40 h. ago A parade and a summit in China underscore how European security will never be the same again

A parade and a summit in China underscore how European security will never be the same again  CNN

Politics

5 d. ago Europe is drawing up ‘precise’ plans to send troops to Ukraine: Von der Leyen

Europe is drawing up “pretty precise plans” for a multinational troop deployment to Ukraine as part of post-conflict security guarantees that will have the backing of US capabilities, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told the Financial Times in an interview published on Sunday. “President Trump reassured us that there will be [an] American presence as part of the backstop. That was very clear and repeatedly affirmed,” von der Leyen told the newspaper. The deployment is set to...

Politics

5 d. ago Europe drawing up ‘precise plans’ to send troops to Ukraine: EU chief

Europe is drawing up “pretty precise plans” for a multinational troop deployment to Ukraine as part of post-conflict security guarantees that will have the backing of US capabilities, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told the Financial Times in an interview published on Sunday. “President Trump reassured us that there will be [an] American presence as part of the backstop. That was very clear and repeatedly affirmed,” von der Leyen told the newspaper. The deployment is set to...

Politics

7 d. ago EU readies new economic battle plan but leaves its old guns holstered

The European Union is preparing an “economic security doctrine” that will for the first time connect its trade and economic defences – but while Brussels builds the pipes, national leaders remain reluctant to turn on the tap. Sources say the doctrine, which was announced last week by trade chief Maroš Šefčovič, will allow bureaucrats to coordinate between existing and future instruments as they seek to make Europe’s fragmented arsenal quicker and more efficient to deploy. Yet, after spending...

Events

9 d. ago China may not be waging war in Ukraine. But it still stands to win

It seems clear that US President Donald Trump achieved little more than a photo opportunity from the bilateral summit in Anchorage, Alaska, with Russian President Vladimir Putin and his subsequent meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and other European leaders. Now, a ceasefire seems more out of reach than ever. For a negotiated peace agreement, Putin has insisted on his demands that Ukraine give up ambitions to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, as well as land occupied...

Events

9 d. ago As the West cedes leverage over Ukraine, China stands to benefit

It seems clear that US President Donald Trump achieved little more than a photo opportunity from the bilateral summit in Anchorage, Alaska, with Russian President Vladimir Putin and his subsequent meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and other European leaders. Now, a ceasefire seems more out of reach than ever. For a negotiated peace agreement, Putin has insisted on his demands that Ukraine give up ambitions to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, as well as land occupied...

Politics

1 week ago Alaska summit heralds change of direction for global diplomacy

When Russian President Vladimir Putin met US President Donald Trump on August 15, in Anchorage, Alaska, the geographic significance of the event was not lost on Russian observers. Putin became the first Russian leader to visit the former colony at a time when the Arctic is a high priority in Russia’s foreign policy strategy. However, the summit itself was an anticlimax. Peace in Ukraine remained postponed; there was a meagre readout and the delegation lunch was cancelled. As Putin remarked...

Politics

2 w. ago A new European security landscape is emerging after Alaska summit

The Alaska summit between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin was a test balloon for Trump to find out, as he said, what Putin had in mind. The subsequent meeting in the White House between Trump, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and European leaders was another test balloon – for Europe – to find out what Trump had in mind. Both were useful yet not really productive. To start with, Putin has emerged as a clear winner. The red-carpet welcome on American soil with...

Politics

2 w. ago For Europe and Russia, the outcome of Ukraine’s war is becoming clearer

The Alaska summit between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin was a test balloon for Trump to find out, as he said, what Putin had in mind. The subsequent meeting in the White House between Trump, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and European leaders was another test balloon – for Europe – to find out what Trump had in mind. Both were useful yet not really productive. To start with, Putin has emerged as a clear winner. The red-carpet welcome on American soil with...

Events

2 w. ago Zelensky says Ukraine security guarantees to be ‘unpacked’ in 10 days

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Tuesday after his meeting with US President Donald Trump and European leaders that security guarantees for Kyiv is likely to be worked out within 10 days. “Security guarantees will probably be ‘unpacked’ by our partners, and more and more details will emerge. All of this will somehow be formalised on paper within the next week to 10 days,” Zelensky said at a broadcast press briefing after his meetings. Trump told Zelensky on Monday that the United...

Events

2 w. ago Zelensky warns against ‘rewarding’ Russia for Ukraine war ahead of Trump meet

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said ahead of talks with Donald Trump on Monday that Russia should not be “rewarded” for its invasion, after the US leader pressed Kyiv to make concessions in exchange for peace. The talks, in which European leaders will also take part, follow a Friday summit between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska that failed to produce a ceasefire in the nearly three-and-a-half-year war. Trump, who dropped his insistence on a ceasefire in favour of a...

Events

3 w. ago Ukraine war talks: Trump and Putin meet in Alaska as summit begins

US President Donald Trump has welcomed Russian President Vladimir Putin to Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, on the outskirts of Anchorage, Alaska, for their first face-to-face meeting since Trump returned to office this year. The summit will focus on the prospect of a ceasefire to end Russia’s devastating three-and-a-half-year war against Ukraine. Initially seen as a meeting that could reshape the global order, determine Ukraine’s future and redefine America’s standing with its allies, the Trump...

Politics

3 w. ago Ukraine war talks: summit ends with no deal, but Trump says he is hopeful

US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin have failed to find a deal to end the Ukraine war, they said at the close of their summit at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Alaska on Friday The summit, held on the outskirts of Anchorage, Alaska, was focused on the prospect of a ceasefire to end Russia’s devastating three-and-a-half-year war against Ukraine. But Trump told the press on Friday that there would be ‘no deal until there’s a deal’. This live blog has been made freely...

Politics

3 w. ago Trump, Putin leave Ukraine war summit with no deal – as it happened

This live blog has been made freely available as a public service to our readers. Please consider supporting SCMP’s journalism by subscribing. New users who download our updated app get a seven-day free trial. US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin have failed to find a deal to end the Ukraine war, they said at the close of their summit at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Alaska on Friday The summit, held on the outskirts of Anchorage, Alaska, was focused on the...

Politics

3 w. ago Putin keeps Xi in loop on Trump summit but little hope for Ukraine ceasefire

Just hours before US President Donald Trump announced his summit with Vladimir Putin next week, the Russian leader was on the phone with Chinese President Xi Jinping to secure Beijing’s backing. While the call on Friday underscored a high level of coordination between Beijing and Moscow in their approach to Washington, Chinese experts voiced scepticism about the prospects for the Alaska summit and its aim of negotiating an end to the Ukraine war. They cautioned that although Trump’s first...

Politics