Stefanie Babst says President Trump has switched sides to align the US with Russia as Europe risks being sidelined by talks between Washington and Moscow to end war
President Trump has already held a lengthy telephone call with his Russian counterpart but there have been mixed messages coming out of Washington
US and Russia gear up for talks
Mike Waltz will be among the US delegates in Saudi Arabia MIKE SEGAR/REUTERS
US-Russia talks ‘to start on Tuesday’
Talks between the US and Russia on possible paths towards a peace deal between Moscow and Ukraine will begin on Tuesday, Russia’s Kommersant newspaper has reported, citing unnamed sources.
The US secretary of state Marco Rubio, national security adviser Mike Waltz and White House Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff will travel to Saudi Arabia for the talks. It is not known who will be travelling to represent Russia.
President Zelensky said Ukraine was not invited to the talks in Saudi Arabia and Kyiv would not engage with Russia before consulting with strategic partners. He happens to be in the region visiting the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Turkey on a separate trip.
Trump to meet Putin ‘very soon’
President Trump has said he expects to sit down with Vladimir Putin “very soon” to discuss ending the war in Ukraine.
Trump told reporters he was working hard to achieve peace and said he believed both Putin and President Zelensky wanted the fighting to stop.
His comments come as the United States and Russia prepare for talks in Saudi Arabia in the coming days.
Trump ‘attacking rule of law’
Donald Trump has launched an attack on shared western values that “cannot be taken seriously enough”, Germany’s vice-chancellor has said.
“What once came to Europe from America is being abandoned: the rule of law, liberal democracies and a rule-based order,” Robert Habeck, a member of the Green party, said during a live pre-election debate broadcast by the German TV channel RTL.
JD Vance, the US vice-president, on Friday criticised mainstream German parties’ refusal to collaborate with the far-right Alternative for Germany — remarks that were strongly rebuffed by Berlin.
US and Russia ‘now talk peace, not war’
Moscow and Washington will talk about peace, not war, from now on, the Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said.
“They send a powerful message that from now on we will try to solve problems through dialogue. And from now on we will talk about peace, not war,” he told state broadcasters.
Peskov claimed President Trump’s views should appeal to any sound-minded person and credited Trump with helping open up communication after the previous White House administration.
During their phone call, he said, Trump and Putin discussed ending the hostilities in Ukraine and bilateral relations, as well as other other issues, Russia’s Tass news agency reported.
Zelensky addresses Trump’s mineral demand
Ukraine and the United States need to discuss what will happen to mineral deposits in areas captured by Russia, President Zelensky has said, after the Trump administration called for Kyiv to open up Ukraine’s natural wealth to US investment.
Trump is seeking $500 billion worth of mineral riches “as compensation” for support already given to Ukraine by the Biden administration and as payment for future aid.
Zelensky, speaking on NBC, questioned whether minerals in areas occupied by Russia would be given to President Putin and his partners Iran, North Korea and China.
“It seems to me important to understand what we will do with those rare earths that now cost billions, hundreds of billions, that Putin occupied,” Zelensky said. “Is it to give to him? … This is what I want to discuss.”
Zelensky begins UAE trip
Ukraine’s President Zelensky has begun his trip to the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Turkey, after insisting he had no plans at the moment to meet with Russian or American officials.
Marco Rubio, the US secretary of state, is also heading to Saudi Arabia on Monday before visiting the UAE. He will meet with Russian officials to discuss paths towards a peace negotiation. It appears Zelensky will not be present despite being in the same region.
Issuing a video of him leaving a plane, Zelensky wrote on X: “Our top priority is bringing even more of our people home from captivity. We will also focus on investments and economic partnership, as well as a large-scale humanitarian programme.”