19 August 2025
Trump-Putin
After White House meetings with Zelensky and the European allies, Trump called Putin, and there are hopes of a trilateral meeting between the three leaders. President Trump made some assurances that the US would provide security guarantees to Ukraine if a negotiated peace were to occur. Trump also made a rather odd comment when his mic was still hot that “Putin wants to make a deal for me.” Today, Trump said Putin may not want a deal at all, and that if that is the case, Putin will face a “rough situation.” Trump did not go into detail, but he is likely referring to secondary sanctions and tariffs on countries that buy Russian oil and support the country’s war effort in Ukraine.
Israel
Hamas agreed to the proposed ceasefire. This means that there will be a 60-day ceasefire and an exchange of half of the remaining living Israeli hostages from the October 7th attacks, almost two years after the terrorist attack occurred. In recent days, Israelis have taken to the streets to protest the government’s handling of bringing the hostage back. Hamas has been under intense pressure to give in and accept the ceasefire as conditions in Gaza continue to deteriorate. Palestinians continue to starve to death as Hamas fighters are fed and hide underground in tunnels.
Democratic Republic of Congo
The deadline between the M23 rebel group and the DRC has passed. M23 rebels suspended talks with the Congolese government. M23 states that it will not return to talks with the government until the government adheres to a ceasefire. The peace deal was supposed to be signed in Qatar on Monday, but M23 officials were not present, and M23 stated that the DRC does not want peace. There have been accusations that Rwanda has supported the M23 rebel group.
India-China
Chinese and Indian officials are meeting to discuss border peace and trade to boost cooperation between the two countries. In recent years, China and India have experienced border clashes between the two states and even a couple that involved Chinese and Indian troops wielding wooden planks with nails in them. This also comes at a time when the Trump administration imposed extra tariffs on India for supporting India and threatened to expand those tariffs to other countries, such as China. The Trump administration also has shown a realignment toward Pakistan, as Stewart Webb discussed last week.
Armenia-Azerbaijan-Iran
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian travelled to Armenia to discuss the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity” (TRIPP), which was part of the peace plan that Armenia and Azerbaijan signed in Washington. According to the White House, the deal granted the US exclusive developmental rights to the transport corridor. It would develop rail, oil, gas, fibre optic lines, as well as a potential for electricity transmission along the 43km (27-mile) corridor. Iran and Russia are concerned that they have been excluded from the region where they held prominent influence before.
Ukraine
Ukraine has begun serial production of its first domestically-produced long-range cruise missile, dubbed “Flamingo.” The missile has a 3,000km range and a warhead of about 1,000kg. With such a range, most Russian air bases and other military sites will be in range.
Social Media Wires
Feature Photo: “Operation Swords of Iron, 2024” Wikimedia Commons, 2025
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