World
Trump welcomes Ukraine’s willingness to sign minerals deal, talk peace
Zelenskiy posted on X earlier that Ukraine was ready to sign the deal and talk peace and called a contentious Oval Office meeting last week after which it was put on hold “regrettable.”
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he appreciated Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s willingness to sign a minerals deal with the United States and come to the negotiating table under his leadership to bring a lasting peace closer in Kyiv’s war with Russia, Reuters reported.
Trump said in an address to the U.S. Congress that Zelenskiy made the declaration in a letter to him earlier in the day.
Zelenskiy posted on X earlier that Ukraine was ready to sign the deal and talk peace and called a contentious Oval Office meeting last week after which it was put on hold “regrettable.”
The Trump administration and Ukraine plan to sign the minerals deal, four people familiar with the situation told Reuters earlier on Tuesday. Trump had told his advisers that he wanted to announce an agreement in his address to Congress, three of the sources said, cautioning that the deal had yet to be signed and the situation could change.
Trump’s remarks suggested that progress had been made.
“Earlier today, I received an important letter from President Zelenskiy of Ukraine. The letter reads, ‘Ukraine is ready to come to the negotiating table as soon as possible to bring lasting peace closer,” Trump said.
Trump said Zelenskiy had said he stood ready to work “under President Trump’s strong leadership to get a peace that lasts” and that he valued how much America had done to help Ukraine maintain its sovereignty and independence.
“Regarding the agreement on minerals and security, Ukraine is ready to sign it at any time that is convenient for you,” Trump quoted Zelenskiy as saying.
“I appreciate that he sent this letter,” Trump said, adding that “Simultaneously, we’ve had serious discussions with Russia and have received strong signals that they are ready for peace.
Trump has said the agreement will help secure a peace deal by giving the United States a financial stake in Ukraine’s future. He views it as America’s way of earning back some of the tens of billions of dollars it has given to Ukraine in financial and military aid since Russia invaded three years ago, read the report.
Zelenskiy was dismissed from the White House after being berated by Trump and his vice president, who said he should thank the U.S. for its support rather than asking for additional aid for Ukraine’s war against Russian in front of the media.
“You’re gambling with World War Three,” Trump said on Friday.
U.S. officials have in recent days spoken to officials in Kyiv about signing the minerals deal despite Friday’s blow-up, and urged Zelenskiy’s advisers to convince the Ukrainian president to apologize openly to Trump, according to one of the people familiar with the matter, Reuters reported.
“Our meeting in Washington, at the White House on Friday, did not go the way it was supposed to be,” Zelenskiy said in his post on X. “Ukraine is ready to come to the negotiating table as soon as possible to bring lasting peace closer.”
It was unclear if the deal has changed. The version that was to be signed last week included no explicit security guarantees for Ukraine but gave the U.S. access to revenues from Ukraine’s natural resources. It also envisaged the Ukrainian government contributing 50% of future monetization of any state-owned natural resources to a U.S.-Ukraine managed reconstruction investment fund.
On Monday, Trump signaled that his administration remained open to signing the deal, telling reporters in a gaggle that Ukraine “should be more appreciative.”
“This country has stuck with them through thick and thin,” Trump said. “We’ve given them much more than Europe, and Europe should have given more than us.”
France, Britain and possibly other European countries have offered to send peacekeeping troops to Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire but would want support from the U.S. or a “backstop.” Moscow has rejected proposals for peacekeeping troops.
Daniel Fried, a former senior White House official and ambassador to Poland, said the path to getting the minerals deal done has been messy, but it would deliver two solid wins for Trump – Zelenskiy’s statement of regret and the agreement of Britain and France to provide security and boots on the ground, read the report.
“Trump can and should take the win. He’d be able to say that he … got the Europeans to stand up in front of an issue of European security, which they’ve never done before,” said Fried, now a fellow at the Atlantic Council.
World
US and Denmark reach deal on Greenland, Trump says
In a separate statement, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the deal “permanently and completely” addressed Washington’s national security concerns with respect to the island.
The United States, Denmark and Greenland have entered into an agreement for the US to develop a significant military presence on Greenland, while prohibiting US adversaries from building their own bases on the island, Donald Trump said on Friday.
In a Truth Social post, the US president wrote that no US enemies would be able to make sensitive investments on the island without the approval of the United States and that the agreement had no expiry date, Reuters reported.
“At my direction, we worked with representatives of Denmark and Greenland to guarantee that the United States will FOREVER have the complete ability to do what is necessary in Greenland in order to secure and defend the security of Greenland, and the United States of America,” Trump wrote.
Earlier on Friday, Reuters exclusively reported that the US and Denmark were closing in on a deal that would result in an increased US military presence in Greenland, an autonomous territory of Denmark, but would stop well short of Trump’s long-held dream of acquiring the island for the United States.
The US already has nearly total overflight and basing rights in Greenland due to a 1951 treaty.
Trump’s announcement suggests he was nonetheless pleased with the outcome of the negotiations and that he might not revive his territorial claims, at least in the near future. He said, without elaborating, that the US would soon be rolling out a large military presence on the island, which already hosts one Space Force base in its remote northwest.
“This is a dream come true for the United States of America,” Trump wrote.
EXTENT OF AGREEMENT REMAINS UNCLEAR
The Danish prime minister’s office said on Friday that the agreement would strengthen North Atlantic and Arctic security.
Greenland’s prime minister, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, said in a statement that the agreement recognized Greenland’s interests and the Arctic island’s place in international cooperation. “This benefits us all,” he said.
Much was unclear as of Friday night, including whether any new US bases would be constructed as a result of the agreement. Trump’s Truth Social posts about negotiations or agreements often lack context or specifics.
Imran Bayoumi, a former Pentagon official now with the Atlantic Council think tank, said it would be new if the US can build bases without the approval of Greenland or Denmark but that largely “it seems that Washington could have achieved a lot of these objectives through diplomacy and dialogue without straining the broader US-NATO relationship.”
It was also unclear how the agreement would be received in Greenland, an autonomous territory of Denmark. The island’s residents aspire to independence and have bristled at US attempts to assert control.
In a separate statement, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the deal “permanently and completely” addressed Washington’s national security concerns with respect to the island.
“Greenland will forever be part of the strategic defense area of North America and exclude any adversary from it and the surrounding area,” he wrote.
A State Department official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss specific terms, said the deal prohibits non-NATO countries from building a base in Greenland and will allow only the US and its allies to make unspecified “sensitive investments.” The official said the agreement grants the US permanent access, basing and overflight rights, and would continue to apply even if Greenland becomes independent.
World
UN allows Palestinian president to again speak via video after US denies visa
The United Nations General Assembly voted on Thursday to allow Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to address the annual gathering of world leaders next week via video – for the second year in a row – after the United States again denied him a visa to travel to New York.
The resolution received 152 votes in favor and three votes against, while four countries abstained. It also allows Abbas and any other high-level Palestinian officials to take part in U.N. meetings or conferences via video over the next year if they are prevented from traveling to the United State, Reuters reported.
The US said last year that Abbas and about 80 other Palestinians would be affected by its decision to deny and revoke visas from members of the umbrella Palestine Liberation Organization and the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority. Washington announced on Wednesday that it had extended the visa bans.
“If the PA wants to be treated as a partner, it must stop subsidizing terror and stop using diplomatic theater as a substitute for serious governance,” Deputy US Ambassador to the United Nations Tammy Bruce told the assembly before the vote.
Palestinian leaders rejected and condemned the move by the United States, Palestinian UN envoy Riyad Mansour told the General Assembly.
Without naming specific officials, the US State Department said on Wednesday it would extend visa sanctions against Palestinian officials over actions they took to “internationalize the Israeli-Palestinian conflict,” including pursuing cases against Israel at international tribunals.
A Palestinian official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, confirmed Abbas’ visa had been denied.
Under a 1947 U.N. “headquarters agreement,” the U.S. is generally required to allow access for foreign diplomats to the UN in New York. However, Washington has said it can deny visas for security, extremism and foreign policy reasons.
World
North Korea’s Kim vows to expand ties with Russia, backs victory in ‘sacred war’
Kim delivered a similar message to Chinese President Xi Jinping in a reply published by KCNA on Sunday.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said he would “expand and deepen” joint work with Russia in a message to Russian President Vladimir Putin, state media KCNA reported on Tuesday.
In a reply sent on Monday to Putin’s congratulations for North Korea’s 78th founding anniversary, Kim said Pyongyang’s government had a firm will to broaden cooperation with Russia “in a comprehensive way” based on friendship, mutual assistance, and what he described as the countries’ alliance relations.
Kim also said he was convinced of Russia’s victory in the current “sacred war for defending the security interests of the country and international justice”, language that appeared to refer to Russia’s war in Ukraine.
He pledged his “invariable support” for Putin and the Russian people.
The remarks come as Moscow and Pyongyang have drawn markedly closer, with North Korea sending troops to fight alongside Russian forces in Ukraine in 2024 and deepening military cooperation under a mutual defence pact.
Kim delivered a similar message to Chinese President Xi Jinping in a reply published by KCNA on Sunday, saying North Korea would work with China to further develop their traditional friendship and advance their shared socialist cause.
Both messages were responses to congratulatory letters sent by Putin and Xi on September 9, when North Korea marked the 78th anniversary of its founding.
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