Earlier this morning, US President Donald Trump met with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in South Korea – their first face-to-face meeting of Trump’s second term.
Trump later indicated the two came to an agreement on “almost everything” – as he wrapped up his three-stop tour of Asia.
(Aubust 5, 2025)
Kemp sieht in diesen „Agenten des Untergangs“ die Ursache für den gegenwärtigen Kurs in Richtung gesellschaftlichen Zusammenbruch. „Das sind die großen, psychopathischen Unternehmen und Konzerne, die globale Katastrophen riskieren“, sagt er. „Atomwaffen, Klimawandel und künstliche Intelligenz werden nur von einer sehr kleinen Zahl verschwiegener, sehr wohlhabender und mächtiger Gruppen wie dem militärisch-industriellen Komplex, Big Tech und der Industrie für fossile Brennstoffe produziert.“
„Der springende Punkt ist, dass es nicht um die gesamte Menschheit geht, die diese Bedrohungen schafft. Es geht nicht um die menschliche Natur. Es geht um kleine Gruppen, die das Schlimmste in uns hervorbringen, die um Profit und Macht konkurrieren und alle [Risiken] vertuschen.“
Future military assistance from the U.S. could count as contributions to the newly established joint investment fund, but prior aid will not.
Pre-existing projects, such as those owned by Ukraine‘s state-owned companies, will not be impacted by the minerals deal.
„Revenues from projects already launched or budgeted revenues are not included in the Fund. The agreement refers to further strategic cooperation,“ First Deputy Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said.
Ukraine and the United States will establish a U.S.-Ukraine Reconstruction Investment Fund to attract global investments into the country. The relevant agreement was signed on Wednesday in Washington by First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy of Ukraine Yulia Svyrydenko and U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.
„The Fund will be financed exclusively through revenue from NEW licenses – specifically, 50% of the proceeds from new licenses for critical materials and oil and gas projects that will flow into the budget after the Fund‘s creation. Revenues from already launched projects or budgeted income will not be included in the Fund,“ Svyrydenko wrote in a Facebook post.
The US Treasury Department on Wednesday announced that both countries signed the agreement. “As the President has said, the United States is committed to helping facilitate the end of this cruel and senseless war,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement.
“This agreement signals clearly to Russia that the Trump Administration is committed to a peace process centered on a free, sovereign, and prosperous Ukraine over the long term,” Bessent said. “And to be clear, no state or person who financed or supplied the Russian war machine will be allowed to benefit from the reconstruction of Ukraine.”
Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal will visit Washington during the week starting April 21, 2025, to meet with Secretary of the U.S. Department of the Treasury Scott Bessent and provide high-level support for the completion of technical discussions on the terms of the agreement on the creation of a Reconstruction Investment Fund.
„We‘re going to meet with them (Russia) later on today and tomorrow, and hopefully, we‘ll be able to (work) out a deal. I think the ceasefire is very important,“ Trump said.
When asked if Zelensky would be invited back to the White House, the U.S. president responded, „Sure, absolutely.“
Trump said in his address to Congress that he received that same message in a letter from Zelensky. He read Zelensky‘s statement aloud, apparently presenting the message as a sign of successful U.S. pressure on Kyiv. Trump added that his team had held discussions with Russia and received „strong signals“ that Moscow is ready to make peace.
„Wouldn‘t that be beautiful?“ he said.
The White House did not respond to a request for comment.
Stubb suggested that to patch things up, Zelensky and Trump should act “Finnish” and “take a deep breath, take a cold bath, a sauna, breathe and come back to the negotiating table.”
The Finnish president said the way forward is for the two leaders to resume talks and finalize the minerals deal, as this would likely become the “tipping point for a bigger deal towards a ceasefire and then towards peace negotiations.”
The Ukrainian leader said he was ready to release Russian prisoners of war, stop long-range drone and missile strikes aimed at Russian targets, and declare a truce at sea immediately — moves that he said would help establish a pathway to peace.
Only, however, “if Russia will do the same,” he added.
He explained that, in his opinion, the most important thing is not the public statements, such as President Zelenskyy saying he was committed to peace or apologizing to the president. He emphasized that what matters more is what the Ukrainians do to get meaningfully involved in what a peaceful settlement would look like. He stated that they need Ukrainians to come to them privately and say what they need, what they want, and how they will participate in the process of ending the conflict. He concluded that this lack of private participation is what concerns them the most.
Vice President JD Vance told reporters on Capitol Hill that Ukraine must “come to the table and start negotiating” in order for aid to be restored and that President Donald Trump is still committed to a rare minerals deal.
Trump called it „the worst statement that could have been made“ and accused Zelensky of not wanting peace „as long as he has America‘s backing.“
Zelensky countered that Ukraine needs real peace and that no one wants it more than Ukrainians, as the war continues to devastate cities and claim lives.
„Peace is needed as soon as possible,“ he said.
According to the president, Ukraine continues to work with partners and is preparing for other steps in the near future.
“It is very important that we try to make our diplomacy really substantive to end this war the soonest possible. We need real peace and Ukrainians want it most because the war ruins our cities and towns. We lose our people,” Zelenskyy noted.
He stressed that the war must be stopped and security guaranteed.
“It is what I was saying, this guy doesn’t want there to be Peace as long as he has America’s backing and, Europe, in the meeting they had with Zelenskyy, stated flatly that they cannot do the job without the U.S. — Probably not a great statement to have been made in terms of a show of strength against Russia,” Trump added in his post. “What are they thinking?”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Sunday that he is still ready to sign a minerals deal with the United States. He made the comments to British media in London, explaining that he believed he could salvage his relationship with US President Donald Trump after their explosive meeting in the Oval Office.
(February 28, 2025)
In the last 30 years, Europe has outsourced its mining needs to other regions of the world, and has stopped looking for the resources it had right at home, experts say
„We want peace,“ Trump told reporters following the meeting which, he said, „didn‘t work exactly great.“
„He (Zelensky) overplayed his hand (…) we are not looking to go into a 10-year-war and play games, we want peace. He‘s going to have to make peace. He‘s got to stop the fighting, he‘s got to stop the death,“ Trump said, adding that Russia‘s President Vladimir Putin „wants to end it.“
Zelenskyy said he was „not sure that we did something bad“ when asked about the heated exchange but conceded the dustup was „bad for both sides.“
„I just want to be honest, and I just want our partners to understand the situation correctly, and I want to understand everything correctly. That‘s about us not to lose our friendship,“ he later said.
In an interview with Fox News on Feb. 28, President Volodymyr Zelensky attempted to mend any fractured relations that may have emerged following a heated exchange in the White House between himself and U.S. President Donald Trump earlier in the day.
“All they talk about is security. I said let’s make a deal first,” said Trump regarding the US military backstop Zelenskyy would like to see as a peace guarantee.
(28.02.2025 20:4)
As reported by Ukrinform, Zelensky is currently on a visit to Washington. Before his talks with Trump, he met with a bipartisan delegation from the U.S. Senate. Zelensky said they discussed continued military aid to Ukraine, efforts to achieve peace, Ukraine‘s vision for ending the war, and the importance of reliable security guarantees.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the Ukrainian delegation left the White House without any comments to the press.
The live broadcast of the National Telethon showed footage of Zelenskyy leaving the building and getting into the car in which he arrived for a meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump.
Zelenskyy did not give any comments to the press.
President Donald Trump on Friday canceled a planned news conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky after a contentious meeting in the White House. During the meeting, Trump and Vice President JD Vance accused Zelensky of being insufficiently grateful for U.S. support in the war with Russia. Zelensky “is not ready for Peace,” Trump wrote on social media. Trump said Zelensky had “disrespected the United States of America in its cherished Oval Office” and “can come back when he is ready for Peace.”
Donald Trump’s Oval Office meeting with Volodymyr Zelensky descended into a shouting match with the US president abruptly ending the conversation and throwing reporters out.
Mr Trump told the Ukrainian president he was “gambling with World War Three” as their meeting became heated.
The Ukrainian president told Mr Trump the rare earth minerals deal being negotiated by the two leaders was not enough for his country.
Mr Trump in turn accused Mr Zelensky of being “very disrespectful”.
JD Vance, the vice president, intervened, asking Mr Zelensky: “have you said thank you once?”
As voices were raised, Mr Trump told the Ukrainian leader that “you have to be thankful”.
“You either make a deal, or we are out,” the president warned.
Mr Trump then abruptly ended the meeting saying he thought it was enough, with the press abruptly ushered out.
A framework agreement on critical minerals between Ukraine and the United States is ready, it should be signed by the presidents of both countries, US Secretary of Treasury Scott Bessent said on Fox Business.
„The deal is complete, it is on paper, and the Ukrainian government has approved it. It is just awaiting the signature of the two presidents tomorrow (February 28). It is a deal on strategic minerals, oil, gas and infrastructure assets. And it‘s really win-win, because it brings the Ukrainian people and the American business community closer together,“ said Bessent.
With this deal, the United States is now invested — literally, not figuratively — in what the deal calls “a free, sovereign and secure Ukraine.” That means the United States now has a massive financial incentive to help safeguard Ukraine’s independence. If Ukraine survives, the United States will stand to gain hundreds of billions of dollars; if Ukraine falls, we get nothing.
The Kyiv Independent has obtained from a source in the Ukrainian government the full text of the mineral deal agreement between the U.S. and Ukraine and is publishing the text in full.
The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine has adopted decisions necessary for signing an agreement with the United States on establishing the rules and conditions of the Investment Fund for the Reconstruction of Ukraine, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said.
The deal does not, however, include security guarantees. One official said that this would be something the two presidents would discuss when they meet.
„The main thing for me was that we are not a debtor,“ Zelenskyy told journalists Wednesday, adding that it was „too early to talk about money,“ as the final terms were still being hashed out.
Mr. Trump said that President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine may come to the White House this week or next week to sign the agreement. “The agreement’s being worked on now. They’re very close to a final deal,” Mr. Trump said on Monday at the White House.
Ms. DiCarlo condemned not only the RSF attacks but also the indiscriminate airstrikes by the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) in civilian-populated areas such as the capital Khartoum and El Fasher, a major city in North Darfur hosting thousands of internally displaced which has been besieged for months by the RSF.
“Both warring parties bear responsibility for this violence,” she stressed.
She added that as the rainy season nears its end, both sides continue to escalate their military operations, recruit new fighters and intensify their attacks, fuelled by “considerable” external support and a steady flow of arms.
“To put it bluntly, certain purported allies of the parties are enabling the slaughter in Sudan. This is unconscionable, it is illegal, and it must end.”
(…)
The situation in Sudan has been in a freefall since the war erupted last April.
It is now the world’s worst displacement crisis, with more than 11 million people driven from their homes – nearly three million among them into neighbouring countries as refugees, according to the UN relief coordinating office, OCHA.
The war has also unleashed a severe hunger crisis, affecting millions.