Politics
Trump says he is ‘very disappointed’ with Putin over Ukraine
WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he was “very disappointed” in Russian President Vladimir Putin and added without elaborating that his administration was planning to take some actions to bring down deaths in Russia’s war in Ukraine.
The Republican leader also said he was not concerned about warm ties between Russia and China.
Trump held a summit with Putin in Alaska in mid-August and subsequently met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and key European and NATO alliance leaders at the White House.
Following those meetings, Trump said he expected Zelensky and Putin to hold a bilateral meeting before a trilateral meeting that would also include Trump. Zelensky has said Russia was doing everything it could to prevent a meeting between him and Putin, while Russia says the agenda for such a meeting was not ready.
“I am very disappointed in President Putin, I can say that, and we will be doing something to help people live,” Trump said in an interview on The Scott Jennings Radio Show.
Trump has told Zelensky that Washington would help guarantee Ukraine’s security in any deal. Trump has also renewed a threat to impose further sanctions on Russia if there is no progress toward a peaceful settlement in Ukraine.
Russia occupies around a fifth of Ukraine, and Trump has said “land-swapping” and changes to territory will be crucial for any settlement.
Ukraine opposes the idea of legally recognising any Ukrainian territory as Russian. But it has tacitly acknowledged it will almost certainly have to accept some de facto territorial losses.
Trump was also asked in the interview if he was concerned “about an axis forming against the United States with China and Russia.”
Trump said, “I am not concerned at all.” He added, “We have the strongest military in the world, by far. They would never use their military on us. Believe me.”
Chinese President Xi Jinping hosted Putin for talks in China, calling him his “old friend.”
Xi also held talks on Monday with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, whose country has been targeted by Trump over its purchases of Russian oil.
- Netanyahu held a “secret” meeting with UAE president: PM Office.
- Netanyahu’s office says visit “marked a historic breakthrough”.
- Arab states and Iran ties “should not be based on confrontation”.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a “secret” meeting with the president of the United Arab Emirates during the war with Iran, his office said on Wednesday.
“During Operation ‘Lion’s Roar’, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu paid a secret visit to the United Arab Emirates, where he met with UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan,” his office said in a statement.
Wednesday’s announcement comes a day after US ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee announced that Israel had sent its Iron Dome air defence systems and personnel to operate them to the UAE during the war with Iran.
While stopping short of confirming Huckabee´s comments, Netanyahu´s office said the visit “marked a historic breakthrough in relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates”.
Iran targeted the UAE more than any other country during the war, which was sparked by US-Israeli strikes on the Islamic republic at the end of February.
Despite a ceasefire that came into effect last month, the UAE has since reported multiple missile and drone attacks from Iran.
Meanwhile, Anwar Gargash, an adviser to the United Arab Emirates president, said earlier today that the UAE remained committed to political solutions and diplomacy amid regional tensions, while stressing the country’s right to defend its sovereignty.
UAE said it had not sought conflict and had worked to avoid it, adding that relations between the Arab states and Iran should not be based on confrontation.
- No immediate reports of casualties after melee.
- Interior minister says details on gunshots unclear.
- Military personnel deployed to assist Senate security.
MANILA: Gunshots broke out at the Philippine Senate on Wednesday and people ran for cover after a top politician wanted by the International Criminal Court said his arrest was imminent and security forces entered the building.
There were no immediate reports of casualties, however, Senate Secretary Mark Llandro Mendoza told reporters following the chaos at the legislature in the capital Manila.
Senator Ronald dela Rosa, a former police chief who was the main enforcer of ex-Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s bloody “war on drugs”, had earlier urged people to mobilise to prevent his arrest and handover to the ICC.
The Hague-based court on Monday unsealed an arrest warrant for dela Rosa on charges of crimes against humanity, the same that 81-year-old Duterte is accused of as he awaits trial in the ICC following his transfer last year.
Dela Rosa, 64, has denied involvement in illegal killings.
“I am appealing to you, I hope you can help me. Do not allow another Filipino to be brought to The Hague,” he said in a video on Facebook from his Senate office, where he has taken refuge since Monday when placed under legislative protection.
Senate Secretary Mendoza said law enforcement officers believed to be from the National Bureau of Investigation had attempted to enter the Senate and fired as they retreated.
But NBI Director Melvin Matibag told GMA News that no agents had been deployed.
“I spoke with the (justice) minister and he told me to await instructions. We have no preparations whatsoever,” he said.
More than 10 military personnel in camouflage fatigues arrived, some carrying assault rifles, Reuters journalists saw.
The chief of the military’s public affairs office Xerxes Trinidad told Reuters the Senate had requested help to “assist them in securing the facility”.
Interior Minister Jonvic Remulla said it was unclear who fired shots and security footage would need to be checked. He said dela Rosa was safe and he assured him no arrest would be made.
Duterte’s top lieutenant
The office of the prosecutor at the ICC referred requests for comment to the court. The court’s press office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Dela Rosa was Duterte’s top lieutenant overseeing a fierce crackdown during which thousands of alleged drug dealers were slain, with human rights groups accusing police of systematic murders and cover-ups.
Police reject the allegations and say the more than 6,000 killed in anti-drugs operations were all armed and had resisted arrest.
Activists say the real death toll may never be known, with users and small-time peddlers gunned down almost daily in mysterious slumland killings blamed on vigilantes and turf wars.
The Senate was heavily guarded throughout Wednesday, with lines of police deployed to keep the peace as protesters gathered, some calling for the arrest of dela Rosa, better known in the Philippines as “Bato”, or “rock”.
His ally, Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano, said he had spoken to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr, who had assured him no government personnel had been involved in Wednesday’s incident.
Dela Rosa, who returned to the Senate on Monday for the first time since disappearing from public view in November, has appealed to Marcos not to hand him over to the ICC.
He has also filed an emergency petition with the Supreme Court urging it to block any attempt to transfer him to The Hague. The court in a statement on Wednesday gave all parties to the petition 72 hours to respond.
Dela Rosa insists any transfer to the ICC would be illegal, as the country is no longer a signatory to the Rome Statute.
Duterte unilaterally withdrew the Philippines from the ICC in 2018 when its prosecutor announced a preliminary examination into his anti-drugs campaign had started. The ICC says alleged crimes committed while a country was a member are under its jurisdiction.
Duterte is set to become the first Asian former head of state to go on trial at the ICC, a court he repeatedly dared to pursue him during a succession of public speeches, saying he was ready to “rot in jail” to protect his people from the drugs scourge.
He maintains his innocence, according to his legal team.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng started talks in South Korea on Wednesday to lay the groundwork ahead of this week’s summit of the leaders of the world’s two biggest economies in Beijing.
Bessent and He began the talks at Incheon airport after each met South Korean President Lee Jae Myung at the presidential Blue House, Reuters witnesses said.
The discussions are expected to cover a range of issues to prepare for talks in Beijing between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping that are set to run from Thursday to Friday.
The talks between Bessent and He were likely to be exploratory with limited immediate outcomes, said Kim Tae-hwang, a professor of international trade at Myongji University in Seoul.
“Both sides are essentially in a holding pattern ahead of the summit, sounding each other out, rather than seeking breakthroughs,” he said.
China’s lead trade negotiator, Vice Commerce Minister Li Chenggang, and Vice Finance Minister Liao Min were among the officials accompanying He.
At the Beijing summit, the leaders are expected to agree to set up forums to ease mutual trade and investment, while China is expected to announce purchases related to Boeing aeroplanes, American agriculture and energy, US officials have said.
Beijing also wants the United States to relax curbs on exports of advanced semiconductors, and has raised concerns about a bill to keep critical chip-making equipment from China.
They are considering extending a truce on China’s export curbs on rare earths at the summit, but Chinese customs data shows Beijing is still throttling shipments of the materials vital for defence and manufacturing.
The summit talks may also encompass the Iran war, as China, which maintains ties with Iran, is a major buyer of its oil.
Trump said on Tuesday, however, he did not think he would need China’s help to end the conflict, even as hopes for a lasting peace deal dwindled and Tehran tightened its grip over the Strait of Hormuz.
Neither side has strong incentives to make early concessions, however, said Kim, the academic, adding that the United States is unlikely to ease curbs on key technologies such as semiconductors.
China, in turn, buoyed by relatively resilient growth and trade performance, is under less pressure to offer significant compromises, he said.
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