BRUSSELS: The main international forum for drumming up weapons and ammunition for Ukraine will for the first time meet under the auspices of a country other than the US as uncertainty surrounds the future of Washington’s support for arming the war-torn country.
The Ukraine Defense Contact Group, a consortium of about 50 partner nations, was brought together by former US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to coordinate weapons support in the months after Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.
President Donald Trump has expressed skepticism for backing Ukraine, criticizing its President Volodymyr Zelensky and saying last month that his administration had already held ” very serious” discussions with Russia about ending the conflict.
The UK is convening the 26th meeting of the contact group on Wednesday at NATO headquarters in Brussels.
The meeting is aimed at discussing “priorities for Ukraine as the international community continues to work together to support Ukraine in its fight against (Russian President Vladimir) Putin’s illegal invasion,” the British Ministry of Defense said in a statement released on Thursday.
It’s the first time that a country other than the US has convened the forum, although Austin’s successor, Pete Hegseth, is scheduled to take part. It was not immediately clear whether the UK convened the meeting on its own initiative or whether Washington requested it.
A senior US official said, “We appreciate the UK’s leadership in convening the 50-plus countries who participate in this forum. Ally and partner burden-sharing remains critical to helping achieve peace in Ukraine.”
The official spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to speak to the media.
The US is by far the largest single foreign contributor of military aid to Ukraine, providing about 30 percent of Ukraine’s weaponry, as much as the 27 members of the European Union put together.
Kathleen Burk, emeritus professor of history at University College London, told The Associated Press that if the US has asked Britain to chair the meeting of Ukraine’s Western backers, it “seems to tell me that disengagement has already begun.”
Zelensky attended the last meeting in January, as the Biden administration rushed to provide his country with as much military support as it could, including a new $500 million package of weapons and relaxing restrictions on missile strikes into Russia.
The aim was to put Ukraine in the strongest position possible for any future negotiations to end the war.
In June last year, NATO defense ministers approved a permanent system to provide reliable long-term security aid and military training for Ukraine after delays in Western deliveries of funds, arms and ammunition helped invading Russian forces to seize the initiative on the battlefield.
The NATO Security Assistance and Training for Ukraine (NSATU), which began work in December, had been described as a way to “Trump-proof” NATO backing for Ukraine, a reference to concern that Trump might withdraw US support for Kyiv.
NSATU, which is headquartered at a US military base in Wiesbaden, Germany, was publicly portrayed by NATO officials as a system that would complement rather than replace the contact group.
Ukraine’s Western backers will meet for arms talks as doubts over US intentions grow
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Ukraine’s Western backers will meet for arms talks as doubts over US intentions grow
- President Donald Trump has expressed skepticism for backing Ukraine
- The UK is convening the 26th meeting of the contact group on Wednesday at NATO headquarters in Brussels
Putin’s proposed Ukraine talks ‘not enough’: Macron
PRZEMYSL: President Vladimir Putin’s proposal for direct negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, after Kyiv and its European allies called for a 30-day ceasefire, is “not enough,” French President Emmanuel Macron said on Sunday.
“An unconditional ceasefire is not preceded by negotiations, by definition,” Macron told reporters as he stepped off a train in the Polish city of Przemysl on his return from a trip to Ukraine, adding that Putin was “looking for a way out, but he still wants to buy time.”
Western allies have repeatedly accused Putin of delaying tactics with regards to any potential bid to end the conflict in Ukraine, which has dragged on since February 2022.
Asked if this was another such example, Macron replied: “Yes, it is.”
Macron visited Kyiv on Saturday with the leaders of Germany, Britain and Poland, with the four of them and President Volodymyr Zelensky calling for a 30-day unconditional ceasefire starting on Monday.
Macron warned that Russia would face “massive sanctions” if it did not comply.
The United States and other countries back the proposal, the leaders said.
Speaking at the Kremlin in the early hours of Sunday, Putin proposed direct negotiations with Ukraine in Istanbul in the coming days but did not address the 30-day ceasefire proposal.
“It’s a way of not answering... of showing that he is committed while also trying to maintain ambiguity in the eyes of the Americans,” Macron said.
“We need to stand firm with the Americans and say that the ceasefire is unconditional and then we can discuss the rest,” he added.
Macron also said that Putin’s proposal was “unacceptable for the Ukrainians because they cannot accept parallel discussions while they continue to be bombed.”
He also cast doubt on whether Zelensky would agree to talks in Istanbul given the “complicated” Russian-Ukrainian negotiations held there shortly after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Trump says will increase trade 'substantially' with India, Pakistan
WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump said late Saturday he would increase trade "substantially" with India and Pakistan.
"I am going to increase trade, substantially, with both of these great Nations," he posted on TruthSocial after the arch-rivals agreed to a ceasefire after days of deadly fighting.
However, since the ceasefire was announced, both sides have traded accusations of truce violations.
Under Trump pressure, Columbia University ends semester in turmoil
- Biliana said she made sure to stay far away from these kinds of demonstrations, fearful she might show up in a photo and be falsely linked to the group
NEW YORK: Biliana, an international student at New York’s Columbia University, is studying for exams but fears being arrested by immigration police.
Columbia professors meanwhile are scrambling to save research funding in the crosshairs of President Donald Trump’s administration.
An atmosphere of crisis hovers over campus as the semester winds down, as the White House accuses the prestigious university and other Ivy League schools of anti-Semitism and “woke” liberal ideology.
Several hundred foreign students nationwide have been threatened with the cancelation of their visas, while others have been targeted — and a few arrested, including at Columbia — over everything from participation in pro-Palestinian protests to traffic violations.
“The situation is just terrifying,” said Biliana, a 29-year-old law student, who feels such dread that she asked not to be identified by her real name or even the Latin American country she comes from.
“You feel like you cannot say anything, you cannot share anything.”
She went on: “Me and my friends, we have not been posting anything on Twitter,” and many are deleting old posts for fear of crossing an invisible red line.
“Basically, what we’re trying to do is just to go to normal classes,” she said.
Last week, with final exams looming, 80 pro-Palestinian protesters were arrested after attempting to overtake the main library.
The university’s interim president quickly condemned the protest action.
Biliana said she made sure to stay far away from these kinds of demonstrations, fearful she might show up in a photo and be falsely linked to the group.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said officials were reviewing the visa status of the “vandals” involved, adding: “Pro-Hamas thugs are no longer welcome in our great nation.”
For newly elected student body president Oscar Wolfe, “There is definitely a heightened level of anxiety among international students, regardless of their involvement in the protests.”
Wolfe arrived on campus in September 2023, just before Hamas militants launched their October 7 attack on Israel, sparking the Gaza war and giving rise to protests that continue. He said he has known little more than a month of “normal” campus life.
Reflecting the turmoil, Columbia — which normally draws thousands of tourists to its Manhattan campus featuring colonnaded buildings, sweeping lawns and famous Alma Mater statue — has largely cut off public access to its grounds.
The Trump administration has accused the university of allowing anti-Semitism to flourish on campus — something the school strongly denies — and has slashed some $400 million of Columbia’s federal funding.
Harvard, another Ivy League college, has defiantly pushed back — suing the administration to halt a federal freeze of $2 billion in grants.
Columbia, for its part, is negotiating with the government. But on Wednesday, interim President Claire Shipman announced that “nearly 180 of our colleagues who have been working, in whole or in part, on impacted federal grants” were going to lose their jobs.
Rebecca Muhle, a professor of psychiatry, said her grant for a research project on autism was “not canceled, but it’s not funded — it’s in limbo.”
“I cannot hire anyone or make large purchases,” she said.
“There are many, many grants in this situation,” Muhle added. “It’s chaos, and you can’t conduct good science in chaos.”
History professor Matthew Connelly, who specializes in state secrets and their declassification, said he had been notified that the National Endowment for the Humanities had canceled two grants, with “no real reason given.”
The grants, he said, were intended to train scholars and archivists in analyzing and preserving historical records, particularly those in digital form — “one of the great challenges facing researchers.”
But Connelly said he was not about to throw in the towel.
“Universities are a target, because everything we do is completely contrary to what the Trump administration is trying to achieve,” he said.
“If we stopped teaching... if we stopped doing our research, we would be handing them a victory.”
Student leader Wolfe also views this as part of a broader battle.
“This is not just an attack on Columbia,” he said, “it is the opening act of an attack against civil society.”
Trump touts ‘great progress made’ on first day of US-China tariff talks
- "A total reset negotiated in a friendly, but constructive, manner,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform
- US delegation led by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is meeting in Geneva with the China team led by Vice Premier He Lifeng
GENEVA: The first day of sensitive talks between US and Chinese delegations over tariffs that threaten to upend the global economy ended without major breakthroughs being announced, but President Donald Trump nonetheless touted “GREAT PROGRESS.”
The meeting lasted over 10 hours in Switzerland and featured Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and a delegation led by Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng.
Hours after talks had concluded, Trump took to social media to suggest that a full reset of trade between the US and China could be on the table.
“A very good meeting today with China, in Switzerland. Many things discussed, much agreed to. A total reset negotiated in a friendly, but constructive, manner,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. “We want to see, for the good of both China and the US, an opening up of China to American business. GREAT PROGRESS MADE!!!”
But he gave no further details, and officials at the White House also offered little information during and after the opening day of discussions.
Trump’s post followed an official telling The Associated Press that talks had wrapped up for the day and would continue Sunday. The official requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the discussions, which could help stabilize world markets roiled by the US-China standoff. The talks have been shrouded in secrecy, and neither side made comments to reporters on the way out.
Several convoys of black vehicles left the residence of the Swiss ambassador to the UN in Geneva, which hosted the talks aimed at de-escalating trade tensions between the world’s two biggest economies. Diplomats from both sides also confirmed that the talks took place.
The opening day of negotiations were held in the sumptuous 18th-century “Villa Saladin” overlooking Lake Geneva. The former estate was bequeathed to the Swiss state in 1973, according to the Geneva government.
Trump’s assessment aside, prospects for a major breakthrough appeared dim when the talks opened. Still, there is hope that the two countries will scale back the massive taxes — tariffs — they have slapped on each other’s goods, a move that would relieve world financial markets and companies on both sides of the Pacific Ocean that depend on US-China trade.
Trump last month raised US tariffs on China to a combined 145 percent, and China retaliated by hitting American imports with a 125 percent levy. Tariffs that high essentially amount to the countries’ boycotting each other’s products, disrupting trade that last year topped $660 billion.
And even before talks got underway, Trump suggested Friday that the US could lower its tariffs on China, saying in a Truth Social post that ” 80 percent Tariff seems right! Up to Scott.″
Sun Yun, director of the China program at the Stimson Center, noted it will be the first time He and Bessent have talked. She doubts the Geneva meeting will produce any substantive results.
“The best scenario is for the two sides to agree to de-escalate on the ... tariffs at the same time,” she said, adding even a small reduction would send a positive signal. “It cannot just be words.”
Since returning to the White House in January, Trump has aggressively used tariffs as his favorite economic weapon. He has, for example, imposed a 10 percent tax on imports from almost every country in the world.
But the fight with China has been the most intense. His tariffs on China include a 20 percent charge meant to pressure Beijing into doing more to stop the flow of the synthetic opioid fentanyl into the United States.
The remaining 125 percent involve a dispute that dates back to Trump’s first term and comes atop tariffs he levied on China back then, which means the total tariffs on some Chinese goods can exceed 145 percent.
During Trump’s first term, the US alleged that China uses unfair tactics to give itself an edge in advanced technologies such as quantum computing and driverless cars. These include forcing US and other foreign companies to hand over trade secrets in exchange for access to the Chinese market; using government money to subsidize domestic tech firms; and outright theft of sensitive technologies.
Those issues were never fully resolved. After nearly two years of negotiation, the United States and China reached a so-called Phase One agreement in January 2020. The US agreed then not to go ahead with even higher tariffs on China, and Beijing agreed to buy more American products. The tough issues — such as China’s subsidies — were left for future negotiations.
But China didn’t come through with the promised purchases, partly because COVID-19 disrupted global commerce just after the Phase One truce was announced.
The fight over China’s tech policy now resumes.
Trump is also agitated by America’s massive trade deficit with China, which came to $263 billion last year.
Trump slaps hefty tariffs on Switzerland
In Switzerland Friday, Bessent and Greer also met with Swiss President Karin Keller-Sutter.
Trump last month suspended plans to slap hefty 31 percent tariffs on Swiss goods — more than the 20 percent levies he plastered on exports from European Union. For now, he has reduced those taxes to 10 percent but could raise them again.
The government in Bern is taking a cautious approach. But it has warned of the impact on crucial Swiss industries like watches, coffee capsules, cheese and chocolate.
“An increase in trade tensions is not in Switzerland’s interests. Countermeasures against US tariff increases would entail costs for the Swiss economy, in particular by making imports from the USA more expensive,” the government said last week, adding that the executive branch “is therefore not planning to impose any countermeasures at the present time.”
The government said Swiss exports to the United States on Saturday were subject to an additional 10 percent tariff, and another 21 percent beginning Wednesday.
The United States is Switzerland’s second-biggest trading partner after the EU – the 27-member-country bloc that nearly surrounds the wealthy Alpine country of more than 9 million. US-Swiss trade in goods and services has quadrupled over the last two decades, the government said.
The Swiss government said Switzerland abolished all industrial tariffs on Jan. 1 last year, meaning that 99 percent of all goods from the United States can be imported into Switzerland duty-free.
Putin proposes direct talks with Ukraine in Istanbul on May 15, ‘without preconditions’
- “We are committed to serious negotiations with Ukraine," Putin said, adding that he doesn't rule out agreeing to a ceasefire later, in the course of the talks
- His proposal came after major European countries threatened to ratchet up pressure on Moscow if it does not accept an unconditional 30-day ceasefire
Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed restarting direct talks with Ukraine in Istanbul on May 15, “without preconditions," an offer that came in response to Ukraine and its allies urging Moscow to commit to an unconditional 30-day ceasefire or face additional sanctions.
Putin referenced the unsuccessful 2022 peace talks that took place in Istanbul in March, shortly after Moscow's full-scale invasion, and proposed "restarting" them without preconditions in remarks to reporters in the early hours of Sunday.
“We are committed to serious negotiations with Ukraine," Putin said, adding that he doesn't rule out agreeing to a ceasefire later, in the course of direct talks with Ukraine.
Putin's proposal came after leaders from four major European countries threatened to ratchet up pressure on Moscow if it does not accept an unconditional 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine that they offered on Saturday in a strong show of unity with Kyiv.
The leaders of France, the United Kingdom, Germany and Poland said their proposal for a ceasefire to start on Monday was supported by US President Donald Trump, whom they had briefed over the phone earlier in the day.
Trump has called for Ukraine and Russia to meet for “very high level talks,” saying they are “very close to a deal” on ending the bloody three-year war.
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has previously said he was ready for peace talks, but only after a ceasefire is in place.
Moscow's proposals
Putin said that Russia proposed several ceasefires in recent months — a halt on strikes on energy infrastructure, which Ukraine had agreed to, a unilateral 30-hour Easter truce and another unilateral ceasefire on May 8-10 that has since expired.
Ukrainian officials said Russia repeatedly violated all of those.
Putin on Sunday accused Ukraine of sabotaging “these initiatives time and time again" and launching multiple attacks on Russia.
In March, the United States proposed an immediate, limited 30-day truce, which Ukraine accepted, but the Kremlin has held out for terms more to its liking.
Putin on Sunday once again said the Kremlin needs a truce that would lead to a “lasting peace" instead of one that would allow Ukraine to rearm and mobilize more men into its armed forces.
He said he would speak to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and ask him to facilitate the peace talks on May 15.
Shortly after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Turkey hosted unsuccessful talks between Russian and Ukrainian negotiators aimed at ending the hostilities. The proposed deal reportedly included provisions for Ukraine’s neutral status and put limits on its armed forces, while delaying talks on the status of Russian-occupied areas.
Moscow has blamed Kyiv and the West for the talks collapsing.
Putin said that "those who truly want peace cannot but support" his proposal to restart the peace talks.
‘A very important signal’
Zelenskyy, speaking to reporters alongside the European leaders in Kyiv on Saturday, called their meeting "a very important signal.”
In a joint statement, as published on Zelenskyy's official website, the five leaders called for a ceasefire “lasting at least 30 days" from Monday, to make room for a diplomatic push to end the war.
“An unconditional ceasefire by definition cannot be subject to any conditions. If Russia calls for such conditions, this can only be considered as an effort to prolong the war and undermine diplomacy,” the statement read.
French President Emmanuel Macron said that the U.S. would take the lead in monitoring the proposed ceasefire, with support from European countries, and threatened “massive sanctions ... prepared and coordinated, between Europeans and Americans,” should Russia violate the truce.
Macron traveled to Kyiv with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk.
“This is Europe stepping up, showing our solidarity with Ukraine,” Starmer said.
Retired Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg, Trump’s special envoy to Ukraine, said Saturday that a “comprehensive” 30-day ceasefire, covering attacks from the air, land, sea and on infrastructure, “will start the process for ending the largest and longest war in Europe since World War II.”
Meanwhile, Putin on Saturday held a series of bilateral talks with foreign officials who had attended Moscow's own celebrations marking the defeat of Nazi Germany, in an apparent attempt to underscore the West’s failure to isolate it on the global stage. Putin's interlocutors included To Lam, General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam, and the leaders of Zimbabwe, Burkina Faso and the Palestinian Authority.
Europe threatens more sanctions if Russia ignores ceasefire offer
Progress on ending the three-year war has seemed elusive in the months since Trump returned to the White House, and his previous claims of imminent breakthroughs have failed to come to fruition. Trump has previously pushed Ukraine to cede territory to Russia to end the war, threatening to walk away if a deal becomes too difficult.
Since the start of US-mediated talks, Russia has kept up attacks along the roughly 1,000-kilometer (600-mile) front line, including deadly strikes on residential areas with no obvious military targets.
The ceasefire would include a halt to fighting on land, sea and in the air. The European leaders threatened to ratchet up sanctions, including on Russia’s energy and banking sectors, if Putin did not comply.
The priority was to make it too costly for Russia to keep fighting in Ukraine, said Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha.
When asked how the monitoring mechanism would work, Sybiha told The Associated Press the details were still being discussed.
Addressing skepticism over whether fresh sanctions against Moscow, which has so far managed to keep fighting in the war, Merz said “almost all member states of the European Union and a large coalition of the willing around the world are determined to enforce these sanctions even if our initiative of the weekend should fail.”
The leaders also discussed security guarantees for Ukraine.
Building up Kyiv's military capabilities will be a key deterrent against Russia and require supplying Ukraine with robust quantities of arms to deter future attacks and investing in its defense sector. A force comprised of foreign troops could also be deployed as an added “reassurance” measure, Macron said.
He said details about potential European deployments to Ukraine were still being fine-tuned. No mention was made of NATO membership, still Kyiv’s top choice for a security guarantee.
Earlier on Saturday, the European leaders joined a ceremony at Kyiv's Independence Square marking the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II. They lit candles alongside Zelenskyy at a makeshift flag memorial for fallen Ukrainian soldiers and civilians slain since Russia's invasion.
Russian attacks continue
Russian shelling in Ukraine’s northern Sumy region over the past day killed three residents and wounded four more, local officials said. Another civilian died Saturday as a Russian drone struck the southern city of Kherson, according to regional Gov. Oleksandr Prokudin.
The U.S. Embassy in Kyiv on Friday warned of a “potentially significant” Russian air attack in the coming days, without giving details.
Russia in November gave the US brief advance warning before striking Ukraine for the first time with its Oreshnik intermediate-range ballistic missile, an experimental hypersonic weapon that Putin claimed could travel at 10 times the speed of sound.
Ukrainian Telegram channels linked the embassy's warning to reports of an imminent flight ban by Moscow over the Kapustin Yar military training and rocket launch complex. A similar flight ban preceded November’s strike. There was no immediate comment from Russian officials.
Trump said last week that he doubts Putin wants to end his war in Ukraine, expressing new skepticism that a peace deal can be reached soon, and hinted at further sanctions against Russia.
Ukraine’s European allies view its fate as fundamental to the continent’s security, and pressure is now mounting to find ways to support Kyiv militarily, regardless of whether Trump pulls out.
