Saudi Arabia's stunning transformation from global pariah to diplomatic power

18/02/2025 11:33 France 24

PRESS REVIEW – Tuesday, February 18: Saudi Arabia emerges as a key diplomatic power as it hosts Russian and US officials for talks on Ukraine this Tuesday and a Gaza summit on Friday. How did Riyadh go from global pariah to key partner? Also: France's 2030 Winter Games preparation kicks off, actress Julianne Moore's children's book on a girl with freckles risks being banned by the Trump administration and a Belgian couple set a record for the longest marriage in Europe – 82 years!

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Russians feel "wind in their sails" as Trump pressed to show resolution to war, expert says

Russia told the United States in talks in Riyadh on Tuesday that it opposed any NATO member sending troops to Ukraine as part of a ceasefire, Moscow's foreign minister said. FRANCE 24's Mark Owen speaks to John Lough, senior research fellow at the New Eurasian Strategies Centre. He says that the Ru...

18/02/2025 20:26 France 24

Rubio: US and Russia agree to restore embassy staffing, create team to negotiate Ukraine peace

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy postponed a trip to Saudi Arabia scheduled for this week, citing the fact that officials from his country were not invited to U.S.-Russia talks in the kingdom on negotiating an end to the war. Russia and the U.S. agreed Tuesday to start working towards ending...

18/02/2025 19:41 France 24

At Ukraine's expense? US and Russia break the ice in Riyadh

Three years after Vladimir Putin’s full-scale invasion of a sovereign state, what has he gained? A path to normalisation with the United States and negotiations on Ukraine—without the Ukrainians. Without the Europeans, either. Instead, Donald Trump is sending his Secretary of State and Natio...

18/02/2025 19:24 France 24

'Gaza is uninhabitable': Palestinians decry complete destruction of enclave

Gaza has become a place of complete destruction and desolation after over a year of war between Israel and Hamas. Few places in the enclave are still inhabitable and residents are in dire need of aid....

18/02/2025 16:57 France 24

Germans protest military aid, arm supplies to Ukraine

The peace movement in Berlin has taken to the streets a few days before the general election. For three years, these activists have been denouncing the German government's arms supplies and support to Ukraine....

18/02/2025 16:54 France 24

Saudi Arabia consolidates soft power as Riyadh hosts US-Russia talks

Saudi Arabia's crown prince wasn't in the room for the first high-level talks between Russia and the United States over Moscow's war on Ukraine on Tuesday, but Mohammed bin Salman still won the day for hosting the gathering that could be a game-changer in the bloody conflict....

18/02/2025 16:40 France 24

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio presser in Riyadh

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio addresses reporters following talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and other senior officials in Saudi Arabia....

18/02/2025 13:32 France 24

Russia likely to seek lifting of US sanctions, specialist says

Russia is likely to seek the “lifting of US sanctions” in Monday’s talks with top US officials held in Saudi Arabia, said Scott Lucas, Professor of American Studies & International Politics at the Clinton Institute, University College Dublin. Citing Russia’s strained economy, Lucas said “...

18/02/2025 12:33 France 24

US and Russia hold bilateral talks in Saudi Arabia

Top US and Russian diplomats met in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday for talks on resetting their fractured relations, the first such discussions since the Russian invasion of Ukraine....

18/02/2025 10:38 France 24

Villagers prepare to return home as Israeli troops withdraw

Israeli forces withdrew from border villages in southern Lebanon on Tuesday, under a deadline spelled out in a US-brokered ceasefire agreement that ended the latest Israel-Hezbollah war. “People are expected to go back to their villages within the next few hours, some of the villages are already...

18/02/2025 09:55 France 24

Zelensky meets Erdogan for talks: ‘Turkey has long played an intermediatory role’

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is set to meet with Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan Tuesday in Ankara as top US and Russian diplomats hold talks in Riyadh. “Turkey has long played an intermediatory role” between Russia and Ukraine, FRANCE 24’s Jasper Mortimer said, citing Anka...

18/02/2025 09:50 France 24

‘Dream in the making’ for Putin: US-Russia talks begin in Saudi Arabia

Top US and Russian officials met in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday for talks on improving ties and negotiating an end to the war in Ukraine. This is a “dream in the making” for President Vladimir Putin, FRANCE 24’s Douglas Herbert said in an analysis, citing President Donald Trump’s apparent willi...

18/02/2025 09:43 France 24

Archaeologists push to restore Syria’s war-torn heritage sites, including Palmyra

Some of Syria’s most renowned heritage sites coud soon undergo restoration as experts return to the sites decimated by nearly 14 years of war. Conservationists hope the historical and cultural significance of once-thriving landmarks such as the ancient city of Palmyra will help to draw internatio...

18/02/2025 07:57 France 24

Ukrainians ‘surprised’ and ‘disappointed’ by Trump administration's 'attitude'

Ukrainians are “surprised” and “disappointed” by the “attitude that the Trump administration has taken”, FRANCE 24’s Gulliver Cragg said, adding that many in Ukraine thought that “Trump was on their side”. “People are finding it quite hard to believe the way the Trump administra...

18/02/2025 07:39 France 24

Live: Zelensky calls for 'fair' Ukraine talks involving EU, UK, Turkey

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Tuesday that any talks aimed at ending the war should be "fair" and involve European countries, including Turkey. Meanwhile, Russia and the US agreed in talks in Riyadh to establish a process for settling the Ukraine conflict and remove barriers for diplo...

18/02/2025 06:32 France 24

US and Russia hold talks on ending Ukraine war in Riyadh

Senior US and Russian diplomats meet in Riyahdh on Tuesday for preliminary talks on trying to end the Ukraine war and resetting their countries' fractured relations. The talks have sparked concern in Europe and Ukraine in the wake of the new US administration's overtures towards Russia and US Presi...

18/02/2025 02:51 France 24

EU pledges to boost defense spending to ensure Ukraine security

European leaders sought to portray unity in Paris on Monday, pledging at an Ukraine Summit to "unlock" billions of Euros in the event that the US restricts its military aid to Ukraine. US President Donald Trump announced he would sideline Ukraine and its European as the US and Russian delegations p...

18/02/2025 02:13 France 24

Rubio in Saudi Arabia ahead of US, Russia talks on Ukraine

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio continued his Middle East tour on Monday, arriving in Saudi Arabia ahead of a controversial meeting on Tuesday between the US and Russian delegations to discuss the war in Ukraine. European leaders and Ukraine decried the bilateral talks, insisting any talks on the...

18/02/2025 00:50 France 24

Ukraine peace talks: Did Trump exclude the EU?

In viral claims spread by pro-Russian accounts on X, users say that US President Donald Trump declared in an alleged interview with CNN that the EU would be excluded from Ukraine peace talks. We debunk these claims in this edition of Truth or Fake....

17/02/2025 21:45 France 24

Ukraine and European allies have reasons to be worried about peace deal, expert says

FRANCE 24's Mark Owen speaks to Natia Seskuria, Associate Fellow at Royal United Services Institute. She says that the signals coming from the Trump administration give European allies and particularly Ukraine "reason to be really worried" about the potential peace deal....

17/02/2025 20:25 France 24

US 'wants to please Putin': Zelensky

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in an interview broadcast Monday that the US is trying to "please" Moscow after a shock policy shift on the Ukraine war under President Donald Trump. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called Europe's current military capabilities "weak" in an intervi...

17/02/2025 19:53 France 24

European leaders hold emergency talks, fearing that Trump has abandoned age-old allies

European leaders sought to form a united front Monday at emergency talks in Paris, called after a U.S. diplomatic blitz on Ukraine which has thrown a once-solid alliance into turmoil and left the Europeans questioning the reliability of their key transatlantic partner. Leaders of Germany, the Unite...

17/02/2025 19:43 France 24

The death of NATO? Europe in crisis over Trump-Putin talks

European leaders are meeting in Paris for emergency talks on Ukraine, following last week's call between US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. With NATO's most powerful member sidelining its allies in negotiations with Russia, is the US still a reliable partner?...

17/02/2025 19:35 France 24

European leaders race to respond after US policy shift on Ukraine

European leaders sought to find a unified response at an emergency summit in Paris Monday following a shock policy shift on the war in Ukraine by US President Donald Trump. The talks were held as Washington and Moscow's top diplomats were due Tuesday to have a first face-to-face meeting since Russi...

17/02/2025 19:21 France 24

On the ground with Ukraine’s volunteer drone hunters

In a small town south-east of Kyiv, a team of civilians sit in the back of a pickup truck with machine guns pointed at the sky hoping to shoot down Iranian-made drones that target the Ukrainian capital on a near-daily basis. The drone hunters’ local knowledge and military-style training have mad...

17/02/2025 17:01 France 24

France hosts emergency summit on Ukraine: US treats EU as 'junior partner'

The US is treating the EU like a "junior partner" in attempting to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine, FRANCE 24’s Armen Georgian said in an analysis. Citing President Trump's phone call with Vladimir Putin and potential talks with Ukraine's Zelensky, Georgian said "the EU comes as sort of a...

17/02/2025 16:13 France 24

Archaeologists push to restore Syria's war-ravaged heritage sites

Experts are returning to Syria’s war-ravaged heritage sites, hoping to lay the groundwork for restoring them and reviving tourism, which they say could provide a much-needed boost to the country’s decimated economy after nearly 14 years of war. One of Syria’s six UNESCO World Heritage sites,...

17/02/2025 14:49 France 24

Ukrainians voice concern over Trump's phone call with Putin

Ukraine is continuing to train troops for the ongoing war with Russia despite the new US administration’s apparent willingness to negotiate an end to the conflict, without Ukraine at the table. President Donald Trump’s recent phone call with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin has prompted alarm...

17/02/2025 14:19 France 24

Bangladesh's revolution: Exiled blogger Pinaki Bhattacharya on fall of 'fascist regime'

A leading exiled blogger from Bangladesh who has more than 3 million followers on YouTube has spoken to FRANCE 24 about his hopes for the future after the revolution there. Pinaki Bhattacharya, who now lives here in France, is credited by supporters back home with playing a part in the toppling of...

17/02/2025 14:08 France 24

France trial opens for suspected IS group militants accused of kidnapping journalists in Syria

A landmark trial opened Monday at a Paris court in which five suspected Islamic State group terrorists stand accused of kidnapping four French journalists covering the war in Syria in 2013. Among the accused is Mehdi Nemmouche, who is already in prison for killing four people in an attack on a Jewi...

17/02/2025 11:59 France 24

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