live Key Gulf shipping routes remain stable despite uncertain peace talks
Shipping traffic through the key Gulf waterways of Bab el-Mandeb and the Strait of Hormuz remained largely unchanged at the start of the week, shippin...
Talks held between U.S., European and Ukrainian officials over the last three days in Florida aimed at ending Russia's war in Ukraine focused on aligning positions, U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff said on Sunday.
U.S. President Donald Trump has been pressuring Ukraine and Russia to come to an agreement on ending the nearly four-year-old war as soon as possible, but Russia wants to keep the Ukrainian areas it has seized and Kyiv has refused to cede ground.
After meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin's special envoy Kirill Dmitriev on Saturday, Witkoff and Trump adviser Jared Kushner met on Sunday with officials from Ukraine and Europe, and then separately with the Ukrainian delegation, led by senior official Rustem Umerov.
Witkoff, in a social media post, called Sunday's talks "productive and constructive" and focused on a "shared strategic approach between Ukraine, the United States and Europe."
"Russia remains fully committed to achieving peace in Ukraine," Witkoff said in the post. "Russia highly values the efforts and support of the United States to resolve the Ukrainian conflict and re-establish global security."
Kremlin foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov said earlier on Sunday that Ukrainian and European input into the peace proposals under discussion had not improved the prospects for peace, but said Dmitriev was scheduled to return to Moscow on Monday and would report to Putin on the outcome of his talks.
"After that, we will formulate the position with which we will proceed, including in our contacts with the Americans," Ushakov said in remarks posted by Kremlin pool journalist Pavel Zarubin on his Telegram channel.
The meetings in Miami were the latest in a series of talks between the U.S., Russia and Ukraine on a U.S.-drafted 20-point plan to end the war.
Witkoff said the U.S.-Ukraine meeting focused on four key points: further development of the 20-point plan, a multilateral security guarantee framework, a U.S. security guarantee framework for Ukraine, and further development on economics and prosperity to rebuild Ukraine.
U.S., Ukrainian and European officials earlier this week reported progress on security guarantees for Kyiv as part of the talks to end the war, but it remains unclear if those terms will be acceptable to Moscow.
"Peace must be not only a cessation of hostilities, but also a dignified foundation for a stable future," Witkoff said.
Prior to the Miami meeting, U.S. intelligence continued to indicate Putin has not abandoned his ambitions of taking over Ukrainian territory, according to six people familiar with the intelligence.
Senator Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican and close ally of Trump's, said on NBC's 'Meet The Press' on Sunday it was still unclear if Putin would accept the current deal.
If he does not, Graham said, the Trump administration should adopt an approach similar to its recent actions with oil tankers near Venezuela and "seize ships that are carrying sanctioned Russian oil.”
U.S. President Donald Trump says Iran has a "last chance" to sign what he described as "a good document", claiming talks are continuing at Tehran's request with backing from Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar.
U.S. President Donald Trump said late on Saturday he would hold off on a fresh attack on Iran as long as a deal could be reached quickly to halt Iran's nuclear ambitions and reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
Two firefighting helicopters collided while battling a major wildfire in Greece on Sunday, killing two crew members as emergency services continued efforts to contain fires fuelled by extreme heat and dry conditions across Europe.
French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu said wildfires that swept across France were now under control. Authorities warned that risks remained as Greece and Spain continued battling active blazes across parts of Europe.
Indonesian rescue teams are searching for 28 people still unaccounted for, three days after a passenger ferry caught fire off the coast of Madura island.
Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief. Here are the top news stories for the 4th of August, covering the latest developments.
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung urged authorities to increase support for people affected by a record heatwave, as the death toll reached 16.
The United States State Department is planning to close five diplomatic missions overseas in an uncommon reduction of its global diplomatic network, according to people familiar with a notice sent to Congress.
Morocco has blamed a recent Spanish court ruling for last week's mass migrant crossings into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, arguing that the decision weakened a key deterrent against irregular migration and was quickly exploited by people-smuggling networks.
A coalition of 25 US states has launched a legal challenge against the Trump administration, arguing that its latest attempt to impose sweeping tariffs on imports from around the world exceeds presidential powers and risks pushing up prices for American consumers.
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