Politics
Ukraine’s Zelenskyy wants face-to-face with Putin at proposed talks – National TenX News
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will only attend talks on Ukraine if Russia’s Vladimir Putin is also there, the Ukrainian leader’s top aide said on Tuesday, challenging the Kremlin to show it is genuine about seeking peace.
U.S. President Donald Trump has offered to attend Thursday’s proposed meeting in Istanbul, which has become the focus of his attempts to end the deadliest conflict in Europe since World War Two. Putin has yet to say if he will take part.
Both Russia and Ukraine have sought to show they are working towards peace after Trump prioritized ending the war, but they have yet to agree any clear path.
Putin on Sunday proposed direct talks with Ukraine after ignoring a Ukrainian proposal for an unconditional 30-day ceasefire. Trump then publicly told Zelenskiy to accept.
“President Zelenskyy will not meet with any other Russian representative in Istanbul, except Putin,” Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak told Reuters.
His chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, said Zelenskyy’s trip to Turkey showed Kyiv was ready for talks but repeated Ukraine’s stance that any negotiations must come after a ceasefire.
“Our position is very principled and very strong,” Yermak said during a visit to Copenhagen.
Moscow has not said if Putin will travel to Turkey.
“We are committed to a serious search for ways of a long-term peaceful settlement,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Monday but would not comment further on the talks.
Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, unleashing a war that has killed hundreds of thousands of soldiers on both sides. Most of Europe has rallied around Kyiv providing arms and financial aid, while Russia has turned to Iran and North Korea for support.
Trump has demanded the two nations end the war, threatening to walk away from efforts to broker a peace deal unless there are clear signs of progress soon.
If Zelenskyy and Putin, who make no secret of their mutual contempt, were to meet on Thursday it would be their first face-to-face meeting since December 2019.
Get daily National news
Get the day’s top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day.
Trump, who is due to visit Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar this week, unexpectedly offered on Monday to travel to Istanbul, which straddles the divide between Europe and Asia.
“I was thinking about actually flying over there. There’s a possibility of it, I guess, if I think things can happen, but we’ve got to get it done,” Trump said before leaving for his second foreign trip since returning to the White House in January.
“Don’t underestimate Thursday in Turkey,” he added.
Following the offer, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio discussed the “way forward for a ceasefire” in Ukraine with his Ukrainian, British, French, Polish, German and EU counterparts.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, meanwhile, held talks with his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan.
Reuters reported last year that Putin was open to discussing a ceasefire with Trump, but that Moscow ruled out making any major territorial concessions and insists Kyiv abandon ambitions to join NATO.
Ukraine has said it is ready for talks but a ceasefire is needed first, a position supported by its European allies.
Kyiv wants robust security guarantees as part of any peace deal and rejects a Russian proposal for restrictions on the size of its military. Territorial issues could be discussed once a ceasefire is in place, it says.
Putin has repeatedly referred to a 2022 deal which Russia and Ukraine negotiated shortly after the Russian invasion but never finalized.
Under the draft agreement, a copy of which Reuters has reviewed, Ukraine should agree to permanent neutrality in return for international security guarantees from the five permanent U.N. Security Council members: Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States.
Ukraine and its European allies have told Russia that it would have to accept an unconditional 30-day ceasefire from Monday or face new sanctions. The Kremlin replied, saying it would not respond to ultimatums.
France said on Monday European leaders, who met in Ukraine over the weekend, had asked the European Commission to put together new “massive” sanctions targeting Russia’s oil and financial sector if Russia failed to agree a ceasefire.
Russia’s forces control just under a fifth of Ukraine, including all of Crimea, almost all of Luhansk, and more than 70% of Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions, according to Russian estimates. It also controls a sliver of Kharkiv region.
Konstantin Kosachev, chairman of the international affairs committee of the Federation Council, the upper house of Russia’s parliament, told the Izvestia media outlet in remarks published on Tuesday that the talks between Moscow and Kyiv can move further than the 2022 negotiations.
“If the Ukrainian delegation shows up at these talks with a mandate to abandon any ultimatums and look for common ground, I am sure that we could move forward,” he said.
–Reporting by Costas Pitas, Steve Holland, reporters in Moscow and Kyiv, and Lidia Kelly in Melbourne; Writing by Elizabeth Piper, Costas Pitas and Lidia Kelly; Editing by Guy Faulconbridge, Michael Perry and Joe Bavier
Prime Minister Mark Carney says Qatar has committed to “significant” investments for Canada’s major building projects, calling it a “new chapter” in bilateral relations.
Carney made the announcement Sunday following his meeting with Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the Emir of Qatar.
The new measures will include the finalization of the Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement with Qatar, a deal that has seen years of stalled negotiations, Carney said.
“We are raising our relationship and our level of alignment by making friends with strategic partners,” Carney said. “To launch this new chapter in our relationship, I’m pleased to announce that Qatar has committed to make significant strategic investments in Canada’s nation-building projects.
“This capital will help the projects get built faster and supercharge our energy industries, while helping to create thousands of high-paying careers for Canadians.”
He also said the new agreement will help Canadian businesses to “more easily” expand operations in Qatar as well as attract investment from the country.
Get daily National news
Get the day’s top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day.
According to a readout from the Prime Minister’s Office, air services between Canada and Qatar will also be expanded and a defence attache from Canada will be posted in the country.
According to the PMO, the two countries have agreed to launch negotiations on a new framework focused on military, security and defence matters, and expand investment opportunities on areas such as AI.
The PMO said the two leaders agreed to stay in touch and Carney noted Sunday he had invited the Emir to visit Canada later this year and attend the World Cup match between their two countries with him.
The plans with Qatar are Carney’s latest in a slew of agreements and travel to other countries to discuss trade deals since his election last year.
Asked about his ongoing efforts to meet with countries interested in trade, Carney told reporters that multilateral relationships are “being eroded.”
“The consequence of that is there is a reduction in freer trade, much more trade is tariff-based or otherwise restricted and there is virtually no, with all due respect to those who are trying, virtually no multilateral progress,” Carney said.
“Where there is progress, and where Canada and like-minded countries are looking to make progress, is through pluriality deals… which is multiple countries but not all countries.”
On Friday, Canada announced that 49,000 Chinese-made electric vehicles (EVs) would soon be imported each year with a lowered 6.1 per cent tariff after Carney struck a deal with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Carney added on Sunday that Xi showed interest in expanding China’s trade relations with other countries, and that’s why Canada is establishing trade deals with other countries, such as Qatar.
“In this more uncertain and dangerous world, we’ve chosen to create greater stability, security and prosperity together,” Carney said.
© 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
World leaders are raising alarm after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to impose sweeping tariffs on European allies in an effort to pressure Denmark into negotiations over Greenland.
The move is sparking protests across the Arctic and sharp rebukes from Europe and Canada.
On Saturday, thousands of people marched through snow and ice in Greenland’s capital, Nuuk, chanting “Greenland is not for sale,” waving national flags.
Police described the demonstration as the largest they have ever seen in the city.
About 825 kilometres away, dozens of people rallied in Iqaluit, Nunavut, in a show of solidarity with Greenlanders.
“Greenland is owned by the Greenlandic people,” protesters chanted in Inuktut as they marched for an hour in freezing, windy conditions.
The protests came as Trump announced he would impose a 10 per cent import tax starting next month on goods from eight European countries.
These nations include Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Finland, because of their opposition to U.S. control of Greenland.
Get breaking National news
For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen.
The tariff would rise to 25 per cent on June 1 if no deal was reached for what Trump called the “Complete and Total purchase of Greenland.”
The president suggested the tariffs were leveraged to force talks over Greenland, a semi-autonomous territory of NATO ally Denmark that Trump says is vital to U.S. national security.
French President Emmanuel Macron said France stands firmly behind Greenland’s sovereignty and rejected the use of trade threats.
“Tariff threats are unacceptable and have no place in this context,” Macron wrote on social media, adding that Europeans would respond “in a united and coordinated manner” if the measures are confirmed.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Greenland’s future is for Greenlanders and Denmark to decide.
“Applying tariffs on allies for pursuing the collective security of NATO allies is completely wrong,” Starmer said, adding the issue would be raised directly with the U.S. administration.
Bob Rae, former Canadian ambassador to the United Nations, also chimed in on Trump’s announcement.
The tariff threat could mark a significant rupture between the U.S. and its NATO allies.
Greenland already hosts the U.S.-run Pituffik Space Base under a 1951 defence agreement with Denmark, supporting missile warning, missile defence and space surveillance for the U.S. and NATO.
“There is no sign of the Trump war of aggression against Greenland and Denmark letting up. It is not about ‘security’ any more than Venezuela was about ‘narco-terrorism.’ They are both about seizing control and plunder.”
He further added, “No country, including my own, Canada, is safe or secure.”
The tariff threat could mark a significant rupture between the U.S. and its NATO allies.
Trump is expected to face questions about the proposed tariffs and Greenland later this week.
He is scheduled to attend the World Economic Forum in Davos, alongside several European leaders he has threatened with tariffs.
— With files from The Canadian Press
© 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
Prime Minister Mark Carney arrived in Doha on Saturday as part of a push to attract foreign investment and deepen Canada’s economic partnerships beyond its traditional allies.
Carney’s visit comes on the heels of his visit to China and follows the recent presentation of a new federal investment budget aimed at positioning Canada as a stable, attractive destination for global capital.
In a news conference on Saturday, Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne said Canada is working to broaden its economic relationships as global trade patterns shift.
Qatar is viewed by Ottawa as a strategic partner, with officials pointing to the country’s significant investment capacity and growing influence on the global stage.
Get breaking National news
For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen.
“We need to reduce our dependence and increase our self-reliance to find a strategic path forward,” Champagne said.
“Engaging with the Middle East and China is necessary for Canada, just like our European partners have done,” Champagne added. “We buy more from the U.S.A. than anywhere else, but the trading climate right now is different.”
The conference highlighted Canada’s industrial capacity and trade advantages as key selling points for potential investors.
Champagne also said international engagement is critical as Canada works to raise its profile among global investors.
“We are one of the G7s with very big industries. We build cars, planes, ships, we have an abundance of energy, and we are the only one with free trade with all G7,” Champagne said. “With the way the world is changing, you better diversify, supply chain is changing and we need to adapt.”
Prime Minister Carney is expected to meet with senior Qatari officials, including Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, as well as representatives of the Qatar Investment Authority.
His office says the talks will focus on expanding trade access and forging partnerships in artificial intelligence, infrastructure, energy and defence.
The visit comes amid heightened geopolitical tensions in the region, though officials say the schedule remains unchanged.
© 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
Qatar to invest in Canada’s major building projects, Carney says – National TenX News
“Unacceptable’: Allies react to Trump Greenland tariff threats – National TenX News
Canada talks trade with Qatar as Carney touches down in Doha – National TenX News
-
Fashion10 months agoThese ’90s fashion trends are making a comeback in 2017
-
Entertainment10 months agoThe final 6 ‘Game of Thrones’ episodes might feel like a full season
-
TenX Exclusive10 months agoअमर योद्धा: राइफलमैन जसवंत सिंह रावत की वीरगाथा
-
Politics8 months agoBefore being named Pope Leo XIV, he was Cardinal Robert Prevost. Who is he? – National TenX News
-
Politics9 months agoPuerto Rico faces island-wide blackout, sparking anger from officials – National TenX News
-
Fashion10 months agoAccording to Dior Couture, this taboo fashion accessory is back
-
Tech10 months agoIndian-AI-software-which-caught-30-thousand-criminals-and-busted-18-terrorist-modules-its-demand-is-increasing-in-foreign-countries-also – News18 हिंदी
-
Politics9 months agoScientists detect possible signs of life on another planet — but it’s not aliens – National TenX News