8005 Followers
690 Following
Senior Correspondent for Europe at the South China Morning Post.
Tracking the shifting tectonic plates of global trade and geopolitics.
All posts should be heard in a Fermanagh accent.
Wrote about Orban balancing act of Maga / China last yr. Seems his Russia ties caught up with him first
"Officials around Europe are wondering how long he will remain the EU’s most pro-Trump & pro-China leader, particularly as Trump threatens to get tough on Beijing"
The Hungarian prime minister must walk a fine ‘economically neutral’ line between East and West.
Trump called Orban on Monday following talks with Zelenskiy and European leaders to discuss why the Hungarian prime minister was blocking Ukraine’s accession talks with the European Union, according to people familiar with the matter.
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
US President Donald Trump called Viktor Orban on Monday following talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and European leaders to discuss why the Hungarian prime minister was blocking Ukrai...
This morning's story: European leaders breathe sigh of relief, but doubts linger over Trump’s pledges to Ukraine
Volodymyr Zelensky and other leaders hailed the summit as a breakthrough, but the value of the US guarantees have been called into question.
WSJ reporting on security guarantees
Von der Leyen has not done press but her post on X focused on the return of children, prompted by a Trump post, which was prompted by her own statement at the roundtable
She thanked Trump for "his clear commitment today to ensuring these children are reunited with their loved ones."
Starmer:
"The other material outcome was the agreement that there will now be a bilateral agreement between Putin and Zelensky, that was after a phone call between Trump and Putin during the course of this afternoon, followed by a trilateral that will add in Trump."
Keir Starmer said there were "two material outcomes", the US security guarantees and the UKR-RUSS summit
"That's really important for security in Ukraine, for security in Europe, and for security in the UK," Starmer said on security guarantees, but no detail (so is it really material?)
"My expectations have not only been met, but exceeded... it could have turned out differently," said Merz
Saying these are "fateful days for Ukraine and for Europe", Merz pushed for a ceasefire before talks
"Such a summit is only conceivable if the weapons fall silent."
He says the progress of the day is sanctions if Putin declines to talk
"That is essentially what has been agreed today. This is just one step. I am not about to declare victory, but when I look at where we were a few months ago, and... where we are now, I am very pleased with the progress made."
But he thinks Trump believes he can get a deal:
"But if the process is rejected, we all agree sanctions [on Russia] will have to be increased and, in any case, we would have to take a stance that puts more pressure on Russia to return to the negotiating table."