Closing summary
Our live coverage is ending now. In the meantime, you can find out the latest from Europe here. Here is a summary of today’s events.
The United Arab Emirates is hosting Ukraine, Russia and the United States for the first trilateral talks since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022. Talks have reportedly begun, and are expected to last for the remainder of the weekend. They will be focusing on a few outstanding issues, including the thorny problem of territorial concessions demanded by Moscow in eastern Ukraine.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy says the talks are “a step – hopefully towards ending the war”. The Russian delegation of the trilateral talks will be headed by Gen Igor Kostyukov, director of Russia’s GRU military intelligence agency. The Ukrainian team will by led by secretary of the National Security and Defence Council and former defence minister, Rustem Umerov.
Elsewhere, Nato’s secretary general Mark Rutte met this morning with Denmark’s prime minister Mette Frederiksen to discuss the latest developments on Greenland, including Rutte’s meeting with US president Donald Trump in Davos, which seemingly led to him dropping his threats against European countries on tariffs.
According to Norway’s prime minister, the Nordic prime ministers of Norway, Sweden, Finland and Iceland were planning a unity trip to Greenland. Jonas Gahr Støre told NRK that the joint visit had been postponed after Trump’s U-turn on tariffs and pledge to not use force to take control of Greenland, with further talks expected through Nato channels – but he didn’t rule out it happening at a later date.
Italy’s prime minister Giorgia Meloni was hosting German chancellor Friedrich Merz in Rome today for the latest round of Italian-German government consultations. The two countries also want to work on securing their supply chain for raw materials.
Ireland’s deputy prime minister warns that the tariff conversation is unlikely to be over. Simon Harris said that it would be “foolish” to assume that Donald Trump will not threaten tariffs again during his tenure.
Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni privately defended Donald Trump to EU leaders this week, asking for caution in dealing with the US president. She reportedly urged politicians to not brand Trump as “crazy or unpredictable”, and said “Europe has everything to lose from a conflict with America.”
Italy’s Meloni hopes to nominate Trump for Peace Prize
Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni said she hoped US president Donald Trump would end the conflict in Ukraine so she could nominate him for the Nobel Peace Prize.
According to AFP, she said during a press conference after meeting German Chancellor Friedrich Merz: “I hope that one day we can award a Nobel Peace Prize to Donald Trump. I trust that if he makes a difference … in achieving a just and lasting peace for Ukraine, for Ukraine too… finally, we too could nominate Donald Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize.”
On Thursday, Trump unveiled his “Board of Peace”, initially designed to oversee the Gaza truce and the territory’s revival. The initiative has now turned into a mechanism aiming to resolve all sorts of international conflicts.
Italy has been invited to join the “Board”, but Meloni said she had told Trump that Italy faced “constitutional problems”.
Today (23 January), The European Union’s foreign policy arm has raised questions over Trump’s powers in his “Board of Peace”. In a confidential analysis, seen by Reuters, dated to 19 January and shared with the EU’s member countries – the European External Action Service expressed worries about a concentration of power in Trump’s hands.
The Board of Peace’s charter “raises a concern under the EU’s constitutional principles” and “the autonomy of the EU legal order also militates against a concentration of powers in the hands of the chair,” it wrote.
