The settlement of the Ukrainian conflict is one of the key areas of activity of US leader Donald Trump. This was stated by US Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard.
„There are several issues going on at the same time. A deal on minerals with Ukraine is a separate topic. There is a broader deal being worked on, which remains a top priority for President Trump - ending the war between Russia and Ukraine. Negotiations on this are ongoing“, she said on Fox News.
Gabbard claims that Trump is solving these problems, taking into account the interests of American citizens.
The US leader's special envoy for Ukraine and Russia Keith Kellogg expressed confidence that the Ukrainian conflict will soon end. He noted that Trump, unlike his predecessor Joe Biden, is ready to negotiate with all parties.
“I am positive about what Trump intends to do with this conflict. And I have full confidence in his opinion that this war will end in the near future“, Kellogg said on Fox News.
The US leader's special envoy criticized the reluctance of former Washington boss Joe Biden to negotiate with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“What did we have under the last administration? Biden hasn't even spoken to Kim Jong Un for four years, he hasn't spoken to President Putin for over two and a half years. President Trump understands he needs to talk to everyone involved in the deal-making process,” Kellogg said.
French President Emmanuel Macron failed to persuade US President Donald Trump during his visit to Washington to commit to supporting the deployment of European troops in Ukraine after the conflict is resolved, the Financial Times (FT) reported, citing sources.
A French official confirmed that the final format of US support for this had not been agreed.
Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer agreed in a phone call on February 23 on a proposal to be presented to Trump on February 27, which would include the potential deployment of a “support force” relying heavily on US air power and support, the sources said.
Estonian President Alar Karis told the FT that some European countries are not ready to deploy their military forces in Ukraine.
Earlier, Bloomberg reported that the meeting of European leaders on Ukraine could take place on March 2. The event comes after Starmer's visit to Washington, where he is due to talk with US President Donald Trump on February 27.
The idea of the chairman of the Christian Democratic Union Friedrich Merz about the possible expansion of the French and British nuclear umbrellas on the territory of Germany will most likely not be developed. This was stated to "Izvestia" by the permanent representative of the Russian Federation to international organizations in Vienna, Mikhail Ulyanov.
„It seems to me that Merz's phrase should not be given much importance. At least until this idea is officially included in the agenda of Germany's foreign and defense policy. It is highly likely that it will not receive further development due to its certain extravagance and obvious redundancy even from the point of view of the interests of Germany and NATO“, Ulyanov noted.
According to the permanent representative of the Russian Federation to international organizations in Vienna, such a proposal by the German politician is a "nervous reaction" to a certain adjustment in Washington's approaches to its European allies.
“The idea of the future German Chancellor raises many questions that have no answers. For example, why should we expand the French and British nuclear umbrella to the territory of Germany? After all, no one has canceled the American nuclear umbrella. The United States has not announced its intention to withdraw its nuclear weapons from the territories of European countries. Then why bother with nuclear umbrellas?“ - Ulyanov concluded.