Poland's president urges NATO to increase defence spending amid growing Russian threat
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Business Times
2 hours ago
- Business Times
The stakes of the Trump-Starmer summit
DONALD Trump heads to Scotland this Friday (Jul 25) for a four-day trip to visit his two golf resorts. Yet, while the visit is being billed as largely a private one, there is much public business that could be transacted, including potential US presidential announcements about reciprocal tariffs due to be levied across much of the world from Aug 1. The key scheduled public focus of the trip will be Trump's summit with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, their fourth meeting this year. The two met at the White House in February, at the G7 in Canada in June, and also at the Nato summit in the Netherlands later that same month. Top of the agenda for Trump and Starmer will be an attempt to finalise the US-UK tariffs deal package that has taken weeks of negotiations already. In particular, Starmer wants an agreement that exempts UK steel exports to the US from Trump's sectoral tariff regime for steel. Reports suggest a UK disagreement with the US over whether Indian-headquartered Tata Steel's products produced in the UK would be covered by the US tariffs as the firm is currently finishing foreign-produced metal while blast furnaces are updated. Trump also reportedly has concerns about British Steel, which was acquired in 2020 by Chinese steelmaker Jingye Group before the UK government seized control of the assets in April this year. Starmer and Trump appear to have struck up a good political relationship, but this steel issue could be a key test. If the UK prime minister secures key concessions, he will show himself yet again to be a skilful negotiator with the US president, despite their very different political personas and philosophies, including disagreements over Brexit. Such a successful Starmer achievement would be especially noteworthy in a context where Trump has threatened to impose reciprocal tariffs on a wide range of nations on Aug 1. Beyond the UK, only Japan, Vietnam and Indonesia have so far cut a tariff deal with the US president, alongside China's so-called framework agreement that has eased tensions between Beijing and Washington. Given the negative market reaction to Trump's tariffs in April, many traders are growing increasingly uneasy as next week's deadlines near. BT in your inbox Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox. Sign Up Sign Up Yet, while Starmer and Trump may deepen their relationship in coming days, there is a significant possibility of diplomatic fireworks when the US president meets with Scottish First Minister John Swinney. To be sure, the US president is fond of Scotland, not least as his mother Mary Anne MacLeod Trump was born on Lewis in the Outer Hebrides before emigrating to the US when she was 18. Still, Trump may have a score to settle with Swinney, who gave his support to Democratic presidential nominee, Kamala Harris, in last year's US election. Swinney's decision was described as an 'insult' by Trump International, the president's firm which owns two golf courses in Scotland – in Aberdeenshire and Ayrshire. Trump's son, Eric, went so far as to call Swinney's action 'nasty'. This is not the only reason why the meeting with Swinney could go south. Trump has called Scotland the 'oil capital of Europe', urging the nation to 'get rid of the windmills and bring back the oil'. The president has long been an opponent of wind farms, objecting to a development off the coast of Aberdeen which can be seen from his golf course there. In his own words, 'the windmills are really detrimental to the beauty of Scotland and every other place they go up'. Trump-Swinney challenges notwithstanding, the bigger picture is that Starmer may have – surprisingly – brought a potential spark back to the so-called US-UK special relationship. Despite some breakthroughs such as the Aukus military deal delivered by ex-president Joe Biden and former prime minister Rishi Sunak, there have been many years of ties failing to reach their potential. Such was the case under successive prime ministers and presidents of all key parties. Indeed, the last UK prime minister who forged close ties with the US may have been Tony Blair with the Clinton administration over a shared 'third way' philosophy. This isn't to suggest sky-high expectations are warranted for the Trump-Starmer relationship. Instead, the bar has simply been set low in recent years. Moving forward, and building from the US-UK tariff deal, there remains an outside chance of a wider economic agreement, even though bilateral trade already stands at about £300 billion (S$518.8 billion). In recent years, the UK has been pursuing a multi-track approach, including seeking trade deals with specific US states. Secondly, London has focused on targeted deals with Washington on key UK exports, for example, on Scottish whiskey. Another area of interest is critical minerals, key materials used in goods from electric cars to flat-screen TVs. Starmer hopes to seize opportunities in the bilateral relationship while managing the risks posed by the president's notable volatility. However, it is far from clear that the good personal relations between the two leaders today can continue until January 2029, when Trump's second term ends. What Starmer can strive to forge is a constructive UK-US partnership, building on the nations' traditional ties rooted in demographics, religion, culture, law, politics and economics. This will also be supplemented by the longstanding security cooperation that has been the relationship's core, reinforced by the Aukus pact with Australia. Amidst the uncertainties ahead, Starmer will want to make the relationship work as smoothly as possible based on such policy fundamentals. This may provide some protection for bilateral relations if personal dynamics, especially under Trump, sour or break down, as was the case with Trump and former UK prime minister Theresa May, as well as Biden and former UK prime minister Boris Johnson. Starmer knows it will be wise not to overestimate the UK's ability to shape US power, under Trump's turbulent second presidency. Ultimately, Trump may well care little for fundamental UK interests, despite any personal fondness for the nation rooted in his mother's Scottish heritage. The writer is an associate at LSE Ideas at the London School of Economics
CNA
2 hours ago
- CNA
Ukraine calls for Zelensky-Putin talks as Russia proposes brief truces
ISTANBUL: Ukraine on Wednesday (Jul 23) called for direct talks between President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin by the end of August, even as Russia downplayed the chances of a breakthrough in the latest round of negotiations held in Istanbul. Speaking to reporters after the talks, Ukraine's chief negotiator Rustem Umerov said Kyiv had proposed a leaders' summit involving both presidents, as well as US President Donald Trump and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. "Priority number one is to organise the meeting of the leaders, of presidents," Umerov said. Russia's lead negotiator, Vladimir Medinsky, said the parties held lengthy discussions but remained far apart on key issues. 'The positions are quite distant. We agreed to continue contacts,' he told reporters. Medinsky said both sides had agreed to exchange 1,200 prisoners of war and that Russia had offered to return the bodies of 3,000 Ukrainian soldiers. He also proposed temporary ceasefires lasting 24 to 48 hours to allow the recovery of dead and wounded soldiers. TURKEY URGES CEASEFIRE, US SETS DEADLINE Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, who opened the talks, urged the delegations to move toward a ceasefire. 'Our aim is to end this bloody war, which has a very high cost, as soon as possible,' he said. 'The ultimate goal is a ceasefire that will pave the way for peace.' The talks follow earlier meetings in Istanbul in May and June, which yielded agreements on prisoner exchanges and the repatriation of soldiers' remains. The latest negotiations come as the Trump administration intensifies pressure on Russia. Last week, President Trump gave Moscow a 50-day deadline to end the war or face additional sanctions. Despite the ultimatum, the Kremlin signaled no change in stance. "No one expects an easy road. It will be very difficult," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. A Ukrainian delegation source told AFP before the talks that progress would depend on whether Russia adopted a more constructive approach. 'Everything will depend on whether Russia stops speaking in ultimatums,' the source said. Russia has so far insisted Ukraine withdraw from four eastern and southern regions it claims to have annexed in 2022, a demand Kyiv rejects as non-negotiable. Ukraine has also ruled out any territorial concessions, including Crimea, annexed by Russia in 2014. WAR CONTINUES AS TALKS STALL Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, launched in February 2022, has killed tens of thousands and devastated large areas of the country. Despite the ongoing diplomatic efforts, fighting has intensified in recent weeks. Between late Tuesday and early Wednesday, Russian forces launched 71 drones across four regions of Ukraine, according to Kyiv's air force. Russia's defence ministry claimed to have captured the village of Varachyne in northern Sumy region, where Moscow has been steadily advancing.
CNA
2 hours ago
- CNA
Ukraine calls for Zelenskyy-Putin talks as Russia proposes brief truces
ISTANBUL: Ukraine on Wednesday (Jul 23) called for direct talks between President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin by the end of August, even as Russia downplayed the chances of a breakthrough in the latest round of negotiations held in Istanbul. Speaking to reporters after the talks, Ukraine's chief negotiator Rustem Umerov said Kyiv had proposed a leaders' summit involving both presidents, as well as US President Donald Trump and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. "Priority number one is to organise the meeting of the leaders, of presidents," Umerov said. Russia's lead negotiator, Vladimir Medinsky, said the parties held lengthy discussions but remained far apart on key issues. 'The positions are quite distant. We agreed to continue contacts,' he told reporters. Medinsky said both sides had agreed to exchange 1,200 prisoners of war and that Russia had offered to return the bodies of 3,000 Ukrainian soldiers. He also proposed temporary ceasefires lasting 24 to 48 hours to allow the recovery of dead and wounded soldiers. TURKEY URGES CEASEFIRE, US SETS DEADLINE Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, who opened the talks, urged the delegations to move toward a ceasefire. 'Our aim is to end this bloody war, which has a very high cost, as soon as possible,' he said. 'The ultimate goal is a ceasefire that will pave the way for peace.' The talks follow earlier meetings in Istanbul in May and June, which yielded agreements on prisoner exchanges and the repatriation of soldiers' remains. The latest negotiations come as the Trump administration intensifies pressure on Russia. Last week, Trump gave Moscow a 50-day deadline to end the war or face additional sanctions. Despite the ultimatum, the Kremlin signaled no change in stance. "No one expects an easy road. It will be very difficult," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. A Ukrainian delegation source told AFP before the talks that progress would depend on whether Russia adopted a more constructive approach. 'Everything will depend on whether Russia stops speaking in ultimatums,' the source said. Russia has so far insisted Ukraine withdraw from four eastern and southern regions it claims to have annexed in 2022, a demand Kyiv rejects as non-negotiable. Ukraine has also ruled out any territorial concessions, including Crimea, annexed by Russia in 2014. WAR CONTINUES AS TALKS STALL Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, launched in February 2022, has killed tens of thousands and devastated large areas of the country. Despite the ongoing diplomatic efforts, fighting has intensified in recent weeks. Between late Tuesday and early Wednesday, Russian forces launched 71 drones across four regions of Ukraine, according to Kyiv's air force. Russia's defence ministry claimed to have captured the village of Varachyne in northern Sumy region, where Moscow has been steadily advancing.
