German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier what elected to a second five-year term Sunday by a special assembly of lawmakers and state-nominated delegates. The position of president in Germany is largely symbolic, but its holder is nonetheless the country’s highest authority. This year’s assembly casting votes included former German Chancellor Angela Merkel and BioNTech co-founder Özlem Türeci. … Read more
Press play to listen to this article In their frenzied diplomatic effort to dissuade Russia from a new invasion of Ukraine, Western leaders are pinning renewed hope on the long-stuck Minsk peace accords. The Minsk agreements, first negotiated in 2014 and 2015, were intended to bring an end to the war with Russian-backed separatists, then … Read more
Press play to listen to this article To many of Germany’s allies, Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s refusal to state plainly what appears obvious — that Russia would lose a new gas pipeline to Germany if it invades Ukraine — is utterly baffling. Even some within his own governing coalition are flummoxed. “There is no reasonable explanation … Read more
Press play to listen to this article WARSAW — Poland is preparing for a massive influx of refugees if Russia attacks Ukraine. “We have to be prepared for the worst-case scenario and [we have] been taking steps so as to be prepared for a wave of up to a million people,” Deputy Interior Minister Maciej … Read more
Press play to listen to this article There was little doubt Emmanuel Macron had walked into the grizzly bear’s den. Seated at the far end of an enormous conference table in one of the Kremlin’s ornate meeting rooms, complete with gold-trimmed curtains and an elaborate inlaid wooden floor, the French president offered his opening thoughts … Read more
Press play to listen to this article BERLIN — Chancellor Olaf Scholz is finding out the hard way that there’s a lot more to leading Germany than being an Angela Merkel tribute act. Scholz meets Joe Biden at the White House on Monday as part of a US trip intended to repair the battering that … Read more
Press play to listen to this article PARIS — French President Emmanuel Macron is taking an almighty gamble by styling himself as the world leader who can strike a peace deal with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in a meeting on Monday. If he pulls it off, he’ll be the hero who prevented the invasion … Read more
Press play to listen to this article PARIS — French President Emmanuel Macron is optimistic he can secure a de-escalation over Ukraine when he travels to Moscow to meet his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Monday, but hinted that Western countries could have to make concessions to the Kremlin. His bullish prognosis of a diplomatic … Read more
Russian President Vladimir Putin says he is prepared to keep talking, and that he expects visits from European leaders to Moscow soon — after he gets back from the opening of the Winter Olympics on Friday in Beijing. The Biden administration is no longer saying an attack on Ukraine is “imminent.” But even as the … Read more
BERLIN — German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said he will “soon” travel to Moscow to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin amid what he called a “very serious” situation at the Ukrainian border. “I will now travel to the US, and I will soon be in Moscow to continue speaking about the questions that are necessary,” Scholz … Read more