CARTOON OF THE DAY (June 24)
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Nikkei Asia
14 minutes ago
- Nikkei Asia
Trump could meet with Putin as soon as next week: White House official
WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Donald Trump could meet in person with Russian President Vladimir Putin as soon as next week as he seeks to broker an end to the Russia-Ukraine war, a White House official said Wednesday. The official cautioned that a meeting has not been scheduled yet and no location has been determined. The official was not authorized to speak publicly and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to discuss internal plans. News of a potential meeting, which was first reported by The New York Times, came hours after Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff met with Putin in Moscow on Wednesday. Trump had posted earlier on Truth Social that Witkoff "had a highly productive meeting" with Putin in which "great progress was made." Trump said he updated America's allies in Europe about the meeting and that they will work toward an end to the Russia-Ukraine war "in the days and weeks to come." White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said, "The Russians expressed their desire to meet with President Trump, and the President is open to meeting with both President Putin and President Zelensky." Her statement did not address the potential timing of any meeting. Witkoff met with Putin days before the White House's deadline for Russia to reach a peace deal with Ukraine or potentially face severe economic penalties that could also hit countries buying its oil. The meeting between Putin and Witkoff lasted about three hours, the Kremlin said. Putin's foreign affairs adviser Yuri Ushakov said Putin and Witkoff had a "useful and constructive conversation" that focused on the Ukrainian crisis and, in a nod toward improving relations between Washington and Moscow, "prospects for possible development of strategic cooperation" between the United States and Russia. Earlier on Wednesday, the same White House official said the U.S. was still expected to impose secondary sanctions against Russia on Friday, after a 10-day deadline that Trump imposed is to expire. The White House has not yet released details about the sanctions. Washington has threatened "severe tariffs" and other economic penalties if the killing doesn't stop. Trump also has threatened to slap tariffs on nations that buy Russian oil, which could increase import taxes dramatically on China and India He said Tuesday he hadn't publicly committed to any particular tariff rate, and indicated that his decision could depend on an outcome of the meeting with Putin. Trump has expressed increasing frustration with Putin over Russia's escalating strikes on civilian areas of Ukraine, intended to erode morale and public appetite for the war. The intensified attacks have occurred even as Trump has urged the Russian leader in recent months to relent. Zelenskyy said Wednesday evening that he and Trump spoke on the phone after Witkoff met with Putin. He said "European leaders also participated in the conversation," and "we discussed what was said in Moscow." "It seems that Russia is now more inclined to agree to a ceasefire," Zelenskyy said, adding that the pressure on Moscow "is working," without elaborating. Zelenskyy stressed it was important to make sure Russia does not "deceive us or the United States" when it comes to "the details" of a potential agreement. Kyiv proposes that Ukraine and its allies soon "talk to determine our position, our common position, and our common view." Overnight from Tuesday to Wednesday, Russian forces hit a recreational center in Ukraine's southern Zaporizhzhia region, killing two people and injuring 12, including two children, regional Gov. Ivan Fedorov said Wednesday. Russian forces launched at least four strikes on the area and initially attacked with powerful glide bombs. "There is zero military sense in this strike. Only cruelty to intimidate," Zelenskyy said in a post on Telegram. Russia also struck the Ukrainian power grid and facilities for heating and cooking gas, Zelenskyy said, as Ukraine makes preparations for winter. Western analysts and Ukrainian officials say Putin is stalling for time and avoiding serious negotiations while Russian forces push to capture more Ukraine land. A Russian offensive that started in the spring and is expected to continue through the fall is advancing faster than last year's push but is making only slow and costly gains and has been unable to take any major cities. The situation on the front line is critical for Ukrainian forces but defenses are not about to collapse, analysts say. Stepping up diplomatic and economic pressure on the Kremlin risks stoking international tensions amid worsening Russia-U.S. relations. Putin has given no hint that he might be ready to make concessions. Instead, the Russian leader and senior Kremlin officials have talked up the country's military strength. Putin announced last week that Russia's new hypersonic missile, which he says cannot be intercepted by current NATO air defense systems, has entered service. Russia announced Tuesday that it no longer regards itself as bound by a self-imposed moratorium on the deployment of nuclear-capable intermediate range missiles, a warning that potentially sets the stage for a new arms race. Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, meantime, warned that the Ukraine war could bring Russia and the U.S. into armed conflict. Trump responded to that by ordering the repositioning of two U.S. nuclear submarines. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Monday welcomed Witkoff's visit. "We consider (talks with Witkoff) important, substantive and very useful," he said. Trump initially gave Moscow a 50-day deadline, but later moved up his ultimatum as the Kremlin continued to bomb Ukrainian cities. However, Trump himself doubted their effectiveness, saying Sunday that Russia has proven to be "pretty good at avoiding sanctions." "They're wily characters," he said of the Russians. The Kremlin has insisted that international sanctions imposed since its February 2022 invasion of its neighbor have had a limited impact. Ukraine maintains the sanctions are taking their toll on Moscow's war machine and wants Western allies to ramp them up.
Nikkei Asia
44 minutes ago
- Nikkei Asia
Trump plans Putin meeting as soon as next week, NY Times reports
Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump talk during the family photo session at the APEC Summit in Danang, Vietnam, in November 2017. © Reuters WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- U.S. President Donald Trump plans to meet in person with Russian President Vladimir Putin as early as next week, the New York Times reported on Wednesday, citing two people familiar with the plan. Trump then plans to meet with Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the newspaper reported, adding that the plans were disclosed in a call with European leaders on Wednesday. The White House did not immediately respond to the report, but earlier on Wednesday Trump acknowledged that he spoke with European leaders after U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff's "highly productive" meeting with Putin in Russia. While noting that "great progress" was made during the meeting, Trump wrote on Truth Social: "Everyone agrees this War must come to a close, and we will work towards that in the days and weeks to come." Trump, who promised to end Russia's war in Ukraine on "day one" during his presidential campaign, has held several phone calls with Putin and has met with Zelenskyy since returning to the White House in January. However, in recent weeks, he has become increasingly frustrated with Moscow over a lack of progress toward ending the three-year conflict.
Nikkei Asia
8 hours ago
- Nikkei Asia
India's Modi plans first China visit in 7 years, as tensions with US rise
NEW DELHI (Reuters) -- Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit China for the first time in over seven years, a government source said on Wednesday, in a further sign of a diplomatic thaw with Beijing as tensions with the United States rise. Modi will go to China for a summit of the multilateral Shanghai Cooperation Organization that begins on Aug. 31, the government source, with direct knowledge of the matter, told Reuters. India's foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. His trip will come at a time when India's relationship with the U.S. faces its most serious crisis in years after President Donald Trump imposed the highest tariffs among Asian peers on goods imported from India, and has threatened an unspecified further penalty for New Delhi's purchases of Russian oil. Modi's visit to the Chinese city of Tianjin for the summit of the SCO, a Eurasian political and security grouping that includes Russia, will be his first since June 2018. Subsequently, Sino-Indian ties deteriorated sharply after a military clash along their disputed Himalayan border in 2020. Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping held talks on the sidelines of a BRICS summit in Russia in October that led to a thaw. The giant Asian neighbors are now slowly defusing tensions that have hampered business relations and travel between the two countries. Trump has threatened to charge an additional 10% tariff on imports from members -- which include India -- of the BRICS group of major emerging economies for "aligning themselves with anti-American policies." Trump said on Wednesday his administration would decide on the penalty for buying Russian oil after the outcome of U.S. efforts to seek a last-minute breakthrough that would bring about a ceasefire in the war in Ukraine. Trump's top diplomatic envoy, Steve Witkoff, is in Moscow, two days before the expiry of a deadline the president set for Russia to agree to peace in Ukraine or face new sanctions. Meanwhile, Indian national security adviser Ajit Doval is in Russia on a scheduled visit and is expected to discuss India's purchases of Russian oil in the wake of Trump's pressure on India to stop buying Russian crude, according to another government source, who also did not want to be named. Doval is likely to address India's defense cooperation with Russia, including obtaining faster access to pending exports to India of Moscow's S400 air defense system, and a possible visit by President Vladimir Putin to India. Doval's trip will be followed by External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar in the weeks to come. U.S. and Indian officials told Reuters a mix of political misjudgment, missed signals and bitterness scuttled trade deal negotiations between the world's biggest and fifth-largest economies, whose bilateral trade is worth over $190 billion. India expects Trump's crackdown could cost it a competitive advantage in about $64 billion worth of goods sent to the U.S. that account for 80% of its total exports, four separate sources told Reuters, citing an internal government assessment. However, the relatively low share of exports in India's $4 trillion economy is expected to limit the direct impact on economic growth. On Wednesday, the Reserve Bank of India left its GDP growth forecast for the current April-March financial year unchanged at 6.5% and held rates steady despite the tariff uncertainties. India's government assessment report has assumed a 10% penalty for buying Russian oil, which would take the total U.S. tariff to 35%, the sources said. India's trade ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The internal assessment report is the government's initial estimate and will change as the quantum of tariffs imposed by Trump becomes clear, all four sources said. India exported goods estimated at $81 billion in 2024 to the U.S.
