International
Trump says he will meet with Putin “very soon” to end the war in Ukraine
The President of the United States, Donald Trump, said on Sunday that he could meet “very soon” with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, to discuss the end of the war in Ukraine.
In statements to the press in West Palm Beach (Florida), Trump assured that his government is working “very hard” to achieve “peace” between Russia and Ukraine, and stressed that both Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will participate in the negotiations.
His words come at a time when delegations from Russia and the United States are preparing to hold talks about the end of the conflict in Saudi Arabia, where an eventual summit between Trump and Putin could also be held.
Trump told the press that, although there is no set date for his summit with Putin, it could be “very soon.”
Asked about the possibility of the meeting with Putin taking place this month, Trump replied: “It will be soon. We’ll see what happens” and suggested that the summit will depend on the outcome of the talks in Saudi Arabia between the US and Russian diplomatic teams.
Meanwhile, a Ukrainian delegation led by Economy Minister Yulia Svyrydenko is already in Saudi Arabia, although it is not clear whether it will participate in the negotiations.
Trump revealed that this Sunday he spoke with the US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, who is part of the US delegation in negotiations with Russia, and assured that the peace process “is progressing” and that his team is “working very hard on it.”
Asked if Zelenski will participate in the negotiations in Saudi Arabia, Trump replied: “Yes, he will be involved.”
In addition, he maintained that both Putin and the Ukrainian president want to end the war.
The president said he has a “good idea” of what Putin is looking for because, as he revealed, the US special envoy for the Middle East, Steven Witkoff, one of his closest advisers, met with the Russian leader in Moscow recently for “three hours” as part of negotiations for a prisoner exchange.
“I think he wants to stop fighting. Russia has a large and powerful war machine. We must remember that they defeated Hitler and Napoleon, they have been fighting for a long time, they have done it before, but I think now he would like to stop the war,” Trump said.
On February 12, Trump spoke by phone with Putin in what was the first public contact between the US and Russian leaders since February 2022, when the Russian leader contacted then-President Joe Biden before the invasion of Ukraine.
After that call, Trump announced that he had reached an agreement with Putin to “immediately” start negotiations with the aim of ending the war and said he could meet with the Russian leader in Saudi Arabia.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Sunday that he was prepared to move British troops to Ukraine with the aim of contributing to security guarantees in the Eastern European country.
“The United Kingdom is ready to play a leading role in accelerating work on security guarantees for Ukraine. This includes greater support for the Ukrainian army (…) but it also means being willing to contribute to the guarantees by sending our own troops to the field if necessary,” the Labor leader said in an exclusive article in ‘The Telegraph’.
This is the first time that the British prime minister explicitly says that he is considering sending British peacekeeping forces to Ukraine, in statements that occur before attending the informal meeting with European leaders that will take place this Monday in Paris.
International
Armed forces target illegal mines in Northern Ecuador with bombing raids
Ecuador’s Armed Forces carried out an operation on Monday — including airstrikes — against illegal mining in the town of Buenos Aires, in the country’s north, Defense Minister Gian Carlo Loffredo reported.
The mountainous, gold-rich area has been a hotspot for illegal mining since 2017, located in the Andean province of Imbabura.
In 2019, former president Lenín Moreno deployed around 2,400 soldiers to the region in an attempt to curb the illegal activity. “The operation began with mortar fire, followed by gunfire and bombing runs by Supertucano aircraft,” Loffredo said in a video released by the Defense Ministry.
He added that the operation would continue on Tuesday with patrols across the area to locate possible members of “irregular armed groups that may have crossed from the Colombian border.”
The Armed Forces stated on X that the intervention focused on the “complete elimination of multiple illegal mining tunnels” in the areas known as Mina Nueva and Mina Vieja.
The operation coincided with the deployment of a military and police convoy into Imbabura, which has been the epicenter of protests against President Daniel Noboa since September 22, following his decision to scrap the diesel subsidy.
International
Caracas shuts embassy in Oslo without explanation following Machado’s Nobel win
Venezuela has announced the closure of its embassy in Norway, just days after opposition leader María Corina Machado was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. The Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the Venezuelan diplomatic mission provided no explanation for its decision on Monday.
“It is regrettable,” a ministry spokesperson said. “Despite our differences on several issues, Norway wishes to keep the dialogue with Venezuela open and will continue to work in that direction.” The ministry also emphasized that the Nobel Committee operates entirely independently from the Norwegian government.
In its announcement, the Nobel Committee stated that Machado met the criteria established by Alfred Nobel, “embodying the hope for a different future, where the fundamental rights of Venezuelans are heard.”
International
Sheinbaum: Urgent to restore access to towns cut off by heavy rains
Thousands of military personnel and civilians in Mexico worked tirelessly on Tuesday to clear roads blocked by the torrential rains of recent days, which have left more than 300 communities cut off across central and eastern regions of the country. Authorities also launched mass fumigation efforts in several affected areas to prevent the spread of dengue fever.
The official death toll remains at 64, though dozens of people are still missing. President Claudia Sheinbaumacknowledged that the government does not yet know the full situation in many of the isolated villages, which range in population from 500 to 1,000 inhabitants.
“The reopening of roads is one of the greatest urgencies,” Sheinbaum said. “It’s essential to guarantee air bridges, food supplies, clean water, and a proper census of the isolated communities so we can determine the condition of every person living there.”
Private construction companies are also assisting the effort with heavy machinery and technical support to help reopen highways and reconnect rural areas.
Armed forces target illegal mines in Northern Ecuador with bombing raids
Caracas shuts embassy in Oslo without explanation following Machado’s Nobel win
Sheinbaum: Urgent to restore access to towns cut off by heavy rains
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