86 m. ago I used to run the Foreign Office. This is my advice for today’s extraordinary White House meeting

With so much at stake for Europe, the most important thing is to choose a lead speaker. I’d go with Starmer or RutteSimon McDonald was permanent secretary at the Foreign Office, 2015-2020, and is now a crossbench peerLast week’s extraordinary summit meeting in Alaska is being followed today by an even more extraordinary international conference in Washington. None of the participants knew they were going to take part two days ago. In recent decades, diplomacy has been increasingly conducted in ad hoc contact groups – but the group of seven countries (the US, Ukraine, the UK, Germany, Finland, Italy and France) and two international organisations (Nato and the EU) has never met in this way before.Officials will be preparing in the usual way, assembling briefing packs and writing talking points, aiming to please their bosses and, hopefully, allowing them to make the most effective intervention. Continue reading...

Society

5 h. ago Trump’s critics say Putin ‘flattered’ Trump at the Alaska summit. Europe’s leaders aim to do the same

Trump’s meeting with Putin rolled back key red lines that Zelensky says Ukraine won’t cross. But Europe could be relying on Trump to flip-flop once again, writes John Bowden

Politics

9 h. ago Trump shares First Lady Melania’s letter to Putin as he rages over coverage of Alaska summit

Letter tells Putin ‘it is time’ to end war and appeals to Russian leader to think of children impacted by the fighting

Politics

9 h. ago Democrat Senator said Alaska summit was ‘great day’ for Russia: Putin was ‘absolved of his crimes in front of the world’

Putin came to America for a ‘photo opp’ and legitimization, and received both from Trump, says Murphy

Politics

11 h. ago Readers' letters: Vladimir Putin got everything he wanted from Alaska summit

A reader says Vladimir Putin was the clear winner in the Alaska summit on the fate of Ukraine

Politics

11 h. ago The Guardian view on the Alaska summit: there must be no more gifts to Vladimir Putin | Editorial

As Volodymyr Zelenskyy heads to Washington amid talk of land swaps, European leaders must have his backHours after Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin departed from Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Alaska on Friday, Moscow officials reported that two more villages in Ukraine’s east had been seized by Russian forces. It was a grimly apt postscript to a “peace summit” that allowed a pariah leader to posture on the world stage, but signally failed to achieve the outcome that its host claimed to desire.Mr Trump had suggested that he would be “unhappy” if a ceasefire were not agreed during discussions with Mr Putin. There would, he warned, be “severe consequences” if his guest proved unwilling to end the war. Predictably, no ceasefire announcement was forthcoming, and the sanctions Mr Trump has repeatedly threatened, but never imposed, have been kicked into the long grass. Instead, the US president offered a crucial concession to Mr Putin, concurring that a cessation of hostilities sh...

Politics

15 h. ago Ukrainians left disappointed at Trump rolling out red carpet for ‘tyrant’ Putin

Ukrainians have reacted with anger to the welcome received by Russian president Vladimir Putin as he arrived in Alaska for a summit with his US counterpart Donald Trump on Friday (15 Aug).

Politics

16 h. ago Putin won in Anchorage. Now Zelenskyy and Europe are in an even more perilous position | Rajan Menon

Trump’s summit failed to achieve a ceasefire, but the Russian president will be very happy with how events are unfoldingDonald Trump portrays himself as a hard-nosed dealmaker. Yet in the run-up to Friday’s summit with Vladimir Putin in Anchorage, Alaska, his claim that the Russian leader held him in high regard and was therefore serious about ending the war in Ukraine sounded naive. Putin doesn’t let sentimentality shape his political and military decisions. Nor has he disavowed his longstanding claim to four Ukrainian provinces: Donetsk and Luhansk, which together comprise Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region, and Zaporizhzhia and Kherson in the south. Despite Russia’s overwhelming numerical advantage in troops and weaponry, Putin occupies only one province, Luhansk, almost entirely. Yet he persists.In the days before his meeting with Putin, Trump said the Russian economy “stinks” and that falling oil prices would cause Russia’s war to run aground. The war has certainly placed severe s...

Politics

16 h. ago How the world's media descended on Alaska only to find themselves with no beds, no phone signal and just 12 minutes of speeches from Trump and Putin

Members of media travelled thousands of miles to Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage for just over ten minutes of speeches from Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin.

Politics

17 h. ago Watch: US fighter jets escort Putin out of Alaska after Trump summit

The Kremlin has released footage of Vladimir Putin being escorted out of Alaska by US fighter jets after his meeting with Donald Trump on Friday (15 Aug).

Politics

17 h. ago European leaders including Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron to join Zelensky in Washington for Trump summit after US President's Alaska showdown

European leaders will join Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelensky for his crucial meeting with Donald Trump , European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said today.

Politics

31 h. ago Melania Trump pleads Putin to protect the innocence of children in emotional 'peace letter' hand

Melania Trump wrote a personal letter to Vladimir Putin that was hand-delivered through her husband at the Alaska summit on Friday.

Politics

31 h. ago Putin ‘immediately’ read Melania Trump’s letter in front of delegates at Alaska summit, report claims

The first lady’s letter addressed the “plight of children in Ukraine and Russia”

Politics

35 h. ago Trump urges Zelensky to 'make a deal' to end Ukraine war after ceasefire pivot following talks with Putin in Alaska

US President says ‘we didn’t get there’ after nearly three hour meeting with his Russian counterpart in Anchorage

Politics

35 h. ago Trump and Zelensky to meet at the White House Monday as fallout from Putin Alaska summit continues. Here’s what to expect

Trump spoke with Zelensky for more than 90 minutes after his Alaska meeting with Putin

Politics

36 h. ago Putin demands full control of Donetsk and Luhansk as condition for ending Ukraine war – live

Putin told Trump he would halt further advances and freeze Ukrainian frontline where Russian forces occupy significant areas, sources sayZelenskyy to meet Trump on Monday after Putin summit briefingUkraine’s president has said he will fly to Washington on Monday to meet Donald Trump following the Alaska summit amid speculation that the US president will ask him to cede territory to end the war.Next week’s meeting will mark the first return to the White House for Volodymyr Zelenskyy since his infamous row with Trump and the vice-president, JD Vance, in the Oval Office in February. Continue reading...

Politics

37 h. ago Trump reportedly backs Ukrainian land concession in peace plan with Putin – live

Putin in return offered ceasefire across Ukraine and written promise to not attack again, according to senior officialsZelenskyy to meet Trump on Monday after Putin summit briefingAt the Alaska summit, Putin demanded Ukraine withdraw from Donetsk and Luhansk as a condition for ending the war, but offered Trump a freeze along the remaining frontline, two sources with direct knowledge of the talks told the Guardian.Although Luhansk is almost entirely under Russian control, Ukraine still holds key parts of Donetsk, including the cities of Kramatorsk and Sloviansk and heavily fortified positions whose defence has cost tens of thousands of lives. Continue reading...

Politics

39 h. ago Putin told Trump he could relax some territorial claims in exchange for Donetsk region

Russian president offered at Alaska summit to freeze front lines if Ukraine withdraws from crucial eastern area

Politics

39 h. ago Trump's mystery woman takes center stage charming Putin at Alaska summit

She may not be as famous as Trump or have as much sway in decision-making as some of his cabinet members, but the Chief of Protocol plays a vital role in all of the President's major US-hosted events.

Politics

40 h. ago Why Putin's grin as he left Alaska says it all: The 'Don and Vlad' show may have ended without a big finale, but there seems one clear winner, writes NICK ALLEN

The world had waited with bated breath but the Don and Vlad show ended in confusion rather than with a bang.

Politics