Raphael Stevens

Volodymyr Zelensky has issued a warning to Vladimir Putin following the Russian leader’s two-hour call with Donald Trump.In a post on Truth Social, Trump said the call with Putin on Monday (19 May) went “very well” and the conditions of the ceasefire would be “negotiated between the two parties”.Speaking at a press conference following the call, Mr Zelensky warned his country “will accept no ultimatums”.He said: “We will not give away our land, our territories and our people, our homes.” More

Donald Trump bullying Keir Starmer has got him what he wants in the US-UK trade deal, an MP has claimed.Liberal Democrat MP Calum Miller voiced his opinion on the historic deal, when he appeared on BBC Question Time on Thursday (8 May).Responding to an audience member, Mr Miller said the deal is a victory of Trump as he called for more active negotiation with Europe.He said: “We’ve just shown him that by bullying us, he can get what he wants.” More

Defence secretary John Healey has been grilled on reports of a UK-US trade deal.Donald Trump revealed his administration has reached an agreement with a “highly respected country” on Wednesday (7 May), and is expected to announce the deal with the UK at a news conference at about 3pm UK time today.Appearing on Sky News this morning, Mr Healey was grilled about the trade deal.He said: “I am not going to preempt what the prime minister or president may say, but what this reminds us is the US is an indispensable ally for the UK, both on economic and national security grounds.” More

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has hinted America may be ready to “move on” from Russia-Ukraine peace talks if there is not progress in the coming days.Rubio made his comments to reporters in Paris after a marathon day of landmark talks among US, Ukrainian and European officials, on Thursday (17 April).Rubio said:”The president has spent 87 days at the highest level of his government, repeatedly taking efforts to bring this war to an end. We are now reaching a point where we need to decide and determine whether this is even possible or not, which is why we’re engaging both sides.” More

Former US president Ronald Reagan warned of a Donald Trump-style trade war tactic in a radio address nearly 40 years ago.A video from Mr Reagan’s 1988 speech, focusing on Canadian elections and free trade, has resurfaced in light of Trump’s presidency and tariffs.Mr Reagan used his radio broadcast to warn against “trade wars“ and beware of “demogogues who are ready to declare a trade war against our friends”. The 1988 speech is in sharp contrast to Donald Trump’s stance with the use of tariffs. His administration has imposed 25% additional tariff on imports from Canada and Mexico and a 10% additional tariff on imports from China. More

Donald Trump has warned Volodymyr Zelensky of “big problems” after accusing the Ukrainian president of backtracking on a rare earth minerals deal with the US.Speaking to reporters on Air Force One on Sunday (30 March), the US president said: “I see he’s trying to back out of the rare earth deal. If he does that, he’s got some problems — big, big problems.””We made a deal on rare earth, and now he’s saying, well, you know, I want to renegotiate the deal. He wants to be a member of Nato. Well, he was never going to be a member of Nato. He understands that,” Trump added. More