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Russia Today
23-07-2025
- Politics
- Russia Today
Moscow hopes ‘reasonable' Trump will influence EU
Moscow hopes the 'reasonable' position on the Ukrainian conflict displayed by US President Donald Trump will have an impact on the stance of the EU, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said. Speaking during a press conference in Moscow following talks with his Mozambican counterpart, Maria Manuela Lucas, on Tuesday, Russia's top diplomat expressed hopes the EU will, at some point, show a willingness to engage in meaningful dialogue. 'I really hope that the reasonable approach that the Trump administration showed in this situation after it replaced the Biden administration, which spoke in unison with the unhinged Europeans, that this reasonable approach, which includes a willingness to dialogue and a willingness to listen and hear, will not go unnoticed by the Europeans, despite all the current discussions about the need to arm the Kiev regime again and again and again at the expense of… European taxpayers,' Lavrov stated. While the US president had repeatedly promised to end the hostilities between Moscow and Kiev, he admitted last month, however, that the task had proven to be 'more difficult than people would have any idea.' Thus far, the direct negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, kick-started by the US administration, have failed to yield any tangible result, focusing primarily on humanitarian issues, including prisoner swaps and the return of the bodies of fallen soldiers. Trump has spoken with Russian President Vladimir Putin multiple times in recent months. He recently criticized the Russian leader for supposedly resisting a settlement and threatened to impose sanctions on Russia and its trade partners unless the Ukraine conflict is ended by autumn. In response, the Kremlin stated it had a calm view of the criticism and expressed its intention to continue the dialogue with Washington. Presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov urged the US administration to put pressure on Kiev instead, suggesting that it 'appears that the Ukrainian side takes all statements of support as signals to continue war, not as signals for peace.'
South China Morning Post
23-07-2025
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
US ‘lone wolf' diplomacy helps China win Asean hearts and minds
The Wat Xieng Thong Buddhist temple in Luang Prabang, Laos, stands both as a spiritual sanctuary and a historical artefact. From 2011 to 2014, the US State Department helped fund the temple's restoration. When then US president Barack Obama visited the site in 2016, he framed such efforts as part of America's 'profound moral and humanitarian obligation' to address the devastation still plaguing Laos from the US' largest per capita bombing campaign in history. Advertisement Nine years later, US engagement in Southeast Asia has undergone a tectonic shift; there is little interest in moral obligation, let alone cultural preservation. During July's Asean meetings, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrived in Malaysia armed not with aid, but in the wake of threats of escalated tariffs against Thailand, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar and Laos. Soon after, the State Department eliminated its Office of Multilateral Affairs for East Asia, dismantling the institution tasked with managing relationships with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations' 10 member states. Economic coercion, decoupling and a retreat from multilateralism are the pillars of 'America first' diplomacy. While China previously deployed ' wolf warrior ' tactics, with its diplomats responding aggressively to criticism of the nation, the second Donald Trump administration has spawned a different breed of diplomacy: the 'lone wolf' doctrine. Unmoored from alliances and indifferent to precedent, it is characterised by erratic, self-inflicted isolation. Lone wolf diplomacy apparently seeks to weaken bonds between the US and its allies, framing traditional alliances as burdens rather than assets. The result is a diplomacy of perpetual volatility. The Trump administration has weaponised tariffs as instruments of leverage, recently sending letters that threaten to impose punitive levies of 20 per cent to 50 per cent on over 20 countries on August 1. Advertisement
Russia Today
22-07-2025
- Politics
- Russia Today
Moscow hopes Trump's ‘reasonable' position will influence EU
Moscow hopes the 'reasonable' position on the Ukrainian conflict displayed by US President Donald Trump will have an impact on the stance of the EU, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said. Speaking during a press conference in Moscow following talks with his Mozambican counterpart, Maria Manuela Lucas, on Tuesday, Russia's top diplomat expressed hopes the EU will, at some point, show a willingness to engage in meaningful dialogue. 'I really hope that the reasonable approach that the Trump administration showed in this situation after it replaced the Biden administration, which spoke in unison with the unhinged Europeans, that this reasonable approach, which includes a willingness to dialogue and a willingness to listen and hear, will not go unnoticed by the Europeans, despite all the current discussions about the need to arm the Kiev regime again and again and again at the expense of… European taxpayers,' Lavrov stated. While the US president had repeatedly promised to end the hostilities between Moscow and Kiev, he admitted last month, however, that the task had proven to be 'more difficult than people would have any idea.' Thus far, the direct negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, kick-started by the US administration, have failed to yield any tangible result, focusing primarily on humanitarian issues, including prisoner swaps and the return of the bodies of fallen soldiers. Trump has spoken with Russian President Vladimir Putin multiple times in recent months. He recently criticized the Russian leader for supposedly resisting a settlement and threatened to impose sanctions on Russia and its trade partners unless the Ukraine conflict is ended by autumn. In response, the Kremlin stated it had a calm view of the criticism and expressed its intention to continue the dialogue with Washington. Presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov urged the US administration to put pressure on Kiev instead, suggesting that it 'appears that the Ukrainian side takes all statements of support as signals to continue war, not as signals for peace.'
Associated Press
10-07-2025
- Politics
- Associated Press
Liberians confused and angry after Trump's 'condescending' praise for Boakai's 'beautiful English'
MONROVIA, Liberia (AP) — There was confusion and anger in Liberia on Thursday after U.S. President Donald Trump praised the English skills of President Joseph Boakai. 'Such good English,' Trump said to Boakai, with visible surprise. 'Such beautiful English.' English has been the west African nation's official language since the 1800s. But Trump did not stop there. 'Where did you learn to speak so beautifully?' he continued, as Boakai murmured a response. 'Where were you educated? Where? In Liberia?' The exchange took place during a meeting in the White House between Trump and five West African leaders on Wednesday, amid a pivot from aid to trade in the U.S. foreign policy. Liberia has had deep ties with the United States for centuries. The country has been first established with the aim of relocating freed slaves from the United States. Foday Massaquio, chairman of the opposition Congress for Democratic Change-Council of Patriots, said that while the remarks were typical of Trump's engagement with foreign leaders, the condescending tone was amplified by the fact that the leaders were African. 'As a matter of fact, it also proves that the West is not taking us seriously as Africans,' he said. 'President Trump was condescending, he was very disrespectful to the African leader.' Kula Fofana, spokesperson for Boakai's office, told The Associated Press: 'I believe that as journalists, it is important to focus on the substantive discussions at the summit.' Close relationship in the past Trump's comments added to the sense of betrayal which became palpable in Liberia in recent months. Earlier this month, U.S. authorities dissolved theU.S. Agency for International Development and said it was no longer following what they called 'a charity-based foreign aid model.' That decision sent shockwaves across Liberia, where American support made up almost 2.6% of the gross national income, the highest percentage anywhere in the world, according to the Center for Global Development. Liberians thought they would be spared from Trump's cuts because of the countries' close relationship. Their political system is modeled on that of the U.S., along with its flag. Liberians often refer to the U.S. as their 'big brother.' Liberia was one of the first countries to receive USAID support, starting in 1961. The street signs, taxis and school buses resemble those in New York. 'In the first place, Liberia is a long standing friend of the USA, therefore Trump should have understood that we speak English as an official language,' said Moses Dennis, 37, a businessman from Monrovia. He added that Boakai did not go to Washington for 'an English speaking competition.' 'Condescending and ridiculing' His views were echoed by Siokin Civicus Barsi-Giah, a leadership expert and a close associate of former President George Weah. 'Liberia is an English speaking country,' he said. 'Former slaves and slave owners decided to organize themselves to let go of many people who were in slavery in the United States of America, and they landed on these shores now called the Republic of Liberia.' For him, the exchange was 'condescending and ridiculing.' He added: 'Joseph Boakai was not praised. He was mocked by the greatest president in the world, who is leading the greatest country in the world.' Some however said that given Trump's personal style, Wednesday's remarks were meant as a praise. 'To some, the comment may carry a whiff of condescension, echoing a long-standing Western tendency to express surprise when African leaders display intellectual fluency,' said Abraham Julian Wennah the director of Research at the African Methodist Episcopal University. 'In postcolonial contexts, language has long been weaponized to question legitimacy and competence.' But if one looks at 'Trump's rhetorical style,' these remarks were 'an acknowledgment of Boakai's polish, intellect, and readiness for global engagement,' he said.
Russia Today
10-07-2025
- Politics
- Russia Today
Ideas on Ukraine exchanged during meeting with Lavrov
Washington will continue to engage with both Moscow and Kiev at every opportunity in a bid to resolve the Ukraine conflict, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said following his meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov at the ASEAN forum in Malaysia.
