Latest news with #peaceDeal
CBS News
16 hours ago
- Politics
- CBS News
Envoy Steve Witkoff expected to travel to Europe to press for ceasefire and peace deal in Gaza
Special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff is scheduled to travel to Europe this week for meetings on a wide range of issues, including the Israel-Hamas conflict, and will continue pushing for a ceasefire and peace deal, according to a U.S. official. In a briefing with reporters Tuesday, State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce suggested Witkoff could soon go to the Middle East, but declined to provide details about his itinerary. "When it comes to the specific location of the envoy, I do not have that," Bruce said. Indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas are ongoing, according to an Israeli official, and the Israeli government expects to soon receive Hamas' response to an offer made last week. So far, there have been no breakthroughs as they attempt to broker a 60-day ceasefire, initially proposed by the U.S., in the 21-month war. Doha, Qatar, hosted indirect talks between the two parties earlier this month. Witkoff, according to two diplomatic sources, was expected to travel to the Middle East if negotiations progressed and a deal could potentially be closed. He met last week with Qatari officials at the White House just before President Trump hosted the Qatari prime minister for a dinner that stretched late into the night. It took place as diplomatic efforts were reaching a critical moment in the pursuit of a deal to release the 20 living Israeli hostages, free some Palestinian detainees, allow the entry of much needed food and aid to civilians in Gaza, and bring about a cessation of violence and repositioning of Israeli Defense Forces. A U.S. official and a regional source familiar with the diplomacy told CBS News that Israel last week proposed a new map with new locations where the IDF would potentially withdraw within Gaza. The demarcation of these proposed withdrawal zones has been a sticking point in the ongoing diplomatic efforts to broker a deal acceptable to both Hamas and the Netanyahu government. The international mediators — Qatar, Egypt and the U.S. — planned to transit the Israeli proposal to Hamas for consideration. The two sources indicated that the Trump administration is cautiously optimistic about the possibility of an impending break in the Gaza negotiations that could lead to a 60-day ceasefire and hostage release. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was in Washington in early July to discuss the deal with the Trump administration but a sticking point emerged over the deployment of Israeli troops during the truce. Israel wants to keep forces in what it says is an important land corridor in southern Gaza, but Hamas views the presence of Israeli troops on that strip of land as an indication that Israel intends to continue the war once a temporary ceasefire expires. The Knesset goes into a three-month summer recess next week, on July 27, which would give Netanyahu more political flexibility in ceasefire negotiations. In the meantime, Israel has continued to carry out military operations in Gaza, and on Sunday, it issued new evacuation orders to include an area that has been somewhat less hard hit than others, indicating a new battleground may be opening up and squeezing Palestinians further south. In a social media post published Sunday, the Israel Defense Forces warned Palestinians that it was operating "with great force to destroy the enemy's capabilities and terrorist infrastructure" in the central city of Deir al-Balah, "as it expands its activities in this region to operate in an area it has not operated in before." Officials from the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza also said more than 80 people were killed trying to access emergency food supplies on Sunday.
Forbes
6 days ago
- Business
- Forbes
Trump Is Losing Patience With Russia— Here's What He Could Do If He Feels 'Played' By Putin: Analyst
Tinatin Japaridze, an analyst with Eurasia Group, joined "Forbes Newsroom" to discuss the latest in the Russia-Ukraine war, including President Trump's threat to impose "severe" tariffs on Russia if it refuses to reach a peace deal with Ukraine in 50 days. Watch the full interview above.
Telegraph
15-07-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
Trump asked Zelensky if Ukraine could strike Moscow
Donald Trump asked Volodymyr Zelensky if Ukraine was capable of striking Moscow in encouragement of more long-range strikes inside Russia. The US president told Mr Zelensky that he wanted Ukraine to 'make them [Russians] feel the pain' and force Putin to the negotiation table, sources told the Financial Times. 'Volodymyr, can you hit Moscow? ... Can you hit St Petersburg too?' the US president reportedly asked on the July 4 call. The Ukrainian president replied: 'Absolutely. We can if you give us the weapons.' Following the call, Kyiv received a list from US aides of long-range strike systems that could be made available via third-party transfers. Mr Trump has considered sending Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine, according to reports. The strike cruise missiles are capable of hitting targets 1,600km away, which would allow Ukraine to strike Moscow. His proposal to arm Ukraine was unveiled on Monday, when he announced plans to supply billions of dollars of weapons to Ukraine by selling them to members of the Nato alliance, including the UK, France and Germany, who would then transfer them to Kyiv. Mr Trump threatened to punish Russia's main trading partners – countries such as China and India – with 100 per cent tariffs if Putin does not sign a peace deal within 50 days. On Tuesday, Reuters reported that Putin intended to keep fighting in Ukraine until the West engaged on his terms for peace. Three sources close to the Kremlin said that Putin believes Russia's economy and its military are strong enough to weather any additional Western measures. 'Putin thinks no one has seriously engaged with him on the details of peace in Ukraine, including the Americans, so he will continue until he gets what he wants,' one of the sources told Reuters on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the situation. Despite several telephone calls between Mr Trump and Putin, and visits to Russia by Steve Witkoff, the US special envoy, the Russian leader believes there have not been detailed discussions of the basis for a peace plan, the source said. 'Putin values the relationship with Trump and had good discussions with Witkoff, but the interests of Russia come above all else,' they added. Putin's conditions for peace include a legally binding pledge that Nato will not expand eastwards, Ukrainian neutrality and limits on its armed forces, protection for Russian speakers who live there, and acceptance of Russia's territorial gains, the sources said. Mr Zelensky has said Ukraine will never recognise Russia's sovereignty over its conquered regions and that Kyiv retains the sovereign right to decide whether it wants to join Nato. In a phone call with the BBC on Tuesday, Mr Trump said he was 'disappointed, but not done with Putin'. 'I thought we had a deal done four times and then you go home and you see he just attacked a nursing home or something in Kyiv,' the president told the BBC. When pressed on whether he trusts the Russian leader, Mr Trump replied: 'I trust almost no-one.'
Bloomberg
14-07-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Trump Threatens 100% Tariffs on Russia If No Ukraine Ceasefire
By and Dina Katgara Save Good morning. Trump loses patience with Russia. Silver briefly soars to an almost 14-year high. And Saudi Arabia gets ready to find out if its futuristic city dreams are feasible. Listen to the day's top stories. Donald Trump's frustrations over the war in Ukraine have reached a breaking point. The US president threatened 100% tariffs on Russia, which may come in the form of 'secondary' measures, if Vladimir Putin fails to agree to a peace deal by early September. He also pledged to send Ukraine 'top-of-the-line' weapons paid for by NATO allies. Bloomberg Opinion's Andreas Kluth says the moves suggest that the US is finally ready again to up the pressure on Moscow to end the killing.
Arab News
14-07-2025
- Business
- Arab News
Trump threatens Russia with tariffs if war on Ukraine isn't resolved within 50 days
WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump said Monday he would punish Russia with tariffs if there isn't a deal to end the war in Ukraine within 50 days, the latest example of his growing frustration with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Trump made the announcement during an Oval Office meeting with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte. 'We're going to be doing very severe tariffs if we don't have a deal in 50 days,' the Republican president said. He said they would be 'secondary tariffs,' meaning they would target Russia's trading partners in an effort to isolate Moscow in the global economy. 'I use trade for a lot of things,' Trump added. 'But it's great for settling wars.' Besides the tariff threat, Trump and Rutte discussed a rejuvenated pipeline for US weapons. European allies plan to buy military equipment and then transfer them to Ukraine. Trump said there would be 'billions and billions' of dollars purchased. Rutte said Germany, Finland, Canada, Norway, Sweden, the United Kingdom and Denmark would be among the buyers to supply Ukraine. He said 'speed is of the essence here,' and he said the shipments should make Putin 'reconsider' peace negotiations. Trump exasperated with Putin Trump has long boasted of his friendly relationship with Putin, and after taking office in January repeatedly said that Russia was more willing than Ukraine to reach a peace deal. At the same time, Trump accused Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky of prolonging the war and called him a 'dictator without elections.' But Russia's relentless onslaught against civilian areas of Ukraine wore down Trump's patience. In April, Trump urged Putin to 'STOP!' launching deadly barrages on Kyiv, and the following month said in a social media post that the Russian leader 'has gone absolutely CRAZY!' as the bombardments continued. 'It just keeps going on and on and on,' Trump said on Monday. 'Every night, people are dying.' Meanwhile, Trump's special envoy to Ukraine and Russia, retired Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg, met with Zelensky in Kyiv on Monday. Zelensky said he had 'a productive conversation' with Kellogg about strengthening Ukrainian air defenses, joint arms production and purchasing US weapons in conjunction with European countries, as well as the possibility of tighter international sanctions on the Kremlin. 'We hope for the leadership of the United States, because it is clear that Moscow will not stop unless its ... ambitions are stopped by force,' Zelensky said on Telegram. Talks on sending Patriot missiles Russia has pounded Ukrainian cities, including the capital, Kyiv, with hundreds of drones and cruise and ballistic missiles that Ukraine's air defenses are struggling to counter. June brought the highest monthly civilian casualties of the past three years, with 232 people killed and 1,343 wounded, the UN human rights mission in Ukraine said. Russia launched 10 times more drones and missiles in June than in the same month last year, it said. At the same time, Russia's bigger army is making a new effort to drive back Ukrainian defenders on parts of the 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) front line. Trump confirmed the US is sending Ukraine more badly needed Patriot air defense missiles and that the European Union will pay the US for the 'various pieces of very sophisticated' weaponry. While the EU is not allowed under its treaties to buy weapons, individual EU member countries can and are, just as NATO member countries are buying and sending weapons. Germany has offered to finance two Patriot systems, government spokesperson Stefan Kornelius said Monday in Berlin. As far as other European countries financing more systems is concerned, that would have to be seen in talks, he said. German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius was traveling to Washington on Monday to meet with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. Germany has already given three of its own Patriot systems to Ukraine, and Pistorius was quoted as saying in an interview with the Financial Times that it now has only six. 'Weapons flowing at a record level' A top ally of Trump, Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, said Sunday that the conflict is nearing an inflection point as Trump shows growing interest in helping Ukraine fight back against Russia's full-scale invasion. It's a cause that Trump had previously dismissed as being a waste of US taxpayer money. 'In the coming days, you'll see weapons flowing at a record level to help Ukraine defend themselves,' Graham said on CBS' 'Face the Nation.' He added: 'One of the biggest miscalculations Putin has made is to play Trump. And you just watch, in the coming days and weeks, there's going to be a massive effort to get Putin to the table.' Kirill Dmitriev, Putin's envoy for international investment who took part in talks with US officials in Saudi Arabia in February, dismissed what he said were efforts to drive a wedge between Moscow and Washington. 'Constructive dialogue between Russia and the United States is more effective than doomed-to-fail attempts at pressure,' Dmitriev said in a post on Telegram. 'This dialogue will continue, despite titanic efforts to disrupt it by all possible means.'
