{"id":2138,"date":"2025-08-12T23:55:54","date_gmt":"2025-08-12T23:55:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/?p=2138"},"modified":"2025-08-12T23:55:54","modified_gmt":"2025-08-12T23:55:54","slug":"eu-urges-trump-not-to-cave-to-putins-demands-at-alaska-summit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/?p=2138","title":{"rendered":"EU Urges Trump Not to Cave to Putin\u2019s Demands at Alaska Summit"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<br \/><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Welcome back to World Brief, where we\u2019re looking at how Europe is preparing for the <strong>Trump-Putin<\/strong> summit, <strong>South Africa<\/strong>\u2019s revised trade proposal with Washington, and a <strong>U.S.<\/strong> terrorist designation for the <strong>Balochistan Liberation Army<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<h3><strong>A Seat at the Table<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>The clock is ticking as U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin prepare to convene in Alaska for peace talks on the Russia-Ukraine war. But with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky notably not invited to attend Friday\u2019s summit, Western leaders are <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/europe-trump-putin-summit-ukraine-territory-ba56ddbd24d1b7e8e0aca7754d0f180a?user_email=6b04284e4d00370f16d3dac0a626e01bf24d86e4d6995646867da6aa680488d0&amp;utm_medium=Morning_Wire&amp;utm_source=Sailthru_AP&amp;utm_campaign=Morning%20Wire%20Aug%2012%2C%202025&amp;utm_term=Morning%20Wire%20Subscribers\">worried<\/a> that Trump will sideline Europe\u2019s security interests and cave to Moscow\u2019s demands.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div data-nosnippet=\"\">\n<p>Welcome back to World Brief, where we\u2019re looking at how Europe is preparing for the <strong>Trump-Putin<\/strong> summit, <strong>South Africa<\/strong>\u2019s revised trade proposal with Washington, and a <strong>U.S.<\/strong> terrorist designation for the <strong>Balochistan Liberation Army<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<div class=\"newsletter-unit-signup--shortcode-fallback\">\n<h2 class=\"dek-heading\">\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/category\/world-brief\/\">Sign up<\/a>  to receive World Brief in your inbox every weekday.            <\/h2>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<form data-shortcode-newsletter=\"world_brief\" class=\"newsletter-unit-signup newsletter-unit-signup--shortcode email-capture--step-1 newsletter-unit-signup--shortcode-world_brief\">\n<div class=\"newsletter-world_brief newsletter-shortcode-world_brief\">\n<div class=\"show-on-email-capture--signed-up hide-from-newsletter-subscriber newsletter-unit-signup--shortcode--container\">\n<div class=\"newsletter-unit newsletter-row\">\n<div class=\"newsletter-world_brief\">\n<h2 class=\"dek-heading\">Sign up to receive World Brief in your inbox every weekday.<\/h2>\n<p>\n                        <button class=\"button\">Sign Up<\/button>\n                    <\/p>\n<div class=\"grid--flex newsletter-world_brief newsletter-signup-container\" role=\"group\" aria-label=\"World Brief sign up form\" tabindex=\"0\">\n<div class=\"buttons\">\n<div class=\"hide-from-newsletter-subscriber privacy-policy-container\">\n<div class=\"privacy-policy-acknowledge\">\n<p><small>By submitting your email, you agree to the <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/privacy\/\" target=\"_blank\">Privacy Policy<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/termsofuse\/\" target=\"_blank\">Terms of Use<\/a> and to receive email correspondence from us. You may opt out at any time.<\/small><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>\n    <label for=\"email-world_brief\">Enter your email<\/label><br \/>\n    <input type=\"email\" name=\"email\" class=\"hide-from-reg hide-from-sub\" id=\"email-world_brief\" aria-required=\"true\" required=\"\"\/><\/p>\n<p>    <button class=\"button button--signup \" data-newsletter-id=\"world_brief\" data-sourceid=\"In-article unit\" type=\"submit\"><br \/>\n      <span class=\"sign-up-text\">Sign Up<\/span><br \/>\n      <span class=\"loading-text\">Loading&#8230;<\/span><br \/>\n    <\/button>\n  <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<hr\/>\n<h3><strong>A Seat at the Table<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>The clock is ticking as U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin prepare to convene in Alaska for peace talks on the Russia-Ukraine war. But with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky notably not invited to attend Friday\u2019s summit, Western leaders are <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/europe-trump-putin-summit-ukraine-territory-ba56ddbd24d1b7e8e0aca7754d0f180a?user_email=6b04284e4d00370f16d3dac0a626e01bf24d86e4d6995646867da6aa680488d0&amp;utm_medium=Morning_Wire&amp;utm_source=Sailthru_AP&amp;utm_campaign=Morning%20Wire%20Aug%2012%2C%202025&amp;utm_term=Morning%20Wire%20Subscribers\">worried<\/a> that Trump will sideline Europe\u2019s security interests and cave to Moscow\u2019s demands.<\/p>\n<p>Trump has suggested that Ukraine will have to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/news\/2025\/08\/11\/trump-russia-ukraine-land-swapping-00503875\">cede land<\/a> to Russia to secure a peace deal, a condition that Kyiv and the European Union vehemently reject. \u201cThe Europeans are perfectly willing to support a solution which would involve, my sense is, a cease-fire roughly along the existing line,\u201d Daniel Fried, a former U.S. ambassador to Poland, told FP\u2019s Christina Lu. \u201cBut a cease-fire, an armistice\u2014not a final settlement. They don\u2019t want to recognize Russian annexation.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Currently, Russia occupies roughly one-fifth of Ukrainian territory and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/world\/2025\/08\/11\/ukraine-war-kursk-invasion-russia\/\">controls<\/a> nearly all of the land in its own Kursk region, which Ukraine seized during a surprise incursion last August. According to people familiar with the upcoming talks, the White House and the Kremlin are considering a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/news\/articles\/2025-08-08\/us-and-russia-plan-truce-deal-to-cement-putin-s-gains-in-ukraine\">land swap<\/a> that would grant Russia sizable territorial gains, including full authority of Ukraine\u2019s Donbas and Crimea regions. It is unclear which areas Russia would willingly surrender\u2014if any.<\/p>\n<p>But EU members fear that such a result would effectively constitute a Russian win and set the stage for Moscow to turn its sights on the rest of Europe. On Wednesday, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz will hold virtual meetings aimed at rallying Trump to Ukraine\u2019s\u2014and Europe\u2019s\u2014cause. Trump has not confirmed whether he will attend, but he has promised to \u201cget everybody\u2019s ideas\u201d before Friday\u2019s dialogue with Putin.<\/p>\n<p>Whether that will be enough to assuage European concerns, though, remains slim. \u201cThe whole thing appears half-cocked, ill-prepared, and confused, probably due to the involvement of [U.S. special envoy Steve] Witkoff and his incompetent, blundering, credulous approach to dealing with the Russians, who have played him like a fiddle,\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/08\/12\/trump-putin-alaska-summit-ukraine-russia-meeting-peace-deal\/\">John Foreman<\/a>, a former U.K. defense attach\u00e9 to Moscow and Kyiv, told FP\u2019s John Haltiwanger. \u201cMeanwhile, Putin has conceded nothing, has avoided sanctions, and will be delighted to be back at the top table.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ukraine appears to agree. Putin wants to \u201cdeceive America,\u201d Zelensky <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/08\/11\/world\/europe\/ukraine-russia-putin-zelensky-alaska-talks.html\">warned<\/a> in an evening address on Sunday. On Tuesday, he also <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/AFP\/status\/1955202611537150105\">suggested<\/a> that Moscow is preparing to launch a new offensive. Over the past few days, Russian forces have <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ft.com\/content\/1a073378-3d16-44ea-a9e5-c57141260d80?shareType=nongift\">advanced<\/a> roughly nine miles along a narrow corridor near a key logistical hub; such a territorial grab could be used as leverage in upcoming negotiations.<\/p>\n<p>Even Trump is tempering his optimism. Friday\u2019s summit is a \u201cfeel-out meeting,\u201d he said on Monday, downplaying expectations that a concrete agreement will emerge. \u201cIf it\u2019s a fair deal, I will reveal it to the European Union leaders and to the NATO leaders and also to President Zelensky,\u201d he added. \u201cI may say, \u2018Lots of luck, keep fighting,\u2019 or I may say, \u2018We can make a deal.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<h3><strong>Today\u2019s Most Read<\/strong><\/h3>\n<hr\/>\n<h3><strong>What We\u2019re Following<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><strong>Negotiating a better rate. <\/strong>South African Trade Minister Parks Tau <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/africa\/south-africa-offer-us-revised-trade-deal-tuesday-2025-08-12\/?utm_source=Sailthru&amp;utm_medium=Newsletter&amp;utm_campaign=Daily-Briefing&amp;utm_term=081225&amp;lctg=607f1056abd4f461f466319b\">announced<\/a> on Tuesday that Pretoria will submit a revised trade proposal to counter steep U.S. tariffs. Last week, Trump imposed a 30 percent duty on South African goods\u2014the highest rate in sub-Saharan Africa and one of the highest U.S. levies in the world. It is unclear what South Africa\u2019s new proposal will offer to try to bring U.S. duties down.<\/p>\n<p>The Trump administration has been particularly critical of South Africa, namely over its land redistribution policy, which aims to address the country\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/01\/17\/land-power-south-africa-michael-albertus\/\">decades of apartheid<\/a>. The White House has accused Pretoria of <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/05\/23\/trump-south-africa-afrikaner-land-crime\/\">unfairly discriminating<\/a> against white Afrikaners, which rights experts and foreign leaders deny. On Tuesday, the U.S. State Department <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/national-security\/2025\/08\/11\/trump-south-africa-brazil-human-rights\/\">issued a memo<\/a> to Congress that reportedly outlines how Washington plans to target Pretoria over this alleged mistreatment, according to leaked drafts reviewed by the <em>Washington Post<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>But where trade talks with South Africa appear fraught, some U.S. adversaries are having better luck. On Monday, the United States and China <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/china\/us-china-extend-tariff-truce-by-90-days-staving-off-surge-duties-2025-08-12\/?utm_source=Sailthru&amp;utm_medium=Newsletter&amp;utm_campaign=Daily-Briefing&amp;utm_term=081225&amp;lctg=607f1056abd4f461f466319b\">agreed to extend<\/a> their tariff truce for another 90 days, thereby keeping U.S. duties at a minimum of 30 percent and Chinese levies at roughly 10 percent.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Terrorist designation. <\/strong>Pakistani officials on Tuesday <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/pakistan-united-states-balochistan-separatist-group-terror-8d4c6ceca522ffb6c52ece98b2597ff7?user_email=6b04284e4d00370f16d3dac0a626e01bf24d86e4d6995646867da6aa680488d0&amp;utm_medium=Morning_Wire&amp;utm_source=Sailthru_AP&amp;utm_campaign=Morning%20Wire%20Aug%2012%2C%202025&amp;utm_term=Morning%20Wire%20Subscribers\">celebrated<\/a> the U.S. State Department\u2019s decision to designate the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) and its military branch, the Majeed Brigade, as foreign terrorist organizations. The U.S. Treasury Department named the BLA a terrorist group in 2019, but the State Department\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2025\/8\/11\/us-puts-balochistan-armed-group-in-pakistan-on-foreign-terrorist-list\">new classification<\/a> is more severe, recognizes attacks that have occurred since the original declaration, and highlights Washington\u2019s thawing relationship with Islamabad. The separatist group has not publicly commented on the U.S. announcement.<\/p>\n<p>In late July, the United States and Pakistan secured a trade deal that will allow U.S. companies to access <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/04\/16\/pakistan-mineral-reserves-investment-trump-security\/\">oil reserves<\/a> in the resource-rich Balochistan province. And on Monday, Pakistani army chief Asim Munir <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/asia-pacific\/india-decries-sabre-rattling-after-pakistan-army-chiefs-reported-nuclear-remarks-2025-08-11\/\">visited<\/a> Washington to promote the two countries\u2019 <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/03\/12\/pakistan-us-counterterrorism-security-cooperation-trump\/\">military cooperation<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTerrorist designations play a critical role in our fight against this scourge and are an effective way to curtail support for terrorist activities,\u201d the State Department said in a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.state.gov\/releases\/office-of-the-spokesperson\/2025\/08\/terrorist-designation-of-the-majeed-brigade\">statement<\/a>. The BLA claimed responsibility last year for suicide bombings near Jinnah International Airport in Karachi and the port city of Gwadar, as well as for the March hijacking of a Jaffar Express train traveling to the city of Peshawar, during which the group held more than 300 passengers hostage and killed dozens of others.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Collision at Scarborough. <\/strong>The Philippines <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/china\/philippines-voices-concern-over-dangerous-chinese-actions-after-scarborough-2025-08-12\/?utm_source=Sailthru&amp;utm_medium=Newsletter&amp;utm_campaign=Daily-Briefing&amp;utm_term=081225&amp;lctg=607f1056abd4f461f466319b\">condemned<\/a> Chinese naval maneuvers in the South China Sea on Tuesday. According to Philippine authorities, three vessels delivering supplies to fishers operating near the Scarborough Shoal encountered \u201chazardous\u201d and \u201cblocking actions\u201d from Chinese ships in the area. \u201cTheir actions not only posed a grave danger to Philippine personnel and vessels, but also resulted in the unfortunate collision between the two Chinese vessels,\u201d the Philippine Foreign Affairs Ministry said in a <a href=\"https:\/\/dfa.gov.ph\/dfa-news\/statements-and-advisoriesupdate\/37026-dfa-statement-on-11-august-2025-incident-at-bajo-de-masinloc\">statement<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Footage released by the Philippine Coast Guard <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/world\/asia\/south-china-sea-philippines-warship-crash-coast-guard-chase-rcna224466\">shows<\/a> a Chinese coast guard ship following a Philippine vessel before another vessel, a Chinese warship, cuts across their path and crashes into the Chinese crew. It is unclear how much damage was caused or if anyone was injured.<\/p>\n<p>Beijing <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/08\/12\/world\/asia\/south-china-sea-chinese-navy-philippines-collision.html\">claims<\/a> that it took the necessary measures to counter Manila\u2019s presence in Scarborough Shoal, which is a <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/06\/01\/south-china-sea-sandy-cay-philippines\/\">disputed territory<\/a>. But foreign powers, including the United States, denounced China\u2019s actions as a reckless provocation that threatens Indo-Pacific security.<\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<h3><strong>Odds and Ends<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>A school of jellyfish <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/business\/energy\/swarm-jellyfish-shuts-french-nuclear-plant-2025-08-11\/\">forced<\/a> four French nuclear reactors to shut down on Sunday. According to the facility\u2019s operations manager, the \u201cmassive and unpredictable\u201d swarm of jellyfish floated into the pumping stations\u2019 filter drums. No damage was caused, but the facility must be cleaned out before it can return to normal functions. Marine biologists suggested that warming waters from climate change are to blame, but maybe the creatures were just jelly\u2014er, jealous\u2014of all the attention that clean energy is getting.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/08\/12\/trump-putin-alaska-summit-russia-ukraine-land-swap-eu\/\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Welcome back to World Brief, where we\u2019re looking at how Europe is preparing for the Trump-Putin summit, South Africa\u2019s revised trade proposal with Washington, and a U.S. terrorist designation for the Balochistan Liberation Army. A Seat at the Table The clock is ticking as U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin prepare to [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2139,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-2138","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-politcical-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2138","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2138"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2138\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2139"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2138"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2138"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2138"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}