Vladimir Putin shows readiness to talk peace with Ukraine‚ but his terms raise eyebrows: Moscow wants to keep most occupied areas and block NATO membership (which shows its stance on future relations between countries)
Kremlin wants to freeze conflict along current lines - controlling about 18% of Ukraine including Crimea‚ major parts of Donbas and other regions; However theres room for small territorial adjustments. Dmitry Peskov keeps saying that Putin is “always ready for talks“
Some key demands from Russia include:
- No NATO presence in Ukraine
- Limited Ukrainian military size
- Protection for Russian language use
- Withdrawal of Ukrainian forces from claimed areas
Volodymyr Zelenskyy stays firm on his position - no giving up territory or sovereignty‚ while recent US-supplied weapons complicate things even more
In Lebanon‚ Amos Hochstein works on Israel-Hezbollah peace talks; His shuttle-diplomacy between countries shows some good signs. The UN buffer zone idea gets attention but Israel Katz insists on keeping military options open
In Hong Kong Jimmy Lai faces serious charges in court - his first testimony happens as 45 other pro-democracy supporters got prison terms just day before. His lawyer thinks the trial wont be fair; expecting harsh sentence
Brazilian authorities caught military officers planning to hurt Lula da Silva before he became president. The plot included targeting vice president and a judge too; While Jair Bolsonaro says he didnt know about it investigators look into his role in jan 8th events
In a fun twist tiny Italian town Ollolai makes headlines: Mayor Francesco Columbu wants Americans to buy old houses for just $1. “Theyʼre our winning card for village revival“ he says welcoming post-election movers