Latest news with #USRussiaTalks
South China Morning Post
9 hours ago
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
Russia is deceiving Washington ahead of US-Russia talks, Zelensky says
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Moscow of attempting to mislead Washington, a few days before a planned meeting between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska. Advertisement 'We understand Russia's intention to try to deceive America – we will not allow this,' Zelensky said in his evening video address on Sunday. The two presidents are set to meet on Friday in Alaska to discuss a possible solution to the Ukraine war after more than three years of conflict. Zelensky was not invited. The US ambassador to Nato, Matthew Whitaker, told CNN on Sunday that he has not ruled out inviting Zelensky to the US-Russian talks, adding that 'the decision is going to be made by President Trump'. In his statement, Zelensky said he appreciated Trump's determination to end the war but he added the only reason for the continued killing in Ukraine was Putin's desire to wage war and 'manipulate everyone he comes into contact with'. Advertisement Zelensky signalled he would reject any peace deal involving territorial concessions, stressing: 'We will certainly defend our state and our independence.'
South China Morning Post
a day ago
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
Europe and Ukraine press US ahead of Trump-Putin meeting
European officials presented their own Ukraine peace proposals to the United States on Saturday as US President Donald Trump prepared for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on ending the war. Trump announced on Friday that he would meet Putin in Alaska on August 15, saying the parties, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, were close to a deal that could resolve the 3½-year conflict. Details of the potential deal have yet to be announced, but Trump said it would involve 'some swapping of territories to the betterment of both'. It could require Ukraine to surrender significant parts of its territory – an outcome Kyiv and its European allies say would only encourage Russian aggression. US Vice-President J.D. Vance met Ukrainian and European allies in Britain on Saturday to discuss Trump's push for peace. The Wall Street Journal said European officials had presented a counterproposal, including demands that a ceasefire must take place before any other steps are taken and that any territory exchange must be reciprocal, with firm security guarantees. 'You can't start a process by ceding territory in the middle of fighting,' it quoted one European negotiator as saying.
CNN
2 days ago
- Politics
- CNN
Trump says he'll soon meet with Putin
Donald Trump War in Ukraine RussiaFacebookTweetLink Follow President Donald Trump said Friday that he'll be meeting 'very shortly' with Russian President Vladimir Putin and previewed terms of a potential peace deal to end the war in Ukraine. 'I'll be meeting very shortly with President Putin,' Trump told reporters at the White House. 'It would have been sooner, but I guess there's security arrangements that, unfortunately, people have to make,' he continued, adding that Putin would 'like to meet as soon as possible.' Trump said he'd share more details on his administration's efforts to secure a peace deal, as well as a 'popular' location for talks with Putin, 'a little bit later.' The United States and Russia have been working on a potential deal to stop the war in Ukraine that would lock in some of Russia's gains, a European official and US official tell CNN earlier Friday. The deal is not finalized and could fall through. The United States has been trying to get allies to agree to this plan, one of the sources told CNN, which came amid the push to secure a summit between Putin and Trump. However, some us officials have expressed concern that Russia will not honor a deal. 'A lot of people are dying, and I think we're getting very close, and we're going to be announcing later on, we're going to have a meeting with Russia — start off with Russia, and we'll announce the location,' Trump said. The president, who'd acknowledged frustration with Russia's president in recent months for drawing out the conflict, seemed more optimistic for the prospect of a peace deal Friday. 'The European leaders want to see peace,' he said. 'President Putin, I believe, wants to see peace, and Zelensky wants to see peace.' He later added: 'My instinct really tells me that we have a shot at' peace. Earlier this week, Trump pledged he'd apply new sanctions on Russia if Putin didn't end the war in Ukraine by Friday, but he struck a less hardline tone on Thursday, telling reporters in the Oval Office, 'It's going to be up to (Putin)' if the Friday deadline would hold. Pressed by CNN's Kaitlan Collins Thursday if Putin would have to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as a prerequisite for a face-to-face meeting between Trump and Putin, Trump said, 'No, he doesn't.' This story has been updated with additional developments.
Reuters
3 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
Putin calls Xi, Modi and other foreign leaders ahead of planned meeting with Trump
MOSCOW, Aug 8 (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke to the leaders of China, India and three ex-Soviet states on Friday in a flurry of calls to brief them on his contacts with the United States about the war in Ukraine. Putin met U.S. President Donald Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff in Moscow on Wednesday, after which the Kremlin said a summit between Putin and Trump could take place as early as next week. No venue, date or agenda have been announced. Trump, pressing for an end to the 3-1/2-year war, had set a deadline that expires on Friday for Russia to agree to peace or face new sanctions on Moscow and countries that buy Russian exports. China and India are the biggest buyers of Russian oil. China's President Xi Jinping told Putin in a phone call that China is pleased to see Russia and the United States maintaining contact and improving ties to advance a political resolution of the Ukraine crisis, Chinese state broadcaster CCTV said. China is a major backer of Russia in its confrontation with the West, as well as Russia's biggest trading partner. Putin is due to visit China in September for events marking the 80th anniversary of the end of World War Two. The Kremlin said that Putin also discussed his talks with Witkoff with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Trump this week announced an additional 25% tariff on Indian goods to penalise New Delhi for its purchases of Russian oil. "Had a very good and detailed conversation with my friend President Putin. I thanked him for sharing the latest developments on Ukraine," Modi said in a post on X. On Thursday Putin spoke with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, who expressed South Africa's "full support to peace initiatives that will end the war and contribute to a lasting peace between Russia and Ukraine." Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the United Arab Emirates, met Putin in Moscow on Thursday and Putin said the UAE was a possible venue for the Russia-U.S. summit. Russia, China, India, South Africa and the UAE are all members of the BRICS group of countries which Moscow sees as a counterweight to U.S. political and economic dominance. Putin on Friday also discussed the outcome of Witkoff's visit in calls with his ally Alexander Lukashenko, president of Belarus, and with the leaders of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.
The National
3 days ago
- Business
- The National
Oil heading for sharp weekly drop amid US tariffs and Russia ceasefire deadline
Oil prices inched up on Friday but were on track for a sharp weekly loss amid the latest round of US tariffs and anticipated US-Russia talks on a Ukraine war ceasefire. Brent, the benchmark for two thirds of the world's oil, rose 0.65 per cent to $66.86 per barrel on Friday at 3.39pm UAE time, while West Texas Intermediate, the gauge that tracks US crude, increased 0.58 to $64.25 a barrel. The incremental rise on Friday followed Thursday's nine-week lows. For the week, Brent and WTI are on pace for a decline of 4 per cent and 4.7 per cent, respectively. Year-to-date, both benchmarks are down 10.5 per cent. This week's oil price movement was 'again' driven by the moves of US President Donald Trump, said Giovanni Staunovo, a strategist at Swiss bank UBS. 'He first threatened high tariffs for buyers of Russian oil – as of now the only one buyer impacted is India – and the added tariffs came in on the lower side at 25 per cent and not 50 per cent or 100 per cent as feared,' Mr Staunovo told The National. 'No secondary sanctions were added on buyers, with market participants for now assuming modest supply disruptions and awaiting more clarity how Indian refineries will react,' he added. 'Russian supply is not disrupted currently. Production is limited due to the Opec+ agreement. A truce would not change this, but lower supply disruption risks.' A meeting between Mr Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin and has been agreed, a Kremlin official said on Thursday as negotiations on a Ukraine summit gained new impetus. The announcement was made on the eve of a White House deadline for Moscow to show progress towards ending the three-year-old war in Ukraine. The move signalled a crucial thaw in the two nations' strained relationship, analysts said. 'The market went into a wait-and-watch mode amid the rapidly-evolving US-Russia engagement on the Ukraine crisis,' Vandana Hari, chief executive of Singapore-based Vanda Insights, said. Mr Putin's foreign affairs adviser Yuri Ushakov said a summit could take place as early as next week at a venue that has been decided 'in principle', although he did not identify it. Mr Putin later named the UAE as a potential location. The meeting will be the first between sitting US and Russian presidents since Joe Biden met Mr Putin in Geneva in June 2021. 'For oil, the pivot represents increased probability of a Ukraine ceasefire deal that could lead to the western alliance phasing out its sanctions and embargoes against Russia,' Ms Hari said. Oil prices had trended upwards since May, peaking on June 19 after Israel attacked Iran, but have fallen since. That, among other geopolitical tensions, has added to market volatility. On Monday, oil prices dropped after Opec+ agreed to another large output rise. The alliance of oil producers led by Saudi Arabia and Russia is to increase its oil production by 547,000 barrels per day for September, as it continues to unwind voluntary cuts introduced during the Covid-19 pandemic. That decision marks the sixth month in a row when the group has raised output as it gradually restores 2.2 million barrels a day of supply that was withheld from the market. Last month, Opec+ announced a larger-than-expected increase of 548,000 barrels a day for August, accelerating the pace of its phased supply return.
