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Trump says he would sanction Russia if Putin does not negotiate on Ukraine

WASHINGTON — U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he would likely impose sanctions on Russia if its president, Vladimir Putin, refuses to negotiate about ending the war in Ukraine. 

Trump gave no details on possible additional sanctions. The United States has already sanctioned Russia heavily for its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. 

Trump said his administration was also looking at the issue of sending weapons to Ukraine, adding his view that the European Union should be doing more to support Ukraine. 

“We’re talking to [Ukrainian President Volodymyr] Zelenskyy; we’re going to be talking with President Putin very soon,” Trump said. “We’re going to look at it.” 

Trump said he had pressed Chinese President Xi Jinping in a call to intervene to stop the Ukraine war. 

“He’s not done very much on that. He’s got a lot of … power, like we have a lot of power. I said, ‘You ought to get it settled.’ We did discuss it.”  
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Lavrov echoes debunked Kremlin narratives to justify war, undermine NATO

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s mid-January press conference “on the performance of Russian diplomacy in 2024” was filled with false and misleading claims, many previously debunked, highlighting the Kremlin’s broader disinformation tactics.

Russia’s disinformation aims to legitimize its war, undermine NATO and erode Western support for Ukraine. By targeting domestic and international audiences — especially skeptics of U.S. policy — it seeks to shape perceptions, distort historical facts and create false equivalencies. The goal is to justify aggression while portraying Ukraine as illegitimate and extremist.

NATO expansion

Lavrov falsely claims that NATO promised not to expand eastward.

“We have long lost hope that Western countries will fulfill their promises and obligations, including NATO’s non-expansion to the east, refraining from luring Ukraine into NATO,” he said.

In reality, NATO has always maintained an “open door policy,” allowing any state to join if it meets membership requirements. No treaty ever restricted NATO expansion. In 2014, former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev confirmed the West never promised the Soviet Union otherwise. In 1997, U.S. President Bill Clinton rejected a “gentlemen’s agreement” with Russian President Boris Yeltsin to bar former Soviet republics from joining NATO.

These facts disprove Lavrov’s claims that NATO broke any commitments to Russia, exposing the Kremlin’s use of disinformation to justify its foreign policy and aggression against Ukraine.

Claim that invasion was defensive

Lavrov on Jan. 14 also falsely claimed that Russia’s war against Ukraine is defensive and aimed at protecting Russian-speaking populations.

“Despite the Minsk agreements, [Ukraine] bombed these people [in Donbas], who should have been granted a special status in accordance with the U.N. Security Council’s resolutions,” he said. “After years of explaining this … we ultimately launched the special military operation to protect our security interests and the interests of the Russian people in Ukraine.”

This false narrative has been challenged consistently. The international community, including the United Nations, has condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as an act of aggression violating international law. Investigations have found no credible evidence supporting claims of systemic oppression of Russian-speaking populations in Ukraine that would justify such military intervention.

United Nations data shows civilian casualties in Donbas steadily declined before Russia’s 2022 full-scale invasion, contradicting claims of a “humanitarian” mission. Experts have repeatedly demonstrated the war is not about protection but constitutes genocide against Ukrainians, exposing the Kremlin’s disinformation to justify aggression.

Zelenskyy’s legitimacy

Lavrov falsely called Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s presidency the product of a coup, though he won a democratic election, which even Russia initially recognized.

“[T]he current Ukrainian regime, which came to power through an illegal anti-constitutional coup,” he said during the Jan. 14 press conference.

Zelenskyy’s democratic election — like that of his predecessor, Petro Poroshenko — was recognized globally, including by Russia. Before Poroshenko, Viktor Yanukovych fled Ukraine during the Revolution of Dignity in 2014, not due to a coup, but amid mass protests.

Despite Russian claims of U.S. involvement, no credible evidence links the protests to foreign orchestration.

‘Self-determination’ of Crimea, Donbas

Lavrov falsely claimed that Crimea and Donbas left Ukraine legally.

“The right to self-determination underpins the decisions made by residents of Crimea in 2014 and by residents of Novorossiya and Donbass in 2022,” he said.

Russia’s annexations violate international law, as the referendums were conducted under military occupation without legal legitimacy.

Crimea, Donbas and other territories temporarily occupied by Russia are internationally recognized as part of Ukraine. The right to self-determination does not grant any group the automatic right to secede, particularly through force or foreign intervention.

Russia’s own constitution denies the right to secession, reinforcing that self-determination is subordinate to state sovereignty. This was affirmed in two decisions by the Russian Constitutional Court, prioritizing territorial integrity over international self-determination principles.

Moreover, in Putin’s Russia, advocating for national self-determination can lead to criminal penalties. The 2022 invasion revealed Moscow’s imperial ambitions, denying Ukraine’s existence and history. Russia forcibly deported Ukrainian children, leading the OSCE to label Russia a colonial empire rejecting rights to indigenous peoples.

Ukraine leadership called ‘Nazi regime’

Lavrov falsely called the current political regime of Ukraine a Nazi organization.

“[T]he issue of [Ukraine’s accession to] NATO must be taken off the table, and the Russian speakers’ language, religious and other rights, which Zelensky’s Nazi regime has outlawed, must be restored.”

The Kremlin falsely claims Ukraine is a Nazi state, ignoring the fact that ultranationalist groups in Ukraine, like Svoboda, have limited popular support and political power. Svoboda’s influence has diminished, receiving only 2.15% of the vote in 2019. In contrast, ultranationalists in Russia have significant influence on state and military policies, affecting domestic and foreign agendas.

Alleged ban on Russian language

Lavrov also repeated the fallacious allegation that the Russian language is barred in Ukraine.

“They [Ukraine] enacted a law banning the Russian language long before the special military operation started. … The Russian language has been totally outlawed.”

No law banned Russian in Ukraine, rather, policies promoted the Ukrainian language while still allowing Russian usage.

In July 2012, Ukraine’s Verkhovna Rada passed a law granting Russian “regional language” status in areas where Russian speakers exceeded 10%. While opposition members argued it diminished Ukrainian, some regions, including Donbas, recognized Russian as the official language.

After Yanukovych fled in February 2014, the law was repealed, but acting President Oleksandr Turchynov declined to approve the repeal. It stayed in effect until 2018, when Ukraine’s Constitutional Court struck it down. This was part of Ukraine’s effort to strengthen its national identity and limit Russia’s post-Soviet influence.

Accusations of TurkStream sabotage

Lavrov also falsely accused the United States and Ukraine of targeting the TurkStream gas pipeline, claiming Washington is encouraging Ukraine to sabotage the pipeline.

“[T]he U.S. has given the green light to terrorist attacks designed to undermine EU’s wellbeing in terms of energy supplies,” he said. “Now, they are encouraging their Ukrainian clients to put the TurkStream out of operation, just as they did with the Nord Stream pipelines.”

No concrete evidence has been provided to substantiate these allegations, making such claims speculative and misleading.
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US withdrawals from WHO, Paris Agreement met with regret, calls for reversal

Geneva — United Nations agencies say the imminent U.S. withdrawal from the World Health Organization and Paris climate agreement will have serious consequences for global health and efforts to slow down climate change.

“The World Health Organization regrets the announcement that the United States of America intends to withdraw from the organization,” the WHO said Tuesday in response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s declaration Monday that he intends to quit the U.N. health agency.

“WHO plays a crucial role in protecting the health and security of the world’s people, including Americans, by addressing the root causes of disease, building stronger health systems, and detecting, preventing and responding to health emergencies, including disease outbreaks, often in dangerous places where others cannot go,” it stated.

In explaining his decision, Trump accused the agency of being subject to “inappropriate political influence” from other member states.  “World Health ripped us off, everybody rips off the United States. It’s not going to happen anymore,” he said in signing an executive order Monday, hours after his inauguration.

In responding to the allegations, WHO spokesperson Tarik Jasarevic told journalists at a briefing in Geneva Tuesday that the United States, which was one of the founding members of WHO in 1948, had over seven decades together with the WHO, “saved countless lives and protected Americans and all people from health threats.”

“Together, we ended smallpox, and together we have brought polio to the brink of eradication,” he said.

The United States is the WHO’s single largest donor. It contributed $1.284 billion or 18 percent of the agency’s 2022-2023 budget.

Jasaravic said the U.S. decision was not unexpected and the WHO was now analyzing the exact details of Trump’s executive order “to see how this will play out and to see what will be the consequences.”

He noted that the United States can formally leave the WHO and stop financing the organization one year after the United Nations receives official written notice of U.S. withdrawal.

He said the WHO hopes the United States will reconsider its decision and maintain the U.S.-WHO partnership “for the benefit of the health and well-being of millions of people around the globe.”

“At the same time, we will continue to work in the world’s most difficult places,” including countries in conflict, “so we can protect the most vulnerable and be where people need us the most,” he said.

“The world lives longer, healthier, perhaps a little bit happier because of WHO, which goes to places where others cannot go, including Gaza, Yemen, Afghanistan, and Sudan,” Jens Laerke, spokesperson for the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, OCHA, said in support of the beleaguered agency.

In the meantime, U.N. officials have called the U.S. decision to withdraw from the 2015 Paris Agreement “a major disappointment,” noting that the world’s nations had adopted the accord because they recognized “the immense harm that climate change is already causing and the enormous opportunity that climate action presents.”

Antonio Guterres, the U.N. secretary-general, said that it was “crucial that the United States remains a leader on environmental issues” in this critical decade for climate action.

The World Meteorological Organization has warned that “climate change is playing out, on an almost daily basis, through more extreme weather.”

A recent WMO report finds the last 10 years have been the hottest in recorded history, and that 2024 was the hottest year on record, with temperatures at about 1.55 degrees Celsius above the pre-industrial era.

“Every fraction of a degree of global warming has an impact on our economies and our lives,” Clare Nullis, WMO spokesperson said, adding that “The U.S. accounts for the lion’s share of global economic losses from weather, climate and water-related hazards.”

According to the non-profit USAFacts, “nearly 40 percent of the billion-dollar climate events that have hit the U.S. since 1980 happened between 2017 and the present day.” The data-gathering organization says that “2023 had the most billion-dollar natural disaster events of any year to date.”

Nullis pointed out Tuesday that the ongoing Los Angeles wildfires are “estimated to be the most costly U.S. disaster on record.”

“Not all of these weather-related disasters, you know, have a connection with climate change.  We are not saying that…but climate change is an aggravating factor.  It is making our weather much more, much more extreme,” she said.  “So, you know, the need for the Paris Agreement is pretty obvious.”
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EU, China warn against trade friction at Davos after Trump return 

Davos, Switzerland — EU chief Ursula von der Leyen declared Tuesday that Europe was ready to negotiate with the United States and seek to improve ties with China as Beijing warned against damaging trade wars in the face of Donald Trump’s protectionism.

Trump returned to the White House on Monday, and while he may not be physically present in the Swiss Alpine resort of Davos, he is the elephant in the room for the executives and leaders hobnobbing at the annual World Economic Forum.

With Beijing and Brussels facing some of the biggest risks from the return of self-professed tariff-loving Trump, China’s Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen took to the stage first at the forum.

“Protectionism leads nowhere and there are no winners in a trade war,” Ding said, without mentioning Trump directly.

Trump threatened on Monday to impose tariffs if Beijing rejects his proposal to keep Chinese-owned app TikTok online on condition that half of it is sold off.

China is taking a cautious approach to Trump and after the TikTok threat, Beijing said it hoped the United States would provide a fair business environment for Chinese firms.

After Chinese President Xi Jinping spoke to Trump by phone on Friday, he said he hoped for a “good start” to relations with the new US administration.

Meanwhile, von der Leyen took a conciliatory tone. She said the EU’s “first priority will be to engage early, discuss common interests and be ready to negotiate” with Trump.

“We will be pragmatic but we will always stand by our principles, to protect our interests and uphold our values,” she said.

The European Commission president also stressed that Europe “must engage constructively with China – to find solutions in our mutual interest” despite escalating trade tensions between the two.

Brussels has provoked Beijing’s ire with a raft of probes targeting state subsidies in the green tech sector, as well as slapping tariffs on Chinese electric cars.

In an apparent reference to the European Union measures, Ding warned against “erecting green barriers that could disrupt normal economic and trade cooperation.”

More trade deals

On the campaign trail, Trump said he would impose extra customs duties on allies including the EU, as well as on China.

After his inauguration, Trump raised the possibility of imposing 25-percent tariffs on Canada and Mexico.

Von der Leyen reiterated her commitment to free trade during her speech, pointing to recent EU deals with Switzerland, the South American bloc Mercosur and Mexico.

She also said she and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi wanted to “upgrade” their partnership.

Trump announced the United States’ withdrawal from the Paris climate accord, which von de Leyen defended as the “best hope for all humanity” and vowed: “Europe will stay the course.”

Ukraine is also keeping a very close eye on what Trump’s second mandate will involve.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is expected to call on world leaders and company executives to maintain – and ramp up – their support for his country’s war against Russia.

Zelensky said on Monday he was hopeful Trump would help achieve a “just peace.”

Embattled German Chancellor Olaf Scholz was also to address the Davos forum, likely his last as leader ahead of elections next month.

Also speaking on Tuesday will be conservative leader Friedrich Merz, the favorite to succeed him as chancellor.

‘Better understand’ Trump

Middle East conflicts will likewise be high on the agenda as Israeli President Isaac Herzog and Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim al-Thani speak in separate sessions during the first full day of the forum.

As a fragile ceasefire holds in the Israel-Hamas war, the WEF will host a discussion on how to improve aid delivery to the Palestinian territory of Gaza and how to kickstart the reconstruction and recovery after heavy bombardment.

Despite suggestions Trump’s return would overshadow the forum that began on the same day as his inauguration in Washington, WEF President Borge Brende said the US leader had brought fresh attention to the gathering.

“It has increased the interest in Davos because people feel they need to come together to better understand what’s on its way,” Brende told AFP in an interview.

 
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Fire at ski resort in Turkey leaves 10 dead, 32 hurt

ANKARA, Turkey — A fire at a ski resort hotel overnight killed at least 10 people and injured 32 others in northwestern Turkey, authorities said on Tuesday, as TV footage showed crews fighting flames and smoke that engulfed the 11-story building.

The blaze began on the restaurant floor of the hotel at Bolu’s Kartalkaya ski resort at around 3:30 a.m. local time, Bolu Governor Abdulaziz Aydin told state broadcaster TRT.

He said there were 234 guests at the Grand Kartal Hotel, which has a broad wooden exterior.

The fire comes at the beginning of a nationwide two-week school holiday, a time when skiers from nearby Istanbul and Ankara usually head to the Bolu mountains.

TV footage showed several fire engines surrounding the charred hotel at the base of the ski slopes, with white bed sheets tied together and dangling from one upper-floor window.

The death toll had risen to 10, with 32 injured, from an earlier lower count, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said on X, adding more than 250 first responders attended to the incident.

Investigators were looking into what caused the blaze, authorities said.
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World leaders congratulate Trump on inauguration

World leaders on Monday are congratulating President Donald Trump on his inauguration as the 47th president of the United States.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was among those who congratulated Trump.

“President Trump is always decisive, and the peace through strength policy he announced provides an opportunity to strengthen American leadership and achieve a long-term and just peace, which is a top priority,” Zelenskyy said.

The third anniversary of the Russia-Ukraine war is approaching at the end of February.

Trump previously promised to end the Russia-Ukraine war in one day after becoming president, or even before his inauguration. More recently, Trump advisers have said resolving the conflict will now take months or even longer.

Trump has voiced skepticism of continued U.S. military support for Kyiv.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also congratulated President Trump.

“I believe that working together again will raise the U.S.-Israeli alliance to even greater heights,” Netanyahu said.

A ceasefire between Israel and Hamas began Sunday, just one day before Trump assumed the presidency.

“I look forward to working with you to return the remaining hostages, to destroy Hamas’ military capabilities and end its political rule in Gaza, and to ensure that Gaza never again poses a threat to Israel,” Netanyahu added.

Congratulations also rolled in from NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, as well as U.S. allies like Germany, Italy and Britain.

“The U.S. is our closest ally, and the aim of our policy is always a good transatlantic relationship,” German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer pointed to the longtime relationship between the United States and the United Kingdom.

“For centuries, the relationship between our two nations has been one of collaboration, cooperation and enduring partnership,” Starmer said. “With President Trump’s longstanding affection and historical ties to the United Kingdom, I know that depth of friendship will continue.”

And Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who attended the inauguration at the Capitol Rotunda in Washington, said she is “certain that the friendship between our nations and the values that unite us will continue to strengthen the cooperation between Italy and the USA.”

But not all of the messages were congratulatory.

Panama’s President Jose Raul Mulino rejected a portion of Trump’s inaugural address, in which Trump reaffirmed his desire to reassert U.S. control over the Panama Canal.

The United States fully ceded control of the strategically important canal to Panama in 1999.

“On behalf of the Republic of Panama and its people, I must fully reject the words outlined by President Donald Trump regarding Panama and its canal in his inaugural speech,” Mulino said in a statement.

Some information in this report came from Reuters.
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VOA Kurdish: Erdogan will renegotiate relationship with Trump administration

During Donald Trump’s first presidential term, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan enjoyed a close relationship with the U.S. leader, benefiting from policies such as the withdrawal of U.S. troops from northern Syria. With Trump returning to the White House, Erdogan hopes to revive ties to secure the final U.S. troop withdrawal from Syria and lift the ban on F-35 fighter jet sales.

Click here to see the full story in Kurdish.
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Ukraine reports downing 93 Russian drones

Ukraine’s military said Monday it shot down 93 of the 141 drones that Russian forces launched overnight in attacks targeting regions across the country.

The intercepts took place over the Cherkasy, Chernihiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk, Kharkiv, Kherson, Khmelnytskyi, Kirovohrad, Kyiv, Mykolaiv, Poltava, Sumy and Vinnytsia regions, Ukraine’s air force said.

Dnipropetrovsk Governor Serhiy Lysak said on Telegram that Russian attacks, which also included artillery and missiles, damaged four high-rise buildings.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said Monday it destroyed more than 30 Ukrainian aerial drones late Sunday and early Monday.

Kaluga Governor Vladislav Shapsha said on Telegram that falling debris from a destroyed drone sparked a fire at a business that was quickly extinguished.

In Belgorod, Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said a drone attack hit a car, injuring a woman. The Ukrainian assault also damaged six houses, Gladkov said.

Russian air defense also shot down drones over the Bryansk, Kursk, Ryazan, Oryol and Tatarstan regions.

Some information for this report was provided by Agence France-Presse and Reuters.
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Pope calls for Gaza ceasefire to be ‘immediately respected’

Vatican City — Pope Francis called Sunday for a ceasefire in Gaza to be “immediately respected,” as he thanked mediators and urged a boost in humanitarian aid as well as the return of hostages.

“I express gratitude to all the mediators,” the Argentine pontiff said shortly after the start of a truce between Israel and Hamas began.

“Thanks to all the parties involved in this important outcome. I hope that, as agreed, it will be immediately respected by the parties and that all the hostages will finally be able to go home to hug their loved ones again,” he said.

“I pray so much for them, and their families. I also hope that humanitarian aid will even more quickly reach… the people of Gaza, who have so many urgent needs,” Francis said.

“Both Israelis and Palestinians need clear signs of hope. I hope that the political authorities of both, with the help of the international community, can reach the right two-state solution.

“May everyone say yes to dialogue, yes to reconciliation, yes to peace,” he added.

A total of 33 hostages taken by militants during Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel are scheduled to be returned from Gaza during an initial 42-day truce.

Under the deal, hundreds of Palestinian prisoners are to be released from Israeli jails.

The truce is intended to pave the way for an end to more than 15 months of war sparked by Hamas’ attack, the deadliest in Israeli history.

It follows a deal struck by mediators Qatar, the United States and Egypt after months of negotiations, and takes effect on the eve of Donald Trump’s inauguration as U.S. president.
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