The summit between Russian and US Presidents Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump will begin at 11:30 local time (Alaska Daylight Time), and will kick off with a one-on-one conversation in which only interpreters will be present, Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov announced on Thursday in a briefing. After the initial meeting, the parties will continue negotiations in the format of a working breakfast.”It is expected that everything will begin tomorrow, August 15, at approximately 11:30 local time (22:30 Moscow time/ 21:30 CET/ 15:30 ET) with a conversation between Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin and Donald Trump,” the diplomat said. “This conversation will take place in a tete-a-tete format.” Also, the agenda for the “businesslike” meeting has already been agreed upon, and one of the Elmendorf-Richardson Joint Military Base’s facilities will be used. Ushakov went on to say that the resolution of the Ukrainian crisis will be the main focus of the Putin-Trump summit, that the “5 to 5” formula will be used for the negotiations, and that the length of time the Russian and American leaders spend in talks will depend on how the conversation proceeds. Both leaders will appear together in front of the media to discuss the outcomes of the negotiations, he continued, and the Russian delegation will travel from Alaska to Russia right after the summit.
Zelensky tells Trump ‘Putin is bluffing’
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Wednesday that he told US President Donald Trump, “Putin is bluffing,” during high-level talks with European leaders and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. The four-sided meeting focused on security cooperation, air defense, and rebuilding efforts. Zelensky said Ukraine and the US agreed on different principles, including a ceasefire, security guarantees, and American participation in the peace process. He stressed that sanctions must be imposed if Russia rejects a ceasefire, calling them “very effective” despite Kremlin claims. “Putin doesn’t want peace, he wants to occupy our country,” Zelensky said.
Trump said to have told Zelensky land swaps will be needed
United States President Donald Trump told his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky during their call earlier today that territorial exchanges between Russia and Ukraine will be needed to achieve a peace deal, Axios reported on Wednesday. On the other hand, the US president stressed that he cannot make final decisions on territorial issues because he’s “not from the region.” The alleged remark echoes similar statements previously made by Trump, stressing the importance of direct negotiations between Moscow and Kiev in achieving a lasting solution to the long-standing conflict. “Trump said it’s [Russian President] Vladimir [Putin] and Volodymyr who have to discuss territories with each other, not him,” two sources familiar with the call between the presidents were quoted as saying.
Zelensky, however, expressed belief that Putin is “bluffing,” adding that increased pressure on Moscow is needed to bring the war to an end.
OPEC: Global 2025 GDP growth forecast up to 3%
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) projected in its August report, published on Tuesday, that global gross domestic product (GDP) will reach 3% in 2025, up by 0.1 percentage points from the previous forecast. In 2026, global economic growth should stand at 3.1%, according to the report. The United States’ growth for 2025 was revised up from 1.7% to 1.8%, while the projection for 2026 growth remained unchanged at 2.1%. The Eurozone’s economy is expected to grow by 1.2% both in 2025 and 2026. China’s GDP is projected to rise by 4.8% this year, up 0.2 percentage points from last month’s estimate, while the forecast for 2026 growth was unchanged at 4.5%. “While several trade negotiations have concluded in recent months, trade relations between the US and a number of its key partners remain a source of uncertainty and will require continued monitoring. These trade-related uncertainties may weigh slightly on global trade activities and some inflationary effects,” the OPEC underlined.
Oil up 1% ahead of Trump-Putin talks
Crude oil prices climbed by over 1% on Monday following sharp losses last week, as global attention shifted to the upcoming meeting between United States President Donald Trump and his Russian colleague Vladimir Putin, scheduled for August 15. The two leaders are expected to discuss the possibilities of ending the war in Ukraine. However, some uncertainty remains, as relations and rhetoric between the two presidents have changed abruptly and frequently in recent times. Additionally, Trump announced an additional 25% tariff on goods imported from India last week due to continued “purchase of Russian oil,” bringing the total duties on Indian imports to 50%. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for September’s deliveries rose by 1.34% at 8:15 am ET to $64.29 per barrel. At the same time, Brent for settlements in October advanced by 1.12% to $66.98 per barrel.
NN: Does any rational human being really believe anything good will come out of “peace talks” with Putin?
Trump to Meet Putin in Alaska as Kyiv Rejects Land Giveaway
Donald Trump plans to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska as the US president looks to broker an agreement that will bring an end to the war in Ukraine. “The highly anticipated meeting between myself, as President of the United States of America, and President Vladimir Putin, of Russia, will take place next Friday, August 15, 2025, in the Great State of Alaska,” Trump wrote Friday in a social media post. “Further details to follow.” The face-to-face summit with Putin represents a gamble for the US president, who on the campaign trail pledged to bring a quick end to the war only to see his efforts repeatedly stymied. Inviting Putin onto US soil for the first time in nearly a decade will only heighten the stakes for Trump, who’s seeking to reach an agreement that he said would see the countries engage in “some swapping of territories.”
The apparent exclusion of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy from the talks was likely to fan fears that the White House and Kremlin would negotiate terms predicated on concessions Ukraine was unwilling to make. Trump said Friday he believed “we’re getting very close” to a peace deal.
Zelenskiy on Saturday said Ukraine won’t cede territory to Putin to bring an end to Russia’s 3 1/2-year invasion, and said any deal reached without Kyiv’s involvement was a “dead solution.” Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha echoed those comments, saying on X that Russia “must not be rewarded for starting this war” and that “we need a lasting peace that won’t be destroyed by Moscow’s next move.”
Read more: Zelenskiy Rejects Giving Up Territory to Russia for Peace
Trump didn’t reveal additional sanctions on Russia or tariffs on its energy purchasers as he announced the summit, despite having declared a Friday deadline for the Kremlin to agree to a ceasefire.
The summit announcement came after a week of frenetic diplomacy between the US, its European partners and Russia. People familiar with the discussions between Washington and Moscow say negotiators have circled around a deal that would lock in Russia’s occupation of territory seized during its military invasion.
That includes a demand by Putin that Ukraine cede its entire eastern Donbas area to Russia as well as Crimea, which his forces illegally annexed in 2014. That would require Zelenskiy to order a withdrawal of troops from parts of the Luhansk and Donetsk regions still held by Kyiv, handing Russia a victory that its army couldn’t achieve militarily since the start of the full-scale invasion in February 2022. Trump on Friday acknowledged that he saw a land swap as a likely part of any agreement. “It’s very complicated,” Trump said. “But we’re going to get some back. We’re going to get some switched. There’ll be some swapping of territories to the betterment of both and but we’ll be talking about that either later or tomorrow or whatever.”
Such an outcome would represent a major win for Putin, who has long sought direct negotiations with the US on terms for ending the war that he started, sidelining Ukraine and its European allies.
Zelenskiy risks being presented with a take-it-or-leave-it deal to accept the loss of Ukrainian territory, while Europe fears it would be left to monitor a ceasefire as Putin rebuilds his forces. Kyiv’s allies also have a multitude of doubts about how any agreement might be enforced and what security guarantees Ukraine will receive. The Ukrainian leader has previously demanded Russia withdraw its troops and pay reparations for the devastation inflicted on the country since the February 2022 invasion. But Trump on Friday cast Zelenskiy as willing to work toward concluding a deal. Brokering a lasting peace deal would amount to a major political victory for Trump, who has increasingly sought to leverage economic pressure to solve foreign policy crises. In recent days, the US president has announced an additional 25% tariff on India over its purchase of crude oil from Russia.
NN: Letting Putin keep any Ukrainian land means more invasions’ will come. Ukraine would be crazy to take this deal. If they do they will be sliced and diced into oblivion.
Momentum toward a meeting between Trump and Putin quickened this week after the Russian president met with US special envoy Steve Witkoff for nearly three hours of talks in the Kremlin earlier this week. US, European and Ukrainian officials have spent recent days discussing their response to those talks, and discussions are expected to continue this weekend in the UK, Axios reported.
Ukrainian has little hope for peace as Trump’s deadline for Russia arrives
Ukrainians expressed little hope for a diplomatic solution to the war with Russia, as U.S. President Donald Trump’s Friday deadline for the Kremlin to stop the killing arrived and he eyed a possible summit meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss the conflict Trump’s efforts to pressure Putin have so far delivered no progress. Russia’s bigger army is slowly advancing deeper into Ukraine at great cost in troops and armor while it relentlessly bombards Ukrainian cities. Russia and Ukraine are far apart on their terms for peace. Ukrainian forces are locked in intense battles along the 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) front line that snakes from northeast to southeast Ukraine. The Pokrovsk city area of the eastern Donetsk region is taking the brunt of punishment as Russia looks to break out from there into the neighboring Dnipropetrovsk region. Ukraine has significant manpower shortages. Intense fighting is also taking place in Ukraine’s northern Sumy border region, where Ukrainian forces are engaging Russian soldiers to prevent reinforcements being sent from there to Donetsk. “It is impossible to negotiate with them. The only option is to defeat them,” Buda, the Spartan Brigade commander, told The Associated Press. He used only his call sign, in keeping with the rules of the Ukrainian military. “I would like them to agree and for all this to stop, but Russia will not agree to that; it does not want to negotiate. So the only option is to defeat them,” he said. In the southern Zaporizhzhia region, a howitzer commander using the call sign Warsaw, said troops are determined to thwart Russia’s invasion.
“We are on our land, we have no way out,” he said. “So we stand our ground, we have no choice.”
Trump said Thursday that he would meet with Putin even if the Russian leader will not meet with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy. That has stoked fears in Europe that Ukraine could be sidelined in efforts to stop the continent’s biggest conflict since World War II.
The Institute for the Study of War, a Washington think tank, said in an assessment Thursday that “Putin remains uninterested in ending his war and is attempting to extract bilateral concessions from the United States without meaningfully engaging in a peace process.” “Putin continues to believe that time is on Russia’s side and that Russia can outlast Ukraine and the West,” it said. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said Friday that Europe should take the lead in efforts to end the conflict. Orbán said the leaders of Germany and France should go to Moscow “to negotiate on behalf of Europe.” Otherwise, “we will be sidelined in managing the security issues of our own continent,” Orbán told Hungary’s state broadcaster. Orbán, who is a harsh critic of the European Union to which his country belongs, said Europe’s concerns that a Trump-Putin summit might not address the continent’s interests meant it should seize the diplomatic initiative. “This war cannot be ended on the front line, no solution can be concluded on the battlefield,” he said. “This war must be ended by diplomats, politicians, leaders at the negotiating table.”
NN: All Putin is doing is buying time as he conquers more and more of Ukraine
Israel’s security cabinet approves plan to take control of Gaza City
JERUSALEM/CAIRO, Aug 8 (Reuters) – Israel’s security cabinet approved a plan on Friday to take control of Gaza City, a move expanding military operations in the shattered Palestinian territory despite growing criticism at home and abroad over the almost two-year-old war. Far-right allies in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition have been pushing for a total takeover of Gaza as part of his vow to eradicate Hamas militants, though the military has warned this could endanger the lives of remaining hostages held by the group. Israel, at war in Gaza since Hamas’ deadly attack on southern Israel in October 2023, is planning the expanded campaign after failed attempts to mediate a ceasefire and as it faces a rising international outcry over a deepening humanitarian disaster. Netanyahu’s office said in a statement the military “will prepare to take control of Gaza City while providing humanitarian aid to the civilian population outside the combat zones”. While Netanyahu said on Thursday Israel intended to take military control of the entire Gaza Strip, the plan approved on Friday focused specifically on sprawling Gaza City, the territory’s largest urban centre, located in its north. In a statement, Hamas called Netanyahu’s moves “a blatant coup” against the negotiation process. Israel’s cabinet is expected to endorse the Gaza City plan. Israeli media have said 900,000 people now live in Gaza City, which has been the focus of major ground and air attacks. They include many of those who were forced to leave towns in the northern edge of the enclave under army evacuation orders and ground operations. Before the war, Hamas’ most powerful fighting units were believed to operate in northern Gaza, including Gaza City. It is not clear if that is still the case because Israel has killed the group’s top leaders and many of its commanders and militants. Asked if Israel, whose forces say they already hold about 75% of the coastal strip, would occupy all of it, Netanyahu told Fox News Channel’s Bill Hemmer in an interview on Thursday: “We intend to.”
He said Israel did not want to keep the territory, but to establish a “security perimeter” and to hand over the territory to Arab forces to govern it. He did not elaborate on the governance arrangements or which Arab countries could be involved. Netanyahu, who has said there will be no end to the war until Hamas is completely destroyed, has come under pressure from Israelis to do whatever it takes to bring home hostages held by the militant group, though many want the war to stop. Amjad Iraqi, senior analyst at International Crisis Group, said that Israel’s government believes the solution is to “be more aggressive in carving Gaza’s geography and demographics” because it has faced no real consequences despite an international outcry.
“It’s no wonder Israel is ready to do the same to the strip’s de facto capital, even amid a spiral into famine,” said Iraqi.
A global hunger monitor has said a famine scenario is unfolding in densely populated Gaza, where nearly all the territory’s more than 2 million people have been displaced, often repeatedly. Among the scenarios considered ahead of the security meeting was a phased takeover of areas in Gaza not yet under military control, a government source said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Evacuation warnings could be issued to Palestinians in specific areas of Gaza, potentially giving them several weeks before the military moves in, the person added. In its statement on Friday, Netanyahu’s office said the vast majority of the security cabinet believed that “the alternative plan presented in the cabinet would not achieve the defeat of Hamas nor the return of the hostages”. Netanyahu’s government has ruled out a return to Gaza of the Western-backed Palestinian Authority, which exercises limited autonomy in parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank under 1990s interim peace accords.
NN: Its obvious their is no peace in the valley. Any Israeli hostages returned or rescued are a miracle. Hamas will never let the go. Its their ace in the hole.
Oil Has Had A Bad Week
Brent crude oil has performed poorly this week, with the front-month contract falling by nearly eight percent to reach around $67 per barrel. The initial sell off was triggered by the OPEC+ announcement that it would raise supply by an additional 547,000 barrels per day in September, “marking the full unwinding of the 2.2 million barrels per day of cuts that the group planned to reintroduce to market over 2025 and 2026”. “Meanwhile, tariff-related uncertainties and broad-based economic concerns loom large, exacerbated by the recent raft of tariff announcements and weak economic data releases in the U.S. raising concerns for oil demand at a time when supply is continuing to grow,” they added. The BMI analysts also noted in the report that bearish sentiment helps to explain the decline seen in Brent in response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s new executive order (EO) issued August 6, which they highlighted “introduces an additional 25 percent tariff on India, effective August 27, in response to its continued purchase of Russian oil, and establishes a process for extending similar penalties to other countries”. “All else equal, the EO should be bullish for prices, to the extent that it curbs flows from Russia, the world’s second largest net exporter of oil,” they said. “However, market participants seem to share our view that there is ample scope for Trump to reverse course in response to potential concessions from Russian President Vladimir Putin,” they added. The analysts went on to state in the report that some combination of the loosening of the global oil supply and demand balance, potential pushback from India, economic fallout from higher effective tariff rates, and the rerouting of Russian oil to other markets could also help to cushion prices, depending on how the next 20 days play out. “We hold to our current forecast for Brent crude to average $68 per barrel in 2025 and $67 per barrel in 2026, down from $80 per barrel in 2024,” the BMI analysts said in the report. In a market analysis sent to Rigzone on Thursday, Hani Abuagla, Senior Market Analyst at XTB MENA, said crude oil prices stabilized to a certain extent that day “after multiple sessions in the red”. “The market could remain exposed to more volatility as traders continue to monitor the developments around demand and supply,” Abuagla warned in the analysis. “The market could remain under pressure from production increases by OPEC+ countries. At the same time, increasing pressure from the U.S. on Russian crude importers could limit the availability of oil on the market, driving prices higher,” Abuagla added. The Senior Market Analyst at XTB MENA went on to state in the analysis that, on the demand side, “markets could find support in the higher than expected U.S. inventory draws”.
“Both API [American Petroleum Institute] and EIA [U.S. Energy Information Administration] figures showed that crude stocks declined faster than anticipated, which could support a more bullish view on demand in the United States,” Abuagla said.
“At the same time, traders could continue to monitor the state of the economy in the U.S. and other major oil consumers in a bid to assess demand levels, in particular as U.S. tariffs could affect growth on a global level,” Abuagla warned. “Meanwhile, potential developments in U.S.-Russia diplomatic talks could reduce risks on the market, weighing on prices,” Abuagla continued. Rigzone has contacted OPEC, the White House, and the Department of Information and Press of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs for comment on BMI’s report and Abuagla’s market analysis. Rigzone has also contacted India’s Ministry of External Affairs for comment on BMI’s report. At the time of writing, none of the above have responded to Rigzone. U.S. commercial crude oil inventories, excluding those in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR), decreased by three million barrels from the week ending July 25 to the week ending August 1, the EIA highlighted in its latest weekly petroleum status report. That report was released on August 6 and included data for the week ending August 1.
NN: I do not do knee jerk EMOTINAL Snap analysis. Checking the data, politics and market action these past nine trading days i have some conclusions to share. My opinion is its the usual hysteria to scare the longs out of the market. I believe a important test of recent lows has been put in, We are well above the April $58.00 BOTTOM. $65.50 Brent could be a important buy point. Trade Reo coming once we get into the NY trading session
WH seemingly denies Trump-Putin meeting is done deal……. Trump meeting Putin only if he also meets Zelensky
A meeting between US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin has not yet been agreed, a White House official told ABC News on Thursday, denying the Kremlin’s previous claim that even a location had been agreed upon. According to the report, Putin would have to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky before meeting with Trump, and the Kremlin has not agreed to that condition so far. The White House official also stated that no place had yet been set for the meeting between the US and Russian leaders. Russian presidential aide, Yuri Ushakov, claimed earlier in the day that the meeting between the two presidents will occur “in the coming days,” adding that “the venue was also, in principle, agreed upon.”
Trump meeting Putin only if he also meets Zelensky
US President Donald Trump will only meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin if the latter also agrees to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine, the New York Post reported on Thursday, citing a White House official. Earlier, the Kremlin announced that Moscow and Washington agreed “in principle” on a meeting between Putin and Trump, “at the initiative of the American side.” Later, the White House reportedly debunked the declaration.
NN: Deal No Deal!
Trump’s Tariffs Take Effect in Fresh Test for Global Economy
Prllesident Donald Trump’s sweeping new tariffs officially took hold Thursday, as he barrels forward with his turbulent push to reshape global trade. After months of chaotic threats and reversals, higher rates for almost all US trading partners began just after midnight in New York. Trump signed the directive a week ago, but had to allow time for US Customs and Border Protection to make necessary changes to collect the levies.
Taken together, Trump’s actions will push the average US tariff rate to 15.2%, according to Bloomberg Economics estimates, well above 2.3% last year and the highest level since the World War II era.
Following a series of turbulent negotiations, the European Union, Japan and South Korea accepted 15% duties on their products, including key exports such as automobiles which otherwise face a 25% levy. Other countries were simply assigned rates, ranging from 10% to much higher. Negotiations on higher levies on goods from three of the US’s biggest trading partners, Mexico, Canada and China, are proceeding on a separate track. Trump has also vowed to unveil soon tariffs on critical industries, including pharmaceuticals and semiconductors. Trump has pledged higher levies will slash trade deficits and push companies to move manufacturing back to the US. His critics say they could cause inflation to spiral out of control and cause shortages on store shelves. None of those have yet come to pass, but recent economic data has indicated potential troubles lie ahead as the tariffs set in. “There are signs that tougher times are around the corner. A lot of companies have been building up inventories before the tariffs went into place,” said Wendy Cutler, vice president of the Asia Society Policy Institute and a former US trade negotiator. She argued that it is “almost inevitable that prices increase” because businesses are unlikely to sustain lower margins over the long term. Trump’s tariffs have injected tumult into the world economy since he first announced and then paused them in April — setting off months of breakneck negotiations with trading partners. The uncertainty created anxiety among businesses about supply chain disruptions and higher costs. Analysts at top Wall Street firms have warned clients to prepare for a pullback. On Monday, Morgan Stanley, Deutsche Bank AG and Evercore all cautioned that the S&P 500 Index is due for a near-term drop in the weeks and months ahead. That caution comes amid mounting concerns about the US economy after data last week showed an uptick in inflation as well as weakening job growth and consumer spending.