Worldcrunch
To Kyiv and the Europeans, the American 28-point plan for Ukraine looks like a demand for surrender, but Sunday’s negotiations in Geneva with the Americans attempted to amend it, at the risk of making it unacceptable to the Russians. The Trump method is once again in question.
Even after diplomatic overtures and red-carpet treatment abroad, Moscow answers with one of its deadliest strikes since the invasion, showing the Kremlin has no intention of negotiating an end to the war.
With resources poured into the fight, allies watching, and propaganda framing it as a struggle against the West, President Vladimir Putin has locked Russia’s foreign policy into a war Moscow cannot afford to lose.
Washington is pushing for a security corridor protected by international and EU forces, with a certain degree of U.S. military, logistical and technological backing to deter Russia. It recalls the practical if imperfect decades-long status quo on the Korean Peninsula
Negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program have resumed. While Europe demands guarantees that Tehran will not build a nuclear bomb, Trump is also pushing for a deal. Is the regime willing to give ground, or is it bluffing?
The United States has “quietly” kept bombing Yemen, more than 50 times in two weeks. But what if Donald Trump’s real target is Iran?
Israel has upended the ceasefire in Gaza, resuming war amid propaganda of continuing negotiations under fire. Can Egypt spearhead a “semi-permanent” solution to end the conflict and prevent further escalation?
As Gazan families struggle to find food and shelter amid the rubble, the future remains uncertain. Residents remain in a constant state of waiting, oscillating between hope and despair.
Ukraine isn’t backing down after the Trump-Putin exchange. It’s fighting to ensure that any negotiated plan includes strong security guarantees to prevent another Russian attack — and that Europe, sidelined by Trump, has a seat at the table.
In his first extensive interview since the ceasefire, longtime influential Hamas leader Mousa Abu Marzouk said the group is running Gazan affairs, despite Israel’s attempt to unseat it. Still, Abu Marzouk said Hamas is seeking a future Palestinian unity leadership that it doesn’t necessarily have to run on its own.
When politicians call for more diplomacy instead of weapons delivery, the basis of their arguments is misleading. The Russians and Ukrainians have already reached diplomatic agreements in many areas, but there are limits to open negotiations — mainly around whether Putin himself really wants to negotiate.
Germany is trying to avoid tariffs on Chinese electric cars because it is interested in selling its own cars to China — and wants to avoid direct confrontation. But the European Union has decided to impose new tariffs. All of this may wind up as a full-fledged new trade war between China and Germany.
When Emmanuel Macron called for an embargo on arms supplies to Israel, he was aiming at the United States, following the failure of the attempted ceasefire in Lebanon. Paris even speaks of ‘duplicity’ by Washington and Israel. It’s just the latest example of the failure of diplomacy in the face of the “logic of war.”
Calls for negotiation between Russia and Ukraine are growing louder. But peace would require strong security guarantees for the invaded country.
An Israeli missile struck children playing soccer in a schoolyard a day after international outrage at Russia’s bombing of Ukraine’s largest children’s hospital. As the Israel-Hamas war drags on, ceasefire negotiations get harder as the rest of the world looks away.
Over the past two weeks, Vladimir Putin has stated four times that Russia is ready for peace talks with Ukraine, but that those negotiations would be based on “current realities at the front,” by which he means maintaining occupied territories under his control.
The Pope has once again caused outrage because of a homophobic statement he made last week. This is far from being the first time the pontiff has sparked controversy for something he said — by mistake or otherwise.
Benjamin Netanyahu spoke of a “tragic accident” after the deadly bombing of a camp for displaced Palestinians near Rafah; but this rare act of contrition does not mean the Israeli leader has changed his strategy, despite the indignation of the rest of the world at the number of civilians killed.
As Western leaders criticize Netanyahu and his war in Gaza, the Israeli Prime Minister apparently remains fully confident in forging ahead with a hardline that leaves a brutal human toll.
Israel no longer has any interest in prolonging the destruction — and spreading the condemnation around the world for its “collective punishment” of the people of Gaza.
The West’s passive response to Israel’s actions in Gaza is increasingly difficult to maintain in front of the looming humanitarian crisis in Rafah. The lip service of “deep concern” doesn’t bother Netanyahu at all.
Even as questions swirl about whether Zelensky will replace Valery Zaluzhny, commander-in-chief of Ukraine’s armed forces, the bigger question is Ukraine’s strategy. Rather than liberating occupied territories, Ukrainian forces should be focused on destroying the Russian army. Or put another way: “It is not the big that eat the small, but the fast that eat the slow.”
As the Israel-Hamas war continues unabated, the U.S., Egypt and Qatar are pushing to quickly reach an agreement. Will internal divisions be overcome? But even if a deal is struck, the war is far from over.
The leaders of key EU countries have been on the phone with Vladimir Putin since the war in Ukraine began. Weighing the costs, benefits…and morals…of leaving the door open to a man who brutally invaded a sovereign nation — and taking Munich 1938 as a starting point.
Israel is pushing for more control of the disputed passage near the Egypt-Gaza border, testing Egypt’s security stance and threatening the peace treaty between the two nations.
If we don’t compel those capable of bearing arms into the military, then we’ll soon cease to exist. And when we do, there will be nothing left. Artists in exile might write and read thoughtful articles about how we lost everything, but what good will that do?
Now that the Ukrainian counter-offensive has ground to a halt, pressure is growing for Kyiv to negotiate with Moscow. But increasingly, despite his claims to the contrary, it looks like Putin is simply not interested in negotiating, whatever he may claim. In fact, the opposite appears to be the case: he’s betting his future on a long war.
Even with the war at a stalemate, and as far away as victory may be for both sides, negotiations are an absolute non-starter for both the presidents of Ukraine and Russia.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has pushed ahead a deal negotiated via Qatar, for a four-day truce and an exchange of 50 hostages for 150 Palestinian prisoners. Though the humanitarian and political pressure was mounting, Israel’s all-out assault is suddenly halted, with unforeseen consequences for the future.
A five-day ceasefire deal in the Gaza war appears imminent. In the past, such provisional truces sometimes turned permanent. But is this time different?
Can Europe play a role in the current conflict in the Middle East? During the recent visit to the region by German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, it appeared clear that Gulf States are in a much better position to negotiate a possible solution.
Qatar is leading negotiations for one to two day humanitarian truce in exchange for the release of up to 15 hostages held by Hamas.
As the war in Gaza grows bloodier by the day, the search for potential mediators in the region is crucial. Jordan is uniquely situated with a special relationship with the Palestinians, decades of peace with Israel, and the nation’s king with a historic standing in the Muslim world.
Saudi Arabia is set to host non-Western countries to discuss how to initiate peace talks between Russia and Ukraine. Moscow-based daily Kommersant takes an in-depth look at what the high-level talks, slated for Aug. 5 in Jeddah, mean for Russia — who wasn’t invited to the summit —, Ukraine and the world.
The Korean War armistice agreement at Panmunjom was signed on this day in 1953, ending three years of fighting. What led to the signing of the Korean War Armistice in Panmunjom? The armistice was the result of negotiations between the United Nations Command, representing the forces supporting South Korea, and the Korean People’s Army and […]
A month into Ukraine’s counteroffensive, claims that it has failed are wildly premature. Even more troubling are the steady whispers that Kyiv must sit down with Russia to negotiate. But it’s clearer than ever that only complete Ukrainian victory can bring lasting peace.
The Arab League has readmitted Syria, ending the regime’s ten-year isolation. This is a defeat for the West — and an admission by the Arab states that there is no way around Assad.
The Ukrainian and Russian presidents made separate visits to the frontline recently, in closer physical proximity than anytime since the war began. It was a sign that we should not expect negotiations anytime soon.
Ukraine was the trickiest part of French President Emmanuel Macron’s state visit to China. And though Xi Jinping didn’t say much, Macron made his voice clear on the war and possible arms shipments to Russia — and the West is watching closely.
In irking Mexico’s chief trading partners with decisions affecting energy firms, the country’s leftist President Andrés Manuel López Obrador is tinkering with the free-trade pact that is the very engine and ballast of Mexico’s vast, and vulnerable, economy.