&w=3840&q=100)
Kremlin says open to peace with Ukraine; but insists on achieving its goals
Peskov and other Russian officials have repeatedly rejected accusations from Kyiv and its Western partners of stalling peace talks. Meanwhile, Moscow continues to intensify its long-range attacks on Ukrainian cities, launching more drones in a single night than it did during some entire months in 2024, and analysts say the barrages are likely to escalate.
President Putin has repeatedly spoken of his desire to bring the Ukrainian settlement to a peaceful conclusion as soon as possible. This is a long process, it requires effort, and it is not easy, Peskov told state TV reporter Pavel Zarubin.
The main thing for us is to achieve our goals. Our goals are clear, he added.
The Kremlin has insisted that any peace deal should see Ukraine withdraw from the four regions that Russia illegally annexed in September 2022 but never fully captured. It also wants Ukraine to renounce its bid to join NATO and accept strict limits on its armed forces demands Kyiv and its Western allies have rejected.
US President Donald Trump threatened Russia on July 14 with steep tariffs and announced a rejuvenated pipeline for American weapons to reach Ukraine, hardening his stance toward Moscow after months of frustration following unsuccessful negotiations aimed at ending the war. The direct Russia-Ukraine negotiations in Istanbul resulted in several rounds of prisoner exchanges but little else.
Trump said he would implement severe tariffs unless a peace deal is reached within 50 days. He provided few details on how they would be implemented, but suggested they would target Russia's trading partners in an effort to isolate Moscow in the global economy.
In addition, Trump said European allies would buy billions and billions of dollars of US military equipment to be transferred to Ukraine, replenishing the besieged country's supplies of weapons. Included in the plan are Patriot air defense systems, a top priority for Ukraine as it fends off Russian drones and missiles.
Doubts were recently raised about Trump's commitment to supply Ukraine when the Pentagon paused shipments over concerns that US stockpiles were running low.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Mint
27 minutes ago
- Mint
EM Hedge Funds Eye Safeguards as World-Beating Rally Blooms
(Bloomberg) -- Hedge funds dedicated to emerging-market debt are increasingly turning to risk-mitigating strategies to ensure they lock in double digit gains as a broad rally in developing nation assets deepens. After a banner first half of the year, hedge funds targeting EM debt have returned nearly 13% on an annual basis — more than their peers positioned in any other asset class, according to data based on Bloomberg indexes. The latest global financial flows data shows the asset class remains thriving and the extra yield investors demand to hold the sovereign debt of developing nations over US Treasuries just hit a 15-year low. Such tight pricing, along with uncertainty over US policies and global conflicts, is pushing hedge funds to curb risks as they ride the historic rally. The funds do this by swapping longer-maturity bonds in their portfolios for less risky shorter-dated ones. They also focus on higher-rated debt and the most-liquid securities while keeping an ample cash pile. 'Do you just want to be massively long on credit on these valuations? I'd say probably not,' said Anthony Kettle, who co-manages BlueBay Emerging Market Unconstrained Bond Fund with Polina Kurdyavko and Brent David. 'Having a little bit of dry powder evidently makes sense, and also running elevated cash levels.' To be clear, Kettle said, there's still a 'decent environment' to gain additional returns as funds become more selective and can profit from both rising and falling asset prices, unlike index-based investors. The $784-million BlueBay fund has returned 17% over the past 12 months. Investors have taken advantage of EM inflows stoked by increased interest for alternative assets amid US policy unpredictability, which has also weakened the dollar. While many developing countries have come out of distressed debt levels as sentiment improved, further risks include another Iran-Israel flare up and potential additional increases in US tariffs, including on the buyers of Russian energy. President Donald Trump's administration has caused a 'breakdown of the traditional safe haven correlations' by shaking up the post-Cold War world order, creating an 'unusual and unpredictable' environment, said Demetris Efstathiou, the chief investment officer of Blue Diagonal EM Fixed Income Fund. 'It is very hard to predict what they will do next with tariffs, and on top of that you have ongoing wars,' Efstathiou said. His fund is 'very conservatively' positioned with shorter-maturity bonds and he avoids weak credits to protect the portfolio in the event of a global slowdown and market downturn. He has increased holdings of AAA- and AA-rated EM sovereigns along with less-indebted countries with large domestic markets like Brazil, Turkey and Mexico. EM-dedicated bond funds have received $31 billion in inflows year-to-date, with positioning increased in each of the last 14 weeks as global markets recalibrate after an era of US dominance. A near-record $5.7 billion piled into the asset class in the week though July 23, according to EPFR Global data provided by economists at Bank of America Corp. For some, flows of such a magnitude signal that EM debt is already predicting the best-case scenario. The US and European Union agreed on a deal that will see the EU face 15% tariffs on most of its exports, including automobiles, to stave off a trade war. Following the deal announced on Sunday, EM debt mostly strengthened with local yields in emerging European nations such as Poland, the Czech Republic and Hungary declining. 'The market is now priced for a Goldilocks scenario with the risk of a severe recession receding significantly and expectations' of one or more rate cuts by the Federal Reserve, the $847 million Enko Africa Debt Fund said in a letter to clients. Managed by Alain Nkontchou, the Africa-specific hedge fund has returned 24% over the past year. Nevertheless, the expected volatility means that traditional buy-to-hold trades may not necessarily succeed and that hedge funds will prioritize holding more liquid assets to ensure an easier exit in case sentiment turns, according to ProMeritum Investment Management LLP, a $700-million fund that invests in developing markets outside China. 'Liquidity management will be critical in the second half of the year because of an unpredictable environment and geopolitical risks,' said Evgueni Konovalenko, managing partner and head of strategy at the firm. Such a focus is needed 'to take advantage of both short and long positions with sudden policy changes and a daily barrage of headlines.' --With assistance from Jorgelina do Rosario. (Updates with EU-US trade deal in the 13th paragraph.) More stories like this are available on
Mint
27 minutes ago
- Mint
Copper Rises to Start Pivotal Week Ahead of US Tariffs Deadline
Copper rose to kick off a critical week that includes a Federal Reserve meeting, a swathe of key economic data and the prospect of final details on imminent US tariffs on the industrial metal. The metal rose with other risk assets after the European Union and the US reached a deal that avoids a more catastrophic rupture between two major economies. The agreement comes ahead of a US-China meeting in Stockholm that's expected to extend a trade truce for 90 more days. Further important developments lie ahead this week. The Fed isn't expect to cut rates at the conclusion of its policy meeting on Wednesday, but its commentary will be scrutinized for clues on what comes next. There's also a deluge of US data from the latest on economic growth to jobs. But for copper, the most anticipated development should be the launch of US tariffs, the details of which are still unclear just days ahead of their start date. President Donald Trump's administration has said 50% levies on copper imports will start from this Friday, but hasn't so far confirmed important aspects of the duties. It's not clear which products will be covered, whether supplies from all nations will be hit equally, or how metal already on its way to US shores will be treated. Global traders have shipped massive amounts of copper to America to get ahead of tariffs, and Trump's announcement of an Aug. 1 deadline earlier this month triggered a last-minute scramble. Prices in the US are now much higher than those on the London Metal Exchange, but they don't fully reflect a 50% universal tariff rate on all exchange-traded copper. The premium now stands at about 31%. Copper rose 0.4% to $9,804 a ton on the LME as of 9:22 a.m. in London. Aluminum dropped 0.3% while zinc fell 0.7% and nickel was down 0.9% This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
Deccan Herald
27 minutes ago
- Deccan Herald
Europe Inc swerves Trump trade war 'hurricane' but laments higher tariffs
Although the deal is better than the 30% rate threatened by Trump and will bring clarity for European makers of cars, planes and chemicals, the 15% baseline tariff is well above initial hopes of a zero-for-zero agreement.
