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‘Russia should make a deal,’ Trump says as he confirms he held ‘very good meeting’ with Zelenskyy, will meet again later today
Oh, Trump is now speaking with reporters, sitting next to the Emir of Qatar.
He says he had a “very good” meeting with Zelenskyy this morning and will meet with him again later today.
“Look, Russia should make a deal. Russia’s lost tremendous amounts of people, and so has Ukraine. Last month, they lost 35,000 soldiers between the two; it’s on a monthly basis. They averaged 25,000 people, mostly soldiers, young, beautiful people, and it’s crazy what’s going on there.
But we had a meeting, and we’ll see… I spoke with President Putin on Sunday.”
He says there is “a lot of dislike between the two leaders,” and he will meet with Zelenskyy again later today.
Key events
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Ukraine peace talks could start before summer, German foreign minister suggests
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Russia will find way to block EU accession if we don’t proceed swiftly, Zelenskyy says
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Trump ‘very positive they can help us with missiles,’ Zelenskyy says
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G7 leaders discussed further sanctions against Russia, Zelenskyy says
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G7 leaders agree that Russia is not winning, he says
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Zelenskyy thanks G7 leaders for ‘strong ideas on how to force Russia into peace’
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Lithuania gets new prime ministrer after coalition reshuffle
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EU lawmakers approve legislation on trade deal with US
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Starmer vows new sanctions on Russia and nuclear energy support for Ukraine
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Kremlin says there was no invitation for Putin to attend G7 for talks with Zelenskyy
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‘Russia should make a deal,’ Trump says as he confirms he held ‘very good meeting’ with Zelenskyy, will meet again later today
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G7 leaders arrive for talks on Ukraine
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Morning opening: G7 leaders meet for talks on Ukraine, Middle East
Trump gets asked about his decision to stay a bit longer for a formal dinner hosted by the French president, Emmanuel Macron, at the Palace of Versailles on Wednesday night.
The dinner will celebrate the 250th anniversary of the US independence.
Trump says:
“I’m a fan of beautiful places, and I was leaving in the afternoon, and then the French President, who happens to be a very nice man, invited me to dinner at Versailles… and Versailles is not a gold leaf, Versailles is the real deal.
And I said I’d like to do it, I mean, you know, all it means is that I get home later in the evening, meaning early in the morning, and I’m not a big sleeper anyway.”
We don’t get more on Ukraine, though.
Jakub Krupa
Meanwhile, Trump is speaking to reporters again, after his meeting with the president of the UAE.
He is currently talking about the Middle East and Iran – we cover all of that on the Middle East blog – but I will pick up any lines on Ukraine and Europe.
Ukraine peace talks could start before summer, German foreign minister suggests
Meanwhile, the German foreign minister, Johann Wadephul, suggested that some talks on ending the Russian invasion of Ukraine could begin before summer.
Talking to RTL/NTV broadcasters, Wadephul said neither party appeared to have an upper hand on the battlefield, with the war effectively stuck.
“There is now a chance, I think, to begin talks this summer,” Wadephul was quoted as saying by Reuters.
Referring to Putin, he added: “He may now be at a stage where he is seriously considering it.”
Zelenskyy also briefly talks about business and Ukraine’s postwar reconstruction, stressing the importance of international security guarantees to underpin that process.
Zelenskyy gets asked about China and if he would be prepared to speak to Xi to end the war with Russia.
He effectively says that yes and that he is ready to talk to whoever can help with ending the war.
Russia will find way to block EU accession if we don’t proceed swiftly, Zelenskyy says
Zelenskyy also gets asked about his talks with the German chancellor, Friedrich Merz, and his idea of an associate membership of the EU.
He praises Merz and says he is clearly on Ukraine’s side and stresses that he knows that Ukraine is hopeful on getting some sort of fast track to the EU membership.
He says if that does not happen, Russia “will find a way to block Ukraine’s way to EU.” “They don’t want to see us successful,” he says.
He says Ukraine wants the same membership as other countries, “not better, but not worse.”
Separately, he posted on social media that the pair also discussed “defence support for Ukraine,” including on air defence.
Zelenskyy gets asked about Trump’s infamous comment from last year that Ukraine does not hold any cards.
He says that the situation on the battlefield is changing, with Russia increasingly struggling on the battlefield.
Despite the Kremlin’s denials (12:04), he repeats his claim that he had suggested inviting Putin to join the talks.
He calls for talks with Putin before this winter and says they should take place in a third country, like Switzerland, Turkey, the US, or one of the Middle East countries.
“It was terrible winter for us, and but … we don’t want to go through the same winter of course … and Russia has to know that we had terrible winter and they will have also not [a] simple [one]” this year, he says.
He confirms he discussed his proposals with Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich recently.
Trump ‘very positive they can help us with missiles,’ Zelenskyy says
Zelenskyy says that he needs the US president, Donald Trump, to put more pressure on Russia, as he says “Trump can do it, or only maybe only him.”
He says Trump was also “very positive that they can help us with missiles,” as Zelenskyy keeps pushing for a licence to Ukraine to produce Patriot missiles locally.
He says he “hopes it [will be] a yes.”
Zelenskyy also says he wants the EU to build a “European anti-ballistic system,” because “otherwise we will [all] not have enough.”
G7 leaders discussed further sanctions against Russia, Zelenskyy says
Zelenskyy also says he discussed with the G7 leaders some proposals for more sanctions on Russia, including on its shadow fleet.
“We see the [oil] prices are falling down and … it’s good, as Russia will not get additional benefits,” he says.
He also mentions the Russian banking and military sectors.
G7 leaders agree that Russia is not winning, he says
Ukraine’s Zelenskyy is also speaking now at the Reuters Next summit, via a video link.
Asked about his talks with the US president, Donald Trump, he smiles he told him “everything.”
He says the leaders had a “very positive” summit with a wide-ranging discussion on how to press Russia into negotiations.
He says the leaders unanimously agreed that “Russia is not winning and losing a lot of people, and they have to make a deal as quick as possible.”
He adds a growing number of Russians understand they are not winning and should end the war. “Better late than never,” he says.
He confirms he “had some talks” with Trump and is hoping to have more later, with plans to also meet with Germany’s Merz, and the EU’s von der Leyen and Costa.
He says all leaders recognise that Russia keeps attacking civilian targets and does not seem to want to end the war.
Zelenskyy thanks G7 leaders for ‘strong ideas on how to force Russia into peace’
Back to G7, Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy has taken to social media to hail a good G7-Ukraine discussion in France, thanking fellow leaders for their time this morning and “for the strong ideas on how to force Russia into peace.”
“Priorities are clear: more air defense missiles along with licences to produce them, winter support package, and cranking up pressure on Russia. Importantly, the US is ready to provide backstop across these lines of effort.
It is key that everything discussed be implemented. Russia must come to learn that its war will never be normalized. I thank everyone who’s helping.
Lithuania gets new prime ministrer after coalition reshuffle
Elsewhere, Lithuania’s governing coalition named a new prime minister after a coalition reshuffle that expelled a populist junior partner, Reuters reported.
The appointment of Mindaugas Sinkevičius – the head of the Social Democratic party who briefly served as economy minister – was confirmed by Lithuanian president Gitanas Nausėda.
Sinkevicius will replace current prime minister Inga Ruginienė, also a Social Democrat.
The Social Democrats – who lead the governing coalition – had announced in early June that they would be ousting populist party Nemunas Dawn, criticising its leader Remigijus Žemaitaitis for “inflammatory statements”.
EU lawmakers approve legislation on trade deal with US
Meanwhile, over in Strasbourg, the European Parliament has voted to approve legislation to implement the EU-US trade deal, after months of delays and uncertainty caused by numerous tariff threats from the US president, Donald Trump.
The vote was a formality after a political decision between the EU’s decision-makers was reached last month.
Starmer vows new sanctions on Russia and nuclear energy support for Ukraine
Alexandra Topping
in Évian-les-Bains
Keir Starmer has vowed to “choke off” Russian revenue with further sanctions and to provide hundreds of millions of pounds worth of energy support for Ukraine, as he met world leaders in France for the G7.
After a torrid political week at home, the British prime minister sought to put himself on the front foot on the international stage at the meeting of the group of seven, which kicked off on Monday in the French spa town of Évian-les-Bains, on the shore of Lake Geneva.
Starmer is expected to meet the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and the prime minister of India, Narendra Modi, on Tuesday, the first full day of the summit.
He will announce sanctions against Russia, days after British troops seized a Russian shadow fleet oil tanker in the Channel.
He is also set to use the meeting to reassure Donald Trump he is willing to raise defence spending, after the resignation of his defence secretary, John Healey, last week and ongoing delays to his defence investment plan – but is not expected to have a bilateral meeting with the US president.
Kremlin says there was no invitation for Putin to attend G7 for talks with Zelenskyy
Meanwhile we also heard from the Kremlin, with Putin’s spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, responding to Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s comments saying he had offered to meet Putin on the sidelines of the G7 summit in France (Europe Live Monday).
Peskov said there are currently no channels open between Kyiv and Moscow, and stressing there was no formal invitation to Putin to attend.
‘Russia should make a deal,’ Trump says as he confirms he held ‘very good meeting’ with Zelenskyy, will meet again later today
Oh, Trump is now speaking with reporters, sitting next to the Emir of Qatar.
He says he had a “very good” meeting with Zelenskyy this morning and will meet with him again later today.
“Look, Russia should make a deal. Russia’s lost tremendous amounts of people, and so has Ukraine. Last month, they lost 35,000 soldiers between the two; it’s on a monthly basis. They averaged 25,000 people, mostly soldiers, young, beautiful people, and it’s crazy what’s going on there.
But we had a meeting, and we’ll see… I spoke with President Putin on Sunday.”
He says there is “a lot of dislike between the two leaders,” and he will meet with Zelenskyy again later today.
There will be more new faces joining later this afternoon, with India’s Narendra Modi among them, too.
The Indian prime minister has just landed in France, coming from Slovakia, where he met with the country’s prime minister, Robert Fico, yesterday.
The two leaders – and their senior ministers – signed several deals on defence, digital (including AI), higher education, and labour mobility, according to reports in the Slovak media.
Fico stressed the benefits of the EU-India free trade deal, saying Bratislava would push for a swift implementation of the agreement as he invited Indian companies to invest in the central European country.
France’s Macron is now out of the meeting room again, welcoming the leaders of Egypt, UAE and Qatar to the G7 Summit, as they are expected to join the midday-ish session on the Middle East.
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