- Nigerians sacrifice cars as cost of living crisis worsens
- Liverpool face Chelsea title test, Ten Hag fights to avoid sack
- Asian markets swing as China economic growth slows
- Pogba's shadow looms over Juve as revitalised Lazio come to town
- 'Unbelievable' Raphinha leading Barca into tricky triple-header
- In-form Marmoush and Frankfurt hope to tackle history at wounded Leverkusen
- Britain's Lammy in China to 'challenge' Beijing on Russia support
- Manila's car counters help address 'world's worst traffic'
- British racing attendances falling behind, says Qatar Racing's manager
- Rain forces cancellation of opening practice for Australian MotoGP
- Dupont 'beyond surprise' for Toulouse's Kinghorn
- Drought forces Big Tech to rethink thirsty LatAm data centers
- Countries under pressure to fork out for nature at UN conference
- Biden, allies in Berlin to renew Gaza truce call after Hamas leader killed
- Guardians rally to fry Yankees in 10 innings in MLB playoff thriller
- World Bank president focused on job creation ahead of annual meetings
- World Bank chief says lender's climate goals likely safe under Trump
- Japan's core inflation rate slows in September
- King Charles set to arrive in Australia for landmark tour
- Nadal defeated by 'animal' Alcaraz in Saudi Arabia as career nears end
- US charges Indian agent over alleged plot to kill Sikh separatist
- Musk stumps for Trump in key US swing state
- TikTok, Facebook approve ads with US election disinformation, study says
- Purdy and 49ers face Chiefs in Super Bowl rematch
- Kenya deputy president ousted in historic impeachment
- One Direction members 'devastated' by Liam Payne's death
- Norris shrugs off Red Bull 'trick' of the trade at US Grand Prix
- Chelsea, Lyon ease to wins in Women's Champions League
- China expected to post slowing growth as economic woes drag
- Yamasaki brings keirin world title home as Japan takes two track golds
- Netflix adds millions of subscribers but growth slows
- 'Deeply misguided' to wall US off with tariffs: Yellen
- Biden farewell visit to Berlin focused on Ukraine, Mideast wars
- Sinwar killing a blow to Hamas but impact on war uncertain
- Mitzi Gaynor, star of 'South Pacific,' dies aged 93
- Trump says Zelensky 'should never have let' Ukraine war start
- Hayes turns focus to US women's World Cup goal
- Zelensky seeks EU, NATO backing for 'victory plan'
- Bosch stuns Australia as South Africa reach Women's T20 World Cup final
- What we know about One Direction star Liam Payne's death
- Nicotine pouches rise in popularity as US youth tobacco use hits 25-year-low
- Mendis clinches Sri Lanka series win over West Indies
- Israel says killed Hamas chief Sinwar in Gaza
- Panel urges Secret Service shake-up after Trump assassination bid
- Trump, Harris back on friendly ground after tough interrogations
- Pressure on Ten Hag is 'too much': Brentford boss Frank
- Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar: Israel's most wanted man
- ECB bans transgender women from women's professional cricket
- Monaco aiming to last in Ligue 1 title fight with PSG
- Kenya deputy president impeachment trial in chaos after he falls ill
CMSD | -0.52% | 25.02 | $ | |
NGG | -1.41% | 67.19 | $ | |
GSK | -0.64% | 38.96 | $ | |
SCS | 0.53% | 13.21 | $ | |
BTI | -1.22% | 35.37 | $ | |
AZN | -0.37% | 78.02 | $ | |
RBGPF | 0.69% | 60.92 | $ | |
CMSC | -0.52% | 24.79 | $ | |
RIO | -1.32% | 65.09 | $ | |
RELX | 0.91% | 48.59 | $ | |
RYCEF | 0.68% | 7.4 | $ | |
BCC | -3.38% | 142.2 | $ | |
JRI | -0.15% | 13.15 | $ | |
BP | 1.25% | 31.32 | $ | |
VOD | -1.23% | 9.73 | $ | |
BCE | 0.03% | 33.49 | $ |
Zelensky seeks EU, NATO backing for 'victory plan'
President Volodymyr Zelensky told allies Thursday Ukraine must be in a position of strength before any peace talks with Russia, as he presented his "victory plan" to EU leaders and NATO defence chiefs in Brussels.
More than two and a half years into the war, Kyiv is slowly but steadily losing territory in its eastern Donbas region and under mounting pressure to forge an exit strategy -- which it says must start with ramped-up Western support.
"Ukraine is ready for real diplomacy, but for it, we must be strong," Zelensky said as he met with the EU's 27 leaders.
"Russia will resort to diplomacy only when it sees that it cannot achieve anything by force," Zelensky added. "This is the plan. This is exactly what's needed, and we must create the right conditions to end this war."
The Ukrainian leader has travelled to Washington, Paris, Berlin, Rome and London to promote his initiative, but it has yet to gain backing from Western capitals -- and his plea for an immediate invitation to join NATO is widely viewed as unrealistic.
Zelensky said after his EU talks that a large number of member states had voiced their "full support" for Kyiv.
The bloc's leaders in their summit conclusions reiterated their "unwavering commitment" to support Ukraine militarily and economically for "as long as it takes" -- but without referring specifically to his plan.
The EU recently approved loaning Ukraine up to 35 billion euros ($38 billion) backed by frozen Russian assets -- part of a bigger $50 billion initiative agreed by G7 powers in June.
But there were dissenting voices too.
Hungary's Moscow-friendly Prime Minister Viktor Orban posted on Facebook that Zelensky's roadmap was "beyond terrifying", urging France and Germany "on behalf of the entire European Union, to start negotiations with the Russians as soon as possible".
- 'All that we can' -
Zelensky later joined defence ministers at the first of two days of talks between NATO's 32 member states, addressing a joint press conference with alliance chief Mark Rutte.
NATO countries have declared Ukraine to be on an "irreversible path" to membership.
But the United States and Germany have led opposition to immediate entry, believing it would effectively put the alliance at war with nuclear-armed Russia.
The secretary-general stuck to the NATO line, saying: "I look forward to the day that Ukraine is here as a member of this alliance, and until then, we will continue to do all that we can to assure Ukraine prevails."
He did not refer directly to Zelensky's proposal, which also rejects any territorial concessions, calls for Western allies to lift restrictions on using donated long-range weapons to target Russian military sites and suggests deploying a "non-nuclear strategic deterrence package" on Ukrainian territory.
The US position on membership is unlikely to shift whether Donald Trump or Kamala Harris wins the White House in the US election on November 5 -- though there are fears a second Trump term could upend the support Ukraine receives from NATO's biggest power.
Ukraine's allies are well aware however that time is of the essence, with the outlook on the battlefield bleak.
On the eve of the NATO meeting, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz called for exploring ways to end the war -- potentially including talks with Putin.
But according to an alliance diplomat, others still fear that anything short of an outright victory for Kyiv would spell disaster, ensuring that an emboldened Russia does not stop there.
- 'Position of strength' -
Driving home his appeal to Western leaders, Zelensky claimed to have intelligence that North Korea was training 10,000 soldiers to deploy with Russian forces against Ukraine -- calling it "the first step to a world war."
Rutte cautioned however that NATO has "no evidence that North Korean soldiers are involved in the fight," although Pyongyang was known to be fuelling Moscow's war effort in other ways.
In the meantime, the secretary-general said it was "essential that we continue to provide military aid."
Rutte said NATO was "well on track" to meet its July pledge to provide Kyiv a minimum of 40 billion euros ($43 billion) in military support in 2024, with 20 billion provided in the first half of the year.
But despite Ukraine's plea for stepped-up air defence systems -- as Russian forces pound its cities and infrastructure -- no new announcements were expected from NATO this week.
E.Borba--PC