Russia's Lukoil plans to expand its operations in Uzbekistan
Russian oil company Lukoil plans to expand its activities in Uzbekistan, with potential areas including geological exploration, hydroca...
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday (December 15) that an agreement aimed at ending Russia's war in Ukraine is closer than ever, as his team reported progress after talks in Berlin.
“I think we’re closer now than we have been ever,” Trump told reporters at the White House, saying recent discussions had been extensive and constructive.
He said the focus remained on ending the fighting and preventing further loss of life.
The U.S. president also confirmed that he has held multiple conversations with Russian President Vladimir Putin. He said there were indications that Moscow was open to ending the conflict, while acknowledging the difficulty of keeping both sides aligned during negotiations.
“We’ve had good talks with Russia,” Trump said, adding that he believed both parties wanted to move towards a more stable situation, despite repeated setbacks.
Trump said he had also spoken in recent days with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and held lengthy conversations with leaders from Germany, Italy, Finland, France, the United Kingdom, Poland, Norway, Denmark and the Netherlands, as well as with NATO officials. He described the talks as detailed and said there was strong European support for bringing the war to an end.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen had said “nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine” after talks in Berlin, stressing that decisions on Ukraine’s future and territorial issues must be taken by Kyiv itself.
Meanwhile, a U.S. official who briefed reporters earlier said Trump was encouraged by progress made during talks in Europe, estimating that a large share of the issues under discussion had been narrowed, although key disagreements remained unresolved. The official said discussions included proposed security guarantees for Ukraine that would resemble NATO’s Article Five commitments, with Trump prepared to submit such measures to the U.S. Senate if an agreement is reached.
Trump said work was also under way with European partners on security guarantees aimed at preventing a renewed conflict, stressing that any agreement must ensure the war does not restart.
Negotiations involving U.S., Ukrainian and European representatives have been taking place in Berlin since Sunday. Officials said further meetings are expected this weekend, potentially in Miami, as efforts continue to push towards a negotiated settlement.
Russia's health watchdog said on Tuesday that no cases of plague had been detected among anyone who had come into contact with a Siberian plague institute laboratory worker who died last week, and locals said their lives had barely been disrupted.
Russia struck Ukraine overnight in one of the biggest attacks of the conflict, killing at least 19 people, Kyiv's Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday. Around 70 missiles were fired at Ukraine during the attack, as well as drones, the Ministry said.
An Azerbaijani citizen died and another is missing after a cargo ship was attacked by a drone in the Black Sea, near the coast of Romania on Monday, 5 October, Baku's Foreign Ministry has said.
A large Ukrainian drone attack on Moscow and the surrounding region has killed two people, damaged homes and sparked a major fire at a key fuel facility, according to Russian officials and military bloggers.
The German-Azerbaijani Connectivity Conference 2026 commenced on 6 October in Baku under the title “Mobilising Finance for Infrastructure, Transport, Logistics, Green Energy, and Digitalisation along the Middle Corridor.”
International cooperation, lunar exploration and the growing role of artificial intelligence dominated the third day of a major astronautical conference now underway in Antalya.
Armenian authorities have frozen a wide range of assets belonging to billionaire businessman and opposition politician Gagik Tsarukyan as part of proceedings linked to the confiscation of property allegedly acquired illegally.
Azerbaijan has sent another batch of humanitarian aid to Ukraine, consisting of electrical equipment vital for restoring the country’s energy infrastructure and preparing for the winter season.
Russia struck Ukraine overnight in one of the biggest attacks of the conflict, killing at least 19 people, Kyiv's Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday. Around 70 missiles were fired at Ukraine during the attack, as well as drones, the Ministry said.
An investigation into August Hanning, the former head of Germany’s Federal Intelligence Service (BND), has no connection to Azerbaijan, informed sources have told AnewZ.
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