Closing summary
… and on that note, it’s a wrap!
Russian president Vladimir Putin said that “certain conditions should be created” for him to meet meet his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, adding that the current situation was “far” from what was necessary (14:18).
His comments came amid growing pressure on the Kremlin (10:46), with Russian officials saying that the prepatory work was under way to arrange for Putin’s meeting with Trump next week, but not with Zelenskyy (10:28).
Meanwhile, Zelenskyy spoke with several European leaders to coordinate on the next steps, including German chancellor Friedrich Merz (12:34, 13:00), French president Emmanuel Macron (14:14), and European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen (15:13).
In other news,
The EU said it was still working with the US on “stabilising the text” of the joint statement on EU-US trade, with the ball “in the US court now” (12:51), with first industries raising their concerns about the slow progress in key areas (12:54).
Moscow said it had summoned an Italian diplomat earlier this week, over an “anti-Russian campaign” in Italian media, further fraying already strained ties between the two countries. (16:22).
A Dutch anti-discrimination hotline has received more than 2,500 complaints about a campaign post by far-right leader Geert Wilders, a spokesperson said Thursday, making it one of the organisation’s most reported cases on record, AFP reported (16:28).
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.
Switzerland to continue talks with US over 'crippling' tariffs
Switzerland will continue talks with the United States, its president said on Thursday, after president Donald Trump placed crippling import tariffs on Swiss goods, which threaten to inflict serious damage on its export-focused economy, Reuters reported.
The 39% import levy – among the highest of any applied under Trump’s global trade reset – took effect at midnight Washington time after an 11th-hour effort by Swiss officials failed to produce a better deal.
The tariffs are set to throttle the small alpine nation’s access to the US, a leading export market for Swatch, Rolex and Patek Philippe watches as well as high-end cheeses and chocolates, Reuters warned.
“For the affected sectors, companies, and their employees, this is an extraordinarily difficult situation,” president Karin Keller-Sutter told reporters following an urgent meeting of the seven-member Federal Council, Switzerland’s governing cabinet.
Keller-Sutter left Washington on Wednesday without a deal following a hastily organised trip during which she did not meet with Trump or any of his leading trade representatives, according to two sources.
Her proposal for a 10% tariff rate was rejected by U.S. officials, one of the sources added.
Keller-Sutter said Switzerland wanted “a rule-based relationship with the United States... but not at any price.”
