International News
Trump Warns Of Make-Or-Break Chance With Putin As Pressure Mounts
Pressure mounted ahead of a landmark summit in Alaska between the United States and Russia, as Donald Trump warned that Vladimir Putin had only one chance but Moscow pressed ahead with major battlefield gains in Ukraine.
Putin and Trump will meet Friday at an air base in the far-northern US state, the first time the Russian leader has been permitted on Western soil since his February 2022 invasion of Ukraine which has killed tens of thousands of people.
With such high stakes, all sides were pushing hard in the hours before the meeting.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who has refused to surrender territory to Russia, spoke by telephone Wednesday with Trump, as did European leaders who voiced confidence afterward that the US leader would seek a ceasefire rather than concessions by Kyiv.
Trump himself sent mixed messages, saying that he could quickly organize a three-way summit afterward with both Zelensky and Putin but also warning of his impatience with Putin.
“There may be no second meeting because, if I feel that it’s not appropriate to have it because I didn’t get the answers that we have to have, then we are not going to have a second meeting,” Trump told reporters.
Russia, Trump said, would face “severe consequences” if it does not halt its offensive.
But Trump said: “If the first one goes okay, we’ll have a quick second one,” involving both Putin and Zelensky.
Putin pitched the meeting after Trump threatened sanctions on Russia. Trump has already ramped up tariffs on India, which has become a key buyer of Russian energy.
Zelensky, after being berated by Trump at a February meeting in the White House, has publicly supported US diplomacy but made clear his deep skepticism.
“I have told my colleagues — the US president and our European friends — that Putin definitely does not want peace,” Zelensky said.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who welcomed Zelensky in Berlin, said Ukraine is ready to negotiate “on territorial issues” but stressed that legal recognition of Russian occupations “would not be up for debate.”
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte declared: “The ball is now in Putin’s court.”
Talks at Cold War base
Trump will meet Putin on Friday at Elmendorf Air Force Base, a major US military hub in Alaska’s most populous city of Anchorage that played a key role in monitoring the Soviet Union during the Cold War.
Off the base, on the rainy streets of Anchorage, there were few signs that the world’s eyes would soon be on the city, other than an influx of media who have booked up virtually all rooms.
The US Treasury Department announced that it would temporarily ease sanctions on the visiting senior Russian officials, who normally would struggle to carry out simple transactions, such as withdrawing cash in Western countries.
The most visible sign of the impending summit was in Ukraine itself.
According to an AFP analysis of battlefield data from the US-based Institute for the Study of War, Russian forces made their biggest 24-hour advance into Ukraine in more than a year on Tuesday.
The Russian army took or claimed 110 square kilometers (42.5 square miles) on August 12 compared with the previous day.
Ukrainian soldiers in Kramatorsk, an eastern city about 20 kilometers (12 miles) from the front, said they had low expectations for Trump’s meeting with Putin.
Artem, a 30-year-old serviceman, said the war would likely continue for “a long time.”
“Putin is massing an army, his army is growing, he is stockpiling weapons, he is pulling the wool over our eyes.”
Trump has long voiced admiration for Putin and had vowed to end the Ukraine war within 24 hours of returning to the White House.
But he has since voiced frustration as Putin ignores his pleas for a ceasefire and presses ahead with attacks on Ukraine.
AFP
Jeremy Doku insisted Manchester “will keep on fighting” in the Premier League title race despite their “painful” draw with Everton on Monday.
City drew 3-3 with the Toffees at Hill Dickinson Stadium, with Doku scoring a 97th-minute equaliser, having also scored the opening goal.
Doku’s equaliser (96:49) is City’s third-latest goal on record (since 2006-07) in a Premier League game after John Stones’ strike against Arsenal in September 2024 (97:14) and Gabriel Jesus’ goal against Everton in February 2019 (96:52).
Doku has had a hand in six goals across his last five games for City in all competitions (four goals, two assists), as many as in his previous 22 games combined (one goal, five assists).
The Belgian also created the most chances in the match against Everton (four), completed the most dribbles (5/7) and won the most duels (14/19).
City avoided defeat in a Premier League game despite trailing by 2+ goals as late as the 82nd minute for the first time since March 2012 against Sunderland (3-3).
They went on to win the league title in 2011-12, and Doku believes City can still beat Arsenal to the trophy this season.
“First half, we played well and created a lot of chances. We know if we don’t score those chances, it is going to get difficult at the end,” said Doku.
“Obviously, they are at their own stadium, they create chances, and they are dangerous, and they scored two goals, but I think we gave them the game.
“Good that we came back because one point is not bad in games like this.
“We will see. It feels painful now. There is still a lot of games to go. We lost two points, but we know that one point can be important at the end.
“We will keep on fighting. We owe it to ourselves and to our fans.”
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Nigerians interested in repatriation from South Africa will be responsible for the cost of their return trip to Nigeria.
The ministry’s spokesperson, Kimiebi Ebienfa, stated this during a press briefing on Monday in Abuja.
The briefing came shortly after a closed-door meeting between the Ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Dunoma Ahmed, and the South African Acting High Commissioner, Lesoli Machele.
Mr Ebienfa said the process will be self-funded and not state-funded, as it is a voluntary decision that the Nigerian government will only facilitate and coordinate.
In the recent past, such reparations have been sponsored by Nigerian airline owners, particularly Allen Onyema, the CEO of Air Peace.
The Nigerian government, on Sunday, indicated its readiness to repatriate its citizens from South Africa due to xenophobic violence.
The effort primarily targets Nigerians who feel threatened by the xenophobic violence and tension in parts of South Africa, as the protests against black immigrants in the country continue. Two Nigerians were killed last month.
Since the announcement, about 130 Nigerians in South Africa have expressed a willingness to return home voluntarily.
Mr Ebienfa stated that the return of the Nigerians depends on their financial capacity, as they would be expected to fund their trip back home individually.
He said, “Those willing to leave are expected to approach the high commission and, given that their decision is voluntary, have the resources to fund their return to Nigeria.”
The government will not “provide an aircraft from Nigeria to convey them.”
He also noted that the speed of the repatriation process will be determined by the availability of funds.
“Yes, 130 as of this morning have registered, but actualisation would be required to have their flight ticket to move back to Nigeria.”
Mr Ebienfa also explained that Nigerians who have so far expressed interest are motivated either by concerns about threats to their lives or by fear of arrest by South African law enforcement agencies.
“There are two groups of Nigerians who want to come back. One group feels the country is not safe for them and wants to come. They have all their papers intact.
“Then there is also the second group that has travel document violations or resident permit violations. And instead of running away from law enforcement, they are appealing that the government facilitate their movement back to Nigeria,” he explained.
However, he noted that the process is still being worked out and that the government would step in to provide aircraft or other needed assistance if tensions rise and the situation becomes more volatile.
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