Page 12 - Latest Updates on Ukraine peace talks

EU imposes new sanctions on Russian energy, joins US in pressure campaign

The EU will also tighten a transaction ban on two major Russian oil companies and sanction 117 additional so-called shadow fleet vessels

Belgium urges EU partners to share risk of using frozen Russian assets

Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever insisted on Thursday that his European partners must share the risk of using billions of dollars in frozen Russian assets that are held in his country to help keep Ukraine's economy and war effort afloat in the coming years. Ukraine's budget and military needs for 2026 and 2027 are estimated to total around USD 153 billion, and the European Union's executive branch has been developing a plan to use Russia's frozen assets as collateral to drum up funds. The biggest tranche of those assets some USD 225 billion worth is held in Belgium, and the Belgian government is wary of using the money without firm guarantees from other EU countries. If we want to give them to Ukraine, we have to do it all together, De Wever told reporters as he arrived for a summit with his EU counterparts in Brussels. If not, Russian retaliation might only hit Belgium. That's not very reasonable. We are a small country, and retaliation can be very hard. They might confiscat

Recalibrating Russian oil imports, will fully comply with guidelines: RIL

Reliance, which operates the world's largest refining complex at Jamnagar in Gujarat, has a long-term deal to buy nearly 500,000 bpd of crude oil from Russian major Rosneft

India to cut Russian oil imports by year-end: Trump after new sanctions

US President Donald Trump said India will sharply reduce Russian oil imports by the end of the year, following new US sanctions on Moscow's major oil firms

Trump-Putin Budapest summit on hold after Rubio talks with Lavrov

Plans are on hold for President Donald Trump to sit down with Russian leader Vladimir Putin to talk about resolving the war in Ukraine, according to a US official. The meeting had been announced last week. It was supposed to take place in Budapest, although a date had not been set. The decision was made following a call between US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. The official requested anonymity because they weren't authorised to speak publicly. The back-and-forth over Trump's plans are the latest bout of whiplash caused by his stutter-step efforts to resolve a conflict that has persisted for nearly four years.

Trump ignored MEA's denial on India's Russian oil imports, says Congress

Taking a swipe at the government, the Congress on Tuesday said the matter of India's imports of oil from Russia has been raised by US President Donald Trump thrice in the past five days, and he has "brushed aside" the MEA's attempts at denial of any conversation in which Prime Minister Narendra Modi promised stopping Russian oil imports. The opposition party's assertion came after Trump said India is going to pay massive tariffs if it continues to buy oil from Russia, while reiterating that he got assurance from Prime Minister Narendra Modi that New Delhi is going to halt its oil purchases from Moscow. Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said, "The matter of India's imports of oil from Russia has been raised by President Trump now thrice in the past five days. And no doubt he will keep increasing this tally as he prepares to meet President (Vladimir) Putin in Budapest later in the week. "President Trump says he has spoken to his good friend Mr Modi and

Ukraine 'could still win' against Russia, says Trump but doubts outcome

Trump's remarks came during his meeting with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese at the Oval Office, where both leaders signed a multi-billion dollar agreement on critical minerals

Zelensky says his Trump meet 'positive' though he didn't get Tomahawks

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says his reportedly tense meeting with US President Donald Trump last week was positive even though he did not secure the Tomahawk missiles for Ukraine and emphasized what he said is continued American interest in economic deals with Kyiv. Zelenskyy said Trump reneged on the possibility of sending the long-range missiles to Ukraine, which would have been a major boost for Kyiv, following his phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin hours before the Ukrainian leader and American president were to meet on Friday. In my opinion, he does not want an escalation with the Russians until he meets with them, Zelenskyy told reporters on Sunday. His comments were embargoed until Monday morning. Ukraine is hoping to purchase 25 Patriot air defense systems from American firms using frozen Russian assets and assistance from partners, but Zelenskyy said procuring all of these would require time because of long production queues. He said he spoke to

EU energy ministers push to ban all Russian gas by 2027 amid US pressure

Europe has been under pressure from the US to speed up moves to sever its energy ties with Moscow, and buy more American liquefied natural gas

'Putin said he'll destroy you': Trump asks Zelenskyy to accept war terms

In a tense White House meeting, Donald Trump reportedly asked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to accept Russia's terms to end the war, warning of severe consequences if he refused

'India won't buy Russian oil': Trump repeats claims of speaking to PM Modi

Trump reiterated that PM Modi assured India would not buy Russian oil now, despite New Delhi dismissing his claims; Trump added New Delhi would continue paying 'massive' tariffs otherwise

Putin demands control of key Ukraine region in return for peace: Report

Putin's focus on Donetsk suggests he is not backing away from past demands that have left the conflict in a stalemate, despite Trump's optimism about securing a deal

Trump confident of brokering long-lasting peace between Russia and Ukraine

During a bilateral lunch with the Ukrainian President in the White House, Trump reiterated his confidence in facilitating an end to the ongoing war

'India won't be buying Russian oil anymore': Trump reiterates claim

Earlier this week, Trump claimed that PM Modi assured him that India would stop buying oil from Russia, a move he described as "a big step" in Washington's efforts to isolate Moscow

Trump repeats claim of ending India-Pak war, vows 'success' in Ukraine too

During a bilateral lunch with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the White House, Trump claimed credit for defusing tensions between the two nuclear-armed nations

Reluctant to sell Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine: Trump to Zelenskyy

US President Donald Trump signalled to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday that he is leaning against selling him long-range Tomahawk missiles, while offering optimism that the war is moving toward an end that would mitigate a need for the powerful weapon. Zelenskyy at the start of the White House talks said he had a "proposition" in which Ukraine could provide the United States with its advanced drones, while Washington would sell Kyiv the Tomahawk cruise missiles that Ukrainian officials say they desperately need to motivate Russian President Vladmir Putin to get serious about peace talks. But Trump said he was hesitant to tap into the US supply, a turnabout after days of suggesting he was seriously weighing sending the missiles to help Ukraine beat back Russia's invasion. "I have an obligation also to make sure that we are completely stocked up as a country, because you never know what is going to happen in war and peace," Trump said. He added, "We would much rather