15 h. ago The disastrous attempt at flattery by Donald Trump's envoy that got Ukraine peace summit in Paris off to the worst possible start

Top officials from around the world travelled to Paris on Thursday to discuss the war with Russia and Kyiv's security.

Politics

58 h. ago Macron hosts ‘excellent’ ceasefire talks with top US, European and Ukrainian officials

Senior diplomats set to meet again in London next week after ‘very productive’ Paris summit to revive stalled effortsSenior US, European and Ukrainian diplomats will meet again in London next week, the Élysée Palace has said, after what a French official described as an “excellent” day of talks in Paris aimed at reviving stalled ceasefire efforts.“We have started a positive process in which Europeans are a part,” the spokesperson said after the meetings attended by top British, French, German and Ukrainian officials as well as the US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, and Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff. Continue reading...

Politics

69 h. ago David Lammy to meet Donald Trump's envoy for talks on Ukraine as he's briefed on Vladimir Putin meetings

The Foreign Secretary will travel to Paris to meet with Marco Rubio, the US Secretary of State, and Steve Witkoff, who is Mr Trump's special envoy to Vladimir Putin.

Politics

3 d. ago Ukraine war briefing: Zelenskyy hails ‘good progress’ on minerals deal talks

Ukrainian president says legalities almost finalised and officials signal US concessions in talks that are progressing ‘quite fast’; deadly Shahed strike on Dnipro. What we know on day 1,149Minerals deal negotiators have made “good progress”, the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said on Wednesday. A senior official with knowledge of the negotiations told Agence France-Presse that newer drafts of the US-Ukraine accord appeared not to recognise previous US military aid as a debt owed by Ukraine, adding that talks were moving forward “quite fast”. That assessment echoed a report by Bloomberg News that said Washington had eased a demand that Kyiv pay for aid already delivered since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.“The basic legal stuff is almost finalised, and then, if everything moves as quickly and constructively, the agreement will bring economic results to both our countries,” Zelenskyy said in his daily address on Wednesday. The Trump administration has demanded some sort o...

Economics

4 d. ago Donald Trump's top advisor insists Vladimir Putin wants 'permanent peace' in Ukraine

Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff has said that "we might be on the verge of something that would be very, very important" after trying to negotiate an end to war in Ukraine with Vladimir Putin

Politics

6 d. ago David Lammy to confront China after British MP refused entry to meet her new grandson

David Lammy sadi it was 'deeply concerning' that Lib Dem MP Wera Hobhouse had been refused entry to Hong Kong to visit her newborn grandson - a move she said was 'cruel'

Politics

8 d. ago Trump issues new demand to Russia as his envoy Steve Witkoff meets Putin

President Donald Trump has a new demand for Russia as his envoy met with Vladimir Putin in St Petersburg.

Politics

1 week ago Elon Musk's meeting with 'Putin's body double' in doubt as Kremlin claims he's 'useless'

Vladimir Putin's alleged body double was supposed to be meeting Elon Musk later this month but now the Kremlin has no interest in it after labelling the tech lord as 'useless'

Politics

2 w. ago Brazil's Lula to meet Putin and Xi amid global trade war fears

Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva will meet with Russia’s Vladimir Putin in Moscow and China’s Xi Jinping in Beijing, two important partners for the South American giant, in May

Politics

3 w. ago Zelenskyy employs strategic optimism to highlight Russia’s abundant bad faith

Ukrainian president has learned Trump’s team demand positivity and there is little point in trying to ‘inject reality’At a press briefing in Kyiv on Tuesday, explaining where initial US-brokered peace negotiations had got to, Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, struck a notably different tone. Long gone is the tetchiness on display in London in the aftermath of the Ukrainian leader’s catastrophic trip to the White House. In its place was a degree of optimism so high that it could only be interpreted as political positioning.Though he complained about comments made by Steve Witkoff, Donald Trump’s special envoy, that four Ukrainian regions wholly or partly occupied by Russia consisted of people who wanted Moscow’s rule in an “overwhelming majority” – these were “in line with the messages of the Kremlin”, Zelenskyy said – he insisted that had advantages too. Continue reading...

Politics

3 w. ago ANDREW NEIL: There's only one grim conclusion from the latest Saudi talks: Trump isn't pursuing a just peace for Ukraine

It is not often one interview causes deep anxiety in Kyiv and general dismay across Europe's major capitals. But Steve Witkoff, Donald Trump's envoy to Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, managed it.

Politics

3 w. ago Starmer praises ‘good relationship’ with Trump hours before US envoy slams PM’s peace plan

Labour prime minister made the comments before Steve Witkoff described his strategy as based on a ‘simplistic’ notion

Politics

3 w. ago Starmer praises ‘good relationship’ with Trump hours before US envoy slams peace plan

Labour prime minister made the comments before Steve Witkoff described his strategy as based on a ‘simplistic’ notion

Politics

4 w. ago MPs' outrage over 'out of his depth' Donald Trump envoy who 'regurgitates Putin propaganda' about Ukraine

Steve Witkoff was labelled 'a disgrace' and 'out of his depth' over his comments about Ukraine giving up its territory.

Politics