What happened
European leaders over the weekend presented top U.S. officials with a unified framework for President Donald Trump's scheduled Ukraine peace talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday. Putin told Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff at the Kremlin last week that Russia would agree to a ceasefire if Kyiv withdrew from Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region. Ukraine's European allies said Russia needed to halt its fighting before any discussions of reciprocal land swaps.
Who said what
The European governments and Ukraine "scrambled" to "draw a common red line" after Putin's offer was clarified and Trump "let lapse his self-imposed deadline" to punish Moscow's intransigence, The Wall Street Journal said. Russian officials and commentators "crowed about landing" the Alaska summit, The Washington Post said. Trump handed Putin his first invitation to the U.S. since 2007, "apparently without the Kremlin having made any clear concessions over its war in Ukraine."
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said it was unacceptable for any agreements to be reached "over the heads of the Europeans, over the heads of the Ukrainians." Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reiterated that his country would not cede any land to the Russian invaders.
What next?
Vice President J.D. Vance said on Fox News Sunday that the White House was working on "scheduling and things like that" for when Putin, Trump and Zelenskyy "could sit down and discuss an end to this conflict." The U.S. ambassador to NATO, Matthew Whitaker, told CNN that Trump could still invite Zelenskyy to the Alaska summit.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Trump sends FBI to patrol DC, despite falling crimeSpeed Read Washington, D.C., 'has become one of the most dangerous cities anywhere in the world,' Trump said
-
Aug. 11 editorial cartoonsCartoons Monday’s political cartoons include solar power shunned by Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin's appetite for Ukraine, and another distraction from the Epstein files
-
Celebrating Cézanne in Aix-en-ProvenceThe Week Recommends The beautiful city is paying tribute to its most famous son with a series of cultural events
-
Is Trump's new peacemaking model working in DR Congo?Talking Point Truce brokered by the US president in June is holding, but foundations of a long-term peace have let to be laid
-
Israeli security cabinet OKs Gaza City takeoverSpeed Read Netanyahu approved a proposal for Israeli Defense Forces to take over the largest population center in the Gaza Strip
-
Who wins from a Trump-Putin meeting?Today's Big Question Trump might get the leaders together for a photo op but brokering a peace deal won’t be easy
-
Volodymyr Zelenskyy: flirting with authoritarianism?Talking Point Ukraine's president is facing first major domestic unrest since the Russian invasion, over plans to water down the country's anti-corruption agencies
-
Thailand, Cambodia agree to ceasefire in border fightSpeed Read At least 38 people were killed and more than 300,000 displaced in the recent violence
-
Israel 'pauses' Gaza military activity as aid outcry growsSpeed Read The World Health Organization said malnutrition has reached 'alarming levels' in Gaza
-
US and EU reach trade dealSpeed Read Trump's meeting with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen resulted in a tariff agreement that will avert a transatlantic trade war
-
At least 12 dead in Thai-Cambodian clashesSpeed Read Both countries accused the other of firing first
