and Russian President Vladimir Putin failed to produce a breakthrough on ending the three-year-old war in Ukraine.

“We have made clear again and again that we simply expect one thing from Russia now: namely, a ceasefire, unconditional and immediate,” German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said in addressing the sanctions. “We welcome the fact that Ukraine is still prepared to do this. We note with disappointment that Russia has not yet taken this decisive step, and we will have to react to this.” Diplomatic efforts have seen little progress in halting the fighting, including Monday’s phone call between Trump and Putin, and Friday’s direct talks between Russian and Ukrainian delegations in Istanbul. In the phone call, Putin promised Trump that Russia is “ready to work with” Ukraine on a “memorandum” outlining the framework for “a possible future peace treaty.”

“It appears that Putin has devised a way to offer Trump an interim, tangible outcome from Washington’s peace efforts without making any real concessions,” said Tatiana Stanovaya, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center, in a post on X. (Jamaica Gleaner)