views expressed are personal
Indian Express
2 hours ago
- Indian Express
Air Canada union says flight attendants will continue strike, defy government
Air Canada flight attendants said on Sunday they will remain on strike and challenge a return-to-work order they called unconstitutional, defying a government decision to force them back to their duties by 2 p.m. ET (1800 GMT). Air Canada had said it planned to resume flights on Sunday evening, a day after the Canadian government issued a directive to end a cabin crew strike that caused the suspension of around 700 daily flights, stranding more than 100,000 passengers. Thousands of Air Canada flight attendants walked off the job on Saturday for the first time since 1985, after months of negotiations over a new contract. The Canadian Union of Public Employees said in a statement that members would remain on strike and invited Air Canada back to the table to 'negotiate a fair deal.' Air Canada and a Canadian government spokesperson were not immediately available for comment. The country's largest carrier had said some flights would still be canceled over the next 7-10 days as the schedule stabilizes and returns to normal. It had started cancelling flights on Friday in anticipation of the stoppage. The Canadian Industrial Relations Board ordered Air Canada to resume operations and all Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge flight attendants to return to their duties. The CIRB was acting on a directive from Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu as the government moved to end the strike and require binding arbitration to break a contract impasse, an action that Air Canada had previously sought from Prime Minister Mark Carney's minority Liberal government but unionized flight attendants fiercely opposed. The most contentious issue in the contract negotiations has been the union's demand for compensation for time spent on the ground between flights and when helping passengers board. Attendants are now largely paid only when their plane is moving. CUPE had pushed for a negotiated solution, saying binding arbitration would take pressure off the airline. Air Canada said on Sunday that the CIRB had ordered the terms of the collective agreement between the union and the airline that expired on March 31 be extended until a new agreement can be reached.
