Putin signals no change in Russia's stance on Ukraine
US President Donald Trump has said he will impose new sanctions on Moscow and countries that buy its energy exports — of which the biggest are China and India — unless Russia moves by August 8 to end the three-and-a-half-year war.
He has expressed mounting frustration with Putin, accusing him of "bullshit" and describing Russia's latest attacks on Ukraine as "disgusting".
Putin, without referring to the Trump deadline, said three sessions of peace talks with Ukraine had yielded some positive results and Russia was expecting negotiations to continue.
"As for any disappointments on the part of anyone, all disappointments arise from inflated expectations. This is a well-known general rule", he said.
"But in order to approach the issue peacefully, it is necessary to conduct detailed conversations. And not in public, but this must be done calmly, in the quiet of the negotiation process".
He said Russian troops were attacking Ukraine along the entire front line and that the momentum was in their favour, citing the announcement by his Defence Ministry on Thursday that Moscow's forces had captured the Ukrainian town of Chasiv Yar after a 16-month battle.
Ukraine denied that Chasiv Yar is under full Russian control.
Ukraine for months has been urging an immediate ceasefire but Russia says it wants a final and durable settlement, not a pause. Since the peace talks began in Istanbul in May, it has conducted some of its heaviest air strikes of the war, especially on the capital Kyiv.
The Ukrainian government has said the Russian negotiators do not have the mandate to take significant decisions and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called on Putin to meet him for talks.
"We understand who makes the decisions in Russia and who must end this war. The whole world understands this too", Zelenskyy said on Friday on X, reiterating his call for direct talks between him and Putin.
"The United States has proposed this. Ukraine has supported it. What is needed is Russia's readiness".
Russia says a leaders' meeting could only take place to set the seal on agreements reached by negotiators.
Ukraine and its European allies have frequently said they do not believe Putin is really interested in peace and have accused him of stalling, which the Kremlin denies. — Reuters
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Observer
a day ago
- Observer
The quiet revolution as EVs charge ahead
I resisted purchasing an electric vehicle, or EV as they are known now, for years, for the most irrational of reasons: I couldn't stand the arrogance of Elon Musk and couldn't stand the thought that I may be contributing to his insane wealth and his wholly objectionable lifestyle. I don't think I've ever let someone, who I've never met and never will, get under my skin so much. And you must admit that his ubiquitous arrogance and supercilious entitlement, rank his face amongst the world's most 'punchable' But last week, I made the decision... and purchased my very first EV. It's not special, second-hand, of Chinese manufacture, it's an SUV with the higher driving position offering greater ease of entry and exit. Like all EVs, it's an automatic and has all the safer driving technology available in the marketplace today. I opted for an extended vehicle warranty and service contract with the dealership to minimise maintenance costs going forward and even though I'm still very much in the 'honeymoon' period, I'm enjoying being an EV driver. My purpose here is not to sell, or convince anyone to 'go electric', as such, but rather to ease you through some of the questions we all have as we consider 'yay' or 'nay', and in any case, I don't see the demand for petrol and diesel falling off a cliff overnight, as developing nations will be utilising both for many decades ahead, so don't worry Oman, the oil and gas industry will not disappear overnight and the Omani government has indicated that their forward planning towards an EV driven future is well in hand. Until recently, one of the greatest limiting factors facing EVs was vehicle cost. Of course, the earliest EVs were ridiculously expensive, two and three times the cost of conventional motors. However today, the difference is diminishing significantly, to around 30 per cent more and industry sources in the UK are expecting the growing market for EVs to result in a genuine levelling up between now and 2030. The latter date was to be the UK's final year in which petrol and diesel vehicles could be manufactured or sold new, though this date has been extended to 2035 to ensure sufficient charging infrastructure is provided. In fact, working towards the targeted 300,000 public charging points across the UK, by the July 1 this year only 82,002 all-access charge points had been commissioned. Balancing that, more than 1 million motorists have installed home fast-charger units which cost around RO 500 installed, or much slower trickle-charging three-pin chargers, affectionately termed 'granny-chargers', at around half that cost. Significantly, one major energy supplier is promoting discounts for electricity usage between 11:30 pm and 5:30 am, from 140 baisas per kWh, down to 35 baisas per kWh and with integrated app controls this is genuine economy. EV sales are rapidly accelerating across the major UK and European dealerships with more than one and a half million EVs now on the UK's roads, with half a million EVs sold during the 12 months to July this year alone. Change is afoot and I have graduated from an interested onlooker, to an enthusiastic advocate, a journey many more will take in the future. Motor industry CEO Carlos Ghosn says 'the time is not just right, but critical', and I guess he was speaking from marketing and environmental perspectives in the same breath, which could be seen as contradictive. However, what we should be thinking is that we were suspicious of and resisted, planes, trains and automobiles, computers, mobile phones, internet banking and the like, for decades... until we accepted their benefits outweighed the negatives. That's the thing about progress isn't it? Like time, it marches on, relentless, obstinate, unyielding in its determination and is rarely wrong, unlike we mortals. Will you join the revolution and get ahead of the EV curve? I did and it is so much fun!
Observer
a day ago
- Observer
Trump orders subs repositioned in rare nuclear threat to Russia
President Donald Trump said on his social media feed on Friday that he had 'ordered two nuclear submarines' to be repositioned in response to online threats from Russia's former president, Dmitry Medvedev, a rare case of potential nuclear escalation between the superpowers. Trump said he had ordered the submarines 'to be positioned in the appropriate regions, just in case these foolish and inflammatory statements are more than just that.' He added: 'Words are very important, and can often lead to unintended consequences, I hope this will not be one of those instances.' Medvedev, who often serves as something of an online attack dog for the Kremlin, had said in a social media post of his own on Thursday that Trump should picture the apocalyptic television series 'The Walking Dead' and referred to the Soviet Union's system for launching a last-ditch, automatic nuclear strike. Because nuclear submarine movements are among the Pentagon's most closely held tactical maneuvers, it will most likely prove impossible to know if Trump is truly repositioning the submarines or just trying to make a point. But in Trump's sudden and escalating confrontation with Russia over Ukraine, it is the first time he has referenced the US nuclear arsenal, much less threatened to reposition it. Trump said on Thursday that he intends to impose new sanctions on Russia over its unwillingness to wind down its war in Ukraine, the latest step in his gradual shift toward a more antagonistic stance toward the Kremlin. Trump said last month that he would give Russia 50 days to begin serious peace talks with Ukraine. The Russian response was to ramp up attacks, including one on Kyiv, Ukraine's capital, on Thursday night that killed more than 30 civilians. This week, Trump said his deadline was being shortened to 10 to 12 days, and Thursday he said he had decided to impose 'secondary sanctions' on countries that buy Russian oil. That would include China, India and Turkey, all countries with which Trump has other ongoing negotiations. Trump and Putin have talked repeatedly by phone or secure video since the president took office, but they have not met in person. It is a meeting Trump has said is vital, suggesting nothing on Ukraine would be resolved until the two men hashed it out between themselves. But his tone about Russia has hardened, and his position on sanctions has reversed, in recent weeks. Still, such public flexing of nuclear muscles is rare even for Trump, who last made explicit nuclear threats to Kim Jong Un of North Korea early in his first term in 2018. At that time he said his 'nuclear button' was 'much bigger and more powerful' than Kim's. That exchange ultimately led to a diplomatic opening to Kim, three meetings between the two leaders — and a complete failure of the effort to get the North Korean leader to give up his nuclear arsenal, which is now larger than ever. President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance arrive in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington. But Russia is a different case, and Trump has often talked about the fearsome power of nuclear weapons, something he contends he learned about from an uncle who was on the faculty of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. So while Russian President Vladimir Putin has made threats about putting nuclear forces on alert during the opening days of the Ukraine war, and may have been preparing to use a tactical nuclear weapon in fall 2022 against a Ukrainian military base, the US has never responded. Medvedev is a good foil for Trump; he regularly issues threats against the United States, but is essentially powerless. Trump has referred to Medvedev's martial-sounding statements several times in the past week. It is unclear, though, why Medvedev's mix of hyperbole, threat and trolling got under Trump's skin. As Trump was leaving the White House on Friday for a weekend in Bedminster, New Jersey, he was asked why he ordered a redeployment of submarines. 'We just have to be careful,' he said. 'And a threat was made and we didn't think it was appropriate, so I have to be very careful. So I do that on the basis of safety for our people. A threat was made by a former president of Russia, and we're going to protect our people.' It was not clear what kind of nuclear submarines to which Trump was referring, or how redeploying them would provide any significant additional protection. The United States has nuclear-powered attack submarines that search for targets, but it also has far larger, nuclear-powered and nuclear-armed submarines. Those don't need to be repositioned; they can reach targets thousands of miles away. In fact, moving them can risk exposing their position. Kingsley Wilson, the Pentagon press secretary, referred all questions about Trump's statement to the White House. A senior Western military officer with experience in the world of submarine warfare said he was not sure what tactical actions may have taken place. But he said that because submarines operate so stealthily, Trump was free to declare he was taking action and the Russians would have to decide whether or not to believe him.
Muscat Daily
a day ago
- Muscat Daily
Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell moved to Texas prison
Texas, US – Ghislaine Maxwell, an associate of child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, has been transferred from a prison in the southern US state of Florida to a lower security facility in Texas, the Bureau of Prisons announced on Friday. Maxwell's lawyer, David Markus, also confirmed to the Reuters news agency that she had been transferred to the new facility. Maxwell is currently serving a 20-year sentence behind bars on charges of child sex trafficking. She is accused of grooming underage girls for Epstein to sexually abuse. US authorities did not explain the reason why Maxwell was transferred to a new facility in Bryan, Texas. She was earlier imprisoned at FCI Tallahassee in Tallahassee, Florida. The minimum-security Federal Prison Camp Bryan where Maxwell is now housed has better conditions than the low-security FCI Tallahassee in Florida. Federal Prison Camp Bryan has little to no perimeter fencing and a lower staff-to-inmate ratio, whereas FCI Tallahassee has double-fenced perimeters fencing and more prison staff on site. Victims of Epstein and Maxwell have condemned Maxwell's move to a lower-security prison. 'Ghislaine Maxwell is a sexual predator who physically assaulted minor children on multiple occasions, and she should never be shown any leniency,' Annie and Marie Farmer and the family of Virginia Giuffre said in response to the transfer. They said the transfer 'smacks of a cover up'. Annie and Marie Farmer have accused Epstein of molestation, whereas Giuffre has alleged that she was sex trafficked by Epstein to Prince Andrew, a member of the British royal family. Giuffre took her own life in April. The transfer occurred after Maxwell recently met with US Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche. It comes as Maxwell is appealing her prison sentence and the US President Donald Trump's administration is facing criticism over its handling of the Epstein case. Last month, the US Justice Department said that Epstein did not have a 'client list' and that he did indeed kill himself in his prison cell in 2019. Both of those claims were met with scepticism from many Trump supporters, who urged the Trump administration to release more information on the Epstein case. The scandal regarding the so-called 'Epstein files' is of a personal nature for Trump, who once was friends with Epstein. The disgraced New York financier had even said he was Trump's 'closest friend' in recordings released by author Michael Wolff last year. The meetings between Blanche and Maxwell recently have sparked rumours that Trump could use presidential pardon powers to legally forgive Maxwell's federal charges. Trump has claimed he has the authority to pardon Maxwell, although Virginia Giuffre's family have urged him not to do so. Trump said in an interview with conservative US outlet Newsmax that 'nobody's asked' him to pardon Maxwell. DW
