Closing summary
… and on that note, it’s a wrap!
US president Donald Trump said he would shorten his deadline for Russia’s Vladimir Putin to move on Ukraine from 50 days to “10 or 12” saying “If you know what the answer is going to be, why wait?” (14:06, 15:07).
The final decision on the exact deadline is expected to be made “tonight or tomorrow,” he said (15:26).
In a lively media Q&A with UK prime minister Keir Starmer, Trump also said he was “not so interested” in talking to Putin any more, after being disappointed by the outcome of their previous conversations (15:54).
Separately,
European leaders lined up to half-heartedly defend the EU’s trade agreement with the US, warning about the associated costs and consequences for the bloc, but conceding that a better deal was not on offer (10:05, 10:18, 12:00, 13:02, 13:32, 18:20).
But the EU defended the deal, with the bloc’s trade commissioner Maroš Šefčovič saying he’s “100 percent sure that this deal is better than a trade war with the United States” (12:41).
Lithuania was investigating reports about an unidentified unmanned object – potentially a drone – flying into the country’s airspace from Belarus, a second such incident in a month (10:20, 17:17).
And that’s all from me, Jakub Krupa, for today.
If you have any tips, comments or suggestions, email me at [email protected].
I am also on Bluesky at @jakubkrupa.bsky.social and on X at @jakubkrupa.
Updated
Leaders warn of damage from EU-US deal, but concede no better deal was on offer
German chancellor Friedrich Merz warned that Europe will face “substantial damages” from new US tariffs, even as he acknowledged that the bloc “could not expect to achieve any more” from talks with Trump.
He added that “negative effects “will not only be limited to Germany and Europe, but we will see the effects of this trade policy in America as well,” AFP said.
His comments come shortly after Irish prime minister Micheál Martin said the deal, as imperfect as it was, avoided a trade war with the US.
“Nobody is welcoming tariffs with open arms. I think we’ve been consistent in saying that we don’t agree with tariffs, that we prefer if there weren’t tariffs, but we have to deal with realities,” he said in comments reported by RTÉ.
Updated
