Follow us on social

Diplomacy Watch Donald Trump Putin Zelensky

Will Trump step away from the Ukraine-Russia peace process?

‘This is a European situation. It should have remained a European situation’

Reporting | QiOSK

President Trump has again signaled that the United States may retreat from Russia-Ukraine peace negotiations. After a two-hour-long phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Trump called the war a “European situation,” and told reporters, “This isn’t my war, we got ourselves entangled in something we shouldn’t have been involved in.”

He ended on an optimistic note, saying “negotiations between Russia and Ukraine will begin immediately,” but indicated that the Vatican would be open to mediating negotiations, rather than the United States. The president also suggested that the United States was not yet withdrawing from negotiations, but was only considering doing so: “I think something’s going to happen, and if it doesn’t, I just back away and they’re going to have to keep going.”

“The conditions for that will be negotiated between the two parties, as it can only be, because they know details of a negotiation that nobody else would be aware of,” the president said regarding a ceasefire, adding that the tone of the conversation was “excellent.”

Despite Trump’s optimistic comments, it’s reported that his call with Putin did not include demands for Russia to make concessions, and Vice President JD Vance told reporters on Monday that the U.S. is “more than open to walking away.” Additionally, during a call with European leaders that took place after his call with Putin, witnesses claim Trump conceded that Putin was not willing to pursue peace negotiations because Russia was winning the war.

Some European leaders are frustrated that Trump did not seem to push against the Russian-made demands during last week’s talks in Istanbul, or threaten Putin with additional sanctions.

Even with these threats to possibly walk away, the Trump administration seems committed to sending aid to Ukraine and still maintains a host of sanctions on Russia.

For his part, Putin said, “I would like to note that, on the whole, Russia’s position is clear. The main thing for us is to eliminate the root causes of this crisis; we just need to determine the most effective ways to move towards peace.”

Kremlin Spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, added that “there are no deadlines, and there cannot be any. It is clear that everyone wants to do this as quickly as possible, but of course, the devil is in the details.”

In other Ukraine War news this week

The New York Times reports that Russia is expanding its military presence along the Finnish border. Satellite images confirmed that additional tents and buildings meant to store military equipment have been popping up along the border, despite Russia’s current low troop count there.

Also reported by The New York Times, Ukraine fired hundreds of drones into Russia on Thursday morning, one of its largest attacks during the war. According to the Kremlin, 485 drones were shot down while targeting 10 regions in Russia. It is unclear how much damage the drones caused, but multiple airports in Moscow were shut down temporarily. This comes after Russia launched 128 drones into Ukraine.

The United Kingdom and European Union are introducing fresh sanctions on the Kremlin. According to Reuters, the day after President Trump spoke with Putin, EU leaders approved a package of sanctions targeting oil exports. German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephu commented, “we have repeatedly made it clear that we expect one thing from Russia—an immediate ceasefire without preconditions.”



There were no State Department press briefings this week.


Top Photo Credit: Diplomacy Watch (Khody Akhavi)
Diplomacy Watch: Minerals deal to occur next week
Reporting | QiOSK
Trump Putin
Top image credit: President Donald Trump and Russian president Vladimir Putin participate in a joint press conference in Anchorage, Alaska, Friday, August 15, 2025. (Official White House Photo by Daniel Torok)

Could bioweapons be center of gravity for US-Russia talks?

Latest 3

The deep freeze in U.S.-Russia relations shows occasional, promising cracks. It happened recently not on the primary issue of conflict — the war on Ukraine — but on a matter of mutual survival. During the United Nations General Assembly President Donald Trump announced an initiative to address one of arms control's most intractable problems: verifying compliance with the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC).

"To prevent potential disasters, I'm announcing today that my administration will lead an international effort to enforce the biological weapons convention by pioneering an AI verification system that everyone can trust,” Trump said. He framed this as an urgent priority, claiming "many countries are continuing extremely risky research into bioweapons and man-made pathogens."

The proposal found immediate endorsement in Moscow. Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov offered unusually direct support, calling the initiative "brilliant in itself" and declaring that "Moscow supports it." Crucially, Peskov proposed concrete next steps, suggesting the U.S. proposal should be negotiated and formally codified in international agreements.

keep readingShow less
Donald Trump Africa trade
Top photo credit: global shipping (Shutterstock/APChanel); Donald Trump (Wirestock Creators/Shutterstock)

Trump's surprising swing in favor of sweeping 'duty free' Africa trade

Africa

In an unexpected move, the Trump administration has announced publicly that it supports renewing the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) for one year, and is interested in considering entering discussions on the long-term renewal of AGOA.

AGOA, which expired on September 30, was originally passed by Congress in 2000 and signed into law by President Bill Clinton. The legislation allows sub-Saharan African countries duty-free access to American markets, and gives the U.S. president the power to suspend countries that he believes fail to meet AGOA’s requirements, particularly as they relate to governance issues, human rights standards, and a failure to provide American companies beneficial access to African markets. It was last renewed in 2015.

keep readingShow less
Nigeria
Top image credit: A U.S. Army soldier (2R) trains Nigerian Army soldiers at a military compound in Jaji, Nigeria, February 14, 2018. To match Special Report NIGERIA-MILITARY/INTERNATIONAL Capt. James Sheehan/U.S. Army/Handout via REUTERS

US arming Nigeria is becoming a crime against humanity

Africa

The very week the United States’ Defense Security Cooperation Agency notified Congress of a $346 million arms sale to Nigeria, the U.S. State Department also released its 2024 Country report on human rights practices in the West African country.

The report, which has previously affected the country’s eligibility for security assistance, confirmed what civil society groups have been saying for years: that the security forces of Nigeria, Washington’s most significant ally in Sub-Saharan Africa, habitually operate with impunity and without due regard for human rights protection — a key condition for receiving U.S. security cooperation.

keep readingShow less

LATEST

QIOSK

Newsletter

Subscribe now to our weekly round-up and don't miss a beat with your favorite RS contributors and reporters, as well as staff analysis, opinion, and news promoting a positive, non-partisan vision of U.S. foreign policy.