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Canada’s new government will relentlessly protect the nation’s sovereignty as it works to redefine fraught relations with the United States, Prime Minister Mark Carney said Tuesday as his cabinet was sworn in.  Carney’s election win two weeks ago was largely defined by threats from President Donald Trump, whose trade war and repeated talk of annexing the United States’ northern neighbor upended Canadian politics.Carney, a former central banker with experience leading through major financial crises, convinced enough voters that he was the right choice to take on Trump, whose tariffs on imported autos and other goods have already cost Canadian jobs. “Canadians elected this new government with a strong mandate to define a new economic and security relationship with the United States,” Carney said in a statement before his new ministers took their oaths. Addressing reporters after the ceremony, with a cabinet of Liberal Party loyalists assembled behind him, Carney said his “government will work relentlessly to keep Canada secure as a sovereign nation.”Trump discussed absorbing Canada into the United States on several occasions in his first Oval Office meeting with Carney last week.  The president insisted it would be a “wonderful marriage” if Canada agreed to his repeated calls to become the 51st US state.Carney replied the Canada “won’t be for sale, ever,” and referenced the deep hostility among Canadians towards the prospect of a political union with the United States. – ‘Core mission’ -Carney’s cabinet retains several key figures involved in negotiating with the Trump administration over tariffs, although some job titles have shifted. Dominic LeBlanc, who has dealt directly with US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick in recent weeks, has been named the minister responsible for Canada-US trade. Former foreign minister Melanie Joly has been moved to industry minister, with Anita Anand replacing her as Canada’s top diplomat.Finance Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne is keeping his post. Since taking over from Justin Trudeau on March 14 as prime minister, Carney has tried to create distance from the previous Liberal regime, which became deeply unpopular over its decade in power. His cabinet includes Trudeau allies, but also brings in new faces. Evan Solomon, a prominent former journalist entering parliament for the first time, has been named minister for artificial intelligence, a new post nodding at Carney’s pledge to transform Canada’s economy. Carney said his cabinet will be focused on a “core mission,” which is “to create the strongest economy in the G7.”He promised to act fast on a middle class tax cut and remove inter-provincial trade barriers by Canada Day, on July 1, a move some economist believe could soften the impact of Trump’s tariffs. Carney had a lucrative career as an investment banker before serving as the governor of the Bank of Canada and Bank of England. He is a political novice who will be new to parliament when the House of Commons reconvenes on May 27, opening with a throne speech by King Charles III, the head of state in Canada, a member of the British Commonwealth. But Carney assured voters his experience in the private sector and as a central banker will help him rebuild Canada’s economy, a message that resonated with voters. Opinion polls showed the Liberals trailing the Conservatives by more than 20 points at the start of the year, but Carney’s replacing Trudeau, combined with Trump’s threats, sparked an unprecedented comeback. The Liberals fell just short of the 172 seats needed for majority control of Parliament, but with 170 confirmed wins they will be in a strong position to pass legislation.

The US Senate’s top Democrat announced Tuesday he would hold up all Justice Department political appointees in protest over President Donald Trump’s acceptance of a $400 million luxury plane as a gift from Qatar.The Gulf state’s royal family has offered to donate a 747-8 jumbo jet as Trump awaits the delayed delivery of two new presidential planes from Boeing.But the move raises huge constitutional and ethical questions — as well as security concerns about using an aircraft donated by a foreign power for use as the ultra-sensitive Air Force One.”This is not just naked corruption, it is also a grave national security threat,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said in a floor speech Tuesday. Schumer’s blanket hold — the first time he has ever resorted to such a move — applies to dozens of would-be appointees, and could significantly delay their start dates in the Trump administration.But very few Trump nominees were benefiting from bipartisan agreements to fast-track them through the Senate in any case, meaning Schumer’s announcement will likely only have a limited practical impact. The US Constitution prohibits government officials from accepting gifts “from any King, Prince or foreign State,” in a section known as the Emoluments Clause.Schumer called for the Justice Department’s Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) unit to “disclose all activities by Qatari foreign agents inside the US that could benefit” Trump or his businesses.He also demanded information from the administration about the jet itself, such as whether it comes with security enhancements or would have to be upgraded by the United States. “How much will those modifications cost American taxpayers? Hundreds of billions of dollars? Hundreds of millions of dollars? Billions of dollars?” he asked.And he called for an explanation of what the jet means for future presidential planes that the government has already agreed to buy from Boeing.The veteran New York Democrat is also demanding that Attorney General Pam Bondi — who once served as a lobbyist for the Qatari government — testify before Congress to explain her approval of the gift.Although Democrats are out of power and cannot block Trump appointees on their own, several have announced holds on groups or individuals that make the confirmation process more drawn-out and unwieldy.Senator Chris Murphy has also pledged to force votes to block weapons sales to Qatar.Trump, on a trip this week to the Middle East including Qatar, has long been unhappy with the current Air Force One jets — two highly customized Boeing 747-200B series aircraft that entered service in 1990 under president George H.W. Bush.Under questioning from reporters on Monday, Trump angrily defended the arrangement with Qatar, saying he would be “stupid” not to accept such a gift.

Sean “Diddy” Combs’s former partner Casandra Ventura told jurors at the music mogul’s sex trafficking trial Tuesday how he “controlled” her life and brutally beat her to keep her in line.Jurors have heard accusations that the hip-hop star used violence and threats of reputational ruin to manipulate women, including Ventura, whom he allegedly abused for years.”Sean controlled a lot of my life — whether it was (my) career, the way I dressed,” said Ventura, who is heavily pregnant and will take regular breaks from her graphic testimony that could last several days.”He had many resources” to potentially use compromising sexual videos of Ventura to exploit the celebrated singer and model, she said, pausing to dab her eye with a tissue.”He would mash me in my head, knock me over, drag me, kick me, stomp me on the head if I was down,” she said, her voice shaking at points.In a hotel surveillance clip from March 2016 shown to jurors Monday, Combs is apparently seen brutally beating and dragging Ventura — widely known as “Cassie” — down a hallway.A former security officer at a Los Angeles-area InterContinental hotel, Israel Florez, told the court Monday that he was first on the scene after the incident and that Combs sought to pay him off.Florez’s testimony provided the foundation for the prosecution to introduce the security footage that was published by CNN last year.The panel of 12 jurors and six alternates responsible for determining Combs’s fate heard of the famed artist’s explosive outbursts and an attempt to preserve his own reputation and celebrity through bribery.But the 55-year-old’s defense team insisted while some of his behavior was questionable — at times constituting domestic abuse — it did not amount to evidence of racketeering and sex trafficking with which he is charged.- ‘Coercive and criminal’ -Combs has pleaded not guilty on all counts, including the racketeering charge that the hip-hop pioneer led a sex crime ring that included drug-fueled sex parties by use of force, threats and violence.Prosecutor Emily Johnson told jurors Combs had set a man’s car ablaze and dangled a woman from a balcony, and made impossible demands of his lovers and employees.”Let me be clear,” US attorney Johnson said, “this case is not about a celebrity’s private sexual preferences.””It’s coercive and criminal.”But Combs’s defense lawyer Teny Geragos told jurors the “case is about love, jealousy and infidelity and money.”Geragos called Combs’s accusers “capable, strong adult women,” and said his situation with Ventura was a “toxic relationship” but “between two people who loved each other.””Being a willing participant in your own sex life is not sex trafficking,” she said, adding that the defense would admit there was domestic violence — but that Combs is not charged with such crimes.Florez’s testimony was followed by a male dancer who engaged in a sexual relationship, often in exchange for money, with Combs and Ventura from 2012 to approximately the end of 2013. He concluded his testimony Tuesday.Ventura said of the so-called “freak-off” sex parties that she was “just in love and wanted to make (Combs) happy — to a point I didn’t feel like I had much of a choice.”Combs’s defense team said they would seek to emphasize that Ventura took drugs of her own free will, and behaved erratically.If convicted, the one-time rap producer and global superstar, who is often credited for his role in bringing hip-hop into the mainstream, could spend the rest of his life in prison. The proceedings are expected to last eight to 10 weeks, and Combs was joined in the courthouse by family members as well as former lovers including Misa Hylton.

Sean “Diddy” Combs’s former partner Casandra Ventura told jurors at the music mogul’s sex trafficking trial Tuesday how he “controlled” her life and wielded compromising sexual blackmail material to keep her in line.Jurors have heard the hip-hop icon used violence and threats of reputational ruin to manipulate women, including Ventura, whom he allegedly abused for years.”(Combs) controlled a lot of my life,” said Ventura, who is heavily pregnant and will take regular breaks from her graphic testimony that could last several days.”He had many resources” to potentially use compromising sexual videos of Ventura to exploit the celebrated singer and model, she said, pausing to dab her eye with a tissue.In a hotel surveillance clip from March 2016 shown to jurors Monday, Combs is apparently seen brutally beating and dragging Ventura — widely known as “Cassie” — down a hallway.A former security officer at a Los Angeles-area InterContinental hotel, Israel Florez, told the court Monday that he was first on the scene after the incident and that Combs sought to pay him off.Florez’s testimony provided the foundation for the prosecution to introduce the security footage that was published by CNN last year.The panel of 12 jurors and six alternates responsible for determining Combs’s fate heard of the famed artist’s explosive outbursts and an attempt to preserve his own reputation and celebrity through bribery.But the 55-year-old’s defense team insisted while some of his behavior was questionable — at times constituting domestic abuse — it did not amount to evidence of racketeering and sex trafficking with which he is charged.- ‘Coercive and criminal’ -Combs has pleaded not guilty on all counts, including the racketeering charge that the hip-hop pioneer led a sex crime ring that included drug-fueled sex parties by use of force, threats and violence.Prosecutor Emily Johnson told jurors Combs had set a man’s car ablaze and dangled a woman from a balcony, and made impossible demands of his lovers and employees.”Let me be clear,” US attorney Johnson said, “this case is not about a celebrity’s private sexual preferences.””It’s coercive and criminal.”But Combs’s defense lawyer Teny Geragos told jurors the “case is about love, jealousy and infidelity and money.”Geragos called Combs’s accusers “capable, strong adult women,” and said his situation with Ventura was a “toxic relationship” but “between two people who loved each other.””Being a willing participant in your own sex life is not sex trafficking,” she said, adding that the defense would admit there was domestic violence — but that Combs is not charged with such crimes.Florez’s testimony was followed by a male dancer who engaged in a sexual relationship, often in exchange for money, with Combs and Ventura from 2012 to approximately the end of 2013. He concluded his testimony Tuesday.If convicted, the one-time rap producer and global superstar, who is often credited for his role in bringing hip-hop into the mainstream, could spend the rest of his life in prison. The proceedings are expected to last eight to 10 weeks, and Combs was joined in the courthouse by family members as well as former lovers including Misa Hylton.

US consumer inflation cooled slightly in April, but analysts warned prices could spike in the coming months as businesses grapple with President Donald Trump’s sweeping “liberation day” tariffs.The data released Tuesday covers the early days of Trump’s new levies against most countries — including steep duties on China — which spooked financial markets and raised fears of a spike in prices. The US president has since reversed some of the duties and paused others, helping to soothe nervous investors. The consumer price index (CPI) eased to 2.3 percent in April from a year ago, a tick below the 2.4 percent figure recorded in March, the Labor Department said in a statement.”The CPI report shows that the American people are experiencing real economic relief: grocery, gas, and egg prices are down, while real wages are up,” White House spokesman Kush Desai said in a statement.Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren took a different view on the data.”Consumers and businesses will feel little relief from President Trump folding to Xi Jinping and are bracing for supply chain disruptions and even empty shelves,” she said in a statement, referring to the deal struck over the weekend between the United States and China to lower tariffs. The April CPI release was the smallest 12-month increase since February 2021, and was slightly lower than the median estimate from surveys of economists conducted by Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.”This may be the low point in 2025,” Nationwide senior economist Ben Ayers wrote in a note shared with AFP. “As tariff costs increasingly flow into consumer prices, we expect a jump in the CPI this summer, pushing the annual reading back above three percent,” he added.”Looking ahead, higher tariffs will lead to a renewed inflation impulse,” EY chief economist Gregory Daco said in a statement. But, he added, the recent tariff detente with China means that impulse will be slightly weaker than previously expected. Prices rose 0.2 percent from a month earlier, with “more than half” of the increase due to a 0.3 percent rise in shelter costs, according to the Labor Department.Excluding volatile food and energy costs, the inflation rate was 0.2 percent from a month earlier, and 2.8 percent over the past 12 months.The monthly figure was slightly below expectations, while the annual figure was in line with forecasts. US stocks were mixed in early trading. – ‘Too early’ to tell -Despite the good news overall, there were nevertheless some signs of Trump’s tariffs in the data. The index for household furnishings and operations increased 1.0 percent in April after standing still in March, the Labor Department said. In a recent investor note, economists at Deutsche Bank had flagged that this data point would provide a good indication of how some “import-heavy categories” could be affected by tariffs.But, they added, it was still “too early for tariffs to be evident in the aggregate numbers.” The energy index — which fell sharply in March — increased 0.7 percent in April, according to the Labor Department, spurred by a sharp rise in natural gas and electricity prices. The gasoline index decreased 0.1 percent over the month on a seasonally-adjusted basis, and by 11.8 percent over the past 12 months.The data will likely be well-received by the US Federal Reserve as it weighs when to cut interest rates.Futures traders see a roughly 90 percent chance the central bank will extend its recent pause at the next rate decision in June, holding its benchmark lending rate at between 4.25 and 4.50 percent, according to data from CME Group.

Reality TV star Kim Kardashian told a Paris court on Tuesday she feared she would be killed by the masked men who robbed her at gunpoint of some $10 million of jewellery in her hotel room in 2016, but expressed her forgiveness despite the “trauma”.The trial of 10 suspects has attracted huge media attention, with close to 500 reporters accredited, and crowds flocking around the courthouse on Paris’s historic Ile de la Cite hoping for a glimpse of the celebrity.”Hi! I’m Kim Kardashian and I just want to thank everyone, especially the French authorities, for allowing me to testify today and tell my truth,” she told the packed court, wearing a black skirt suit and jewelled necklace.”I came to Paris for Fashion Week and Paris is always a place I love so much,” Kardashian said, giving the court her account of the night of October 2-3, 2016, when she was robbed while staying at an exclusive, discreet hotel in the centre of the city.- ‘Prayer for my family’ -She was in her room — “with my best friend downstairs, my sister and my friend and my mom… all out for the night” — when she heard “stomping” up the stairs.Then people “who I assumed were police officers because they were in uniform” entered her room, said Kardashian, who is among the world’s most followed people on Instagram and X. “Then I heard one of the gentlemen say ‘ring’ a few times over, ‘ring’, ‘ring’ and he pointed his finger with an accent,” she said, adding that she didn’t at first “understand it was for my jewellery”.The man found what he was looking for: a diamond ring given to Kardashian by her then-husband, rapper Kanye West, and valued at 3.5 million euros ($3.9 million).The attackers then began to look for more valuables, threatened Kardashian with a gun and tied her up with a zip tie, she said, visibly emotional.”I was certain that he was going to shoot me, so I said a prayer for my family.”Asked by the presiding judge if she feared she was going to be killed, Kardashian replied: “I absolutely did. I thought I was going to die.”She said she also feared she would be raped but the man with the gun “closed my legs and put a tape on my leg.”- ‘Absolutely terrifying’ -Kardashian said she was “grabbed and dragged into the other room” but not hit by the men. Their sudden appearance and the gun were, however, “absolutely terrifying”.From comments from one of the men, “I felt that he wanted me to know that I would be OK if I just shut up,” she said.”Ultimately I decided not to resist and stay calm. That calmness saved my life.”Those on trial are mainly men in their 60s and 70s with previous criminal records, with nicknames such as “Old Omar” and “Blue Eyes”.Sixty-eight-year-old Aomar Ait Khedache, known as “Old Omar”, has admitted to tying up Kardashian but denies being the mastermind of the robbery.Another suspect in the dock, 71-year-old Yunice Abbas, later wrote a book about the heist.- ‘I forgive you’ -Khedache, who according to his lawyers is no longer able to speak due to health problems, told Kardashian that he “regrets” his actions in a letter that was read out in court. He said he had been “moved and touched by your tears”.Kardashian, who appeared tearful during the reading, said: “I do appreciate the letter, for sure” and “I’ve always believed in the second chance.”She added: “I forgive you for what has taken place but it does not change the emotion, the feelings, the trauma and the way my life changed.”Kardashian has never viewed her security in the same way since the Paris robbery, she told the court. “It changed the way that I felt safe at home,” she said, adding she now relied on up to six security guards there.”We have security everywhere we go,” she said, adding she now longer posts her whereabouts in real time “unless it is on a public schedule”.Kardashian also said she had undergone therapy to deal with her fears because “I have babies that I have to raise,” but “I try to be strong.”Asked about suggestions made at the time that the robbery could have been a publicity stunt or insurance fraud, Kardashian said that those reports had been “really hurtful”.The US celebrity, sometimes described as being “famous for being famous”, became well known in the early 2000s through TV reality shows, before launching fashion brands and appearing in several films.The trial is scheduled to run until May 23.mdh-alv-edy-jh/rlp

“The Apprentice” star Jeremy Strong — who was nominated for an Oscar for playing Donald Trump’s ruthless early mentor — said Tuesday that “truth is under assault”.Strong told reporters at the Cannes Film Festival that lawyer Roy Cohn, who he played in the controversial biopic, was the inventor of “fake news”.President Trump’s lawyers threatened to file a lawsuit against the film, which was released during last year’s presidential campaign.”Roy Cohn I see essentially as the progenitor of fake news and alternative facts, and we’re living in the aftermath of what I think he created,” said Strong, who is on the jury at Cannes.The actor, best known for his role in the series “Succession”, said we are living at a “time where truth is under assault, where truth is becoming increasingly in danger”.”Here specifically in this temple of film, the role of film is increasingly critical, because it can combat those forces in the entropy of truth, and it can communicate truths, individual truths, human truths, societal truths, and affirm and celebrate our shared humanity,” he said.”The Apprentice”, directed by Ali Abbasi, portrays a younger Trump as a nervous, naive outsider trying to make his way in cutthroat Manhattan.But in one shocking scene, it also shows him raping his first wife, Ivana, after she belittles him for growing overweight and bald.In real life, Ivana accused Trump of raping her during divorce proceedings, but later withdrew the allegation. She died in 2022.The movie also shows Trump suffering erectile dysfunction, and undergoing liposuction and surgery for hair loss.The film was eventually released in October last year before the presidential election that he won.In his first 100 days, his administration has slashed federal funding for disinformation research.Social media platforms have scaled back content moderation, with Meta suspending third-party fact-checking in the United States.

US consumer inflation cooled slightly in April to reach its lowest level since February 2021, beating expectations as President Donald Trump’s sweeping “liberation day” tariffs came into effect.The data covers the early days of Trump’s new levies against most countries — including steep duties on China — which spooked financial markets and raised fears of a spike in prices. The US president has since reversed some of the duties and paused others, helping to soothe nervous investors. The consumer price index (CPI) eased to 2.3 percent in April from a year ago, a tick below the 2.4 percent figure recorded in March, the Labor Department said in a statement. This was the smallest 12-month increase since February 2021, and was slightly lower than the median estimate from surveys of economists conducted by Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.”This may be the low point in 2025,” Nationwide Senior Economist Ben Ayers wrote in a note shared with AFP. “As tariff costs increasingly flow into consumer prices, we expect a jump in the CPI this summer, pushing the annual reading back above three percent.”Inflation picked up to 0.2 percent from a month earlier, with “more than half” of the increase due to a 0.3 percent rise in shelter costs, according to the Labor Department.Excluding volatile food and energy costs, inflation increased 0.2 percent from a month earlier, and by 2.8 percent over the past 12 months.The monthly figure was slightly below expectations, while the annual figure was in line with forecasts. US stocks opened mixed on the news. – ‘Too early’ to tell -Despite the good news overall, there were nevertheless some signs of Trump’s tariffs in the data. The index for household furnishings and operations increased 1.0 percent in April after standing still in March, the Labor Department said. In a recent investor note, economists at Deutsche Bank had flagged that this data point would provide a good indication of how some “import-heavy categories” could be affected by tariffs.But, they added, it was still “too early for tariffs to be evident in the aggregate numbers.” The energy index — which fell sharply in March — increased 0.7 percent in April, according to the Labor Department, spurred by a sharp rise in natural gas and electricity prices. The gasoline index decreased 0.1 percent over the month on a seasonally-adjusted basis, and by 11.8 percent over the past 12 months.”And just like that, the markets’ twin fears — a tariff-induced recession and sticky inflation — have been greatly assuaged,” Northlight Asset Management chief investment officer Chris Zaccarelli said in a statement.”Fears of slowing growth and a recession caused by punitive tariffs drove markets lower in the first week of April,” he said. “But they’ve rebounded on the heels of a tariff pause and a Chinese trade breakthrough, and now a better-than-expected inflation report removes the last big overhang for the market.”The data will likely be well-received by the Federal Reserve as it weighs when to cut interest rates. Futures traders see a roughly 90 percent chance that it will extend its recent pause at the next rate decision in June, holding its benchmark lending rate at between 4.25 percent and 4.50 percent, according to data from CME Group.

Sean “Diddy” Combs’s former partner Casandra Ventura is expected to testify at his trial Tuesday with a now infamous clip of the fallen music mogul allegedly beating the singer expected to dominate questioning. Jurors heard Monday that the hip-hop icon used violence and threats of reputational ruin to control women, including Ventura, whom he abused for years, before hearing graphic witness testimony.In a hotel surveillance clip from March 2016 shown to jurors Monday, Combs is apparently seen brutally beating and dragging singer and model Ventura, who is now pregnant, down a hallway.A former security officer at an LA area InterContinental hotel, Israel Florez, told the court Monday that he was first on the scene after the incident and that Combs sought to pay him off.Florez’s testimony provided the foundation for the prosecution to introduce the security footage that was published by CNN last year.Prosecutor Emily Johnson also alleged Monday that Combs exerted control over Ventura by threatening to release videos of her participating in elaborate sex parties dubbed “freak-offs.”The panel of 12 jurors and six alternates responsible for determining Combs’s fate heard of the famed artist’s explosive outbursts and an attempt to preserve his own reputation and celebrity through bribery.But the 55-year-old’s defense team insisted while some of his behavior was questionable — at times constituting domestic abuse — it did not amount to evidence of racketeering and sex trafficking with which he is charged.- ‘Coercive and criminal’ -Combs has pleaded not guilty on all counts, including the racketeering charge that the hip-hop pioneer led a sex crime ring that included drug-fueled sex parties by use of force, threats and violence.Johnson also told jurors Combs had set a man’s car ablaze and dangled a woman from a balcony, and made impossible demands of his lovers and employees alike.”Let me be clear,” US attorney Johnson said, “this case is not about a celebrity’s private sexual preferences.””It’s coercive and criminal.”But Combs’s defense lawyer Teny Geragos told jurors the “case is about love, jealousy and infidelity and money.”Geragos called Combs’s accusers “capable, strong adult women,” and said his situation with Ventura was a “toxic relationship” but “between two people who loved each other.””Being a willing participant in your own sex life is not sex trafficking,” she said, adding that the defense would admit there was domestic violence — but that Combs is not charged with such crimes.Florez’s testimony was followed by a male dancer who engaged in a sexual relationship, often in exchange for money, with Combs and Ventura from 2012 to approximately the end of 2013.If convicted, the one-time rap producer and global superstar, who is often credited for his role in bringing hip-hop into the mainstream, could spend the rest of his life in prison. The proceedings are expected to last eight to 10 weeks.

Ukraine said Tuesday that if Vladimir Putin skips talks in Turkey it would be a “clear sign” to the world the Russian leader is not serious about peace, and the West should reply with boosted military support to Kyiv.The meeting set for Thursday in Istanbul would be the first direct negotiations between Ukrainian and Russian officials since the early months of Moscow’s invasion in 2022.Zelensky has called on Putin to personally attend the talks that the Kremlin leader himself suggested, but Moscow on Tuesday declined for the second day running to respond to that invitation.”If Vladimir Putin refuses to come to Turkey, it will be the final signal that Russia does not want to end this war, that Russia is not willing and not ready for any negotiations,” Zelensky’s chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, said in a statement published by the Ukrainian presidency.US President Donald Trump on Monday urged both leaders to attend and said he was “thinking” about going to the talks as well.But Putin’s spokesman on Tuesday refused to say who Russia would send to Istanbul.”The Russian side continues to prepare for the talks scheduled for Thursday. That is all we can say at this point. We do not intend to comment further at this time,” spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.Asked if he could name Russia’s negotiating team, Peskov said: “No… as soon as the president deems it necessary, we will announce it.”Putin proposed negotiations in a late-night statement over the weekend — a counteroffer after Kyiv and European countries urged Moscow to agree to a full and unconditional 30-day ceasefire starting Monday.Tens of thousands have been killed and millions forced to flee their homes since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, while Moscow’s army now controls around one-fifth of the country — including the Crimean peninsula, annexed in 2014.- Sanctions, military aid -Russia did not explicitly respond to Ukraine and the leaders of France, Britain, Germany and Poland calling for Moscow to agree a 30-day ceasefire from Monday, though the Kremlin blasted European “ultimatums” in an apparent rejection.Kyiv on Tuesday urged fresh support from its Western backers if Putin refused to talk to Zelensky in Istanbul.”If Russia refuses to negotiate, there must be a strong response from the United States and the entire world: new sanctions against Russia and increased military aid to Ukraine.”Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said he is ready to host and urged the warring sides on Monday to seize the “window of opportunity” to reach a peace settlement.Trump told reporters on Monday he would attend talks if he “thought it would be helpful”.”I was thinking about actually flying over there. There’s a possibility of it, I guess, if I think things can happen,” Trump told journalists at the White House prior to departing for a trip to the Middle East.Putin has said any direct talks with Ukraine should focus on the “root causes” of the conflict, and did not “exclude” a possible ceasefire coming out of any talks in Istanbul.Russia’s references to the “root causes” of the conflict typically refer to alleged grievances with Kyiv and the West that Moscow has put forward as justification for its invasion.They include pledges to “de-Nazify” and de-militarise Ukraine, protect Russian speakers in the country’s east and push back against NATO expansion.Kyiv and the West have rejected all of them, saying Russia’s invasion is nothing more than an imperial-style land grab.Russian and Ukrainian officials held talks in Istanbul in March 2022 aimed at halting the conflict but did not strike a deal.Contact between the warring sides has been extremely limited since, mainly dedicated to humanitarian issues like prisoner-of-war exchanges and the return of killed soldiers’ bodies.