Ukraine

Trump Urged Ukraine to Give Up Land in 'Tense' Talks

US President Donald Trump pressured his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky to give up the eastern Donbas region in exchange for peace during "tense" talks last Friday in Washington, a senior Ukrainian official told AFP. The source added that the talks with Trump were "not easy" and that diplomatic efforts to end the Russia-Ukraine war felt ...

Russia Downplays Swift Meeting to Prepare for Trump-Putin Summit

Moscow on Tuesday doused hopes of a swift meeting of the Russian and US foreign ministers to prepare for a speedy summit between their leaders over the Ukraine war. Following a phone call last week, the Russian and US leaders Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump announced they would meet in Budapest for talks on resolving the war in Ukraine, which ...

Lavrov and Rubio Discuss Putin-Trump Summit, Zelensky Seeks Invite

Russia's top diplomat Sergei Lavrov and US counterpart Marco Rubio discussed preparations for an upcoming summit between Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump in a call on Monday, both sides said. Rubio "emphasized the importance of upcoming engagements as an opportunity for Moscow and Washington to collaborate on advancing a durable resolution of the ...

Could US Tomahawk Missiles Shift the Balance in Ukraine?

As the war in Ukraine enters its fourth year, the prospect of US Tomahawk missiles reaching Kyiv raises both hope and caution. For some, these iconic precision weapons could give the Ukrainian military a strategic edge against a fatigued Russia. For others, they are chiefly a political signal aimed at shaping future negotiations. Could these ...

Lebanon 2019: Behind a Programmed Revolution (1/2)

Six years have passed since the October 2019 uprising, an upheaval whose effects continue to heavily weigh on Lebanon. In just a few days, the country appeared to unite against a political class widely seen as corrupt and incapable of averting the looming economic collapse. This surge of public anger culminated in the resignation of Saad ...

Trump to Meet Zelensky after Announcing Putin Summit

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky meets Donald Trump at the White House Friday, seeking US-made Tomahawk missiles even as the US president reaches out to Russia's Vladimir Putin for a fresh summit. Zelensky will be making his third trip to Washington since Trump returned to office, following a disastrous televised shouting match in ...

The Kremlin Says it is Working to Organize a Putin-Trump Summit.

The Kremlin said Thursday it is working to arrange a new meeting between Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump, possibly in Budapest, after a lengthy phone call between the two leaders that Moscow described as “extremely frank and marked by mutual trust.” The conversation, initiated by Russia, took place on the eve of Trump’s scheduled meeting ...

Putin Says Russia a Top Oil Producer Despite 'Unfair' Pressure

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that his country was still among the world's top oil producers, despite what he called "unfair" anti-competitive practices used against it. Addressing a conference on Russian energy in Moscow, Putin said European countries had hurt their own economies by cutting sales of Russian gas and ...

EU Says Drone Defenses Not 'Optional' in Push to Face Russia

The EU had no choice but to build up anti-drone defenses against Russia, the bloc's foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said Thursday, as Brussels unveiled a "roadmap" to prepare for potential conflict by 2030. The initiative is one of several flagship projects in the EU's "readiness roadmap" aimed at preparing the bloc for a possible attack from ...

'Massive Attack' Cuts Power in Ukrainian Capital

The Ukrainian capital was plunged into darkness early Friday by what the air force called a "massive attack", as Russia pummeled Kyiv's infrastructure, cutting off water and energy supplies. The Kremlin has escalated aerial attacks on Ukrainian energy facilities and rail systems over recent weeks, mirroring similar campaigns launched over the ...

Russia-Europe: The Gas Shock Shaking the Global Balance

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 has disrupted the global energy balance. Europe, seeking independence from Moscow, is diversifying its energy sources – but at a high economic cost. Under sanctions, Russia is redirecting its exports to Asia, a less lucrative market. However, this growing closeness between Moscow and Beijing marks ...