Trump: Ukraine Negotiations Imminent
BBC News
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US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth says Donald Trump's attempts to negotiate a peace deal are "certainly not a betrayal" of Ukrainian soldiers as he insists Nato needs to ramp up defence spending
Hegseth adds the US president is the "one man in the world capable of convening the parties together to bring peace"
British Defence Secretary John Healey says there will be no talks about Ukraine without Ukraine – and Nato's Mark Rutte says any peace deal agreed must ensure Russia won't try to annexe more Ukrainian land in the future
The comments come after Donald Trump said he and Vladimir Putin had agreed to start negotiations on ending the war "immediately"
Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022
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Watch: What Donald Trump has said about the war in Ukraine
Edited by Rorey Bosotti and Neha Gohil
A little earlier, German defence minister Boris Pistorius said he welcomes a possible quick peace treaty between Russia and Ukraine – but added "it is regrettable" that Trump's administration "has already made public concessions to Putin before the negotiations have even begun".
Pistorius says: "In my view, it would have been better to talk about Ukraine's possible NATO membership or the country's possible loss of territory only at the negotiating table and not to take it off the table beforehand."
Speaking in Brussels, he says it's important to secure a "truly reliable, lasting, fair, and just peace" in the Ukraine-Russia war.
He adds that Europe "must be involved in the negotiations" because it will directly face the consequences of any deal.
Jonathan Beale
Defence correspondent
The head of Nato, Mark Rutte, is trying to salvage some credibility by urging allies to dramatically ramp up defence spending.
That, he hopes, will build bridges and influence with Washington. But President Trump has set a very high bar that few can meet – spending up to 5% of their GDP on defence.
Most allies struggled to meet the 2% target set over a decade ago.
So far, criticism of Donald Trump has been muted. But that carefully calibrated united Nato front on Ukraine – that’s survived until now – is fraying.
So too are efforts to keep President Putin isolated as an international pariah.
The German defence minister, Boris Pistorius, has been braver than most. He said “he regretted” that the US administration had already made concessions to Russia before the talks had started.
We can now bring you reaction from former Nato commander Wesley Clark to Donald Trump's phone call with Vladimir Putin yesterday.
Clark tells the BBC's Newsday programme that getting Putin to the negotiating table isn’t the issue – what matters is whether this can lead to lasting peace as he adds the Russian leader "just doesn’t want to give up anything for it".
Ukraine, on the other hand, fears a ceasefire could ease sanctions on Russia and give it time to rebuild, Clark says.
The former commander also says Ukraine has defended itself well but isn’t getting enough support. While Europe has supplied more weapons and ammunition than the US, he says neither has fully delivered on their promises to Ukraine.
It's just gone 09:00 here in London and 10:00 in Brussels, where the war in Ukraine is at the top of the agenda as Nato defence chiefs meet to discuss the alliance's security priorities. Here's a quick recap of what they've said so far:Jonathan Beale
Defence correspondent
It’s becoming harder for Nato to keep a united Nato front on Ukraine, with President Trump’s unilateral efforts to bring an end to the war.
The head of the alliance, Mark Rutte, is still trying to hold the line – saying that allies must step up their military support for Kyiv and that Ukraine must be involved in any peace talks. But in reality Washington is now making the calls.
That one phone call between Presidents Trump and Putin, due to be followed up by a meeting, has pushed Nato to the sidelines. Some defence ministers are trying to convey the message that nothing has fundamentally changed.
The UK defence secretary, John Healey, this morning repeated the familiar lines that Nato would remain focussed on keeping Ukraine in the fight and “put them in the best position to secure a lasting peace through strength”.
But Nato solidarity and strength has been weakened by the clear message from Washington – that in trying to bring an end to the war , it’s not prepared to bankroll military support for the Kyiv, or allow Ukraine to join Nato.
Nor does it believe Ukraine should expect the return of all its territory lost to Russia. It’s a very different message.
We've just heard from former MI6 chief Sir Alex Younger who says the most important factor in the current efforts to end the war are not about territory, but about Ukrainian sovereignty.
"Russia wants Ukraine to be a non-country, and if Donald Trump gives that away we've lost," he tells BBC Radio 4's Today programme.
Younger says Trump acknowledged that "Putin can't be seen to win" following his call with the Russian president yesterday. "That's the vital ground," he says, adding: "The territory stuff will be terrible, and bitter, and painful, but if we write Ukraine out of statehood then we have a problem."
He adds that, as part of a peace deal, Putin will want Ukraine to not exist, and will push for disarmament and limits on external allowances.
"If we sign up to those it's not a peace deal, it's a surrender deal," he says.
A Ukrainian MP tells the BBC they are "concerned" by Donald Trump's conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin as "the end of the isolation of Putin means that there is an illusion that Putin wants peace".
"How do we know that Putin really wants peace and wants to negotiate", Kira Rudik asks, speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live Breakfast, "and then who or what will make sure that Putin will keep his part of the bargain".
Asked if she could conceive a time Ukraine agrees a settlement that would give up territory to Russia, Rudik says "we will not give up on our territories".
"However, we may, as President Zelensky said, delay our goal to regain them."
And questioned on if she can imagine a point that the Ukrainian president might sit across the negotiating table with Putin, Rudik says "he has not to be alone at this table… he has to have European leaders and hopefully President Trump by his side, otherwise it would not have any result."
As Nato defence chiefs meet in Brussels, the fighting between Russia and Ukraine continues.
Ukraine’s air force says it recorded an attack by 140 drones overnight, starting at 20:00 local time (18:00 GMT). The Odessa and Kharkiv regions were reportedly hit.
The military also says it defended against the assault and, as of 09:00 local time, confirmed that 85 drones had been shot down.
Minutes after speaking to the press, Hegseth takes to the podium to address fellow defence chiefs – echoing calls from Nato Secretary-General Mark Rutte for countries to improve their defence production.
"Not just in Europe but in the United States as well, we need the ability to create the systems and munitions necessary to sustain a fight", he says.
The US defence secretary adds that they are "committed to expediting the process" of foreign military sales, to ensure "our allies get what they need when they need it".
He also praised President Donald Trump as the "one man in the world capable of convening the parties together to bring peace", after he spoke with the leaders of both Russia and Ukraine yesterday.
More from US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth now.
He says the US's attempts to negotiate peace between Ukraine and Russia is "certainly not a betrayal" of the Ukrainian soldiers who have been fighting against the invasion these past three years.
Hegseth stresses that the US has made an “incredible commitment” to Nato, adding that no country has a larger commitment to the Ukraine mission than the US.
He adds the US has invested over $300 billion (£240 billion) in stabilising the front lines after Russia's aggression, saying the world is "fortunate" to have President Trump and that, right now, only he "could convene the powers to bring peace".
Back to Brussels now, where we're hearing from US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth – who urges Nato countries to boost their defence spending.
Speaking to reporters ahead of the defence meeting, he says Russia's invasion of Ukraine was a "factory reset" for Nato, and that it gave the alliance the realisation that it needs to be "robust and strong and real".
He says US President Donald Trump has increased defence spending "across the board" since taking office, and that for others in the alliance, spending "even 2% of GDP is not enough". Pushing that up to 5% "is critical", he says.
"Americans are an active part of this alliance, as we have been and will continue to", he says, but the fight against the "Russian war machine" is an "important European responsibility, and of course the United States has been there for a long time as well".
Hegseth says he is looking forward to having "honest conversations about where we are, but to bring peace on the continent".
Dmitry Medvedev, Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council, says Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin’s conversation yesterday was "very important" and has criticised Joe Biden’s administration for blocking contact, claiming it has put the world "on the brink of the Apocalypse".
He says that before Biden’s team, no previous US government had "blocked contacts between the leadership", according to Russia’s state-owned Tass news agency.
"On the contrary, the leaders continued to communicate. And this allowed us to overcome crises."
Medvedev also warns that if Moscow’s enemies don’t realise Russia cannot be defeated, "the nuclear Doomsday clock will continue its inexorable march toward midnight".
Another thing on the agenda today is defence manufacturing, Rutte says, and "how to produce more".
"We are not producing enough", he says, "and that is a collective problem we have – from the US up to and including Turkey and including the whole of the European Union, Norway, the UK – we have fantastic defence industries but we are not producing enough".
Russia is producing far more than Nato countries are at the moment, he says, and "this is simply not sustainable, we need to ramp up the defence industry production".
We can now bring you fresh comments from Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte.
He says there is a "clear convergence" emerging among Nato allies, which is that "we all want peace in Ukraine sooner rather than later" and for Ukraine "to be in the best possible position" to negotiate.
Nato cannot let Putin try "to capture a square kilometre, a square mile of Ukraine in the future," Rutte says.
Ukraine could still become a Nato member in the future, according to Sweden's defence minister.
Arriving at the Nato defence ministers meeting in Brussels, Pal Jonson says: "I don't foresee the Nato membership as such being off the table for Ukraine."
"Our position is well known and communicated and we stand behind what was said at the Washington summit, of course, that Ukraine's future is in Nato when it lives up, of course, to the conditions," he adds.
We've just heard from UK's Defence Secretary John Healey as Nato defence ministers meet in Brussels.
Responding to Donald Trump's comments on the Ukraine war yesterday, he says Nato's job is to "put Ukraine in strongest possible position for any talks".
"There can be no negotiation about Ukraine without Ukraine," he adds.
Healey also says there will be new announcements on supporting Ukraine through Nato, with billions in new firepower for Ukrainian fighters on the front line.
"We want to see durable peace and no return to conflict and aggression," he says. "Let's not forget Russia remains a threat well beyond Ukraine."
Intensive fighting has been ongoing between Ukraine and Russia for nearly three years now, but that wasn't the start of the conflict.
In March 2014, Russia annexed the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea from Ukraine, and then backed pro-Russian separatists in an armed insurgency against Kyiv's forces in eastern Ukraine.
Then, in February 2022, Russia launched a full-scale invasion, and attempted to seize Kyiv.
It now controls around a fifth of Ukraine's territory, mainly in the east and south. Both sides have lost thousands of people, most of them military personnel.
Ukraine has also pushed into parts of Russia – specifically in the Kursk region, to the north-east of Ukraine – in a move seen partly as an attempt to force Russia to redeploy its units, and relieve pressure on forces in eastern Ukraine.
A group of major European powers – including the UK, France, Germany – say they must have a seat at the table for any future negotiations on the future of Ukraine.
The joint statement comes after foreign ministers of seven European countries and the European Commission met in Paris yesterday.
Here's that statement in full:
We are ready to enhance our support for Ukraine. We commit to its independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity in the face of Russia's war of aggression.
We share the goal to keep supporting Ukraine until a just, comprehensive and lasting peace is reached. A peace that guarantees the interest of Ukraine and our own.
We are looking forward to discussing the way ahead together with our American allies. Our shared objectives should be to put Ukraine in a position of strength. Ukraine and Europe must be part of any negotiations.
Ukraine should be provided with strong security guarantees. A just and lasting peace in Ukraine is a necessary condition for a strong transatlantic security.
We recall that the security of the European continent is our common responsibility. We are therefore working together to strengthen our collective defence capabilities.
As we've been reporting, US President Donald Trump had a 90-minute phone call yesterday with Russia's president Vladimir Putin, leading to a series of major announcements that could change the course of the war. Here's a quick recap of what he said:
Meanwhile, Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelensky also had an hour-long phone call with Trump. Zelensky said they "agreed to maintain further contact and plan upcoming meetings".
Alex Smith
Live reporter
Nato defence ministers will be waking up in Brussels this morning with the war in Ukraine at the top of their mind.
Yesterday US President Donald Trump spoke with both Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky about putting an end to hostilities.
Trump said he and Putin "agreed to have our respective teams start negotiations immediately", while Kyiv said Zelensky spoke with the US president about creating a "lasting, reliable peace".
Nato defence ministers also gathered for the first day of a meeting in the Belgian capital. Here the US's new Defence Secretary, Pete Hegseth, said it is "unrealistic" for Ukraine's borders to return to what it was like before Russia invaded Crimea in 2014.
He added that Ukraine's desire to join Nato was not a "realistic outcome" of any negotiation to end the war, words which will come as a bitter disappointment to Kyiv.
Shortly the defence ministers will be arriving for the second day of their meeting in Brussels, and we expect to hear from Secretary-General Mark Rutte.
We're restarting our live coverage. Stick with us and we'll bring you the latest.
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