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Putin-Trump summit on hold after Russia rejects ceasefire

NATO said Secretary General Mark Rutte travelled to Washington on Tuesday for talks with Trump that two sources familiar with the matter said would take place on Wednesday.

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A planned summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin was put on hold on Tuesday, as Moscow’s rejection of an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine cast a cloud over attempts at negotiations, Reuters reported.

A senior White House official told Reuters “there are no plans for President Trump to meet with President Putin in the immediate future” after Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov had a “productive call” but opted against an in-person meeting.

Trump had announced last week that he and Putin would meet soon in Hungary to try to bring an end to the war in Ukraine. But Putin has been unwilling to consider concessions. Moscow has long demanded that Ukraine agree to cede more territory before any ceasefire.

Trump, asked by reporters about the prospect for a summit, said he did not want to have a “wasted meeting” but suggested there could be more developments and that “we’ll be notifying you over the next two days” about them.

Kirill Dmitriev, Putin’s investment envoy, said in a social media post that “preparations continue” for a summit.

Russia reiterated its long-standing terms for a peace deal in a private communique known as a “non paper” that it sent to the U.S. last weekend, according to two U.S. officials and two people familiar with the situation.

The communique reaffirmed Russia’s demand for full control of the long-contested eastern Donbas region, according to one official, effectively rejecting Trump’s call for a ceasefire to commence with a freeze of the frontlines at their prevailing locations.

Russia controls all of the province of Luhansk and about 75% of neighbouring Donetsk, which together make up the Donbas region, read the report.

European leaders called on Washington on Tuesday to hold firm in demanding an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine, with present battle lines to serve as the basis for any future talks.

NATO said Secretary General Mark Rutte travelled to Washington on Tuesday for talks with Trump that two sources familiar with the matter said would take place on Wednesday.

A Western official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Rutte planned to present to Trump the European views on a ceasefire and any subsequent peace negotiations.

Trump, who last week spoke by phone to Putin and met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, had hoped for another high-profile session with the Russian leader after their August summit in Alaska failed to advance negotiations.

But the two sides postponed a preparatory meeting between Rubio and Lavrov that had been expected to take place in Budapest on Thursday.

Lavrov and Rubio spoke by phone on Monday. Lavrov said the place and the timing of the next Trump-Putin summit was less important than the substance of implementing the understandings reached in Alaska.

The Kremlin said there was no clear date and that “serious preparation” for a summit was needed, which may take time, Reuters reported.

“Listen, we have an understanding of the presidents, but we cannot postpone what has not been finalised,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. “Neither President Trump nor President Putin gave exact dates.”

Asked if Moscow had an understanding of a possible date for the summit, Peskov said: “No, there is no understanding.”

Neither side has publicly abandoned plans for Trump to meet Putin. Hungary’s foreign minister, Peter Szijjarto, was in Washington on Tuesday, where he posted on Facebook: “We have some serious days ahead”.

But two senior European diplomats said the postponement of the Rubio-Lavrov meeting was a sign the Americans would be reluctant to go ahead with a Trump-Putin summit unless Moscow yields its demands.

“I guess the Russians wanted too much and it became evident for the Americans that there will be no deal for Trump in Budapest,” said one.

The Russians “haven’t at all changed their position, and are not agreeing to ‘stop where they are’,” said the second diplomat. “And I assume Lavrov gave the same spiel, and Rubio was like: ‘See you later’.”

Ukraine’s European allies have been concerned that Trump could meet Putin for a second time without getting any serious concessions from the Russian leader, Reuters reported.

In a statement on Tuesday, the leaders of European powers including Britain, France, Germany and the EU said they “strongly support President Trump’s position that the fighting should stop immediately, and that the current line of contact should be the starting point of negotiations.”

Trump has often changed his emphasis in public when speaking about Ukraine. But last Friday after his meeting with Zelenskiy at the White House, he explicitly endorsed the position that a ceasefire should start with forces at their present positions.

Reuters and other news organisations reported that Trump’s meeting with Zelenskiy behind closed doors was contentious, with the U.S. president repeatedly using profanity and pushing Zelenskiy to accept some Russian demands.

But Zelenskiy has painted the meeting as a success because it ended with Trump publicly backing a ceasefire at the present lines, Kyiv’s longstanding position.

European leaders are due to meet this week with Zelenskiy as their guest, first at an EU summit and then at a meeting of the “coalition of the willing” countries discussing a security force to guarantee a post-war settlement in Ukraine. Russia rejects such an international security force, read the report.

The choice of Budapest as a venue for a Putin-Trump meeting is contentious within the EU, where Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban is an outlier as one of the few leaders to maintain warm relations with Russia.

Any trip to Budapest would require Putin to fly through the airspace of other EU countries. Poland said on Tuesday it could force Putin’s plane down and arrest him on an international warrant if he flies over its territory, but Bulgaria said Putin could use its airspace to reach the meeting.

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Trump says Iran “should wave the white flag of surrender”

When asked ⁠what Iran would need to do to violate the ceasefire, Trump ​said: “Well, you’ll find out, because ​I’ll ⁠let you know … They know what not to do.”

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President Donald Trump on Tuesday dismissed ​Iran’s military capability and said Tehran “should wave ‌the white flag of surrender” but is too proud to do so, Reuters reported.

Trump told reporters in ​the Oval Office that Iran’s military ​has been reduced to firing “peashooters” and ⁠that Tehran privately wants to make a ​deal despite its public sabre-rattling.

“They play games, ​but let me just tell you, they want to make a deal. And who wouldn’t, when your ​military is totally gone?” he said.

Trump heaped praise on the U.S. blockade of Iranian ‌ports ⁠in the region. “It’s like a piece of steel. Nobody’s going to challenge the blockade. And I think it’s working out very ​well,” he ​said, read the report.

When asked ⁠what Iran would need to do to violate the ceasefire, Trump ​said: “Well, you’ll find out, because ​I’ll ⁠let you know … They know what not to do.”

Trump said Iran “should save the white ⁠flag ​of surrender.”

“If this were ​a fight, they’d stop it,” said Trump.

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Secret Service says it exchanged gunfire with armed suspect near White House

The suspect was not on the White House property, Quinn said.

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The ‌U.S. Secret Service said on Monday its officers confronted an armed and “suspicious individual” near the White House who later fired at them before fleeing on foot and being shot by law enforcement, Reuters reported.

The incident led to a ​brief lockdown at the White House.

Agents patrolling the outer perimeter of the White House ​complex identified a person who Secret Service Deputy Director Matthew Quinn said ⁠was a “suspicious individual that appeared to have a firearm.”

He briefly fled on foot after being ​approached by Secret Service officers and fired in their direction, Quinn said at a press ​conference.

Secret Service then fired at the suspect who was hit and subsequently hospitalized, Quinn added.

Vice President JD Vance’s motorcade transited through the area “not long before” the incident, Quinn said. There was no indication that the ​suspect intended to approach Vance’s motorcade, the Secret Service deputy director said.

A juvenile bystander was ​hit by the suspect but did not receive any life-threatening injuries and was being treated at a hospital, ‌Quinn ⁠added.

Agents observed “visual print of a firearm” in considering the individual’s behavior as suspicious when he was spotted, Quinn told reporters.

The suspect was not on the White House property, Quinn said.

Law enforcement have been on alert in recent days in the U.S. capital following a shooting at the ​White House Correspondents’ Association ​Dinner late last month ⁠over which a man has been arrested, read the report.

Quinn was asked if Monday’s incident was linked to “other recent attempts” on President Donald Trump’s life. Trump was ​in the White House when this incident unfolded.

“Whether or not it ​was directed ⁠to the president or not, I don’t know but we will find out,” Quinn said.

The Secret Service deputy director confirmed that a weapon was recovered from the suspect but did not elaborate.

The ⁠Secret Service said ​earlier its personnel were on the scene of the ​officer-involved shooting at 15th Street and Independence Avenue in Washington, D.C.

The DC Police Department was handling the probe.

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Trump says US could restart Iran strikes ‘if they misbehave’

Iran has ⁠been blocking nearly all shipping from the Gulf apart from its own for more than two months. Last month, the U.S. imposed its own blockade of ships from Iranian ports.

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U.S. President Donald Trump said on Saturday he had been told about the concept of a deal with Iran, but was ​waiting for the exact wording, while warning there was still the possibility of restarting strikes on the country if Tehran misbehaves, Reuters reported.

A senior Iranian official said on ‌Saturday that an Iranian proposal so far rejected by Trump would open shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and end the U.S. blockade of Iran while leaving talks on Iran’s nuclear program for later.

When asked about Iran’s proposal before boarding a flight to Miami at West Palm Beach, Florida, Trump replied: “They told me about the concept of the deal. They’re going to give me the exact wording now.”

He added on his social ​media channel that he could not imagine the proposals would be acceptable and that Iran had not paid a big enough price for what it had done.

Asked if ​he might restart strikes on Iran, Trump replied: “I don’t want to say that. I mean, I can’t tell that to a reporter. If ⁠they misbehave, if they do something bad, right now we’ll see. But it’s a possibility that could happen.”

Trump has said repeatedly that Iran can never ​have a nuclear weapon and said on Friday he was not satisfied with the latest Iranian proposal, while Iran’s foreign minister said Tehran was ready for diplomacy if the U.S. changes its ​approach, read the report.

Reuters and other news organizations reported over the past week that Tehran was proposing to reopen the strait before nuclear issues were resolved. The official confirmed that this new timeline had now been spelled out in a formal proposal conveyed to the United States through mediators.

Trump also said on Friday that “on a human basis,” he did not prefer the military course of action and told congressional leaders he did not ​need their permission to extend the war beyond a deadline set by law for that day because the ceasefire had “terminated” hostilities.

While saying repeatedly he is in no hurry, Trump is under ​domestic pressure to break Iran’s hold on the strait, which has choked off 20% of the world’s oil and gas supplies and pushed up U.S. gasoline prices. Trump’s Republican Party faces the risk of ‌a voter ⁠backlash over higher prices when the country votes in midterm congressional elections in November.

Iranian media said Tehran’s 14-point proposal included the withdrawal of U.S. forces from areas surrounding Iran, lifting the blockade, releasing Iran’s frozen assets, payment of compensation, lifting sanctions and ending the war on all fronts, including Lebanon, as well as a new control mechanism for the strait.

The United States and Israel suspended their bombing campaign against Iran four weeks ago, but appear no closer to a deal to end a war that has caused the biggest disruption ever to global energy supplies, roiled ​global markets and raised worries about the possibility ​of a wider global economic downturn.

Iran has ⁠been blocking nearly all shipping from the Gulf apart from its own for more than two months. Last month, the U.S. imposed its own blockade of ships from Iranian ports.

Washington has repeatedly said it will not end the war, which has led to the deaths of ​thousands of people, without a deal that prevents Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, the primary aim Trump cited when he launched ​strikes in February in the ⁠midst of nuclear talks. Iran says its nuclear program is peaceful.

Speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss confidential diplomacy, the senior Iranian official said Tehran believed its latest proposal to shelve nuclear talks for a later stage was a significant shift aimed at facilitating an agreement, Reuters reported.

Under the proposal, the war would end with a guarantee that Israel and the United States would not attack again. ⁠Iran would open ​the strait, and the United States would lift its blockade.

Future talks would then be held on curbs to ​Iran’s nuclear program in return for the lifting of sanctions, with Iran demanding Washington recognize its right to enrich uranium for peaceful purposes, even if it agrees to suspend its nuclear program.

“Under this framework, negotiations over the more complicated ​nuclear issue have been moved to the final stage to create a more conducive atmosphere,” the official said.

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