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.
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Global oil prices reached a four year high on Monday (9 March), surpassing $119 a barrel, as conflict in the Middle East rumbled on. Meanwhile, the Turkish Military said NATO air defence systems destroyed a missile fired from Iran towards the country.
Global oil prices surpassed $119 a barrel on Monday (9 March, 2026), an almost four year high, as the Middle East conflict rumbled on.
China has urged Afghanistan and Pakistan to resolve their dispute through dialogue after Chinese envoy Yue Xiaoyong met Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi, as fighting between the two neighbours entered its eleventh day.
Iranian civilian and military officials have pledged their obedience to the new leader, Ayatollah Seyed Mojtaba Khamenei, with President Masoud Pezeshkian saying his leadership “will herald a new era of dignity and authority for the Iranian nation.”.
Mojtaba Khamenei, son of the late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, is a hardline cleric with strong backing from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. His rise signals continuity in Tehran's anti-Western policies.
Trump says the United States "don’t need people that join wars after we’ve already won," targeting his criticism at UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer. Israel continues to fire missles at strategic sites in Iran and Gulf regions report more strikes from Iran.
Global oil prices surpassed $119 a barrel on Monday (9 March, 2026), an almost four year high, as the Middle East conflict rumbled on.
Iran named Mojtaba Khamenei to succeed his father Ali Khamenei as supreme leader on Monday (9 March), signaling that hardliners remain firmly in charge, as the week-old U.S.-Israeli war with Iran pushed oil above $100 a barrel.
Entry and exit across the state border between Azerbaijan and Iran for all types of cargo vehicles, including those in transit, will resume on 9 March, according to a statement by the Cabinet of Ministers of Azerbaijan.
U.S. President Donald Trump and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer spoke by phone on Sunday as tensions between Washington and Westminster deepened over the conflict involving Iran. The call came less than a day after Trump criticised Britain’s response to U.S. strikes on Iranian targets.
Norwegian police are searching for a suspect after an explosion at the U.S. embassy in Oslo on 8 March caused minor damage but no injuries, in what authorities say may have been a deliberate attack linked to the Middle East crisis.
An explosion damaged a synagogue in the Belgian city of Liège early on Monday (9 March) in what authorities said was an antisemitic attack that caused damage but no injuries.
The Group of Seven (G7) finance ministers will meet on Monday to discuss a global rise in oil prices and a joint release of oil from emergency reserves coordinated by the International Energy Agency, the Financial Times reports.
Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief. Here are the top news stories for the 9th of March, covering the latest developments you need to know.
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