(May 27, 2025)
The Sumar, Podemos, Republican Left of Catalonia (ERC), Basque EH Bildu and the Galician Nationalist Bloc (BNG) parties submitted a petition to the Congressional Bureau demanding the urgent procession of the bill, said the El Mundo newspaper, News.Az reports.
The request, also supported by Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s Socialist Party, was approved, halving the timeline and accelerating the process.
(May 26, 2025)
Representatives from European countries, including France, Britain, Germany and Italy, joined envoys from Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Morocco, the Arab League and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation.
Norway, Iceland, Ireland and Slovenia, who like Spain have already recognized a Palestinian state, also took part, alongside Brazil.
But the most significant causes for concern came late Friday, when explosions hit the Nur Khan air base in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, the garrison city adjacent to Islamabad.
The base is a key installation, one of the central transport hubs for Pakistan’s military and the home to the air refueling capability that would keep Pakistani fighters aloft. But it is also just a short distance from the headquarters of Pakistan’s Strategic Plans Division, which oversees and protects the country’s nuclear arsenal, now believed to include about 170 or more warheads. The warheads themselves are presumed to be spread around the country.
Your legacy is greatly enhanced by your brave actions. I am proud that the USA was able to help you arrive at this historic and heroic decision. While not even discussed, I am going to increase trade, substantially, with both of these great Nations. Additionally, I will work with you both to see if, after a “thousand years,” a solution can be arrived at concerning Kashmir. God Bless the leadership of India and Pakistan on a job well done!!!
(…)
The episode has left some senior White House officials questioning the need for a traditional National Security Council and content to leave Secretary of State Marco Rubio, whom Trump on Thursday named as Waltz’s interim replacement, in a caretaker role for quite some time, a decision that will likely diminish an institution that has had a powerful role in shaping the foreign policy of modern presidencies. And it sidelines a key figure in the White House with a long track record of favoring military intervention, officials said.
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.
He noted that Dnipro, Sumy, Cherkasy, and other regions came under Russian attack. There was a massive drone strike on Kryvyi Rih – targeting a local enterprise and civilian infrastructure. In Okhtyrka, Sumy region, homes, stores, and civilian infrastructure were damaged. Communities in Donetsk, Kharkiv, and Zaporizhia regions also came under fire.
“Everyone who was affected must be given assistance. But there must also be clear pressure and strong action from the world on Russia – more pressure, more sanctions from the United States – to stop Russian strikes. Launching such large-scale attacks after ceasefire negotiations is a clear signal to the whole world that Moscow is not going to pursue real peace,” the President stressed.
“Today, Putin effectively rejected the proposal for a full ceasefire. It would be right for the world to respond by rejecting any attempts by Putin to prolong the war. Sanctions against Russia. Assistance to Ukraine. Strengthening allies in the free world and working toward security guarantees. And only a real cessation of strikes on civilian infrastructure by Russia, as proof of its willingness to end this war, can bring peace closer,” Zelenskyy summed up.
One hour into Donald Trump’s phone call with Vladimir Putin on 18 March, a White House aide reported that the conversation was “going well”. The following hour, with the two leaders still talking, the head of Russia’s sovereign wealth fund, Kirill Dmitriev, announced that, as a result of the dialogue, the world had “become a much safer place today!”. Channelling the Trumpian vernacular, he pronounced the results: “Historic! Epic!” But when the call ended and the two sides released the details, it became clear that they had agreed to little of substance at all.
In an interview that aired on Friday, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte confirmed that NATO membership for Ukraine was removed from the table.
According to the president, this is why Putin is now doing everything possible to sabotage diplomacy, putting forward extremely difficult and unacceptable conditions even before the ceasefire.
“Putin will try to drag everyone into endless discussions, just as he did with Minsk, wasting days, weeks and months on meaningless negotiations, while his weapons continue to kill people. Every condition that Putin puts forward is just an attempt to block any diplomacy,” Zelenskyy noted.
The president strongly urged everyone who has influence on Russia, especially the United States, to take strong steps that can help.
“Pressure should be directed at those who do not want to stop the war. Pressure should be on Russia. Only decisive action can stop this war that has been going on for years,” he stressed.
Peskov said that Steve Witkoff, Trump‘s envoy to the Middle East, visited Putin in Moscow on March 13. Kellogg commented on Witkoff‘s scheduled visit earlier this week, saying that it „made a lot of sense strategically to say, ‚OK, Steve, you run this lane really hard, and I‘ll run this lane really hard.‘ We‘re closely aligned, talking about it, comparing notes, and providing that information.“
Neither Trump nor Kellogg has commented on the reports that the retired lieutenant army general has been „sidelined“ in peace talks.
(March 14, 2025)
Special presidential envoy Steve Witkoff left Moscow on Friday without a cease-fire deal in hand after Russian President Vladimir Putin rejected President Trump’s terms to begin winding down the war with Ukraine.
Putin met with Witkoff late Thursday after having kept the American waiting since roughly 12:30 p.m., according to flight tracking data and Russian reports, but ultimately sent him home with “signals” for Trump, Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov told reporters.
As Washington and Moscow negotiate Ukraine’s future, European security advisers scramble to avoid being left out of the deal.
Donald Trump wertet es schon einmal positiv, dass nicht ein kategorisches Nein aus Russland kommt und die Verhandlungen weitergehen. Auch positiv sieht er, dass Wladimir Putin mit ihm sprechen will. Geht es nach Trump, könnte dies schon heute der Fall sein. Und auch wenn es Putin etwas weniger eilig haben dürfte, gibt es offenbar Anzeichen, dass dieses direkte Gespräch zwischen den beiden Präsidenten tatsächlich heute stattfinden könnte.
Ukraine and the United States have discussed many details of the draft peace agreement between Ukraine and Russia, and now it is up to Russia to join it, said US President Donald Trump.
„A lot of the details of a final agreement have actually been discussed. Now we‘re going to see if Russia is there and, if not, it will be a very disappointing moment for the world,“ Trump said at a joint briefing with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte on Thursday.
Putin said he also wants guarantees that during a 30-day ceasefire, Ukraine will not regroup, and he wondered who would determine if there were any violations of a ceasefire.
„These are all issues that require careful investigation from both sides,“ he said.
Putin suggested Russia should talk with Trump to discuss his concerns, while adding, „But the idea itself is to end this conflict with peaceful means. We support it.“
„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.“
(today)
The Kremlin does not exclude that the issue of a telephone conversation between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart Donald Trump may come up in the wake of the US-Ukrainian negotiations and could be organized quickly, Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
„We also do not rule out that the topic of a call at the highest level may arise. If such a need emerges, it will be organized very quickly. The existing channels of dialogue with the Americans make it possible to do this in a relatively short time,“ he said.
(March 11, 2025)
The Kremlin has no information about Tuesday’s talks between the US and Ukraine that could be used as part of the efforts to settle the Ukrainian conflict, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
„No, not yet,“ he said in an interview with Izvestia in response to a question on the subject.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio voiced hope on March 11 that Russia would accept the proposal for a temporary ceasefire with Ukraine.
„The ball is in their court,“ Rubio said during a press conference following the talks with Ukraine in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
The Trump administration lifted its suspension of military aid and intelligence sharing for Ukraine, and Kyiv signaled that it was open to a 30-day ceasefire in the war with Russia, pending Moscow’s agreement, American and Ukrainian officials said Tuesday following talks in Saudi Arabia.
At the talks in Saudi Arabia, Ukraine proposed ceasefire in the skies, at sea, and is ready to establish a complete ceasefire for 30 days; if Russia agrees, the ceasefire will work, said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Mr. Zelensky wrote on X that his discussions with Prince Mohammed, the de facto Saudi leader, who has sought to take a central role on the world’s diplomatic stage, were “good” and that he was “grateful” for the crown prince’s “wise perspective on global affairs and support for Ukraine.” Mr. Zelensky added that it was “especially important to hear words of confidence in Ukraine’s future.”
Their meeting came ahead of talks planned for Tuesday between Ukrainian and U.S. officials in the oil-rich Gulf state.
Stand: 10.03.2025 06:59 Uhr
Neue Ukraine-Gespräche: Selenskyj reist nach Saudi-Arabien
Sybiha also spoke Friday with Rubio ahead of the talks. Sybiha described it as a “constructive call.” A two-sentence readout from the State Department said Rubio “underscored President Trump is determined to end the war as soon as possible and emphasized that all sides must take steps to secure a sustainable peace.”
(March 8, 2ß25)
„Next week, I will begin with a visit to Saudi Arabia. After my meeting on Monday with the Crown Prince, Ukrainian diplomatic and military representatives will stay for a meeting on Tuesday with the American team. The Ukrainian team will include Andriy Yermak, Andriy Sybiha, Rustem Umerov, and Pavlo Palisa,“ the president said on the X network on Saturday.
Zelenskyy also said a meeting of the diplomatic teams of Ukraine and the UK took place in Kyiv on Saturday.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio will fly to Jeddah on Sunday for the bilateral talks with Ukrainian officials, who will be led by Andriy Yermak, a top Zelenskiy aide. Rubio is expected to be joined by National Security Adviser Mike Waltz and Trump‘s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff.
„You can‘t say ‚I want peace,‘ and, ‚I refuse to compromise on anything,'“ one of the U.S. officials said of the upcoming talks.
President Donald Trump speaks with reporters aboard Air Force One.
After taking office on January 20, Trump sent multiple signals about his willingness to discuss the subject, but has so far put forward no concrete proposals. Among other things, Moscow and Washington need to discuss whether they are ready to forge a deal to replace the New START treaty on the reduction of strategic offensive arms, which expires in 2026.
(March 6, 2025)
„It would be fantastic if everyone got rid of their nuclear weapons. I know that Russia and us have by far the most nuclear weapons. China will have a similar amount in four or five years. It would be great if we could all denuclearize, because the power of nuclear weapons is madness,“ Trump said in a video later posted on the social network X.
The comment comes three weeks after a statement made in the Oval Office, where he emphasized the importance of restarting discussions on nuclear arms control, particularly with Russia and China.
„We welcome this statement as part of the discussion on providing Ukraine with long-term security guarantees and ensuring security and peace in general,“ Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman Heorhii Tykhyi said at a briefing in Kyiv.
„As for this proposal specifically, we are in contact with our Italian colleagues to clarify the specifics of this proposal,“ Tykhyi said, adding that Ukraine still wants its partners to send troop contingents as part of any peace effort.
“Sending unspecified military contingents, whether British or any other, is the most complex and possibly the least effective solution. I have said this, repeated it, and have also ruled out the possibility that Italian troops could be sent in this context,” Meloni told reporters on the sidelines of the European Union leaders’ meeting in Brussels on March 6.
(March 7, 2025)
In the first signal of a positive response from President Vladimir Putin to US counterpart Donald Trump’s call for a ceasefire, the offer was conveyed at last month’s talks in Saudi Arabia between top Russian and American officials, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing internal policy.
Russia has said it won‘t accept the presence of NATO troops on Ukrainian soil, rejecting a proposal by European countries to put together a „coalition of the willing“ to help monitor any peace accord.