International
Russians and Ukrainians open peace negotiations three years later but do not stop the war
Russia and Ukraine reopened peace negotiations in Istanbul today, stagnant since the first year of the war (2022), and, although they did not stop the fighting, they agreed to study the plans of both sides for a future ceasefire.
“The direct negotiations with the Ukrainian side, organized on the initiative of the Russian president, have just been concluded. In general, we are satisfied with the results and we are willing to continue contacts,” said Vladimir Medinski, Russian chief negotiator, in an appearance before the press.
The talks, chaired by the Turkish Foreign Minister, Hakan Fidan, and which seemed to obviate the most controversial political aspects, lasted for an hour and fifty minutes at the Dolmabahce Palace.
“Today has been an important day for world peace,” Fidan wrote on the X network.
In addition, Moscow and Kiev left the door open to a summit between the presidents of both countries, the Russian Vladimir Putin and the Ukrainian Volodymyr Zelensky, after the former refused to travel to Istanbul.
According to the Turkish network NTV, both delegations will leave the city in the next few hours.
Ukraine, both its president and its negotiators, had repeated ad nauseam in recent days that its main objective was to achieve an immediate cessation of hostilities, for at least 30 days.
There was no agreement – Russia demands guarantees of monitoring and that the enemy will not rearm -, although Moscow opted for a formulation that does not force it for the moment to stop its offensive in the Donbass.
“We have agreed that each party will present its vision of a possible ceasefire and describe it in detail. Once that vision is presented, we consider it convenient – we have also agreed – to continue our negotiations,” said Medinski, who also participated in the March-April 2022 meeting.
In this regard, the Ukrainian Minister of Defense, Rustem Umérov, commented: “All the (possible) modalities have been discussed. Now our colleagues exchange documents.”
What does this mean? Apparently, Russia wants to buy time. But the patience of the European Union (EU) has a limit and Brussels could apply at any time the 17 package of sanctions approved this week against the Russian banking and energy system.
In fact, at the end of the negotiations, Zelenski and the leaders of Germany, France, the United Kingdom and Poland spoke by phone from Tirana with US President Donald Trump.
“Our position: if the Russians reject a total and unconditional ceasefire and put an end to the massacre, there must be forceful sanctions. The pressure on Russia must be maintained until Russia is ready to end the war,” Zelenski wrote on his social networks.
In the same vein, French President Emmanuel Macron considered it “unacceptable that, for the second time, President Putin does not respond to the demands made by the Americans and supported by Ukraine and Europe.”
In addition to the verbal commitment to hold a second round of negotiations, the only concrete agreement reached today is the exchange of a thousand prisoners on each side.
In a clear measure to increase confidence between both sides, Moscow and Kiev announced that they will carry it out “in the coming days”.
This is the largest exchange of prisoners of war – Zelenski had proposed an exchange of all for all – since the beginning of the contest on February 24, 2022.
In turn, Medinski revealed that Kiev had proposed to Moscow a future summit between Putin and Zelenski, who have not been seen since December 2019 in Paris, a few months after the Ukrainian leader came to power.
“The Ukrainian side requested direct negotiations between the heads of state. We have taken note of that proposal,” said the Kremlin advisor.
Then, Umerov confirmed the request after Putin’s refusal to attend the appointment was about to destroy the negotiations.
“We are also preparing a potential meeting between the leaders of both countries,” he said in a brief statement.
Trump, who had shown himself willing to meet with Putin and Zelenski, returned to the United States today after his first foreign tour without fulfilling his wish.
In this regard, he assured on Friday that he is willing to meet with Putin “as soon as we can organize it” and assured that he understands that the Russian president did not go to Istanbul without his presence.
“If I didn’t go, it was guaranteed that Putin wasn’t going to go and he didn’t go. I can understand it, but we’re going to get it,” he said.
The Kremlin today considered this summit “extremely important” to achieve lasting peace in Ukraine.
“Those contacts would be extremely important in the context of the Ukrainian arrangement (…) Without a doubt, that meeting is necessary,” said Dmitri Peskov, presidential spokesman, during his daily telephone press conference.
Yesterday was marked by the crossing of insults and reproaches between Moscow and Kiev and by the confirmation that the presidents of Ukraine, Volodimir Zelenski; Russia, Vladimir Putin; and the United States, Donald Trump; would not participate in the contacts, the first between Ukraine and Russia since April 2022.
Trump said on Friday that he is willing to meet with Vladimir Putin “as soon as we can organize it” and assured that he understands that the Russian president did not go to Istanbul without him being present to advance the peace talks between Kiev and Moscow.
“I would go from here, although I want to see my wonderful grandson,” Trump said at a bilateral event with companies in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in reference to the fact that his daughter Tiffany has just had a child and wants to return to meet him.
“If I didn’t go, it was guaranteed that Putin wasn’t going to go and he didn’t go. I can understand, but we are going to get it,” said Trump, who from the beginning was in favor of facilitating the meeting between Zelenski and Putin in Istanbul this Friday.
The Kremlin considered today “extremely important” a possible summit between the presidents of Russia, Vladimir Putin, and the United States, Donald Trump, for the peaceful settlement in Ukraine.
Finally, Putin, who initially proposed the meeting, did not travel to Istanbul to lead his delegation of negotiators, something that Zelenski did, who in the absence of the Russian president continued with an agenda that has now taken him to Albania.
For NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, Russian President Vladimir Putin has made a mistake in sending a delegation in which no member reaches the rank of minister to the negotiations in Istanbul to try to end the war in Ukraine.
Rutte said that he “knows Putin well” from his time as Dutch prime minister and appreciated that the Russian president “knows perfectly well that the ball is in his field, that he has problems and that he has made a mistake by sending a low-level delegation.”
International
Erin brings strong winds and storm surge despite weakening offshore
Hurricane Erin weakened to a Category 2 storm on Tuesday but continues to pose a threat to parts of the U.S. East Coast with potentially dangerous flooding, according to meteorologists.
Although the hurricane’s eye is expected to remain offshore, experts are concerned about Erin’s size, as strong winds extend hundreds of kilometers beyond the storm’s center.
In its 18:00 GMT bulletin, the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) lifted tropical storm warnings for the Bahamasand Turks and Caicos Islands, but kept them in effect for parts of North Carolina.
Erin was located several hundred kilometers southeast of North Carolina and was moving northwestward.
“This means there is a risk of potentially life-threatening flooding of 60 to 120 centimeters above ground level,” said NHC Director Michael Brennan.
He also warned of the possibility of destructive waves, combined with storm surge, that could cause severe damage to beaches and coastal areas, making roads impassable.
International
Three U.S. Warships deploy near Venezuela to combat drug trafficking
Three U.S. naval vessels are moving toward the coasts of Venezuela, according to international media reports on Tuesday, after White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt confirmed that President Donald Trump is ready to combat and curb international drug trafficking.
Reports indicate that the ships will reach Venezuelan waters within the next 36 hours as part of a recent U.S. deployment aimed at countering international narcotics operations.
The announcement coincides with Leavitt’s statement that Trump is prepared to “use the full extent of his power” to halt drug flows into the United States. The naval deployment involves approximately 4,000 military personnel.
“The President has been clear and consistent. He is ready to use every element of U.S. power to prevent drugs from flooding our country and to bring those responsible to justice. The Maduro regime is not the legitimate government of Venezuela—it is a narco-terror cartel,” the spokesperson said during a press conference.
International
Cuban authorities free salvadoran convicted in 1997 hotel bombing
Salvadoran national Otto René Rodríguez Llerena was released after serving a 30-year prison sentence for his involvement in a terrorist attack at a hotel in Cuba in 1997, the Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported.
During his trial, Rodríguez Llerena admitted to placing an explosive device at the Meliá Cohiba Hotel under the orders of anti-Castro exile leaders. He was arrested the following year when he returned to Havana with another load of explosives that failed to detonate.
“The Cuban government reiterates its commitment to combating terrorism, respecting human rights, and the need for the international community to hold accountable those who promote such acts,” the statement read.
He was released on August 15 and is the second Salvadoran to complete his sentence. In December of last year, another Salvadoran, Ernesto Cruz León, was released after planting bombs at tourist centers, one of which killed an Italian tourist identified as Fabio Di Celmo.
A third Salvadoran, Francisco Chávez Abarca, also received a 30-year sentence from Cuban courts in 2010 after being extradited from Venezuela through Interpol for actions against Cuba.
Rodríguez Llerena had requested conditional release in 2016, arguing that his actions had not caused any direct fatalities, but no further information was released about his situation until now.
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