Good morning and welcome to the live blog. It’s Nick Visser here to take you through the day’s news. Here’s what’s on deck:
The French president, Emmanuel Macron, welcomed Australia’s decision to recognise a Palestinian state. Macron wrote on social media Anthony Albanese’s announcement joined “the momentum we created in New York, which has already been supported by the United Kingdom, Canada, Portugal, and others”.
Israel’s president, Isaac Herzog, maintained Australia’s decision would only reward Hamas and in no way help the Palestinian people. Herzog said “these declarations, by Australia and other countries, are a reward for terror, a prize for the enemies of freedom, liberty, and democracy. This is a grave and dangerous mistake”.
It’s RBA day for mortgage holders and savers. The Reserve Bank is set to hand down its decision on interest rates around 2.30pm Sydney time.
The United States and China agreed to pause tariff hikes on each other’s goods for an additional 90 days, according to an executive order signed by President Donald Trump on Monday. Without the agreement, tariffs were set to immediately surge, risking a return to ultra-high levels that had formed an effective blockade on trade between the world’s two largest economies.
The news, first reported by CNBC, comes hours ahead of a 12:01 am ET deadline when tariffs on Chinese goods were set to rise to 54% from 30%, and Chinese tariffs on American exports would return to 34% from 10%.
In a joint statement with the US, China confirmed the 90-day trade truce extension and said it would maintain the 10% tariffs it has imposed on American goods during that period. The statement was based on the bilateral negotiations that took place in Sweden last month, it said.
The extension comes after Trump imposed a slew of “reciprocal” tariffs on trading partners around the world, which have raised the United States’ effective tariff rate to levels not seen since the Great Depression.
Higher tariffs on Chinese goods, America’s second-largest source of imports, would have almost certainly raised the costs many American businesses and consumers could pay — or already are paying — because of increased import taxes Trump has enacted.
After meeting in Sweden in July, Chinese negotiators went as far as to say that a deal was reached. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, both of whom attended the meeting, disputed that, saying nothing was final without Trump’s word.
“We’ll see what happens. They’ve been dealing quite nicely. The relationship is very good with President Xi and myself,” Trump said earlier on Monday.
A White House fact sheet on the extension said trade discussions with China have been “constructive” and quoted Trump saying: “We’re getting along with China very well.”
At the conclusion of last month’s meeting with Chinese trade officials, Bessent said he warned his Chinese counterparts that continuing to purchase Russian oil would bring about huge tariffs under legislation in Congress that allows Trump to impose levies up to 500%.
It’s not clear if the administration is prepared to double down on those threats yet. Trump recently threatened India, which also purchases Russian oil, albeit considerably less than China, with a 50% tariff rate if it continues to do so by the end of this month.
The move to penalize India and not other countries purchasing oil from Russia has been widely criticized by the Indian government, which claims it’s being unfairly singled out. Trump suggested that more countries could face similar threats. “You’re going to see a lot more. So this is a taste,” he said last week.
And over the weekend in a Fox News interview, Vice President JD Vance said such tariffs on China are on the table, though Trump had not yet made a decision.
“Given that we seem to be headed toward some type of deal with China leading to some kind of meeting between Xi and Trump, the administration has definitely been more conciliatory towards China in the past few weeks,” said Wendy Cutler, a former US trade negotiator who is now vice president of the Asia Society Policy Institute.
Were China to give in to the administration’s desires to stop purchasing Russian oil, it would be done “quietly and gradually” rather than a Trump announcement on social media, she added.
Much remains unresolved
Bessent also said he voiced concerns and regrets about China’s sales of over $15 billion worth of dual-use technology equipment (that is, equipment that has both commercial and military uses) to Russia and its purchase of sanctioned Iranian oil.
Another sticking point between the US and China has been exportations of rare earth magnets. China agreed to increase exports, but Trump says China has not held up its end of the bargain.
The US also wants to find an American buyer for TikTok, which is currently owned by a Chinese company. Congress has set out a timeline for the app to find new ownership or face a US ban.
US stocks closed lower Monday ahead of key inflation data set to be published Tuesday morning.
This story has been updated. An earlier version misstated the tariff rate the United States would have placed on Chinese goods if the pause had not been extended
US President Donald Trump speaks to the press at Trump Tower in New York City, US, September 26, 2024. — Reuters
WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump said on Monday he was deploying 800 National Guard troops to the US capital and putting Washington’s police department under federal control to combat what he said was a wave of lawlessness, despite statistics showing that violent crime hit a 30-year low in 2024.
“I’m deploying the National Guard to help reestablish law, order and public safety in Washington, DC,” Trump told reporters at the White House, flanked by administration officials including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Attorney General Pam Bondi. “Our capital city has been overtaken by violent gangs and bloodthirsty criminals.”
Trump’s announcement is his latest effort to target Democratic-run cities by exercising executive power over traditionally local matters, and he has shown particular interest in asserting more control over Washington.
The Republican president has dismissed criticism that he is manufacturing a crisis to justify expanding presidential authority in a heavily Democratic city.
Hundreds of officers and agents from over a dozen federal agencies, including the FBI, ICE, DEA and ATF, have fanned out across the city in recent days.
Trump said he would also send in the US military “if needed,” and Hegseth said he was prepared to call in additional National Guard troops from outside Washington. Bondi will oversee the police force takeover, Trump said.
In making his announcement, Trump described Washington as a hellscape of bloodthirsty criminals and unchecked violence.
The Democratic mayor of Washington, Muriel Bowser, has pushed back on Trump’s claims, saying the city is “not experiencing a crime spike” and highlighting that violent crime hit its lowest level in more than three decades last year.
Violent crime fell 26% in the first seven months of 2025 after dropping 35% in 2024, and overall crime dropped 7%, according to the city’s police department.
Trump ramps up rhetoric
Over the past week, Trump has intensified his messaging, suggesting he might attempt to strip the city of its local autonomy and implement a full federal takeover.
The District of Columbia, established in 1790, operates under the Home Rule Act, which gives Congress ultimate authority but allows residents to elect a mayor and city council. Trump said last week that lawyers are examining how to overturn the law, a move that would likely require Congress to revoke it.
Special conditions
In taking over the Metropolitan Police Department, Trump invoked a section of the act that allows the president to use the force temporarily when “special conditions of an emergency nature” exist. Trump said he was declaring a “public safety emergency” in the city.
Trump’s own Federal Emergency Management Agency is cutting security funding for the National Capital Region, an area that includes D.C. and nearby cities in Maryland and Virginia. The region will receive $20 million less this year from the federal urban security fund, amounting to a 44% year-on-year cut.
The deployment of National Guard troops is a tactic the president used in Los Angeles, where he dispatched 5,000 troops in June in response to protests over his administration’s immigration raids. State and local officials objected to Trump’s decision as unnecessary and inflammatory.
A federal trial was set to begin on Monday in San Francisco on whether the Trump administration violated US law by deploying National Guard troops and US Marines without the approval of Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom.
The president has broad authority over the 2,700 members of the D.C. National Guard, unlike in states where governors typically hold the power to activate troops. Guard troops have been dispatched to Washington many times, including in response to the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol by a mob of Trump supporters.
During his first term as president, Trump sent the National Guard into Washington in 2020 to help quash mostly peaceful demonstrations during nationwide protests over police brutality following the murder of George Floyd. Civil rights leaders denounced the deployment, which was opposed by Bowser.
The US military is generally prohibited under law from directly participating in domestic law enforcement activities.
Since the 1980s, Trump has used crime, especially youth crime in cities, as a political tool. His 1989 call for the death penalty in the Central Park jogger case, involving five Black and Latino teens later exonerated of raping and beating a woman, remains among the controversial moments of his public life.
The “Central Park Five” sued Trump for defamation after he falsely said during a presidential debate last year that they had pleaded guilty.
US President Donald Trump has said he will try to get some territory back for Ukraine during his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday.
“Russia’s occupied a big portion of Ukraine. They occupied prime territory. We’re going to try to get some of that territory back for Ukraine,” he told a news conference.
Trump said the talks in Alaska would be a “feel-out meeting” aimed at urging Putin to end the war, and that there would be “some swapping, changes in land”.
It is not the first time he has used the phrase “land-swapping”, though it is unclear what land Russia could cede to Ukraine. Kyiv has never lay claim to any Russian territories.
Trump said he will update European leaders if Putin proposes a “fair deal” during the talks, adding that he would speak to Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky first “out of respect”.
“I’ll call him first… I’ll call him after, and I may say, ‘lots of luck, keep fighting,’ or I may say, ‘we can make a deal’”, he said.
Trump also said that while he and Zelensky “get along”, he “very severely disagrees with what he has done”.Trump has previously blamed Zelensky for the war in Ukraine, which was sparked by Russia’s full-scale invasion of the country in February 2022.
The US president announced the meeting with Putin last Friday – the day of his self-imposed deadline for Russia to agree to a ceasefire or face more US sanctions.
In response to news of the Alaska summit, Zelensky said any agreements without input from Kyiv would amount to “dead decisions”.
United States President Donald Trump on Monday deployed military and federal law enforcement to curb violent crime in Washington, as he seeks to make good on his campaign pledge to be a “law and order” president.
The Republican leader said he would place the city’s Metropolitan Police under federal government control while also sending the National Guard onto the streets of the US capital.
The overwhelmingly Democratic city faces allegations from Republican politicians that it is overrun by crime, plagued by homelessness and financially mismanaged — although violent offences are down.
“This is Liberation Day in DC, and we’re going to take our capital back,” Trump said.
Trump — a convicted felon who granted blanket clemency to nearly 1,600 people involved in the 2021 US Capitol riot in Washington — has complained that local police and prosecutors aren’t tough enough.
He said 800 DC National Guardsmen — “and much more if necessary” — would be deployed to the city of 700,000.
As Trump was speaking at the White House, several dozen demonstrators gathered outside.
“There is absolutely no need for the National Guard here,” said 62-year-old retiree Elizabeth Critchley, who brandished a sign with the slogan “DC says freedom not fascism.”
“It’s all for show. It’s just a big theatre,” she said.
Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, who was among several cabinet officials flanking Trump, said “other specialised” National Guard units could also be deployed.
“They will be strong, they will be tough, and they will stand with their law enforcement partners,” he said.
The new approach echoes Trump’s immigration policies that have effectively sealed the southern border amid mass deportations while deploying active-duty troops against protesters in Los Angeles.
New York, Chicago next?
The president told reporters he planned to roll out the policy to other cities, spotlighting New York and Chicago.
Unlike the 50 states, Washington operates under a unique relationship with the federal government that limits its autonomy and grants Congress extraordinary control over local matters.
Since the mid-1970s, the Home Rule Act has allowed residents to elect a mayor and a city council, although Congress still controls the city’s budget.
Data from Washington police shows significant drops in violent crime between 2023 and 2024, although that was coming off the back of a post-pandemic surge.
A general view of a homeless encampment, in Washington, DC, US, August 11. — Reuters
Trump posted on social media ahead of the news conference that he also wants to tackle homeless encampments, after signing an order last month making it easier to arrest homeless people.
He promised individuals “places to stay,” but “far from the Capital”. Trump said criminals would be jailed and that it would all happen “very fast”.
Federal law enforcement has already increased its presence after a former Department of Government Efficiency staffer was beaten during an attempted carjacking.
“Last week, my administration surged 500 federal agents into the district, including from the FBI, ATF, DEA, Park Police, the US Marshals Service, the Secret Service and the Department of Homeland Security,” Trump said.
“You know a lot of nations, they don’t have anything like that … They made dozens of arrests.”
A Gallup poll in October found that 64 per cent of Americans believed crime had risen in 2024, although FBI data shows the lowest levels of violent crime nationwide in more than half a century.
“Let me be crystal clear — crime in DC is ending, and it’s ending today,” said Attorney General Pam Bondi.
Landmark trial kicks off over Trump’s use of US military in policing role
Separately, a landmark trial kicks off over the Trump administration’s use of National Guard forces to support its deportation efforts and quell protests in Los Angeles, in a legal challenge to the US president’s break from long-standing norms against deploying troops on American streets.
The three-day non-jury trial before San Francisco-based US District Judge Charles Breyer will determine if the government violated a 19th-century law that bars the military from civil law enforcement when Trump deployed the troops in June, as the state of California claims in its legal challenge.
Los Angeles experienced days of unrest and protests sparked by mass immigration raids at places where people gather to find work, like Home Depot stores, a garment factory and a warehouse.
The administration denies that troops were used in civil law enforcement and plans to show that they were protecting federal property and US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents.
Many of the troops have been withdrawn, but California’s Attorney General Rob Bonta said on Monday that 300 National Guard members are still going on immigration raids and restricting civilian movements in the state.
“The federal government deployed military troops to the streets of Los Angeles for the purposes of political theatre and public intimidation,” Bonta said in a statement. “This dangerous move has no precedent in American history.”
California and Gavin Newsom, the state’s Democratic governor, have asked Breyer to prohibit the troops from directly participating in domestic law enforcement activities. California and Newsom say the National Guard is accompanying ICE agents on raids and assisting in arrests, in violation of the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878 and other laws that forbid the US military from taking part in civilian law enforcement.
The Republican president ordered 700 Marines and 4,000 National Guard troops to Los Angeles in June against Newsom’s wishes. California’s lawsuit ultimately seeks a ruling that would return its National Guard troops to state control and a declaration that Trump’s action was illegal.
The trial before Breyer will have a limited impact, however, on Trump’s plan to deploy hundreds of National Guard troops to Washington.
A ruling against the administration could restrict the actions of those troops and constrain Trump if he deploys such forces to police other American cities.
Trump said his efforts to fight crime will go beyond Washington, and he mentioned Chicago, Los Angeles, New York and Baltimore.
Trump’s decision to send troops into Los Angeles prompted a national debate about the use of the military on US soil and inflamed political tensions in the second-most-populous US city.
A US appeals court has allowed Trump to retain control of California’s National Guard during the legal challenge.
From McDonald’s and Coca-Cola to Amazon and Apple, US-based multinationals are facing calls for a boycott in India as business executives and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s supporters stoke anti-American sentiment to protest against US tariffs.
India, the world’s most populous nation, is a key market for American brands that have rapidly expanded to target a growing base of affluent consumers, many of whom remain infatuated with international labels seen as symbols of upward mobility. India, for example, is the biggest market by users for Meta’s WhatsApp, and Domino’s has more restaurants than any other brand in the country. Beverages like Pepsi and Coca-Cola dominate store shelves, and people still queue up when a new Apple store opens or a Starbucks cafe offers discounts.
Although there is no immediate indication of sales being hit, there is a growing chorus both on social media and offline to buy local and ditch American products after Donald Trump imposed a 50% tariff on goods from India, rattling exporters and straining ties between New Delhi and Washington.
Read More: Pakistan, India should talk before it is too late
McDonald’s, Coca-Cola, Amazon and Apple did not immediately respond to Reuters queries. Manish Chowdhary, co-founder of India’s Wow Skin Science, took to LinkedIn with a video message urging support for farmers and startups to make “Made in India” a “global obsession,” citing South Korea’s global success with its food and beauty products. “We have lined up for products from thousands of miles away. We have proudly spent on brands that we don’t own, while our own makers fight for attention in their own country,” he said.
Rahm Shastry, CEO of India’s DriveU, which provides an on-call driver service, wrote on LinkedIn: “India should have its own home-grown Twitter/Google/YouTube/WhatsApp/Facebook — like China has.”
Indian retail companies give foreign brands like Starbucks stiff competition domestically, but going global has been a challenge. Indian IT services firms, however, have become deeply embedded in the global economy, with TCS and Infosys providing software solutions worldwide.
On Sunday, Modi made a “special appeal” for self-reliance, telling a gathering in Bengaluru that Indian technology companies make products for the world but “now is the time for us to give more priority to India’s needs.” He did not name any company.
Also Read: India faces tough choices under US tariff pressure
Don’t drag my McPuff into it
Even as anti-American protests simmer, Tesla launched its second showroom in India in New Delhi, with Monday’s opening attended by Indian commerce ministry and U.S. embassy officials. The Swadeshi Jagran Manch, linked to Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party, held small rallies across India on Sunday, urging people to boycott American brands.
“People are now looking at Indian products. It will take some time to fructify,” Ashwani Mahajan, the group’s co-convenor, told Reuters. “This is a call for nationalism, patriotism.” He also shared a table circulating on WhatsApp, listing Indian brands of bath soaps, toothpaste, and cold drinks that people could choose over foreign ones.
On social media, one of the group’s campaigns is a graphic titled “Boycott foreign food chains,” displaying logos of McDonald’s and other restaurants. In Uttar Pradesh, Rajat Gupta, 37, dining at a McDonald’s in Lucknow on Monday, said he was unconcerned about the tariff protests and simply enjoyed his 49-rupee ($0.55) coffee. “Tariffs are a matter of diplomacy, and my McPuff, coffee should not be dragged into it,” he said.
ISSI hosts Round Table on “One Year of Modi 3.0 – India’s Foreign Policy Ambitions and Domestic Governance”
Experts recommend that Pakistan must assert its rights under international law in response to India’s actions related to the Indus Waters Treaty
To evaluate the BJP government’s performance during the first year of its third term, with a particular focus on how ‘Modi 3.0’ fared on domestic socio-political, economic, military, and foreign policy fronts, the India Study Centre (ISC) at the Institute of Strategic Studies Islamabad (ISSI) organised a Round Table today, titled: “One Year of Modi 3.0 – India’s Foreign Policy Ambitions and Domestic Governance.”
The Round Table was attended by senior diplomats, practitioners, academics, think-tank experts, and area specialists. Director General ISSI Ambassador Sohail Mahmood delivered welcome remarks. Of the panellist, Dr. Raashid Wali Janjua spoke on the internal dynamics of Modi 3.0, while Ambassador Riffat Masood covered the foreign policy arena. The distinguished participants included former Foreign Minister Ambassador Inam ul Haque.
During the course of discussion, it was highlighted that since the beginning of 2025, the BJP has incurred losses in the internal political space, while India lost considerable ground in its international standing and image. There is deepening polarization in Indian society on political, social, economic, ethnic, linguistic and regional lines. The Waqf bill, migration laws, and revision of voter lists in states like Bihar indicated further shrinking space for the Muslims. ‘Saffronisation’ of key state institutions — including the Planning Commission, Election Commission, High Judiciary, and the Armed forces — has been the hallmark of the Modi era.
Experts also noted an ostensible rift between the RSS and BJP on a range of issues from appointment of BJP party President, to PM Modi approaching the age of 75 years, to some BJP segments’ clamour for a course independent from Nagpur. In the aftermath India-Pakistan conflict of May 2025, PM Modi’s popularity has declined, but he could probably manage the mounting challenges. Internally, India is coping with issues like poverty, income inequality, and growing unemployment. In today’s India, is witnessing creeping authoritarianism and majoritarianism. Pluralism is increasingly losing ground.
It was highlighted that in order to understand Indian policies, particularly towards Pakistan, the Indian “mindset” needs to be understood first. Experts pointed out that India never accepted the creation of Pakistan and the current BJP leadership believed in the RSS fantasy of Akhand Bharat. Mr. Modi’s disdain for Pakistan and his expansionist designs are reflective of this mindset. Across the world, election campaigns mostly focus on internal issues, but in the case of India, election campaigns are more about Pakistan-bashing to stoke nationalism and garner votes.
It was underscored that despite ongoing tensions between India and the U.S., the relationship between the two countries would likely remain intact as it is institutionalised and both countries are strategically important to each other. Notably, as compared to the Biden Administration, which was tilted towards India, President Trump has decided to maintain a balance between India and Pakistan.
Participants were of the view that both Congress and the BJP are two sides of the same coin. No matter who holds power, India’s antagonistic posture towards Pakistan will remain the same. Indian arrogance has given way to resentment in South Asian countries, but for smaller states in the region it will be difficult to go against India.
Participant held the view that since, according to Indian side, “Operation Sindoor is still continuing”, Pakistan must remain vigilant and prepared to effectively respond to new risks and challenges likely to arise in India-Pakistan relations or regionally. Pakistan must be ready for any eventuality, including further false flag operations. Furthermore, fallacious thinking exists in India that there is space for conventional war under the nuclear threshold. Pakistan must take steps to disabuse India of this false, irresponsible and dangerous notion. The paramount importance for Pakistan to ensure economic strength and robust defence and deterrent capability was also underscored.
Participants cautioned that under Modi, Kashmir’s religious and cultural identity is at risk. Pakistan must continue to raise the Jammu and Kashmir dispute proactively at all available forums. On Kashmir, as well as India’s decision of holding the Indus Water Treaty (IWT) in abeyance, Pakistan must explore more diplomatic and legal options. The upcoming United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) session would be a good opportunity for Pakistan to raise these two issues. More importantly, Pakistan must work on building more water reservoirs and improving its domestic water management with urgency.
The Round Table concluded with a vote of thanks by Ambassador Khalid Mahmood, Chairman BoG, ISSI.
Donald Trump has confirmed that he and Vladimir Putin will discuss “land swapping” when they meet on Friday in Alaska for a high-stakes summit on the Ukraine war. But the US president expressed frustration with Volodymyr Zelenskyy for putting conditions on such a potential agreement.
During a news conference at the White House on Monday, Trump said he was frustrated with Zelenskyy’s insistence that Ukraine would need to hold a national referendum on any peace deal that stipulated recognising Russian control over territory that it has occupied during the war.
“I was a little bothered by the fact that Zelenskyy was saying I have to get constitutional approval,” Trump said. “He has approval to go to war and kill everybody but he needs approval to do a land swap. Because there will be some land swapping going on. I know that through Russia and through conversations with everybody.”
European diplomats have been taken aback by the lack of clarity on the US side about the territories Putin is demanding from Ukraine and the terms of a ceasefire. The discrepancies within the US reporting back on what Russia is seeking has alarmed European diplomats and only added to a fear that Trump, inflating his personal relationship with Putin, could make damaging concessions.
Describing his vision for a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine, Trump said an agreement would include “good stuff, not bad stuff, also some bad stuff for both”. “We’re going to change the lines, the battle lines,” he added.
Trump, increasingly impatient with Putin in recent months, has long said he does not see a ceasefire occurring until he meets the Russian leader in person.
The German chancellor, Friedrich Merz, on Monday invited Trump to join emergency virtual talks with EU leaders and Zelenskyy on Wednesday, as European demands grow for the US president to agree red lines before Friday’s summit with Putin.
Neither Zelenskyy nor European leaders have been invited to Trump’s meeting with the Russian president.
Trump said on Monday that he would seek to arrange direct talks between Putin and Zelenskyy, a proposal that the Russian president has rejected so far.
“The next meeting will be with Zelenskyy and Putin, or Zelenskyy and Putin and me. I’ll be there if they need, but I want to have a meeting set up between the two leaders,” Trump said.
He said a deal may not be possible and that he saw the upcoming summit as a “feel-out meeting”, and that he would update Zelenskyy and European leaders if Putin proposed a “fair deal”. “I’ll call him after and I may say lots of luck, keep fighting, or I may say we can make a deal,” he said.
Merz’s office said in a statement that the virtual talks would focus on “further options for action to put pressure on Russia” and “preparations for possible peace negotiations and related issues of territorial claims and security”.
It is not clear whether or not Trump has accepted the invitation to the call.
EU foreign ministers were meeting in an emergency session to underscore the demand. The UK has also been pressing for wider consultations after Trump unilaterally announced last week that he was going ahead with his first meeting with Putin since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
European leaders say Russia represents an existential threat to the continent and that they should not be excluded from the process. Issues such as the terms of a ceasefire, further sanction pressure on Russia, any proposed territorial swaps and security guarantees for Ukraine would be discussed with the US president in the virtual meeting.
There is concern that an unpredictable Trump will be lured into making fatal concessions to Putin, and the meeting would be a chance for him to map out his strategy.
The Polish prime minister, Donald Tusk, said he was optimistic that the US president would formally consult European leaders before his meeting, and said the summit between Trump and Putin filled him with hope and fear.
Brussels’ top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, said: “President Trump is right to say that Russia must end its war against Ukraine. The United States has the power to force Russia to negotiate seriously.” But she added: “Any agreement between the United States and Russia must include Ukraine and the EU because it is a security issue for Ukraine and for the whole of Europe.”
Radosław Sikorski, the Polish foreign minister, also asserted Europe’s relevance, saying: “Europe is paying for Ukraine to defend itself and we are sustaining the Ukrainian state. This is a matter of existential European security interests. We appreciate President Trump’s efforts but we will be taking our own decisions here in Europe. To get to a fair peace, Russia has to limit its war aims.”
The White House is insisting that the Alaska meeting is to gauge whether Putin is willing to make concessions for peace, including on accepting western security guarantees for Ukraine, an acceptance that would acknowledge the long-term legitimacy of the Kyiv government led by Zelenskyy.
Merz spoke with Trump on Sunday night to underline that he would prefer the US to impose further economic sanctions on Moscow before the talks. He also said he assumed Zelenskyy would be involved in any talks, but for Moscow it would be a concession for a Russian delegation to hold talks with the Ukrainian president since its invasion is predicated on not recognising the legitimacy of the government.
A joint statement on Saturday from the leaders from France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Britain, Finland and the European Commission chief, Ursula von der Leyen, urged Trump to put more pressure on Russia and stressed: “The path in Ukraine cannot be decided without Ukraine.”
Putin will go into Friday’s talks believing he is making progress on the battlefield, Trump is desperate for a settlement and the Ukrainian people are also increasingly willing to make concessions for peace. But the Russian president also knows that if he makes no substantive offer, Trump will be under real political pressure to go ahead with long-promised broader economic sanctions against Russia.
Lindsey Graham, the Republican senator behind a congressional plan to impose secondary sanctions on countries that trade with Russia, expressed confidence that Trump would protect Ukraine’s interests at the summit. He was involved in the weekend diplomacy and is trusted as an intermediary with Trump by Ukrainian officials.
He said if Putin did not offer concessions, he expected Trump to make countries importing Russian oil pay a heavy price, adding that this applied not just to India but also to China and Brazil. India is already due to face 50% tariffs later this month.
Speaking on NBC, Graham said: “Militarily, we need to keep Ukraine strong, keep flowing them strong and modern weapons, and security guarantees with European forces on the ground as tripwires to prevent a third [Russian] invasion. We want to end this with the sovereign, independent, self-governing Ukraine, and a situation where Putin cannot do this the third time without being crushed.”
He added: “I want to be honest with you, Ukraine is not going to evict every Russian, and Russia is not going to Kyiv, so there will be some land swaps at the end.”
Ukraine’s leadership has long said that de facto it will not recover all the territory it has lost in successive Russian invasions, but with European support it is fiercely resisting a Russian demand that it should hand over territory in the Donetsk region it has not yet ceded on the battlefield, especially if there are no security guarantees for Ukraine or compensating land swaps by Russia.
Europeans are insisting that no limitations can be imposed on Ukraine developing its own military capabilities or the support it receives from third countries, including some inside Nato.
