Cautious Russia weighs Ukraine ceasefire plan as US tries to seal a deal

Russian President Vladimir Putin walks next to Chief of the General Staff of Russian Armed Forces Valery Gerasimov as he visits the army command center in the Kursk region, Russia, on March 12, 2025. (Kremlin.ru/Handout via REUTERS)
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Updated 13 March 2025
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Cautious Russia weighs Ukraine ceasefire plan as US tries to seal a deal

  • Senior source says Russia will seek guarantees
  • Rubio says if Russia says ‘no’, it will say a lot

MOSCOW: The Kremlin said on Wednesday it would review details from Washington about a proposal for a 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine before responding, while US Secretary of State Marco Rubio hoped a deal would be struck within days.
As Moscow considered the plan, President Vladimir Putin, dressed in military fatigues, made a surprise visit to Russia’s Kursk region for the first time since Ukrainian troops captured part of it last year.
With Putin’s presence highlighting recent Russian advances in Kursk, Valery Gerasimov, head of Russia’s General Staff, told the Kremlin leader his troops had repelled Ukrainian forces from 86 percent of the ground they once held in Kursk. Ukraine had hoped to use that territory as a bargaining chip in any peace talks with Moscow.
The US on Tuesday agreed to resume weapons supplies and intelligence sharing with Ukraine after Kyiv said at talks in Saudi Arabia that it was ready to support a ceasefire proposal.
The Kremlin on Wednesday said it was carefully studying the results of that meeting and awaited details from the US.
Rubio said the United States was hoping for a positive response, and that if the answer was “no” then it would tell Washington a lot about the Kremlin’s true intentions.

 

Speaking to reporters when his plane refueled in Ireland, Rubio said on Wednesday: “Here’s what we’d like the world to look like in a few days: Neither side is shooting at each other, not rockets, not missiles, not bullets, nothing ... and the talking starts.”
Two people familiar with the matter said Russia has presented Washington with a list of demands for a deal to end the Ukraine war and reset relations with the United States.
The specific demands were not clear, nor whether Russia, which holds just under a fifth of Ukraine, was willing to enter peace talks with Kyiv prior to their acceptance.
The people said the demands were similar to previous Kremlin terms including no NATO membership for Kyiv, recognition of Russia’s claim to Crimea and four Ukrainian provinces and an agreement that foreign troops not be deployed in Ukraine.
Rubio said that Europe would have to be involved in any security guarantee for Ukraine, and that the sanctions Europe has imposed would also be on the table.
After a meeting of five European defense ministers, British defense minister John Healey on Wednesday told reporters that work was accelerating on a “coalition of the willing from Europe and beyond” to support Ukraine. French Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu said about 15 countries had expressed interest.

 

In Kyiv, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky hailed this week’s meeting in Saudi Arabia as constructive, and said a potential 30-day ceasefire with Russia could be used to draft a broader peace deal.
After Russian forces made gains in Ukraine in 2024, Trump reversed US policy on the war, launching bilateral talks with Moscow and suspending military assistance to Ukraine, demanding that it take steps to end the conflict.
Tuesday’s agreement signaled a major improvement in US-Ukraine relations after a clash between Trump and Zelensky at the White House last month sent them to a new low, but it did not alter the issues underlying the conflict with Russia, Ukrainian sources said.

Russia wants its advances taken into account
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in early 2022 has left hundreds of thousands of dead and injured, displaced millions of people, reduced towns to rubble and triggered the biggest confrontation between Moscow and the West in six decades.
During Putin’s visit to Kursk, Gerasimov told him Russian forces had regained 1,100 square kilometers (425 square miles) of territory including 259 square kilometers in the last five days.

Kyiv’s forces have been on the verge of losing their foothold in Kursk. Their main supply lines were cut and they ceded control of the town of Sudzha.
Putin called for Russia’s forces to swiftly retake any remaining area from Kyiv’s troops. He also made it clear he was considering the creation of a buffer zone in Ukraine’s Sumy region, across the border from Kursk.
 

 

Deep State, an authoritative Ukrainian site that charts the frontlines of the war, updated its battlefield map to show Ukrainian forces were no longer in control of Sudzha. However, it said fighting was continuing on the outskirts.
Ukraine’s top army commander said on Wednesday that Kyiv’s troops will keep operating in Kursk region as long as needed and that fighting continued in and around Sudzha.
Putin has repeatedly said he is ready to talk about an end to the war and Trump says he thinks Putin is serious, though other Western leaders disagree.
Reuters reported in November that Putin was ready to negotiate a deal with Trump, but would refuse to make major territorial concessions and would insist Kyiv abandon ambitions to join NATO.
Ukraine says the regions claimed by Moscow have been annexed illegally and that it will never recognize Russian sovereignty over them.
Konstantin Kosachev, chairman of the international affairs committee of the Federation Council, the upper house of Russia’s parliament, said on Telegram that Russia’s advances in Ukraine must be taken into account in any deal.
“Real agreements are still being written there, at the front. Which they should understand in Washington, too,” he said.


Passenger jet had to abort takeoff to avoid runway collision at New York’s LaGuardia Airport

Updated 6 sec ago
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Passenger jet had to abort takeoff to avoid runway collision at New York’s LaGuardia Airport

When a passenger jet roaring down the runway toward takeoff at New York’s LaGuardia Airport had to slam on the brakes earlier this month because another plane was still on the runway, Renee Hoffner and all the other passengers were thrown forward in their seats.
Hoffner wound up in the emergency room the next day after the near miss on May 6 because her neck started hurting and her left arm went numb.
“The stop was as hard as any car accident I’ve been in,” Hoffner said.
Both the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board said Monday that they are investigating the incident in which a Republic Airways jet had to abort takeoff and slam to a stop because a United Airlines plane was still taxiing across the runway. The close call happened despite the airport being equipped with an advanced surface radar system that’s designed to help prevent such close calls.
In audio from the tower that ABC obtained from the website www.LiveATC.net, the air traffic controller said to the pilot of the Republic Airways jet: “Sorry, I thought United had cleared well before that.”
At the time that controller was directing the Republic Airways jet to takeoff, a ground controller on a different radio frequency was directing the United plane to a new taxiway after it missed the first one it was supposed to use to exit the runway.
When the passengers got off the plane after the close call at 12:35 a.m., Hoffner said the gate agents refused to even give them hotel vouchers for the night because they blamed the weather even though another passenger said she had an app on her phone that showed another plane was on the runway.
Hoffner said she’s been stuck in a customer service nightmare since the flight Republic was operating for American Airlines ended abruptly. She said neither the airline nor the FAA has answered her complaints while she continues to nurse the pinched nerve in her neck that the ER doctors identified.
Both the airlines and the airport referred questions to the FAA.
The number of close calls in recent years has created serious concerns for the FAA, NTSB and other safety experts. The NTSB’s investigation of a February 2023 close call in Austin highlighted the concerns, but there have been a number of other high-profile near misses. In one case, a Southwest Airlines jet coming in for a landing in Chicago narrowly avoided smashing into a business jet crossing the runway.
LaGuardia is one of just 35 airports across the country equipped with the FAA’s best technology to prevent such runway incursions. The ASDS-X system uses a variety of technology to help controllers track planes and vehicles on the ground. At the other 490 US airports with a control tower, air traffic controllers have to rely on more low-tech tools like a pair of binoculars to keep track of aircraft on the ground because the systems are expensive.
Expanding the systems to more airports is something Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy would like to do if Congress signs off on his multi-billion-dollar plan to overhaul the nation’s aging air traffic control system.
But it’s clear the technology is not perfect because close calls continue happening. The FAA is taking a number of additional steps to try to reduce the number of close calls, and it plans to install an additional warning system at LaGuardia in the future.
But the rate of runway incursions per 1 million takeoffs and landings has remained around 30 for a decade. The rate got as high as 35 in 2017 and 2018. But generally there are fewer than 20 of the most serious kind of incursions where a collision was narrowly avoided or there was a significant potential for a crash, according to the FAA. That number did hit 22 in 2023 but fell to just 7 last year.
To help, there are efforts to develop a system that will warn pilots directly about traffic on a runway instead of alerting the controller and relying on them to relay the warning. That could save precious seconds. But the FAA has not yet certified a system to warn pilots directly that Honeywell International has been developing for years.
The worst accident in aviation history occurred in 1977 on the Spanish island of Tenerife, when a KLM 747 began its takeoff roll while a Pan Am 747 was still on the runway; 583 people died when the planes collided in thick fog.

US sends 68 migrants back to Honduras and Colombia in first voluntary deportation

Updated 20 May 2025
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US sends 68 migrants back to Honduras and Colombia in first voluntary deportation

  • Experts believe the self-deportation offer will only appeal to a small portion of migrants already considering return, but unlikely to spur high demand

SAN PEDRO SULA, Honduras: The United States on Monday sent 68 immigrants from Honduras and Colombia back to their countries, the first government-funded flight of what the Trump administration is calling voluntary deportations.
In the northern Honduran city of San Pedro Sula, 38 Hondurans, including 19 children, disembarked from the charter flight carrying $1,000 debit cards from the US government and the offer to one day be allowed to apply for legal entry into the US.
US President Donald Trump has promised to increase deportations substantially. Experts believe the self-deportation offer will only appeal to a small portion of migrants already considering return, but unlikely to spur high demand. The offer has been paired with highly-publicized migrant detentions in the US and flying a couple hundred Venezuelan migrants to a maximum-security prison in El Salvador.
Kevin Antonio Posadas, from Tegucigalpa, had lived in Houston for three years, but had already been considering a return to Honduras when the Trump administration announced its offer.
“I wanted to see my family and my mom,” said Posadas, who added that the process was easy.
“You just apply (through the CBP Home app) and in three days you’ve got it,” he said. The flight left Houston early Monday. “It’s good because you save the cost of the flight if you have the intention of leaving.”
Posadas said he hadn’t feared deportation and liked living in the US, but had been thinking for some time about going home. He said eventually he would consider taking up the US government’s offer of allowing those who self-deport to apply to enter the United States legally.
In a statement about the flight Monday, US Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said, “If you are here illegally, use the CBP Home App to take control of your departure and receive financial support to return home. If you don’t, you will be subjected to fines, arrest, deportation and will never be allowed to return.”
Twenty-six more migrants aboard the flight were headed home to Colombia, according to a US Department of Homeland Security statement.
Honduras Deputy Foreign Minister Antonio García said the Honduran government would also support the returning migrants with $100 cash and another $200 credit at a government-run store that sells basic necessities.
Among the migrants arriving voluntarily Monday were four children who were born in the United States, García said.
García, who met the arriving migrants at the airport, said they told him that being in the US without documents required for legal immigration or residence had been increasingly difficult, that things were growing more hostile and they feared going to work.
Still, the number of Hondurans deported from the US so far this year is below last year’s pace, said Honduras immigration director Wilson Paz.
While about 13,500 Hondurans have been deported from the US this year, the figure stood at more than 15,000 by this time in 2024, Paz said.
He didn’t expect the number to accelerate much, despite the Trump administration’s intentions.
Some would continue applying to self-deport, because they feel like their time in the US is up or because it’s getting harder to work, he said.
“I don’t think it will be thousands of people who apply for the program,” Paz said. “Our responsibility is that they come in an orderly fashion and we support them.”


US judge rules Trump unlawfully ousted board members of Institute of Peace

Updated 20 May 2025
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US judge rules Trump unlawfully ousted board members of Institute of Peace

  • The Institute was founded by Congress in 1984 with a mandate to protect US interests by helping to prevent violent conflicts and broker peace deals abroad

WASHINGTON: A federal judge in Washington ruled on Monday that the Trump administration illegally ousted leaders of the US Institute of Peace, calling the effort a “gross usurpation of power.”
In her decision, US District Judge Beryl Howell said Republican President Donald Trump overstepped his power when his administration removed five board members without cause from the nonprofit organization, which is funded by the US Congress.
The administration’s efforts to control the direction of the Institute of Peace became a public standoff in March, when some staff of the organization locked the building’s doors to bar members of Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, from entering.
Local police were called and subsequently expelled the organization’s leadership, including its president.
White House spokesperson Anna Kelly in a statement called the Institute of Peace a “failed” organization, and said Trump acted lawfully in reducing the group’s budget. “This rogue judge’s attempt to impede on the separation of powers will not be the last say on the matter,” Kelly said.
Lawyers for the board members who sued did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Institute was founded by Congress in 1984 with a mandate to protect US interests by helping to prevent violent conflicts and broker peace deals abroad.
Howell said the administration’s move to control the group “by acts of force and threat using local and federal law enforcement officers, represented a gross usurpation of power and a way of conducting government affairs that unnecessarily traumatized the committed leadership and employees of USIP, who deserved better.”
The Justice Department, which had argued the board members were lawfully removed, can appeal Howell’s order to the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
Howell in March ruled against the Institute’s request for a temporary, emergency order to stop the Trump administration from controlling the organization.


Putin will ‘benefit’ if US gives up on Ukraine peace: Zelensky

Updated 20 May 2025
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Putin will ‘benefit’ if US gives up on Ukraine peace: Zelensky

KYIV: President Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday urged the United States not to give up on working for peace in Ukraine, saying that only Russian President Vladimir Putin would “benefit” from US disengagement.
“It is crucial for all of us that the United States does not distance itself from the talks and the pursuit of peace, because the only one who benefits from that is Putin,” Zelensky said on social media after Trump held a series of calls with both leaders in his bid to end the three-year war.


Why Pope Leo XIV’s message of peace and unity resonates in the Middle East

Updated 20 May 2025
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Why Pope Leo XIV’s message of peace and unity resonates in the Middle East

  • New pontiff opened his papacy with a plea for global dialogue, striking a chord in a conflict-torn region
  • Leo’s migrant roots have helped shape a worldview welcomed by Catholic communities of the Arabian Peninsula

LONDON: On May 8, Cardinal Protodeacon Dominique Mamberti stepped onto the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica and announced the name the world had been waiting for.

With a mix of surprise, joy, and curiosity in the crowd below, he revealed that the College of Cardinals had chosen Robert Francis Prevost as the 269th pontiff of the Catholic Church. He would take the name Pope Leo XIV.

Prevost, 69, had appeared on papabile lists circulated by Vatican watchers, but his election surprised not just the Fantapapa players — a fantasy game for papal predictions — but much of the church hierarchy and media.

For days, speculation had centered around Italian Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Holy See’s secretary of state, whose role as the Vatican’s number two and deep diplomatic experience made him a frontrunner.

Leo is a reference to Pope Leo XIII, remembered as the pope of Catholic social teaching. (AFP)

As is often the case with papal elections, the secrecy and discernment of the Conclave delivered a choice that defied predictions, leaving the world to piece together a portrait of the new pontiff after the fact.

Despite the Vatican’s characteristic reluctance to comment on its own decisions, the early signals from Leo have offered some insight into the kind of leader he may be.

His papacy begins at a moment when the Western world, in particular, appears to be searching for moral clarity, especially in relation to ongoing conflicts in the Middle East.

Three immediate clues point to the direction Leo may take.

First, his name. As with all pontifical names, the choice is steeped in symbolism. In this case, Leo is a reference to Pope Leo XIII, remembered as the pope of Catholic social teaching.

In 1891, Leo XIII published Rerum Novarum (“Of Revolutionary Change”), an encyclical that addressed the impact of the Industrial Revolution on workers and called for a Church more engaged with modern social issues.

The name suggests Pope Leo XIV may seek to revive that tradition, engaging with today’s global inequalities and the disruptive forces of technology.

The second indication came from his first words as pope. Delivered in eloquent Italian, he issued a direct and urgent appeal: “Peace in the world.”

In an age marked by war in Gaza, violence in Sudan, and prolonged suffering in Syria, the message struck a chord. It was a simple phrase, but one that carried weight, reminding listeners of the Vatican’s potential to offer moral guidance amid geopolitical chaos.

Third, and perhaps most symbolically, is his nationality. As Aldo Cazzullo, deputy editor of Corriere della Sera, noted, the election of the first North American pope inevitably carries geopolitical meaning.

Prevost, 69,  election surprised much of the church hierarchy and media. (AFP)

Just as John Paul II’s Polish roots shaped his response to Soviet Communism, and Pope Francis’s Argentinian background informed his focus on the poor and the Global South, Pope Leo’s American identity may influence how he engages with the world’s power structures.

“From his first words after the election and his strong emphasis on peace, it is clear that there will be continuity with Pope Francis, though certainly expressed in his own style and sensitivity,” Bishop Paolo Martinelli, Vicar Apostolic of Southern Arabia, told Arab News.

“The choice of name also seems very significant to me. As he himself explained, choosing the name ‘Leo’ he wants to recall Pope Leo XIII, the Pope of Rerum Novarum, who was attentive to the needs of workers.

“He was the pope who faced the Industrial Revolution and defended the dignity of the human person.”

He argued that by aligning himself with that legacy, Leo may be hinting at a similar approach to today’s challenges, especially the rise of artificial intelligence, labor displacement and pervasive economic inequality.

Martinelli also pointed out that while Leo is American by birth, his missionary work in Latin America has shaped his worldview. “Certainly, the election of a pope is connected to the historical context,” he said. “However, that alone is not enough to explain the cardinals’ choice.

BIO

Born Robert Francis Prevost in Chicago, Leo is the first North American pope.

• Chose name ‘Leo’ in tribute to Leo XIII, signaling a focus on workers’ rights.

• Former missionary in Latin America, bringing inclusive outlook to papacy.

“Personality and the ability to embody the church in its unity and universality” played a significant role in his election, he added.POPE

Taken together, the opening moments of Leo’s pontificate paint a clear picture of continuity with his predecessor — particularly in advancing church reform and championing peace and justice in conflict zones such as the Gaza Strip.

Just a week into his papacy, Leo is already emerging as a spiritual and moral successor to Pope Francis, especially in matters concerning the Middle East.

“First of all, Pope Leo XIV is the son of migrants,” said Martinelli. “Catholics in the Arabian Peninsula are, for the most part, migrants themselves. For this reason, I believe he may have the right sensitivity to understand the reality of the faithful living in this part of the world.”

The opening moments of Leo’s pontificate paint a clear picture of continuity with his predecessor. (AFP)

Martinelli pointed to Leo’s first greeting and his Regina Caeli address as evidence of his deep concern for the Middle East. “Both were marked by a strong appeal for peace,” he said. “I am confident that his commitment to peace will be both concrete and consistent.”

Francis, who appointed Leo to key Vatican roles and made him a cardinal in 2023 following years of missionary work in Peru, had been a vocal critic of the wars in Sudan, Gaza, Syria and Yemen.

His remarks — often perceived as a rare moral stance in the Western world — strained relations with Israeli officials. In the days after his death, Israeli embassies were instructed to remove public condolences, and most senior leaders boycotted his funeral.

In contrast, Leo has delivered repeated appeals for peace, both in public appearances and private meetings. Though simple in tone, his words appear to resonate, especially in a region exhausted by conflict.

On May 14, he praised Christian communities in the Middle East who “persevere and remain in their homelands, resisting the temptation to abandon them” despite war, marginalization, or persecution — remarks seen as a veiled reference to the ongoing displacement of Christians from the West Bank by Israeli settlers.

Unlike his predecessor, whose forthright condemnations sometimes led to diplomatic fallout, Leo has so far adopted a more measured yet persistent tone. “I believe his words clearly indicate the path he intends to follow, and they will surely be well received in the Gulf region and throughout the Middle East,” said Martinelli.

While avoiding direct criticism of Israeli or Western leaders, Leo has offered to mediate between warring parties and pledged to “make every effort so that this peace may prevail.”

He also cautioned against framing ongoing conflicts as binary and simplistic narratives that divide the world into good and evil, stressing the need for dialogue — not just between political leaders, but among religious communities — as the only path forward in times of deep moral and societal crisis.

“The commitment to dialogue between people of different faiths is extremely important — vital in an age where religion still risks being exploited for nationalistic purposes,” said Martinelli.

“Committing violence in the name of God is always a betrayal of true religious experience; it is a misuse of religion.”

The secrecy and discernment of the Conclave delivered a choice that defied predictions. (AFP)

For Martinelli, peace in Gaza and across the region must be rooted in interfaith dialogue — particularly between Catholicism, Judaism, and Islam — if it is to be credible and sustainable in a region long marred by sectarian violence and instability.

That dialogue gained fresh momentum during Francis’s historic 2019 visit to the UAE, the first ever papal visit to the Arabian Gulf.

There, Francis and Sheikh Ahmed El-Tayeb, Grand Imam of Egypt’s Al-Azhar Mosque, signed the Document on Human Fraternity, a groundbreaking call to reject violence and extremism.

That message was amplified again during Francis’s 2021 pilgrimage to Iraq, a journey viewed by many as an attempt to mend bridges between the different faiths in the country.

“Pope Francis’ commitment to interreligious dialogue — expressed most notably in his visit to Abu Dhabi and the signing of the Document on Human Fraternity — belongs to a well-established tradition in the church,” Martinelli said.

“This seems to me to be an irreversible path for the Catholic Church. For this reason, I am confident that Pope Leo XIV will carry forward and deepen this journey, which is also essential for promoting peace and reconciliation in the world.”

While it is still too early to say whether Leo will launch new diplomatic initiatives in the region, his early statements suggest that he could seek to position the Vatican as an active mediator, as Francis once did during the Syrian conflict.

Leo has delivered repeated appeals for peace, both in public appearances and private meetings. (AFP)

All signs point to Leo adopting a tone of moral clarity reminiscent of his predecessor: condemning violence, encouraging interfaith cooperation, and offering hope.

What remains uncertain is how effectively he will balance this moral authority with the pragmatic demands of a volatile geopolitical landscape.

What is clear, however, is that the Chicago-born missionary is likely to build on Francis’s diplomatic legacy — one that transformed the Vatican into a modern soft-power institution rooted in moral imperatives.