AFP USA

Countries have no choice but to “make the best” of the fragmentation of the global economy by boosting ties with regional and like-minded countries, the head of the International Monetary Fund said in an interview Thursday.”Yes, (it’s) much better for the world to get one system of rules, much better, and hopefully we will retain the basic principles of this common system for the future,” IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva told AFP. “But we are in a multipolar world,” she said. “And my call is, rather than wishing this away, wishing that the world turns back to where it was, we work hard to make the best out of economic relations.”Georgieva spoke to AFP ahead of next week’s Spring Meetings, a gathering of global financial leaders co-hosted by the World Bank and the IMF in Washington. Earlier Thursday, Georgieva said the IMF expects the global economy to cool after the introduction of US President Donald Trump’s tariff plans, which have roiled financial markets and caused economists to slash forecasts for growth and hike them for inflation. However, the IMF still expects the world will avoid a recession. “What we have observed over the last years is that more and more countries seek ways to improve their trade relations with selected partners,” Georgieva told AFP. “And in this environment, it is likely to continue, maybe even accelerate, so we will see more bilateral and plurilateral agreements,” she said, pointing to places like southeast and central Asia, and Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries.- ‘Very significant manner’Since returning to the White House in January, Trump has embarked on an aggressive, stop-start rollout of tariffs in an attempt to rapidly rebalance trading relationships.Most US trading partners currently face a 10 percent “baseline” rate, while China — the world’s second-largest economy — faces new tariffs totaling 145 percent. “What we see in the United States is a decision to act on something that has been a concern also for the previous administration,” Georgieva told AFP. “The concentration on unfair trade practices, on the necessity to level the playing field, on security concerns is not really new,” she said. “What is new is that determination to act in a very significant manner, and that created a surprise domestically and internationally,” she added. Georgieva said it was important to note that the negotiations were still ongoing, and cautioned against assuming that tariffs would end up being higher at the end of the process. “Some of the trading partners of (the) US have indeed been holding on higher tariff and non-tariff barriers,” she said. “Should they bring them down and do so across the board that may have a positive impact overall on where we land.”As well as imposing tariffs, Trump’s administration has also slashed foreign aid funding, with many other top international donors including France and Britain doing the same.”They are many low-income countries where, for a variety of reasons, generating domestic resources is very limited,” she said, pointing to weak tax systems and large, informal economies. “This is the moment to please get your own house in order,” she added. But, she said, the IMF is also working “very hard” to see if wealthier emerging market economies like those in the GCC can step up and do more bilaterally. “Every penny matters,” she said. “And when it is in the context of (an) international response, then the use of money is more efficient.””It’s better for the country, better for the donors,” she added. 

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Thursday called on France to boost military spending at a time of strained transatlantic relations over President Donald Trump’s commitment to NATO.France’s Defense Minister, Sebastien Lecornu, was in Washington for talks on a variety of issues including Iran and the conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza, with a series of remarks by Trump stoking fears over Washington’s reliability as an ally. “The secretary urged France to increase defense spending and, alongside other NATO allies, take primary responsibility for Europe’s conventional defense,” Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said.”Secretary Hegseth and Minister Lecornu discussed related priorities, as well, including ongoing efforts toward a durable peace in Ukraine.”The visit came amid tensions between Washington and its European partners over Trump’s trade war and his remarks on multiple occasions implying a softening of US support for Kyiv in its war with Russia.Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday accused US envoy Steve Witkoff of “spreading Russian narratives” after he suggested a peace deal with Russia hinged on the status of Ukraine’s occupied territories.Trump himself has claimed falsely on more than one occasion that Ukraine started the war and this week accused Zelensky of responsibility for “millions” of deaths.Trump, who returned to office in January, has long accused European allies of taking US protection for granted and underspending on defense. The Republican leader is demanding NATO allies massively ramp up defense spending to five percent of GDP — a level that looks well out of reach for many. Republican and Democratic administrations have taken similar stances in the past but Trump has gone further than previous presidents in threatening not to defend countries he thinks are not paying their way. Faced with Russia’s war on Ukraine, NATO allies have already ramped up spending in recent years. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told NATO counterparts earlier this month that they must agree a “realistic pathway” to five percent, which means Washington would have to spend more, too. Vice President JD Vance made headlines when he argued that Europe cannot be a “permanent security vassal” of the United States, singling out France, however, as a nation he deemed worthy militarily.Lecornu was also expected to meet Keith Kellogg, Trump’s special envoy for Ukraine, and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard to discuss the Ukraine conflict.Trump’s push to end three years of fighting has yet to bear fruit, and he has voiced frustration over Russian President Vladimir Putin’s refusal to agree to a complete and unconditional truce.Despite a series of diplomatic efforts, Russia has continued to strike Ukraine, killing at least 35 people in the northeastern city of Sumy on Sunday.Ukrainian representatives and key allies of Kyiv were in Paris Thursday for meetings with Rubio and Witkoff to discuss rekindling stalled talks on a ceasefire.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and US President Donald Trump talked up the chances of cutting a tariff deal for the European Union, as Rome’s far-right leader led a charm offensive at the White House on Thursday.”I’m sure we can make a deal, and I’m here to help with that,” Meloni told reporters as she began lunch with Trump in the Cabinet Room.Trump said he “100 percent” believed Washington and Brussels could reach a deal but added it had to be a “fair deal.”Meloni has criticized Trump’s “wrong” 20 percent duties on EU exports — which he later suspended for 90 days — but has looked to maintain ties with the mercurial Trump despite the chaos caused by his tariffs.Described by Trump as a “fantastic leader” who shares many of his conservative views, Meloni is the first European leader to meet with Trump since his trade war with the bloc began. The Italian premier said she believed in “unity” despite the trade tensions, and added of the United States: “If I didn’t think it’s a reliable partner I wouldn’t be here.”Senior US officials earlier said Meloni and Trump had a “very special relationship,” adding she could be a bridge for a deal on tariffs between Europe and Washington.”Hopefully the Prime Minister and the President will be able to advance the ball down the field,” one Trump administration official told reporters.”We’re open, we’re available, we’re ready to make deals for countries that take this seriously. So hopefully Italy and the EU are part of that.”Trump is, however, also expected to raise his demand for NATO allies to spend more on defense — a huge demand for debt-laden Italy.Amid the uncertainty Meloni has called for cool heads, urging Brussels not to retaliate while casting herself as the only EU figure able to potentially de-escalate the conflict.Meloni was the only European leader to be invited to Trump’s January 20 inauguration and US officials said she was “eye-to-eye with President on a lot of issues like immigration on Ukraine.”- ‘Difficult period’ -Russia’s war in Ukraine could be a touchy subject, however.Italian newspapers on Wednesday floated the possibility that Meloni could end up in a trap similar to the White House meeting in February with Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky, in which Trump and his Vice President JD Vance berated their guest in front of reporters.Meloni has been a staunch ally of Ukraine and Zelensky since Russia’s invasion of the country in 2022, most recently calling Moscow’s Palm Sunday attack on the city of Sumy “horrible and vile.” Meloni has acknowledged the uncertainty weighing on her trip. “We know we’re going through a difficult period, let’s see how it goes in the coming hours. I don’t feel any pressure, as you can imagine, for my next two days, let’s say,” she joked at an awards ceremony for Italian goods Tuesday. “Surely, I am aware of what I represent and I am aware of what I am defending,” she added.Italian newspapers reported that one of the goals of Meloni’s visit was to pave the way for a meeting between Trump and EU chief Ursula von der Leyen.Meloni has said the goal should be to eliminate so-called reciprocal duties on existing industrial products as part of a “zero for zero” formula, as floated by the European Commission earlier this month.Meloni’s decision to personally intercede with Trump has caused some disquiet among EU allies, concerned her visit could undermine the unity of the bloc.”If we start having bilateral discussions, obviously it will break the current dynamic,” France’s Industry Minister Marc Ferracci warned last week. A European Commission spokeswoman said that while the EU alone could negotiate trade agreements, Meloni’s “outreach is very welcome” and was coordinated with Brussels.Following Thursday’s meeting with Trump, Meloni will fly back to Rome on Friday in time to host JD Vance, with whom she has a meeting planned.Trump’s threatened tariffs could have a major impact on Italy, the world’s fourth-largest exporter, which sends around 10 percent of its exports to the United States.

A US judge on Thursday ruled that Google wielded monopoly power in the online ad technology market in a blow that could rattle the tech giant’s revenue engine.The federal government and more than a dozen US states filed the antitrust suit against Alphabet-owned Google, accusing it of acting illegally to dominate three sectors of digital advertising — publisher ad servers, advertiser tools, and ad exchanges.It is one of two federal suits targeting Google that could ultimately see the company split up and curb its influence — and part of a wider government push to rein in Big Tech.The vast majority of websites use a trio of Google ad software products that together leave no way for publishers to escape Google’s advertising technology, the plaintiffs alleged — and District Court Judge Leonie Brinkema agreed.”Google has willfully engaged in a series of anticompetitive acts to acquire and maintain monopoly power in the publisher ad server and ad exchange markets for open-web display advertising,” Brinkema said in her ruling.”Google further entrenched its monopoly power by imposing anticompetitive policies on its customers and eliminating desirable product features,” she wrote.”In addition to depriving rivals of the ability to compete, this exclusionary conduct substantially harmed Google’s publisher customers, the competitive process, and, ultimately, consumers of information on the open web.”The ruling will almost certainly be appealed, prolonging a process that could go all the way to the US Supreme Court.- Remedies under consideration -Online advertising is the driving engine of Google’s fortune and pays for widely used online services such as Maps, Gmail, and search offered free.Money pouring into Google’s coffers also allows the Silicon Valley company to spend billions of dollars on artificial intelligence to remain relevant in the world of computing.Publishers — including News Corp and Gannett publishing — complain that they are locked into Google’s advertising technology in order to run ads on their websites.Brinkema gave attorneys on both sides of the case seven days to submit a schedule for arguing their positions regarding what remedies should be imposed on Google.Ordering Google to spin off its ad publisher and exchange operations is likely to be among the plaintiffs’ proposals.

Astronomers raised hopes that humanity might not be alone in the universe by announcing on Thursday they have detected the most promising hints yet of life on a distant planet. But given the age and vastness of the universe, a different question has long puzzled some scientists: why haven’t we already come in contact with aliens?”Where is everybody?” Enrico Fermi asked fellow famous physicists including Edward Teller over lunch in 1950.This quandary was named Fermi’s Paradox.”It’s a numbers game,” Jason Wright, the director of the extraterrestrial intelligence centre at Pennsylvania State University, told AFP.The Milky Way is around 10 billion years old and is home to more than 100 billion stars.This suggests there is likely a mind-boggling number of potentially habitable planets in our home galaxy alone.That could include K2-18b, where astronomers said Thursday they have detected signs of a chemical that is only produced by microbial life on Earth.Wright said Fermi’s Paradox essentially suggests that — given enough time — “every alien species will eventually have their own Elon Musk who will go out and settle the next star over”.That we have not yet heard from aliens is known as “the mystery of the great silence”. – So what are the theories? -At least 75 speculative solutions to Fermi’s Paradox have been proposed so far, according to a 2015 book, though Wright guessed more have been added since.First, it is possible that humanity has not yet detected alien life because there isn’t any — we are truly alone.Many scientists feel this is unlikely.Some 87 percent of over 1,000 scientists in relevant fields surveyed in Nature Astronomy earlier this year agreed there is at least a basic form of extraterrestrial life.More than 67 percent agreed that intelligent aliens are out there.Of course, it is also possible that aliens are already here and we have not noticed — or that it has been covered up.Or interstellar space could just be too difficult to traverse, the distances too vast, the resources needed too great.- What if there is a ‘great filter’? -Another theory is that there is some kind of “great filter” that prevents life — or intelligent life — from occurring in the first place.Or perhaps there is some kind of barrier that stops civilisations from advancing beyond a certain point.For example, once civilisations develop the technology to travel through space, they might tend to destroy themselves with something like nuclear weapons. Or maybe they burn through their planet’s natural resources, or make their climate unliveable.Some of these theories seem to be influenced by fears for human civilisation — the one example we have of intelligent life.But Wright felt this was unlikely because any such barrier would have to be the same across the whole universe. It would also have to make the species go totally extinct every time, otherwise they would eventually bounce back and try again at space travel.- Are we in a zoo or planetarium? – There are even more galaxy-brained ideas. Under the “zoo” hypothesis, technologically advanced aliens would be leaving humans alone to observe us from afar, like animals in a zoo.The “planetarium” hypothesis posits that aliens could be creating an illusion that makes space seem empty to us, keeping us in the dark.- …or a ‘dark forest’? – This theory got its name from the second book in Chinese author Cixin Liu’s science-fiction series “The Three-Body Problem”.It posits that the universe is a “dark forest” in which no one wants to reveal their presence lest they be destroyed by others.There are other hypotheses that aliens prefer to “transcend” to another plane of existence — which some have compared to virtual reality — so don’t bother with interstellar travel.- Why would they all be the same? -But there is a big problem with many of these “so-called solutions,” Wright said.They tend to assume that all the hypothetical kinds of aliens across the universe would all behave in the same way — forever.This has been dubbed the “monocultural fallacy”.Wright, who has used SETI telescopes to search for radio signals or lasers from the stars, also pushed back against the idea that humanity would necessarily have already picked up on any alien signal.Aliens could be sending out messages using all sorts of unknown technology, so maybe the galaxy is not as silent as we think, he said.”Those of us looking for life in the universe generally don’t think of the Fermi paradox or the great silence as such a big problem.”

The global economy is likely to avoid a recession despite the hit to growth from US President Donald Trump’s tariff rollout, the head of the International Monetary Fund said Thursday.The stop-start US tariff plans have fueled levels of market volatility unseen since the Covid-19 pandemic, and most economists expect the imposition of new import levies will stifle growth and push up inflation, at least in the short term.Trade disruptions “incur costs,” IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva told reporters in Washington on Thursday, adding that the Fund now expects “notable” cuts to growth — but no recession.People live in a world of “sudden and sweeping shifts,” she said, in a nod to the recent market volatility. “It is a call to respond wisely,” she added. Her speech came ahead of next week’s Spring Meetings — a gathering of global financial leaders co-hosted by the IMF and the World Bank in the US capital. Her remarks suggest the IMF will use its upcoming World Economic Report, to be published on Tuesday, to pare back its previous forecast for global growth to hit 3.3 percent in 2025 and 2026. – ‘Perceptions matter’ -Georgieva said the current tariff tensions would likely have three major consequences for the global economy, with smaller advanced economies and most emerging markets likely to be more heavily affected due to their reliance on trade for growth.”First, uncertainty is costly,” she said, adding that it becomes difficult for business to make plans if they do not know how much their inputs will cost in the future. “Second, rising trade barriers hit growth upfront,” she said, noting that “tariffs, like all taxes, raise revenue at the expense of reducing and shifting activity.””Third observation: protectionism erodes productivity over the long run, especially in smaller economies,” she said.Georgieva called on all countries “to put their own houses in order” by — among other things — gradually adjusting their fiscal policies to lower debt levels when necessary, and by maintaining an “agile and credible” monetary policy with a “strong commitment” to central bank independence.”Perceptions matter as much as reality,” she said, calling on world leaders to improve citizens’ perceptions of the economy amid plunging consumer confidence — especially in the United States.- ‘More level playing field’ -Countries should also prioritize tackling internal and external macroeconomic imbalances, Georgieva said.For China, the IMF has recommended to Beijing that it enact policies “to boost chronically low private consumption,” and move the Asian giant away from its current state-supported, export-driven model of growth, she said. The United States, she added, must work to put rapidly rising government debt “on a declining path.”And for the European Union, the focus should remain on improving competitiveness “by deepening the single market,” she said.Georgieva — who leads an organization that has long championed free trade, privatization and more open economies — called on the largest countries to chart a path through the current trade uncertainty. “In trade policy, the goal must be to secure a settlement among the largest players that preserves openness and delivers a more level playing field,” she said. The aim, she added, should be “to restart a global trend toward lower tariff rates while also reducing nontariff barriers and distortions.””We need a more resilient world economy, not a drift to division,” she added. “And, to facilitate the transition, policies must allow private agents time to adjust and deliver.”

US President Donald Trump said Thursday that “termination” of the independent head of the Federal Reserve “cannot come fast enough” as he lashed out at Jerome Powell’s warnings of tariffs-fueled inflation.In a scathing post on his Truth Social app, Trump repeated a demand for Powell to lower interest rates, suggesting the Fed chair’s decisions were “always TOO LATE AND WRONG.””Powell’s termination cannot come fast enough,” Trump wrote. “Too Late should have lowered Interest Rates, like the ECB, long ago, but he should certainly lower them now.”Trump was referring to the European Central Bank, which on Thursday lowered its benchmark deposit rate by a quarter point.ECB chief Christine Lagarde expressed her confidence in Powell following Trump’s remarks, saying she had “a lot of respect for my friend and esteemed colleague.”Powell warned Wednesday that Trump’s sweeping tariffs on virtually every trade partner could put the Fed in the unenviable position of having to choose between tackling inflation and unemployment.Trump’s stop-start tariff policy has unnerved investors and governments around the world, leaving them unsure about his long-term strategy and what it might mean for international trade.The Republican president has repeatedly urged Powell to cut interest rates, but the US central bank has adopted a wait-and-see attitude, holding rates steady at 4.25 to 4.5 percent since the start of this year.Trump has frequently criticized the Fed chairman, whom he originally nominated during his first term, accusing Powell of playing politics.On the campaign trail in August, Trump even suggested the White House should have a “say” in setting monetary policy. The US president does not have the direct authority to fire Federal Reserve governors. If he chooses to, Trump could initiate a lengthy process to attempt to unseat Powell by proving there was “cause” to do so.”An independent Fed is vital for a healthy economy — something that Trump has proved is not a priority for him,” senior Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer said on X in response to Trump’s criticism of Powell.- Powell pledges to stay -While presidents have a long history of clashing with Fed chiefs, any move to force Powell to leave office would be unprecedented in modern US political history.Speaking on April 4, Powell insisted he had no plans to step down as Fed chairman before his term ends next year. “I fully intend to serve all of my term,” he said at an event in Virginia.At the time, Powell also suggested that the Fed was in no rush to cut its benchmark lending rate from its current elevated level.Financial markets see a roughly two-thirds chance that policymakers will vote to keep rates unchanged again at the next Fed interest rate meeting in May, according to data from CME Group.Setting key interest rates is one of the primary levers the Fed exercises in its dual mandate of managing inflation and unemployment.Lowering interest rates serves to make borrowing cheaper and tends to kickstart the economy by encouraging investment, while raising them — or keeping them steady at higher rates — can help cool inflation.US year-on-year consumer inflation slowed to 2.4 percent in March, bringing it closer to the Fed’s long-term two-percent target.That drop was aided by a 6.3 percent fall in gasoline prices, according to official data.

Key allies of Kyiv kicked off a day of meetings with top US officials in Paris on Thursday, as Europeans seek to promote their views on how to rekindle stalled talks on a ceasefire in Ukraine.The talks come as Donald Trump’s push to end three years of fighting has yet to bear fruit, with the US president expressing frustration over Russian President Vladimir Putin’s refusal to agree to a complete and unconditional truce.Top Ukrainian officials were also in the French capital to talk with European and US delegations, President Volodymyr Zelensky’s chief of staff said.US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, US envoy Steve Witkoff and French President Emmanuel Macron kicked off a lunchtime meeting at Macron’s palace, which comes days after Witkoff met Russian President Vladimir Putin.Earlier Thursday, Zelensky urged the allies meeting in Paris to lean on Russia to agree to a ceasefire.- ‘Pressure on the killers’ -“Russia uses every day and every night to kill. We must put pressure on the killers… to end this war and guarantee a lasting peace,” Zelensky said in a Telegram post.But Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov dismissed the Paris meeting.”Unfortunately we see from Europeans a focus on continuing the war,” he said.Russia’s top economic negotiator Kirill Dmitriev said certain countries were trying to “derail” Moscow’s talks with the United States.Witkoff and Rubio were later to meet Zelensky’s chief of staff Andriy Yermak, as well as Britain’s and Germany’s national security advisors, the French presidency said.Keith Kellogg, Trump’s special envoy to Ukraine, had arrived in Paris mid-morning with Rubio.Despite a series of diplomatic efforts, Russia has continued to strike Ukraine.Russian drone strikes and shelling in killed at least 10 people on Thursday, Ukrainian authorities said, just days after a Russian attack killed at least 35 people in the northeastern city of Sumy.Macron has taken the lead in seeking to forge a coordinated European response to defending Ukraine, both during the current conflict and in its eventual aftermath after Trump shocked the world by opening direct talks with Russia.Britain and France are spearheading discussions among a “coalition of the willing” of 30 countries looking to shore up any deal Trump might strike with a “reassurance force”.- ‘Review progress’ -On Thursday, Macron’s office said the purpose of the Paris talks was to “review progress on peace negotiations aimed at ending the Russian aggression in Ukraine”. Yermak said Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga as well as Defence Minister Rustem Umerov were in Paris for the meetings.The talks were to focus on a potential full ceasefire, the involvement of international peacekeepers and the development of Ukraine’s security framework, Ukraine’s foreign ministry said.The German foreign ministry said government security advisor Jens Ploetner would participate in the Paris talks.Witkoff said this week that Putin was open to “permanent peace”, after talks with the Kremlin chief in Saint Petersburg, their third meeting since Trump returned to the White House. Witkoff said during a Fox News interview broadcast Monday that he saw a peace deal “emerging”.Zelensky said on Wednesday that negotiators were making “good progress” with the United States in fraught talks over a minerals deal intended to secure desperately needed US support.Putin last month rejected a US proposal for a full and unconditional ceasefire, after Kyiv gave its backing to the idea. He also suggested Zelensky be removed from office, sparking an angry response from Trump who said he was “very angry, pissed off” with the Russian leader.The Paris talks come after discussions between the United States and Iran on Tehran’s nuclear programme in Oman last weekend.Another round is scheduled for Saturday, in Italy.A French diplomatic source said Rubio and France’s Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot would discuss “the war in Ukraine, the situation in the Middle East and the Iranian nuclear file”.burs-jh/jm

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrived in Paris on Thursday to meet French President Emmanuel Macron about crafting a Ukraine ceasefire, as Washington and Europe seek common ground on ending the fighting.Top Ukrainian officials were also in the French capital to meet EU and US delegations, President Volodymyr Zelensky’s chief of staff said, without saying precisely who they were meeting.The latest diplomatic initiative comes as Trump’s push for a ceasefire has yet to bear fruit despite his pledges to quickly end the war.Zelensky himself urged the Paris talks participants to lean on Russia to agree to a ceasefire.”Russia uses every day and every night to kill. We must put pressure on the killers… to end this war and guarantee a lasting peace,” Zelensky said in a Telegram post.Rubio and Keith Kellogg, US President Donald Trump’s special envoy to Ukraine, arrived in Paris mid-morning, US envoy Steve Witkoff is also expected to join them.Russia’s recent deadly strikes in Ukraine, including in the cities of Sumy and Kryvyi Rig, show how the war is taking a hefty toll despite a series of diplomatic efforts.Late Wednesday, a Russian drone attack on the Ukrainian city of Dnipro killed three people, including a young girl, authorities said.- ‘Review progress’ -On Sunday, a Russian ballistic missile killed at least 35 people in the Ukrainian city of Sumy.Macron has taken the lead in seeking to forge a coordinated European response to defending Ukraine, both during the current conflict and in its eventual aftermath after Trump shocked the world by opening direct talks with Russia.Britain and France are spearheading discussions among a “coalition of the willing” of 30 countries looking to shore up any deal Trump might strike with a “reassurance force”.On Thursday, Macron’s office said the purpose of the Paris talks was to “review progress on peace negotiations aimed at ending the Russian aggression in Ukraine”. Zelensky’s chief of staff Andriy Yermak said he and Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga as well as Defence Minister Rustem Umerov were in Paris to meet France, Germany, Britain and the United States — but did not say exactly who they would meet.The parties would discuss a potential full ceasefire, the involvement of international peacekeepers, and the development of Ukraine’s security framework, Ukraine’s foreign ministry said.- Middle East, Iran also on agenda -The German foreign ministry said government security advisor Jens Ploetner, and Guenter Sautter, the ministry’s political director, would participate in the Paris talks.Witkoff said this week that Russian President Vladimir Putin was open to “permanent peace”, after talks with the Kremlin chief in Saint Petersburg last Friday, their third meeting since Trump took office. Witkoff said during a Fox News interview televised Monday that he saw a peace deal “emerging”.But Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Thursday dismissed the Paris talks when asked what Moscow expected from them. “Unfortunately we see from Europeans a focus on continuing the war,” he said.Putin last month rejected a US proposal for a full and unconditional ceasefire, after Kyiv gave its backing to the idea. A French diplomatic source said Rubio and France’s Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot would discuss “the war in Ukraine, the situation in the Middle East and the Iranian nuclear file”.This is Rubio’s third trip to Europe since taking office.The Paris talks come after discussions between the United States and Iran on Tehran’s nuclear programme in Oman last weekend.Another round is scheduled for Saturday, in Italy.Separately, France’s Defence Minister, Sebastien Lecornu, was to travel to Washington on Thursday.He was set to meet US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth for talks on a number of issues including Ukraine, Iran and Gaza.burs/jh/ah/jj

Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni meets with Donald Trump Thursday in Washington, hoping a personal charm offensive can help convince the US president to cut a more favourable deal on EU tariffs.The far-right Meloni — described by Trump as a “fantastic leader” who shares many of his conservative views — is the first European leader to meet with Trump since his trade war with the bloc began. She has looked to maintain ties with the mercurial leader despite the widespread disruption caused by his tariff policies, even while criticizing as “wrong” his 20 percent duties on EU exports, which he later suspended for 90 days. Amid the uncertainty, Meloni has called for cool heads, urging Brussels not to retaliate while casting herself as the only EU leader able to potentially de-escalate the conflict through her personal relationship with the US president.Her bilateral meeting with Trump, scheduled for noon at the White House, does not come without risk, however. Italian newspapers on Wednesday floated the possibility that Meloni could end up in a trap similar to the White House meeting in February with Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky, in which Trump and his Vice President JD Vance berated their guest in front of reporters.Meloni has been a staunch ally of Ukraine and Zelensky since Russia’s invasion of the country in 2022, most recently calling Moscow’s Palm Sunday attack on the city of Sumy “horrible and vile.” The only EU leader to be invited to Trump’s inauguration in January, Meloni has acknowledged the uncertainty weighing on her quick visit. “We know we’re going through a difficult period, let’s see how it goes in the coming hours. I don’t feel any pressure, as you can imagine, for my next two days, let’s say,” she joked at an awards ceremony for Italian goods Tuesday. “Surely, I am aware of what I represent and I am aware of what I am defending,” she added.Italian newspapers reported that one of the goals of Meloni’s visit was to pave the way for a meeting between Trump and EU chief Ursula von der Leyen. – ‘Need to talk’ -Meloni has said the goal should be to eliminate so-called reciprocal duties on existing industrial products as part of a “zero for zero” formula, as floated by the European Commission earlier this month.”We absolutely must avoid a tariff war,” Italy’s Industry Minister Adolfo Urso told reporters Tuesday, saying Meloni would seek in Washington to “convince everyone we need to talk.”Meloni’s decision to personally intercede with Trump has caused some disquiet among EU allies, concerned her visit could undermine the unity of the bloc.”If we start having bilateral discussions, obviously it will break the current dynamic,” France’s industry minister, Marc Ferracci, warned last week, saying “Europe is only strong if it is united.”A French government spokeswoman said later, however, that all voices that helped encourage dialogue with the United States were welcome.A European Commission spokeswoman had a similar line on Monday, noting that while the EU alone could negotiate trade agreements, Meloni’s “outreach is very welcome”.Her meeting was “closely coordinated” with the EU, the spokeswoman said, noting that Meloni and von der Leyen had been “in regular contact.”Following Thursday’s meeting with Trump, Meloni will fly back to Rome on Friday in time to host JD Vance, with whom she has a meeting planned.Trump’s threatened tariffs could have a major impact on Italy, the world’s fourth-largest exporter, which sends around 10 percent of its exports to the United States.During her meeting, Meloni is also likely to discuss Trump’s demand for NATO allies to spend more on defence. Trump wants the current target raised from two to five percent of gross domestic product (GDP), a huge demand for debt-laden Italy, which currently spends around 1.5 percent.