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Al Arabiya
2 hours ago
- Al Arabiya
Trump confirms US envoy Witkoff to travel to Russia in the coming week
President Donald Trump confirmed Sunday his special envoy Steve Witkoff will visit Russia in the coming week, ahead of a looming US sanctions deadline and escalating tensions with Moscow. Speaking to reporters, Trump also said that two nuclear submarines he deployed following an online row with former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev were now 'in the region.' Trump has not said whether he meant nuclear-powered or nuclear-armed submarines. He also did not elaborate on the exact deployment locations, which are kept secret by the US military. The nuclear saber-rattling came against the backdrop of a deadline set by Trump at the end of next week for Russia to take steps towards ending the Ukraine war or face unspecified new sanctions. The Republican leader said Witkoff would visit 'I think next week, Wednesday or Thursday.' Russian President Vladimir Putin has already met Witkoff multiple times in Moscow, before Trump's efforts to mend ties with the Kremlin came to a grinding halt. When reporters asked what Witkoff's message would be to Moscow, and if there was anything Russia could do to avoid the sanctions, Trump replied: 'Yeah, get a deal where people stop getting killed.' 'Secondary tariffs' Trump has previously threatened that new measures could mean 'secondary tariffs' targeting Russia's remaining trade partners, such as China and India. This would further stifle Russia, but would risk significant international disruption. Despite the pressure from Washington, Russia's onslaught against its pro-Western neighbor continues to unfold. Putin, who has consistently rejected calls for a ceasefire, said Friday that he wants peace but that his demands for ending his nearly three-and-a-half year invasion were 'unchanged.' 'We need a lasting and stable peace on solid foundations that would satisfy both Russia and Ukraine, and would ensure the security of both countries,' Putin told reporters. But he added that 'the conditions (from the Russian side) certainly remain the same.' Russia has frequently called on Ukraine to effectively cede control of four regions Moscow claims to have annexed, a demand Kyiv has called unacceptable. Putin also seeks Ukraine drop its ambitions to join NATO. Ukraine issued on Sunday a drone attack which sparked a fire at an oil depot in Sochi, the host city of the 2014 Winter Olympics. Kyiv has said it will intensify its air strikes against Russia in response to an increase in Russian attacks on its territory in recent weeks, which have killed dozens of civilians. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy also said Sunday that the two sides were preparing a prisoner exchange that would see 1,200 Ukrainian troops return home, following talks with Russia in Istanbul in July. Trump began his second term with his own rosy predictions that the war in Ukraine -- raging since Russia invaded its neighbor in February 2022 -- would soon end. In recent weeks, Trump has increasingly voiced frustration with Putin over Moscow's unrelenting offensive.
Arab News
5 hours ago
- Arab News
Trump ‘walked away with his tail between his legs,' Schumer says in response to Trump's ‘go to hell' remark
US Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer has said President Donald Trump needs to do better next time to get bipartisan support for his nominees, instead of trying to 'streamroll' the Senate. In his parting shot as the Senate adjourned for a recess until September, Schumer said that contrary to Trump's claim of being master in dealmaking, he said the president threw in the towel 'in a fit of rage' after the Democrats refused to budge. Schumer was responding to the president's tirade on social media, in which he said Schumer can 'GO TO HELL!' Pointing to Trump's post on his Truth Social platform that was flashed on screen, he said, said, 'Trump tried to bully us, go around us, call us names, but he got nothing. He walked away with his tail between his legs.' In his post, Trump said: 'Tell Schumer, who is under tremendous political pressure from within his own party, the Radical Left Lunatics, to GO TO HELL!' Trump posted on Truth Social. 'Do not accept the offer, go home and explain to your constituents what bad people the Democrats are, and what a great job the Republicans are doing, and have done, for our Country,' Trump added. Without a deal in hand, Republicans say they may try to change Senate rules when they return in September to speed up the pace of confirmations. Trump has been pressuring senators to move quickly as Democrats blocked more nominees than usual this year, denying any fast unanimous consent votes and forcing roll calls on each one, a lengthy process that can take several days per nominee. Schumer said that Trump attempted 'to steamroll the Senate, to put in place his historically unqualified nominee, but Senate Democrats would not let him. In a fit of rage, Trump threw in the towel, sent Republicans home, and was unable to do the basic work of negotiation. Is this the art of the deal, cajoul, stomp your feet, the give up?' Schumer said. 'We should be working together on legislation, to get things done to the American people. That's the way to go, not changing the rules, because when they change the rule, they say 'only we are going to decide what's good for the American people, and every time they do that the American people lose,' she added. Meanwhile, Senate Majority Leader John Thune suggested a change Senate rules after negotiations with Schumer and Trump broke down. 'I think that the last six months have demonstrated that this process, nominations is broken. And so I expect there will be some good robust conversations about that.' Schumer said a rules change would be a 'huge mistake,' especially as Senate Republicans will need Democratic votes to pass spending bills and other legislation moving forward. The latest standoff comes as Democrats and Republicans have gradually escalated their obstruction of the other party's executive branch and judicial nominees over the last two decades, and as Senate leaders have incrementally changed Senate rules to speed up confirmations — and make them less bipartisan. In 2013, Democrats changed Senate rules for lower court judicial nominees to remove the 60-vote threshold for confirmations as Republicans blocked President Barack Obama's judicial picks. In 2017, Republicans did the same for Supreme Court nominees as Democrats tried to block Trump's nomination of Justice Neil Gorsuch. Trump has been pressuring Senate Republicans for weeks to cancel the August recess and grind through dozens of his nominations as Democrats have slowed the process. But Republicans hoped to make a deal with Democrats instead, and came close several times over the last few days as the two parties and the White House negotiated over moving a large tranche of nominees in exchange for reversing some of the Trump administration's spending cuts on foreign aid, among other issues. The Senate held a rare weekend session on Saturday as Republicans held votes on nominee after nominee and as the two parties tried to work out the final details of a deal. But it was clear that there would be no agreement when Trump attacked Schumer on social media Saturday evening and told Republicans to pack it up and go home. Thune said afterward that there were 'several different times' when the two sides thought they had a deal, but in the end 'we didn't close it out.' It's the first time in recent history that the minority party hasn't allowed at least some quick confirmations. Thune has already kept the Senate in session for more days, and with longer hours, this year to try and confirm as many of Trump's nominees as possible. But Democrats had little desire to give in without the spending cut reversals or some other incentive, even though they too were eager to skip town after several long months of work and bitter partisan fights over legislation. 'We have never seen nominees as flawed, as compromised, as unqualified as we have right now,' Schumer said. (With AP)
Arab News
5 hours ago
- Arab News
'Trump tried to bully us ... but he got nothing,' Schumer says in response to the president's ‘go to hell' remark'
US Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer has said President Donald Trump needs to do better next time to get bipartisan support for his nominees, instead of trying to 'streamroll' the Senate. In his parting shot as the Senate adjourned for a recess until September, Schumer said that contrary to Trump's claim of being master in dealmaking, he said the president threw in the towel 'in a fit of rage' after the Democrats refused to budge. Schumer was responding to the president's tirade on social media, in which he said Schumer can 'GO TO HELL!' Pointing to Trump's post on his Truth Social platform that was flashed on screen, he said, said, 'Trump tried to bully us, go around us, call us names, but he got nothing. He walked away with his tail between his legs.' In his post, Trump said: 'Tell Schumer, who is under tremendous political pressure from within his own party, the Radical Left Lunatics, to GO TO HELL!' Trump posted on Truth Social. 'Do not accept the offer, go home and explain to your constituents what bad people the Democrats are, and what a great job the Republicans are doing, and have done, for our Country,' Trump added. Without a deal in hand, Republicans say they may try to change Senate rules when they return in September to speed up the pace of confirmations. Trump has been pressuring senators to move quickly as Democrats blocked more nominees than usual this year, denying any fast unanimous consent votes and forcing roll calls on each one, a lengthy process that can take several days per nominee. Schumer said that Trump attempted 'to steamroll the Senate, to put in place his historically unqualified nominee, but Senate Democrats would not let him. In a fit of rage, Trump threw in the towel, sent Republicans home, and was unable to do the basic work of negotiation. Is this the art of the deal, cajoul, stomp your feet, the give up?' Schumer said. 'We should be working together on legislation, to get things done to the American people. That's the way to go, not changing the rules, because when they change the rule, they say 'only we are going to decide what's good for the American people, and every time they do that the American people lose,' she added. Meanwhile, Senate Majority Leader John Thune suggested a change Senate rules after negotiations with Schumer and Trump broke down. 'I think that the last six months have demonstrated that this process, nominations is broken. And so I expect there will be some good robust conversations about that.' Schumer said a rules change would be a 'huge mistake,' especially as Senate Republicans will need Democratic votes to pass spending bills and other legislation moving forward. The latest standoff comes as Democrats and Republicans have gradually escalated their obstruction of the other party's executive branch and judicial nominees over the last two decades, and as Senate leaders have incrementally changed Senate rules to speed up confirmations — and make them less bipartisan. In 2013, Democrats changed Senate rules for lower court judicial nominees to remove the 60-vote threshold for confirmations as Republicans blocked President Barack Obama's judicial picks. In 2017, Republicans did the same for Supreme Court nominees as Democrats tried to block Trump's nomination of Justice Neil Gorsuch. Trump has been pressuring Senate Republicans for weeks to cancel the August recess and grind through dozens of his nominations as Democrats have slowed the process. But Republicans hoped to make a deal with Democrats instead, and came close several times over the last few days as the two parties and the White House negotiated over moving a large tranche of nominees in exchange for reversing some of the Trump administration's spending cuts on foreign aid, among other issues. The Senate held a rare weekend session on Saturday as Republicans held votes on nominee after nominee and as the two parties tried to work out the final details of a deal. But it was clear that there would be no agreement when Trump attacked Schumer on social media Saturday evening and told Republicans to pack it up and go home. Thune said afterward that there were 'several different times' when the two sides thought they had a deal, but in the end 'we didn't close it out.' It's the first time in recent history that the minority party hasn't allowed at least some quick confirmations. Thune has already kept the Senate in session for more days, and with longer hours, this year to try and confirm as many of Trump's nominees as possible. But Democrats had little desire to give in without the spending cut reversals or some other incentive, even though they too were eager to skip town after several long months of work and bitter partisan fights over legislation. 'We have never seen nominees as flawed, as compromised, as unqualified as we have right now,' Schumer said. (With AP)
