Trump, the ‘Deal Maker,’ Now Missing in Action
US Warns It May Walk Away if No Ukraine-Russia Agreement
US Vice-President JD Vance said his country would "walk away" unless Ukraine and Russia agree on a deal, echoing recent comments from US officials. His warning came after London talks between officials from the UK, France, Germany, Ukraine and the US aimed at securing a ceasefire were downgraded after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and special envoy Steve Witkoff pulled out. The US is focused on talks this week in Moscow, where Witkoff will meet Russian President Vladimir Putin for the fourth time, as the pace of diplomacy to end the war quickens. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky, meanwhile, said he insisted on "an immediate, full, and unconditional ceasefire". His remarks come as Vance told reporters during a visit to India that the US had issued a "very explicit proposal" to both the Russians and Ukrainians. "It's time for them to either say yes or for the US to walk away from this process," he added. "We've engaged in an extraordinary amount of diplomacy, of on the ground work." Trump's Ukraine envoy, Gen Keith Kellogg, is attending the talks in London instead of Witkoff and Rubio, who referred to Wednesday's talks as "technical meetings". UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy is hosting a bilateral meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart also on Wednesday. There is growing speculation that Russia might be willing to halt its invasion along current front lines in return for significant concessions. However, there is little clarity about where the latest talks are heading or whether they will succeed. Vance on Wednesday said: "It's now time, I think, to take, if not the final step, one of the final steps, which is, at a broad level, the party saying we're going to stop the killing, we're going to freeze the territorial lines at some level close to where they are today….Now, of course, that means the Ukrainians and the Russians are both going to have to give up some of the territory they currently own," he added. Zelensky has ruled out recognising occupied Crimea as Russian territory, after reports suggested this was being considered by the US and the Kremlin - BBC
Vladimir Putin has offered to halt his invasion of Ukraine at the current front line as part of efforts to reach a peace deal with US President Donald Trump, according to people familiar with the matter. The Russian president told Steve Witkoff, Trump’s special envoy, during a meeting in St Petersburg this month that Moscow could relinquish its claims to areas of four partly occupied Ukrainian regions that remain under Kyiv’s control, three of the people said. The US has since floated ideas for a possible settlement that includes Washington recognising Russian ownership of Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula, the people added, as well as at least acknowledging the Kremlin’s de facto control over the parts of the four regions it currently holds. The proposal is the first formal indication Putin has given since the war’s early months three years ago that Russia could step back from its maximalist demands to end the invasion. But European officials briefed on US efforts to end the war cautioned that Putin would probably use the apparent concession as bait to lure Trump into accepting Russia’s other demands and forcing them on Ukraine as a fait accompli. “There is a lot of pressure on Kyiv right now to give up on things so Trump can claim victory,” one official said. Putin’s foreign policy adviser said on Tuesday that Witkoff would visit Moscow this week, according to Russian newswires. Dmitry Peskov, Putin’s spokesperson, told the FT: “Tense work is under way. We are talking to the Americans. The work is difficult and takes a lot of time, so it is difficult to expect immediate results, and the work cannot be done in public.” - FT
My comment: As I told the BBC’s Helena Humphrey over the weekend, the Resurrection wasn’t the only miracle observed this Easter. So too was the vanishing act of the self-declared “Master of the Art of the Deal”—Donald Trump—who once vowed to end the Ukraine war within 24 hours of returning to the White House. But Trump now seems to be cooling on the hard work of diplomacy, showing all the tolerance of a Las Vegas casino boss: if the house isn’t winning, eject the players.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is under growing pressure to accept Russian ceasefire terms that many view as extortionate—including Moscow retaining about 20% of Ukrainian territory and demanding international recognition of Crimea. No Ukrainian leader could survive the domestic fallout of agreeing to such terms. While few Ukrainians I’ve spoken to believe Crimea will be returned, it remains unclear if Russia will drop its maximalist demand for full control of all four partially occupied oblasts—Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson. For Zelensky, conceding them would, with a single signature, condemn millions of Ukrainians to life under occupation.
Trump now seems to be cooling on the hard work of diplomacy, showing all the tolerance of a Las Vegas casino boss: if the house isn’t winning, eject the players.
The Rite of Translation of the body of Pope Francis took place in the Vatican on Wednesday morning, led by the College of Cardinals gathered in Rome following his death. Cardinal Kevin Farrell, Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church, began the liturgical rite in the chapel of the Casa Santa Marta with a brief prayer for the soul of Pope Francis. In the opening prayer, Cardinal Farrell thanked God for the 12-year ministry of the late Pope. “As we now leave this home, let us thank the Lord for the countless gifts He bestowed on the Christian people through His servant, Pope Francis,” he prayed. “Let us ask Him, in His mercy and kindness, to grant to the late Pope an eternal home in the kingdom of heaven, and to comfort with the celestial hope the papal family, the Church in Rome, and the faithful throughout the world.” The College of Cardinals then led the procession of the coffin through the Vatican’s Santa Marta Square, under the Arch of the Bells, and into St. Peter’s Square. Over 20,000 people had gathered in the square to pay their respects to the late Pope, erupting into subdued but sustained applause as his coffin was carried up the steps and into St. Peter’s Basilica. The late Pope’s coffin was placed in front of the Altar of the Confession, and the choir chanted the Litany of the Saints in Latin for the repose of his soul. Cardinal Farrell then led a brief Liturgy of the Word, which included a reading from the Gospel of John (17:24-26) of Jesus’ priestly prayer proclaiming the love of God for Him and for His disciples - Vatican News
An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.2 shook Istanbul and other areas Wednesday, prompting widespread panic and scores of injuries in the Turkish city of 16 million people, though there were no immediate reports of serious damage. More than 150 people were hospitalized with injuries sustained while trying to jump from buildings, said the governor’s office in Istanbul, where residents are on tenterhooks because the city is considered at high risk for a major quake. The earthquake had a shallow depth of 10 kilometers (about 6 miles), according to the United States Geological Survey, with its epicenter about 40 kilometers (25 miles) southwest of Istanbul, in the Sea of Marmara - AP
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Wednesday called for major overhauls to the missions of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank but said that the United States remained committed to maintaining its leadership role at the global economic institutions. The comments, made at a speech on the sidelines of the spring meetings of the I.M.F. and the World Bank, come at a moment of concern among policymakers that the Trump administration could withdraw the United States entirely from the fund and the bank. The United States has upended the global trading system in recent months and the views of the Trump administration on climate change, international development and economic equity are often at odds with those of the other nations that are shareholders in the global institutions. “The I.M.F. has suffered from mission creep,” Mr. Bessent said in remarks to the Institute of International Finance. “The I.M.F. was once unwavering in its mission of promoting global monetary cooperation and financial stability. Now it devotes disproportionate time and resources to work on climate change, gender and social issues.” Arguing that its focus has overshadowed its economic mission, Mr. Bessent added: “These issues are not the I.M.F.’s mission.” The Treasury secretary also had tough criticism for the World Bank, which under the Biden administration increased its focus on combating climate change. “The bank should no longer expect blank checks for vapid, buzzword-centric marketing accompanied by halfhearted commitments to reform,” Mr. Bessent said. “As the bank returns to its core mission, it must use its resources as efficiently and effectively as possible. And it must do so in ways that demonstrate tangible value for all member countries.”
The journals…
