Latest news with #PeaceTalks
Daily Mail
3 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
Russia's concern over NATO's expansion is FAIR, Donald Trump's envoy to Ukraine says
In a startling intervention, Donald Trump 's envoy to the Ukraine has declared that Russia 's long-standing gripes over NATO expansion are fair. Asked by ABC News about a Reuters report that Russia wanted a written pledge over NATO not enlarging eastwards to include Ukraine and other former Soviet republics, retired Keith Kellogg said: 'It's a fair concern.' 'We've said that to us, Ukraine coming into NATO is not on the table, and we're not the only country that says that'. The comment is likely to spark debate, especially among European allies deeply rattled by Moscow 's aggression. Kellogg also claimed that 'four other countries' within NATO also oppose Ukraine's membership, a pointed reference to the alliance's strict rule requiring unanimous approval from all 32 member nations before admitting a new country. The scope of Russia's anxiety doesn't end with Ukraine. 'They're not just talking Ukraine, they're talking the country of Georgia, they're talking Moldova,' Kellogg said. The key Trump confidant and former National Security Adviser added the future of NATO enlargement ultimately rests with Trump. Amid an ongoing diplomatic push to end the bloodshed, Kellogg confirmed that the US is preparing to sit down for peace talks in Istanbul next week, alongside advisers from Germany, France, and the UK. The plan is to merge separate the two memorandums drafted by Ukraine and Russia into a single document. 'When we get into Istanbul next week we'll sit down and talk,' Kellogg confirmed, setting the stage for the high-stakes negotiations. Kellogg said Trump was 'frustrated' with Russia because he had seen 'a level of unreasonableness' from Russian President Vladimir Putin. He scolded Russia for striking Ukrainian cities and said he had told Ukraine to turn up to talks. A conservative estimate of dead and injured in the Ukraine war - from both sides combined - totals 1.2 million, Kellogg said. 'That is a stunning number - this is war on an industrial scale,' Kellogg told ABC. It comes as David Petraeus, a respected former US general and CIA chief, warned that Putin will invade a NATO country if he succeeds in Ukraine. He said Russia could launch an incursion into that Baltic state to test Western resolve or as a precursor to a wider offensive. Mr Petraeus, who headed the CIA after a stellar military career, also criticised US President Donald Trump for repeatedly granting second chances to Putin and took aim at predecessor Joe Biden for failures to adequately arm Ukrainian forces. The CIA chief who led tens of thousands of US, British and other nationality troops in both Iraq and Afghanistan, also called on the UK to withdraw from international accords forbidding the use of cluster munitions on the battlefield. He said that these weapons could prove an essential deterrent. Mr Petraeus stated that Russia's aim was to topple president Volodymyr Zelensky in order to 'install a puppet leader and to control all of Ukraine'. He added: 'Once that's done, you are going to see them focus on one of the Baltic states.
CNN
4 days ago
- Business
- CNN
Trump says new Russia sanctions could hurt peace talks
Trump says new Russia sanctions could hurt peace talks President Donald Trump expressed concern that levying new sanctions against Russia in response to their continued strikes in Ukraine could jeopardize peace talks between the two nations. 00:51 - Source: CNN Automated CNN Shorts 11 videos Trump says new Russia sanctions could hurt peace talks President Donald Trump expressed concern that levying new sanctions against Russia in response to their continued strikes in Ukraine could jeopardize peace talks between the two nations. 00:51 - Source: CNN Elon Musk 'disappointed' in Trump's 'big, beautiful' bill In an interview with "CBS Sunday Morning," Elon Musk raised concerns about President Donald Trump's "big, beautiful" bill, warning it could increase the US budget deficit and undermine the Department of Government Efficiency. The bill narrowly passed the House last week and now heads to the Senate, where major changes are expected. Musk also announced he's stepping back from full-time government work to focus on his companies. 00:44 - Source: CNN DEI leader: Trump's agenda 'instills fear' CNN's John King visits one of the country's top targets of the 2026 midterms — Pennsylvania's 7th Congressional District — where a leader of a DEI program tells him what she's doing to prepare for possible funding cuts. 00:48 - Source: CNN He voted for the first time at 55. Hear why CNN's John King visits one of the country's top targets of the 2026 midterms — Pennsylvania's 7th Congressional District — and hears why, at 55, one man felt compelled to vote in a presidential election for the first time in his life. 01:04 - Source: CNN Trump voter may lose his job because of Trump policies CNN's John King visits one of the country's top targets of the 2026 midterms — Pennsylvania's 7th Congressional District — and speaks to a Trump voter who is in danger of being laid off due to the President's tariffs. 01:11 - Source: CNN 5 stories to start your day White House directs agencies to cancel $100m in Harvard contracts, Trump pardons reality show couple in prison for fraud, Southwest ends free bags. 06:04 - Source: CNN Should Sean 'Diddy' Combs testify? CNN's Laura Coates speaks with Benjamin Chew, co-lead counsel for Johnny Depp in his defamation trial, about whether Sean "Diddy" Combs should testify in his high stakes criminal trial. 01:55 - Source: CNN SpaceX Starship outperforms previous missions this year Regrouping after two consecutive explosions, SpaceX launched the 9th test flight of Starship, the most powerful rocket ever built. The mission marks the first time the company reused a Super Heavy booster from a previous flight. 01:55 - Source: CNN Finland's president responds to Russian military activity along border CNN's Erin Burnett speaks with Finland's President Alexander Stubb about his country ramping up its military to deter potential Russian aggression. 02:16 - Source: CNN Palestinians desperate for food rush US-backed aid site Scores of people rushed over fencing and through barricades in southern Gaza on the first day a US-Israeli-backed aid site was opened. CNN's Jeremy Diamond explains the desperate humanitarian situation that remains in the region. 01:22 - Source: CNN NYC Mayor Eric Adams defends Trump relationship New York City Mayor Eric Adams speaks with CNN's Maria Santana about his controversial relationship with President Donald Trump, which has garnered close attention after the Department of Justice recommended his criminal charges be dropped. 01:07 - Source: CNN
The Independent
5 days ago
- Business
- The Independent
Ukraine-Russia war latest: Zelensky meets Merz and warns 50,000 Russian troops gathering near Sumy
Putin foreign policy aide: Trump not informed about what is really happening in Ukraine Vladimir Putin's foreign policy aide has claimed that Donald Trump doesn't know the reality of the war in Ukraine. Yuri Ushakov, one of Putin's key officials in peace talks, issued the comments after Trump suggested Putin was 'playing with fire'. 'We've come to the conclusion that Trump is not sufficiently informed about what is really happening in the context of the Russian-Ukrainian confrontation,' he told Russian state media. Tom Watling28 May 2025 12:30 Putin wants written statement ruling out Ukraine's Nato membership, sources say President Vladimir Putin's conditions for ending the war in Ukraine include a demand that Western leaders pledge in writing to stop enlarging Nato eastwards and lift a chunk of sanctions on Russia, according to three Russian sources with knowledge of the negotiations who spoke with Reuters. US president Donald Trump has repeatedly said he wants to end the deadliest European conflict since World War Two and has shown increasing frustration with Putin in recent days, warning on Tuesday the Russian leader was 'playing with fire' by refusing to engage in ceasefire talks with Kyiv as his forces made gains on the battlefield. After speaking to Trump for more than two hours last week, Putin said that he had agreed to work with Ukraine on a memorandum that would establish the contours of a peace accord, including the timing of a ceasefire. Russia says it is currently drafting its version of the memorandum and cannot estimate how long that will take. Kyiv and European governments have accused Moscow of stalling while its troops advance in eastern Ukraine. 'Putin is ready to make peace but not at any price,' said one senior Russian source with knowledge of top-level Kremlin thinking, who spoke on condition of anonymity. The three Russian sources said Putin wants a 'written' pledge by major Western powers not to enlarge the US-led Nato alliance eastwards - shorthand for formally ruling out membership to Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova and other former Soviet republics. Russia also wants Ukraine to be neutral, some Western sanctions lifted, a resolution of the issue of frozen Russian sovereign assets in the West, and protection for Russian speakers in Ukraine, the three sources said. The first source said that, if Putin realises he is unable to reach a peace deal on his own terms, he will seek to show the Ukrainians and the Europeans by military victories that 'peace tomorrow will be even more painful'. Tom Watling28 May 2025 12:09 Kremlin on Trump's 'playing with fire' comments: National interests paramount for Putin Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, in comments about US president Donald Trump's remark that Vladimir Putin was 'playing with fire' by refusing to engage in ceasefire talks with Kyiv, said the national interest was paramount for the Russian leader. He also said in a conference call with reporters on Wednesday that a possible meeting of Putin with Trump and Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky should take place only following preparations and talks. Tom Watling28 May 2025 11:46 Zelensky says Moscow proposed 'impossible' Belarus location for next talks Volodymyr Zelensky said earlier Moscow proposed Belarus, a close ally of Russia, as the next location for peace talks. According to Reuters, he described such a meeting place as 'impossible for Ukraine'. Russia's foreign minister Sergey Lavrov has told an international security conference preparations for the next direct talks are underway, and will occur in the near future. However, Russia is yet to deliver a memorandum to Ukraine outlining its terms for a ceasefire after the first direct talks between Moscow and Kyiv occurred in Istanbul earlier this month. Angus Thompson28 May 2025 11:20 Merz welcomes Zelensky to Berlin Volodymyr Zelensky has been warmly welcomed to Berlin by German chancellor Friedrich Merz this morning. After arriving at the Chancellery, the pair stood for a welcoming ceremony in which national anthems were played and the Ukrainian leader was treated to full military honours ahead of talks. The pair will later front the media for a press conference. 28 May 2025 11:19 Russian backlash over Merz's long-range missile comments Earlier in the week German chancellor Friedrich Merz suggested European leaders had granted Ukraine fresh capabilities to fire long-range weapons at Russia before Berlin corrected that the decision had been made months before. Mr Merz said there were no longer any range restrictions on the weapons supplied to Ukraine by Britain, France, Germany and the United States, and that Ukraine could now do "long range fire". Moscow seized on the comments, with Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov telling a press conference on Tuesday the remarks indicated the calibre of people who had risen to power in leading European countries. "[Mr Merz] said yesterday with such pretentiousness that from now on and forever there are no restrictions on the range of strikes," Mr Lavrov said at a press conference in Moscow. Lavrov said other German officials appeared to have contradicted the chancellor and that such contradictory signals suggested to Moscow that European powers had long ago decided to allow Ukraine to make long-range strikes deep into Russia with European missiles but that the decision "was kept secret". Angus Thompson28 May 2025 10:45 Could Germany take a larger role in supporting Ukraine? Volodymyr Zelensky is set to be welcomed to Berlin with full military honours later this morning as he meets with new German chancellor Friedrich Merz. The meeting is being staged against a backdrop of wavering support for Ukraine from the Trump administration and comments from Mr Merz before he took the chancellorship that Germany needed to ween itself off American security. Mr Merz, a conservative who took office this month, has vowed to take more of a leadership role in ensuring support for Ukraine than his Social Democrat predecessor Olaf Scholz. Zelensky said on Tuesday he was grateful to Mr Merz for previously coming to Kyiv, but there were "things that we could not discuss because we did not have a long one-on-one. And we agreed that the time will come when I will come to Berlin and we will talk about it." With Reuters Angus Thompson28 May 2025 10:30 Zelensky arrives in Berlin for peace talks with Merz Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has arrived in Berlin for peace talks with German chancellor Friedrich Merz. Mr Zelensky is in Germany to shore up continued support for Ukraine's defence against Russia's invasion, with Mr Merz among Europe's strongest backers of Ukraine. Mr Merz said on Tuesday he believed the war would drag on because of Russia's reluctance to negotiate. "Wars typically end because of economic or military exhaustion on one side or on both sides and in this war we are obviously still far from reaching that (situation)", Mr Merz said at a joint press conference with Finish prime minister Petteri Orpo in Turku, Finland. "So we may have to prepare for a longer duration.' With Reuters Angus Thompson28 May 2025 10:13 Homes burn near Moscow after drone strikes These images show the aftermath of what Russian authorities say are the result of a Ukrainian drone attack that has taken out homes near Moscow. Firefighters work to douse the structures, fully ablaze after the strike, as both sides continue to trade fire, with Russia claiming to have downed nearly 300 Ukrainian drones overnight. Angus Thompson28 May 2025 10:00 Zelensky ready for meeting between 'Trump, Putin and me', report says Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has said he is ready for a three-way meeting with Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin, according to a report by Ukrainian public broadcaster Suspilne. "We are ready to meet at the level of leaders. The American side knows this, and the Russian side knows this. We are ready for the 'Trump, Putin, and me' format, and we are ready for the Trump-Putin, Trump-Zelensky format, and then the three of us," Zelensky said. The report comes after Zelensky challenged the Russian president to meet him in Istanbul for direct talks earlier this month, a dare shunned by Putin, who instead sent a junior delegation to negotiate with Ukrainian officials. His latest comments also follow a phone call between Trump and Putin last week, which came after the US president vowed to meet Putin 'as soon as we can' and Moscow asserting peace could only be achieved through direct talks between the US and Russia. Angus Thompson
The Guardian
25-05-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Ukraine and Russia complete prisoner exchange
Ukraine and Russia completed the exchange of 1,000 prisoners each on Sunday. Each side brought home 303 more soldiers, after each had released 307 combatants and civilians on Saturday and 390 on Friday. The agreement to exchange 1,000 prisoners each was the only concrete step towards peace to emerge from talks in Istanbul
Russia Today
24-05-2025
- Politics
- Russia Today
Kiev's Western backers to blame for massive drone strikes on civilians
Kiev's Western backers, including the EU and the UK, bear responsibility for the latest series of Ukrainian drone strikes targeting Russian civilians, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has told a Q&A session in Moscow. Western nations want to disrupt the renewed peace talks between Russia and Ukraine as they pursue their narrow political goals, he said. The minister was referring to a series of large-scale drone raids launched by Kiev's forces this week. According to the Russian military, 776 drones and 12 missiles were intercepted above the country's territory between Tuesday and Friday morning, while 12 drones hit their targets. On Saturday morning, the Russian Defense Ministry reported that another 104 UAVs had been intercepted inside Russia overnight. Kiev's aggressive actions are due to the support that 'some European nations led by the UK, France, Germany, and the EU leadership' lend to the 'Ukrainian Nazis,' Lavrov said on Friday. 'We are convinced that they bear their share of responsibility for these crimes,' he stated, adding that Moscow would seek to 'put an end to this policy.' Lavrov said the goal of Kiev's backers was to disrupt the peace talks that were renewed in Istanbul last week after President Vladimir Putin offered to resume negotiations without any preconditions. Russia is currently 'actively working' on a draft peace proposal and will be ready to present it to the Ukrainian side following a major prisoner exchange being carried out by Moscow and Kiev over the weekend, he said. Moscow is committed to peace 'despite any provocations,' the minister stated. The EU and the UK are only 'fueling' the conflict and encouraging Ukraine's Vladimir Zelensky and his government to continue the bloodshed, Russia's top diplomat said. Even their calls for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire are a disguise for a desire to continue pumping Ukraine with weapons, Lavrov believes. 'They've bet their reputation on dragging Europe into a war against Russia to facilitate the militarization of Europe,' the minister warned, adding that Western governments plan to allocate 'huge sums' of money to that goal. 'There is certainly Europe's responsibility' in prolonging the Ukraine conflict, Lavrov said. He added that EU leaders would 'find it hard to shed this responsibility.'
