9 h. ago Trump threatens to abandon Ukraine peace efforts unless deal reached ‘very shortly’

President says US may ‘take a pass’ on brokering agreement as Kyiv signs minerals memorandum Trump team reveals lack of expertise – and patience – as it threatens to abandon Ukraine peace talksDonald Trump has said the US is ready to “take a pass” on brokering a peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine unless a settlement is reached “very shortly”, as Kyiv announced it has signed a memorandum with the US over a controversial minerals deal.“Now if for some reason one of the two parties makes it very difficult, we’re just going to say: ‘You’re foolish. You’re fools. You’re horrible people’ – and we’re going to just take a pass,” Trump told reporters in Washington. “But hopefully we won’t have to do that.” Continue reading...

Politics

15 h. ago US ready to abandon Ukraine peace deal if there is no progress, says Marco Rubio

Secretary of state threatens to pull plug ‘within days’, as Kyiv says it has signed mineral deal memorandumRussia-Ukraine war – latest news updatesThe US will abandon its efforts “within days” to broker a peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine unless there are clear signs a settlement can be reached, the US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, has said, as Kyiv says it has signed a memorandum with the US over a controversial minerals deal.Speaking in Paris on Friday after meeting European and Ukrainian leaders, Rubio said Donald Trump was still interested in a deal. But he added that the US president had many other priorities around the world and was willing to move on unless there were signs of progress. Continue reading...

Economics

30 h. ago Trump reveals new date to sign Ukraine minerals deal, weeks after Oval Office ambush on Zelensky derailed it

President Donald Trump on Thursday said the United States and Ukraine would sign an agreement giving America access to much of Ukraine’s mineral wealth next week, more than a month after a planned White House signing ceremony with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was aborted after a disastrous meeting between him and Trump in the Oval Office.

Politics

31 h. ago Ukraine’s Zelenskyy says US minerals deal could come today but attacks Witkoff for ‘spreading Russian narrative’ – Europe live

Comments come as Macron welcomes US envoy and Marco Rubio at Élysée palace in Paris for Ukraine talksAs we await further updates from the talks taking place at the Élysée, let me bring you some other stories from around Europe.Meanwhile, Russia’s top economic negotiator claimed that some countries were trying to “derail” Moscow’s talks with the United States, as the two sides work towards normalising ties. Continue reading...

Economics

32 h. ago Zelenskyy says Witkoff ‘spreading Russian narrative’ as US envoy holds talks in Paris – Europe live

Ukrainian president says US minerals deal could be signed today as Macron welcomes US’s Steve Witkoff and Marco Rubio at Élysée palace in ParisAs we await further updates from the talks taking place at the Élysée, let me bring you some other stories from around Europe.Meanwhile, Russia’s top economic negotiator claimed that some countries were trying to “derail” Moscow’s talks with the United States, as the two sides work towards normalising ties. Continue reading...

Politics

48 h. 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

63 h. ago Trump 'reduces amount he wants Ukraine to repay America from $300bn to $100bn' after latest round of negotiations over rare minerals deal

Trump was insistent in the early days of his administration that his opposite number in Kyiv would have to repay America for all of the aid it had supplied to support Ukraine

Economics

5 d. ago The Guardian view on Donald Trump’s Congo deal: mineral riches for protection | Editorial

Faced with regional chaos and shrinking options, Kinshasa seeks terms of trade that echo the old extractive order in modern disguise“The vilest scramble for loot that has ever disfigured the history of human conscience” is how Joseph Conrad described colonial-era concessions granted to private companies for Congo’s natural resources in Heart of Darkness. Under Donald Trump, that scramble may be back. If news reports are right, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is offering the US a blunt deal: minerals for military help – a slice of sovereignty traded for a shot at stability.The concern is this isn’t a return, it’s a sequel. For three decades, Washington supported Joseph-Désiré Mobutu, a cold war ally and brutal dictator who looted the Congo until his 1997 fall. That history of power politics still casts a long shadow. The Trump administration openly favours muscle over diplomacy. Fadhel Kaboub, an associate professor of economics at Denison University, notes that Biden-era ...

Politics

6 d. ago US ‘demands control’ from Ukraine of key pipeline carrying Russian gas

Senior Kyiv economist describes latest postion of Trump administration in talks as ‘colonial-type’ bullyingThe US has demanded control of a crucial pipeline in Ukraine used to send Russian gas to Europe, according to reports, in a move described as a colonial shakedown.US and Ukrainian officials met on Friday to discuss White House proposals for a minerals deal. Donald Trump wants Kyiv to hand over its natural resources as “payback” in return for weapons delivered by the previous Biden administration. Continue reading...

Politics

1 week ago Ukraine will send a team to the US next week for talks on a new draft mineral deal

Ukraine's economy minister has told The Associated Press it will send a delegation to Washington next week for talks on a new draft of a proposed mineral deal with the U.S. The negotiations mark a renewed push to finalize an agreement that could establish a joint investment fund

Economics

2 w. ago Trump must see through Putin’s stalling tactics over Ukraine ceasefire, Germany says

Ms Baerbock also said any US-Kyiv minerals deal must comply with European law after Ukrainian minister Andrii Sybiha said work is continuing towards an agreement

Politics

2 w. ago French justice minister urges prompt appeal hearing for Le Pen – Europe live

Gérald Darmanin stresses court timelines are outside government control as PM admits he has questions over immediate public office bansLe Pen ban is ‘political and partisan’, says French far-right party’s presidentIn Kyiv, Ukrainian foreign minister Andrii Sybiha has offered an update on the talks with the United States over a new minerals deal.Sybiha told a press conference held with his Lithuanian counterpart, Kestutis Budrys, that one round of consultations had already taken place and that an agreement providing for a strong American business presence in Ukraine would contribute to his country’s security infrastructure, Reuters reported. Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago ‘We will not let French people have election stolen from them,’ says Le Pen – Europe live

Far-right leader says guilty verdict was ‘a nuclear bomb’ used against her as her party president calls for protestsLe Pen ban is ‘political and partisan’, says French far-right party’s presidentIn Kyiv, Ukrainian foreign minister Andrii Sybiha has offered an update on the talks with the United States over a new minerals deal.Sybiha told a press conference held with his Lithuanian counterpart, Kestutis Budrys, that one round of consultations had already taken place and that an agreement providing for a strong American business presence in Ukraine would contribute to his country’s security infrastructure, Reuters reported. Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago Ukraine war briefing: EU ministers call out Kremlin for delaying ceasefire

Pin down Putin over peace talks, say foreign ministers, as Peskov talks of ‘drawn-out process’; Ukraine seeks changes to minerals deal. What we know on day 1,133 Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago Donald Trump threatens Zelensky with 'big problems' over mineral deal

Donald Trump told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that he would have "big, big problems" if he did not agree to a rare earth mineral deal that offered no guarantees to the country

Politics

2 w. ago Trump warns Zelensky of ‘big problems’ after accusing him of minerals deal u

Donald Trump has warned Volodymyr Zelensky of “big problems” after accusing the Ukrainian president of backtracking on a rare earth minerals deal with the US.

Events

2 w. ago Trump accuses Zelensky of trying to back out of Ukraine minerals deal: 'If he does that, he's got problems'

‘He’s trying to back out of the rare earth deal,’ Trump told reporters on Air Force One. ‘If he does that, he’s got some problems. Big, big problems’

Politics

2 w. ago Trump claims Zelensky wants to back out of rare minerals deal as he issues stern warning

Trump warned that Ukrainian President Zelensky is trying to back out of a key rare minerals deal with the US, calling it a serious mistake.

Events

2 w. ago Trump wants to trap Ukraine in US colonial protection racket

The latest US offer to trade Ukraine’s minerals for back pay is nothing short of a colonial protection racket, writes world affairs editor Sam Kiley

Politics

2 w. ago Ukraine war briefing: Russian drone attack kills four in Dnipro as Zelenskyy cautious on new US minerals deal

Drone raid sparks blaze in Dnipro hotel and restaurant complex and injures 19; Ukrainian president says too early to judge Washington’s expanded proposal. What we know on day 1,130See all our Ukraine war coverage Continue reading...

Events