Donald Trump Wars & “Board of Peace”

Trump promises to ‘settle’ war in Ukraine if elected
Former President Donald Trump said if reelected
he would end the war in Ukraine
before his inauguration -PBS 11 September 2024

Trump’s ‘Peace President’ Claim Isn’t Holding Up
He wants to be known as a peacemaker, but some of the many conflicts he claims to have resolved stubbornly refuse to stop.
The problem is claiming to have resolved conflicts that aren’t over and announcing agreements that aren’t real. 17 December 2025

24 February
Trump’s State of the Union
“I ended eight wars.”
— President Trump
Linda Qiu, NYT Factchecker This is exaggerated.
Correction
Among the eight conflicts, Mr. Trump’s role is disputed in some, the fighting resumed in some, and the term “war” may be applied too loosely to others.
Despite the signing of a peace agreement at the White House in June, fighting broke out between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo in July.
Similarly, despite a cease-fire reached in July after Mr. Trump’s trade threats, Thailand suspended peace talks with Cambodia in November and clashes resumed.
And while Mr. Trump’s peace plan paved the way for a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas that took effect in October, Israeli strikes have not ceased and have since killed about 600 Palestinians in Gaza.
India has disputed Mr. Trump’s role in ending its clashes with Pakistan that broke out last spring.
Serbia and Kosovo, which declared independence from Serbia in 2008, signed economic agreements in 2020, in Mr. Trump’s first term, but they have not signed a peace agreement.
The leaders of Ethiopia and Egypt have thanked Mr. Trump for offering to mediate a decades-long dispute over water rights and a dam. That dispute has yet to escalate into a military conflict, though there are fears it could. The dam also opened in September, despite Mr. Trump’s diplomacy.
The leaders of Azerbaijan and Armenia have both praised Mr. Trump for mediating an agreement that aims to end their long conflict. Similarly, neither Israel nor Iran has disputed Mr. Trump’s role in bringing about a cease-fire last year after 12 days of fighting. But the durability of those agreements also remains in question.
David E. Sanger, White House correspondent: Trump cited his work to bring about a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas and talked of returning the hostages, living and dead, who had been held by Hamas forces. But he talks as if peace has now descended in Gaza. It hasn’t, at least yet.

20 February
The Guardian view on Trump’s Board of Peace: serving private interests more than public good
Editorial
As aid trickles into Gaza, Washington channels $10bn into a body chaired by the president. Peace in the region rests on law and sovereignty, not ego and brinkmanship
Trump’s Gaza Plans Leak
Trump’s illegal Gaza occupatiom
(Raw America) …leaked contracting documents obtained by sources in the press tell a very different story about what this organization is actually building.
The documents detail plans for a sprawling military base covering 350 acres in southern Gaza, with capacity for about 5,000 personnel. That base would serve as the headquarters for the International Stabilization Force, a military operation drawing troops from more than 20 countries that have signed onto the Board of Peace. Notably absent from that coalition? The United Kingdom, the European Union, France, Germany, and Spain. The EU’s foreign policy chief said directly at the Munich Security Conference last week that the Board of Peace’s plans don’t match the original UN mandate, which was supposed to be time-limited, was supposed to give Palestinians a say, and was supposed to be confined to Gaza. The Board of Peace’s own charter, she said, makes no reference to any of those things.
The base itself, as described in the leaked documents, includes 26 armored watchtowers, a network of bunkers, a small-arms range, and a barbed-wire perimeter. So much for peace, eh? The documents also describe plans for a geophysical survey of the site to identify tunnels and underground cavities, and they include a formal Human Remains Protocol, because approximately 10,000 Palestinian bodies are believed to be buried under rubble across Gaza.

19 February
Trump to name Jared Kushner envoy for peace
The president, hosting the first meeting of the Board of Peace, says the U.S. will put $10 billion toward its Gaza rebuilding effort.
Trump gets his Board of Peace, even as bigger countries steer clear
(Politico) America’s traditional allies are taking a backseat on the effort — which has raised billions in new commitments.
The first meeting of Donald Trump’s Board of Peace on Thursday was heavy on the president but light on other details, as a small group of member countries offered major financial commitments and said they would defer to the White House on rebuilding Gaza.
Some two dozen member countries that have signed on to Trump’s new venture announced more than $6.5 billion in financial pledges after a 47-minute stemwinder from the president, who lavished praise on the all-male group of world leaders in the room and insisted the nascent effort will work with, and not against, the United Nations.
For as much as the board’s first meeting appeared to have the trappings of another Trump vanity project, the commitments by several members to the rebuilding of Gaza were concrete. The financial commitments include $1.2 billion from the United Arab Emirates and $1 million from Saudi Arabia. The World Bank will manage the donations and disburse them under the Board of Peace’s direction, said Ajay Banga, the bank’s president.
An administration official later clarified that the $10 billion U.S. commitment was part of a 10-year rebuilding plan, “which we will work on in conjunction with Congress.”
The initial investment of roughly $1.25 billion would go toward ordnance removal, temporary housing, security, medical provisions and other needs, the official said.
The man at the center of the Board of Peace
(GZERO media) Despite a logo that only highlights parts of the Western Hemisphere – a visual nod to Trump’s “Donroe Doctrine” – the Board’s members span the globe. What unites them is something more pragmatic, according to Elliott Abrams, the Middle East expert at the Council on Foreign Relations.
“They are unified by a desire to avoid offending President Donald Trump,” Abrams told GZERO, “and the thought that maybe they would gain something by being on the Board of Peace.”
What, then, can the Board realistically achieve? The task in Gaza is gigantic. Over 60 million tons of rubble need to be cleared — the equivalent of around 162 Golden Gate Bridges. But Abrams is optimistic that the Board can make a “real contribution” in Gaza. For example, if the Board can empower the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG), a technocratic Palestinian group, to hire engineers and other qualified people to work on public services, like water, sewage, schooling, and roads, that would mark a massive achievement for the Board.
Securing lasting peace in Gaza is a tougher goal to reach, said Abrams. The International Stabilization Force is taking on this task, but achieving it, Abrams says, relies on Hamas’ disarmament. That’s something the militant group – as well as its political arm – has refused to do. Countries being asked to commit troops to the peacekeeping forces have themselves ruled out attempting to complete this task.

18 February
Trump’s Board of Peace: Rebuilding Gaza, or Remaking the World?
(Arab Center) The Trump administration’s new “Board of Peace” is slated to hold its inaugural meeting in Washington on February 19, 2026. After the United Nations (UN) Security Council authorized the Board in November 2025 with a mandate that lasts until December 31, 2027, pending renewal, the first board meeting will be held at the newly renamed “Donald J. Trump United States Institute of Peace” and is expected to begin securing reconstruction funds and troop commitments to staff an International Stabilization Force (ISF) in Gaza.
Curiously, the Board’s charter does not mention Gaza. There also seems to be a substantial gap between the body that the Security Council authorized last year and Trump’s personal ambitions for the Board of Peace, which extend well beyond Gaza to encompass worldwide diplomatic functions previously undertaken by the UN. Fully under President Trump’s personal control, the Board represents a challenge to the existing global order, as well as—surely not incidentally—yet another moneymaking opportunity for Trump, his family, and his associates.
Major European allies decline to join first meeting of Trump’s Board of Peace
Dozens of world leaders head to Washington for what White House says will largely be a fundraiser on Thursday

17 February
Trump Said He’d End the War in a Day, but It’s Worsened for Ukrainians
(NYT) Russian attacks and Ukrainian civilian deaths rose as President Trump’s peace talks dragged on during his first year back in the White House.
More civilians were killed and injured in 2025 than in the previous year. More missiles and drones are hitting city centers. Russia captured more territory in its slow-moving advances in 2025 than in any year since 2022, when it launched its full-scale invasion. Moscow has practically destroyed Ukraine’s power grid during the country’s harshest winter in more than a decade.
… Oleksandra Matviichuk, a Ukrainian human-rights activist, said that the human cost of the war had been excised from the peace talks as the Trump administration treats negotiations like a real estate deal that would carve up both Ukraine and its natural resources. To lead the American delegation, Mr. Trump has chosen real-estate developers with a personal connection to him.

Thomas L. Friedman: Netanyahu Plays Trump and American Jews for Fools — Again
While keeping Trump focused on the Iranian missile and nuclear threat — which, though reduced, is still very real and will have to be dealt with diplomatically or militarily — Bibi is fundamentally threatening broader U.S. interests in the Middle East, not to mention the security of Jews all over the world

16 February
The promise and peril of Trump’s Board of Peace
By Eric Alter
(Atlantic Council) The inaugural meeting of US President Donald Trump’s new Board of Peace will be held in Washington, DC, on February 19.
The idea behind Trump’s Board of Peace shares traits with several earlier United Nations-led transitional administrations.
One important lesson to take from previous cases ranging from East Timor to Kosovo is balancing top-down control with local leader involvement.
While the board will likely move faster than the consensus-driven United Nations, it will need to navigate common pitfalls of its donor-led coalition-of-the-willing model.
Expectations in the White House are high, with Trump announcing on Sunday that the upcoming gathering would unveil five billion dollars in pledged humanitarian and reconstruction aid for Gaza. “The Board of Peace has unlimited potential,” the US president said.
But with the board’s novelty and ambition also comes uncertainty. It would place Gaza’s administration in the hands of a newly created international body while maintaining a significant role for Israeli security concerns. Its transactional approach and selective membership raise questions about the limits of its effectiveness. Instead of ensuring stability, the plan could falter in Gaza and thereby undermine broader commitments to universalist principles in international law.
While the Board of Peace itself is new, what it is attempting to do, broadly speaking, is not. Historical precedents offer several cautionary examples that international oversight in post-conflict environments often struggles or fails when it does not sufficiently involve local populations or when its authority is poorly defined.

14 February
Donald Trump’s ‘Board of Peace’: The Difference Between Peacebuilding and Carpetbagging
By Joseph Ingram, a former President of The North South Institute, a former World Bank Special Representative to the United Nations and the WTO, and a former Director of The World Bank office in Bosnia and Herzegovina. He is a Fellow of the Canadian Global Affairs Institute.
(Policy) While for the moment, open hostilities between the Israeli Defence Forces and Hamas have ceased, a lasting solution to the conflict has yet to be agreed upon.
Indeed, the absence of any specific mention of Gaza from the document establishing the Board of Peace has been cited as evidence that the body is intended as a substitute for the United Nations Security Council — a New World Order competitor to render redundant the decision-making bodies of the multilateral status quo.
… the U.S. administration has chosen to eliminate USAID and starve of critical financial support some 31 UN specialized development agencies and 35 non-UN agencies, several of which are experienced in the type of reconstruction and policy support that will be required to reconstruct Gaza.
Indeed, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) estimates that in the Gaza strip alone, an unprecedented 61 million tons of rubble will need to be cleared, only the first step in restoring basic infrastructure and public services in health, power generation, sewerage, water supply – a prerequisite, along with a functional legal and judicial system, as well as educational bodies, to create the skills and governing institutions needed to sustain a growing, viable economy while improving social conditions.
The UN estimates that just the first phase of clearing the rubble will take over half a decade to complete. All of this, of course, assumes a comprehensive peace settlement, rather than today’s shaky ceasefire with no clear path towards a Palestinian entity, no agreement by Hamas to give up its weapons, nor a Trump administration prepared to stop Israel’s de facto annexation of the West Bank.

7 February
Trump’s ‘Board of Peace’ Sets Date to Meet in Washington, Officials Say
The group, which has prompted skepticism from some U.S. allies, is scheduled to meet on Feb. 19, according to the officials.
The Board of Peace, as envisioned in a charter signed last month, has divided several U.S. allies, including France and a number of other European nations that declined to join at this time. Critics have called it the latest example of Mr. Trump’s efforts to dismantle the post-World War II international system, and analysts say he is trying to create a rival to the United Nations that puts him in charge. As chairman, he would have veto power over some of the body’s decisions.
The original idea for the board was to focus on war-torn Gaza’s reconstruction, but its remit has broadened since then.

Trump turns to US military leaders for diplomatic efforts on Iran and Ukraine
(AP) — President Donald Trump has taken the unusual step of tapping military leaders for high-level diplomacy, sending the top U.S. commander in the Middle East to talks over Iran’s nuclear program and positioning the Army secretary as a key negotiator on ending the Russia-Ukraine war.
Adm. Brad Cooper, head of U.S. Central Command, for the first time joined indirect U.S.-Iran talks Friday in Oman, appearing in his dress uniform as a reminder of the American buildup of military might in the region. As Army Secretary Dan Driscoll reprised his role at Russia-Ukraine talks this week, he worked to keep the conversation going with Ukrainian officials in the downtime between sessions…
With special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner balancing both sets of thorny negotiations, the choice to bring in military leaders — whether for their expertise, connections or to signal potential tougher options — reflects how the Republican administration has upended traditional U.S. foreign policy and diplomacy.
Elisa Ewers, who served in national security positions in the George W. Bush and Obama administrations, said placing active-duty military leaders like Cooper in diplomatic roles shows how the Trump administration has devalued skilled diplomats and the tools of diplomacy in favor of an overreliance on the military to try to solve foreign policy challenges.
Trump plans to hold first peace board meeting in Washington this month
U.S. President Donald Trump plans to convene the first meeting of his Board of Peace this month in Washington to raise money for the reconstruction of Gaza.
The meeting, proposed for Feb. 19, would include both world leaders who accepted Trump’s invitation in January to join the board as well as members of an executive committee for Gaza that will oversee the specifics of the territory’s governance, security and redevelopment, two Trump administration officials said Saturday.
A copy of the invitation that was sent late Friday to invited participants and obtained by The Associated Press, says the meeting will be held at the U.S. Institute of Peace, now known as the Donald J. Trump U.S. Institute of Peace, pending an ongoing legal battle with the former leadership of the nonprofit think tank. The administration seized the facility last year and fired almost all the institute’s staff.

28 January
Threat of US-Iran war escalates as Trump warns time running out for deal
US president says armada heading towards Iran is ‘prepared to fulfill its missions with violence if necessary’

26-27 January
Trump’s ‘Board of Peace’ puts rights abusers in charge of global order
By sidelining the UN and human rights, the US president is proposing a club of impunity, not peace.
(AlJazeera) Since taking office a year ago, the Trump administration has been working hard to undermine the United Nations, especially the UN’s efforts to uphold universal human rights. Now US President Donald Trump wants to create a new organisation, a “Board of Peace” with himself as lifetime chairman. While many countries were invited, those signing up appear to be a rogues’ gallery of leaders and governments with human rights records ranging from questionable to appalling.
Trump’s board appears to be a kind of pay-to-play, global club, judging from the $1 billion fee for permanent membership. With several notorious human rights abusers and leaders implicated in war crimes – and few countervailing voices – it is hard to imagine this body giving priority to ending suffering, hatred and bloodshed, as Trump declared at the launch event on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum. Among those Trump has invited to join are two who are subject to International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrants for war crimes and crimes against humanity – Russian President Vladimir Putin and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Trump has invited leaders of other countries with appalling human rights records to join his board: From China and Belarus to Kazakhstan.
Looking for signs of Trump’s new world order after Davos
With his so-called Board of Peace, President Donald Trump’s transactional new world order takes shape.
(WaPo) There’s a lot uncertain and unclear about what the Board of Peace represents or may try to accomplish in the coming months, beyond the plans in place to administer postwar Gaza. Few of the United States’ most important Western allies considered joining it, while Trump has conspicuously extended invitations to dictatorships in Russia and Belarus. Both the board’s boosters and critics see it as a challenge to the existing international order, at a time when Trump appears increasingly convinced of the United States’ right to assert primacy in global affairs, from his defenestration of the regime in Venezuela to his desire to annex Greenland.

22 January
President Trump Ratifies Board of Peace in Historic Ceremony, Opening Path to Hope and Dignity for Gazans
(The White House) Today, in an historic ceremony in Davos, Switzerland, President Donald J. Trump formally ratified the Charter of the Board of Peace — establishing it as an official international organization. President Trump, who is serving as the Board’s Chairman, was joined by Founding Members representing countries around the world who have committed to building a secure and prosperous future for Gaza that delivers lasting peace, stability, and opportunity for its people.
Trump launches Board of Peace that some fear rivals UN
(Reuters) Trump sees Board of Peace as going beyond Gaza to address global challenges
Denies board is designed as replacement for United Nations
Some major US allies balk at joining, citing doubts about broadened mandate
35 countries including Israel, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Argentina, Indonesia have committed; Russia considering

18 January
Full text: Charter of Trump’s Board of Peace
(Times of Israel) No mention of Gaza, which bolsters ToI’s reporting that US also envisions panel helping resolve other conflicts worldwide; member countries must pay $1 billion for permanent spot
The following is the full text of the charter of the Board of Peace, the international body headed by US President Donald Trump.
This charter was attached to the invitations sent out to dozens of world leaders who were asked to join Trump on the panel tasked with overseeing the postwar management of Gaza.
It notably makes no mention of Gaza, bolstering The Times of Israel’s reporting that the US wants the Board of Peace to assist in the resolution of other conflicts around the globe. However, the mandate of the board approved in November by the Security Council is limited to Gaza and only until the end of 2027. …

16 January
Trump has pulled back from the brink on Iran – for now
Mohamad Bazzi
When he returned to power last year, Trump was eager to negotiate a new deal with Tehran, but a diplomatic breakthrough has been elusive
…by Wednesday, Trump pulled back from the brink of a military intervention, saying he had received assurances from “very important sources” that Iran had stopped killing protesters and was not moving forward with executions. A group of US allies in the Middle East – including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman and Turkey – seem to have succeeded in a last-ditch effort to convince Trump not to launch airstrikes against Tehran, warning it could unleash a wider conflict in the region. While many Sunni-led Arab states resent Shia Iran’s influence in the Arab world, they are also worried about retaliatory attacks by Iran and its allies, an influx of refugees and a civil war that could lead to the collapse of the Iranian state.

13-14 January
Trump insists Greenland is crucial for national security after Denmark talks
Talks fail to solve ‘fundamental disagreement’ over Arctic island controlled by Copenhagen
US announces start of second phase of Gaza ceasefire
No details given of committee members who will run territory but they are expected be technocrats, not politicians

Trump cancels US-Iran meetings, urges protesters to take over institutions
(Al Jazeera) … In a social media post on Tuesday, Trump said that “help is on the way” without offering further details. Trump has openly contemplated ordering military attacks on Iran over the last several days
3 January
Trump’s Special Military Operation in Venezuela
(Project Syndicate) President Donald Trump announced his own version of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “special military operation” in Ukraine on his Truth Social app before most Americans were awake. At a subsequent press conference at Mar-a-Lago, he declared that the United States would “run” Venezuela “until such time as we can do a safe, proper, and judicious transition.”
Israel
Far from “[living] up to the plan, 100%”, as Mr Trump claimed, it is clear that Israel is not complying with a deal that Palestinians greeted with tentative relief only as the alternative to continued war. If he wants to be lauded as a dealmaker, he should enforce it. Ensuring relief to those in desperate conditions is not an act of munificence subject to inclination, nor a clause for negotiation. It is not merely what basic humanity and decency require; international law demands that the parties to conflict facilitate aid.
The Guardian view on Gaza’s winter: the world must take heed as Palestinian suffering deepens again

2025

17 December

Donald Trump and the Aggressive Pursuit of a Nobel Peace Prize
The president said it would be “a big insult” to the US if he doesn’t win. Some in Norway fear retaliation if he’s disappointed.
(Bloomberg) Trump claims to have ended at least six wars — including an armed conflict between India and Pakistan in May, fighting between the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda-backed rebels, and border clashes between Thailand and Cambodia — since returning to the White House in January. This success rate has been disputed by critics who say the hostilities that Trump takes credit for resolving were smaller in scale, his role was limited, or involved conflicts that ended long ago. Yet, his Middle East special envoy, Steve Witkoff — who is involved in efforts to end the Russia-Ukraine war and the conflict in Gaza — told a cabinet meeting in Washington in August that the Nobel committee needed to “finally get its act together” and award the prize to his boss.
… The deliberations of the five-person committee — selected by Norway’s parliament — are sealed for 50 years, so unless Trump wins on Oct. 10, historians will have to wait half a century to know whether he even made the 2025 shortlist. – 3 October 2025

17 December
Trump Delivers Attacks and Deflects Blame for Americans’ Economic Worries
(NYT) … Trump mentioned the recent war with Iran and his peace efforts in Gaza, and repeated his claim that he has ended eight wars since returning to office. What was barely mentioned, however, was his military campaign closer to home. The Trump administration has killed nearly 100 people in strikes on boats off the coast of Latin America. Trump has vowed a naval blockade on Venezuelan oil shipping, in pursuit of his stated goal of seizing Venezuelan crude, and has promised imminent military strikes against land targets in the country. Trump has signaled that he is on the warpath, but said nothing of a coming conflict in tonight’s speech.
Trump’s ‘Peace President’ Claim Isn’t Holding Up
He wants to be known as a peacemaker, but some of the many conflicts he claims to have resolved stubbornly refuse to stop.
By David A. Graham
Yesterday, Trump—who has deemed himself the “peace president”—escalated his belligerence against Venezuela, announcing a blockade of sanctioned oil tankers and demanding that the government “return to the United States of America all of the Oil, Land, and other Assets that they previously stole from us.” This is difficult to parse, but the Trump aide Stephen Miller suggests that it refers to past nationalization of the petroleum industry. In any case, a blockade could be an act of war under international law.
This past Friday, Trump said the United States would launch land strikes within Latin America. “We knocked out 96 percent of the drugs coming in by water, and now we’re starting by land, and by land is a lot easier, and that’s going to start happening,” Trump said in the Oval Office on Friday. The 96 percent mark is unrealistic and backed by no evidence, as is the notion that land wars are easier than drone strikes at sea.
Congress has neither authorized nor been asked to authorize these actions. The White House has relied on the tortured argument that because it has deemed that U.S. troops are not in active danger, the law doesn’t apply. Nor is it clear what the strategic rationale for such a strike on sovereign countries would be—much less the legal justification. (The administration insists its boat strikes are legal, but officials have been vague about their legal arguments and experts disagree.) Trump has claimed that drug interdiction is a goal, and said Friday that strikes might hit countries other than Venezuela.

12 December
Trump Says ‘Starting’ Land Strikes Over Drugs in Latest Warning
(Bloomberg) President Donald Trump said the US would be “starting” land strikes on drug operations in Latin America, though again declined to provide details on when and where the escalation of his military campaign would actually begin, or if countries could still do anything to avert the threatened action.
“We knocked out 96% of the drugs coming in by water, and now we’re starting by land, and by land is a lot easier, and that’s going to start happening,” Trump told reporters Friday in the Oval Office.
The US president for days has been pledging to broaden the effort, which comes after the Pentagon has launched a series of attacks on what it has called drug-smuggling boats in international waters off the coast of South America.

8 December
Trump says he has ‘solved’ 8 conflicts. Here’s what to know about them. UPDATE
Trump says he has ended a growing list of conflicts. But in some of them, his role remains contested, and violence has resurged between Thailand and Cambodia.
(WaPo) A resurgence of violence along the Thai-Cambodia border, including Thai airstrikes on targets in Cambodia on Monday, comes less than two months after the signing of a peace agreement between the countries that was championed by President Donald Trump as part of a global effort to secure peace deals and secure his reputation as a peacemaker.
Trump’s peacemaking track record so far is mixed. In some instances, Trump has applied pressure to secure ceasefires that have largely held, like in the conflict in the Gaza Strip and the 12-day war between Israel and Iran. But in other cases, violence has continued despite elaborate White House signing ceremonies. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which Trump pledged to end, persists as Trump continues to pursue a resolution.

Robert Reich: Who’s the Last Person in the World to Deserve the Nobel Peace Prize?
The person who’s been waging illegal wars
Trump recently had his name engraved on the U.S. Institute of Peace — now renamed the “Donald J. Trump U.S. Institute of Peace.” On Wednesday, the White House confirmed the renaming, calling it “a powerful reminder of what strong leadership can accomplish for global stability.”
Actually, it’s a reminder of what a strong malignant narcissist can accomplish when untethered from reality.
… Trump is taking credit for achieving “peace” between nations that weren’t even at war.
He’s also trying to change the name of the Department of Defense back to the Department of War.
And he’s conjuring up “enemies within” the United States as pretexts for prosecuting political opponents, attacking American universities, and attempting to stifle media criticism of himself and his administration. …
Memo to the Norwegian Parliament and the Nobel committee: No president in American history deserves the Nobel Peace Prize less than does Donald J. Trump.

6 December
Hegseth gives defiant speech defending ‘drug boat’ strikes amid scrutiny
At event in California, US defense secretary says Trump has power to take military action ‘as he sees fit’
Pete Hegseth on Saturday doubled down on his defense of US military strikes on alleged drug cartel boats in the Caribbean, arguing that Donald Trump has the power to take military action “as he sees fit” and dismissing concerns that the strikes violate international law.
Pressure grows on ‘reckless’ Hegseth as twin scandals engulf Pentagon chief
Defense secretary defiant but allegations of war crimes and blistering watchdog report increase calls for him to go
Joseph Gedeon in Washington
(The Guardian) Pete Hegseth is facing the most serious crisis of his tenure as defense secretary, engulfed by allegations of war crimes in the Caribbean and a blistering inspector general report accusing him of mishandling classified military intelligence. Yet despite the long list of trouble and as lawmakers from both parties call for his resignation, Hegseth shows no signs of stepping down and still holds Donald Trump’s support.
The twin crises have engulfed the former Fox News personality in separate but overlapping allegations that lawmakers, policy experts and former officials say reveal a pattern of dangerous recklessness at the helm of the Pentagon. Democratic legislators have reignited calls for his ouster after revelations that survivors clinging to wreckage from a September boat strike were deliberately killed in a “double-tap” attack, while a defense department investigation released on Thursday concluded he violated Pentagon policies by sharing sensitive details via the Signal messaging app hours before airstrikes in Yemen.
The most recent controversy comes as the Caribbean campaign centers on the Trump administration’s extrajudicial strikes against suspected drug smugglers, which have killed at least 87 people across 22 attacks since September

4-5 December
People flee DR Congo fighting one day after peace deal signed in Washington
Hundreds driven into Rwanda as M23 militia battles Congolese army and Burundian soldiers for border town of Kamanyola
Thursday’s agreement was meant to stabilise the resource-rich east but it has had little visible effect on the ground so far, in an area plagued by conflict for 30 years.
On Friday, fighters from the anti-government armed group M23 battled in South Kivu province with the Congolese army, backed by thousands of Burundian soldiers deployed alongside it.
Both sides are fighting for control of the border town of Kamanyola – where the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda and Burundi meet. M23 is now in control there.
Trump hails ‘historic’ peace deal between DR Congo and Rwanda
(BBC) The leaders of the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda have signed a peace deal aimed at ending the long-running conflict in the region at a summit hosted by US President Donald Trump in Washington.
However analysts have pointed out that this was just the endorsement of an agreement reached in June that has failed to end the fighting.
Ahead of the summit, there were renewed clashes in resource-rich eastern DR Congo between government forces and rebels believed to be backed by Rwanda.

10 November
Thailand suspends Cambodia ‘peace deal’
(BBC) Thailand says it is suspending the implementation its “peace deal” with neighbouring Cambodia over a disputed border – just two weeks after Donald Trump presided over its signing.
Thailand’s announcement came after soldiers were injured in a landmine explosion near the Cambodian border in Sisaket province, a government spokesman said.
Cambodia has said it remains committed to the deal, which was is supposed to bring a lasting peace following border clashes which left more than 40 dead in July.
The two sides signed the agreement – which Thailand has refused to call a peace deal – in October during a ceremony with the US president in Malaysia.

7 October
Trump wants Thai-Cambodian peace deal photo op at Asean summit to boost Nobel ambitions
The ‘Peacemaker-in-Chief’ is hoping to stake his claim on initiating the peace process between the two Asean members, sources say
(SCMP) US President Donald Trump has asked to preside over the signing of a peace deal between Cambodia and Thailand when he attends the Asean Summit in Kuala Lumpur later this month, according to four government and diplomatic sources.
Southeast Asia is hoping to negotiate concessions to punishing tariffs imposed by Washington when they meet in the Malaysian capital from October 26 to 28, adding significance to Trump’s request for a peace signing ceremony.

6 October
Day one of Gaza peace talks ends on ‘positive’ note in Egypt
Sources familiar with the mediated talks between Israel and Hamas say that progress was made on Monday, with negotiations to continue.
The first day of resumed indirect talks between Israel and Hamas in Egypt ended on a positive note, amid hopes of a potential deal to implement US President Donald Trump’s 20-point plan to end the war on Gaza, multiple sources told Al Jazeera and other media outlets.
Sources told Al Jazeera Arabic that the meeting in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh on Monday was “positive” and that a roadmap was drawn up for how the current round of talks would continue.
The Hamas delegation told mediators that Israel’s continued bombing of Gaza poses a challenge to negotiations on the release of captives, Al Jazeera Arabic reported.

26 September
Trump’s Peacemaker Hype
Brahma Chellaney
(Project Syndicate) Some of Trump’s claims were pure fiction. For example, he took credit for ending a war between Egypt and Ethiopia. But, although bilateral tensions over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam have simmered for years, they have never boiled over into war. Likewise, Trump claimed to have ended a nonexistent war between Kosovo and Serbia. Despite considerable hostility – and a history of violent clashes – the two countries have not been at war since the 1990s. No war is easier to end than one that has never started. Perhaps Trump’s most risible invention was the war – “a bad one” – between Armenia and Cambodia, countries located over 4,000 miles (6,500 kilometers) apart that have never had any conflict whatsoever. Armenia did clash with neighboring Azerbaijan this year, and Trump convinced both countries’ leaders to sign a joint declaration aimed at ending their decades-long conflict. But progress on implementing that agreement has stalled, and the accord is in danger of unraveling. That Trump would consider this conflict “ended” reveals the depth of his ignorance about peacemaking.

24 September
With His Pivot on Ukraine, Trump May Be Washing His Hands of the War
President Trump has shown dwindling interest in mediating a peace accord, joining European “security guarantees” for Ukraine or providing aid and intelligence to the Ukrainians.
(NYT) Eight months into his second term, President Trump has made a declaration about Ukraine that sounded vaguely like the ones his predecessor, President Joseph R. Biden Jr., used to make. With the right mix of courage, ingenuity and weapons from NATO, he asserted on Tuesday, Ukraine could force Russia to retreat from the territory it has seized in three and a half years of brutal war.
But scratch the surface, and a deeper desire seemed buried in Mr. Trump’s reversal of position during the U.N. meetings in New York this week. Mr. Trump appears to want to wash his hands of the Ukraine conflict, after having no success bringing President Vladimir V. Putin to the negotiating table, and a dwindling chance of acting as mediator between the two warring parties.
Trump’s about-face on Ukraine baffles leaders on both sides of conflict
(Globe & Mail) Politicians in Kyiv and Moscow were left scratching their heads Wednesday, trying to understand Donald Trump’s latest about-face on the war, after the U.S. President posted on social media that he now believed Ukraine could emerge victorious.

11-12 September
Trump stands by as Putin and Netanyahu cross new lines
(Axios) President Trump loves to boast about his singular ability to control global events and leaders, but there are two notable exceptions: his ally Benjamin Netanyahu and his nominal adversary, Vladimir Putin.
Why it matters: The wars in Ukraine and Gaza have been the two dominant global crises of Trump’s second term, but despite his promises to end both wars, he’s seemed doubtful lately about his ability to influence the men prolonging them.
Behind the scenes: Trump has conceded to confidants that he misjudged Putin’s desire for peace, but he rejects the notion he’s being manipulated by Netanyahu.
… Flashback: One month ago, Trump declared that Putin would face severe consequences if he didn’t agree to a ceasefire in Ukraine or take major steps toward peace when they met in Alaska.
His advisers were adamant in private that, this time, he was deadly serious.
Instead, Trump declared the summit a success without any cogent explanation as to what was achieved.
State of play: The diplomatic track is stuck, Russia’s attacks on Ukrainian civilians have increased, and no consequences have been forthcoming.
The administration has shifted the onus for pressuring Putin onto Europe, demanding additional EU sanctions on Moscow and on China for buying Russian oil.
When it comes to Netanyahu, Trump has an overwhelming amount of leverage.
But on issues related to Gaza, he’s been reluctant to use it — largely deferring to Netanyahu while alternating between pushing peace proposals and endorsing expanded military action.
Trump demanded Netanyahu commit not to strike Qatar again
President Trump demanded a commitment from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not to strike Qatar again after the attack against Hamas leaders in Doha, two sources with knowledge of the issue tell Axios.
Why it matters: Netanyahu didn’t consult Trump or any of his top advisers until missiles were in the air. The strike infuriated the White House and alarmed leaders in the region and around the world.
The attack was damaging not just for Israel’s global standing, but potentially for America’s.
Qatar’s prime minister told the White House his country would now reevaluate its security partnership with Washington after this act of “betrayal,” and said in a CNN interview that leaders across the Gulf were discussing how to respond.
But Netanyahu is publicly unapologetic, even suggesting he might order another attack, regardless of Trump’s demand.

On Ukraine and Gaza, Trump Casts Himself as a Bystander, if He Can’t Be a Peacemaker
President Trump often insists he can bring peace to global conflicts. But when allies and adversaries alike appear to be ignoring him or testing American will, he adopts a what-can-you-do shrug.
(NYT) “What’s with Russia violating Poland’s airspace with drones?” President Trump asked on his social media account on Wednesday, hours after the Russian intrusions led to the first shoot-downs of enemy targets over NATO territory since the alliance was created 76 years ago.
He did not protest the flight of the drones, which penetrated deep over the Polish border, a far more expansive and seemingly deliberate provocation than any previous ones during the 43-month-long war in Ukraine. Mr. Trump added cryptically: “Here we go!”
The post came just hours after Israel took Mr. Trump by surprise, dropping bombs in Qatar — home of the regional headquarters of United States Central Command — without so much as a courtesy notification to Washington.
It was the latest example of the bystander phase of the Trump presidency. Much of the time, Mr. Trump insists he alone can bring about peace — to Ukraine, to the Middle East — by force of personality and his stature on the world stage. But during weeks like this one, when allies and adversaries alike appear to be ignoring him or testing American will to shape events, or both, he adopts a what-can-you-do shrug, online or in the Oval Office, as if he is an observer with minor stakes in the outcome.

5 September
Trump says US in ‘very deep’ negotiations with Hamas, urges release of hostages
Trump urges Hamas to release all hostages in Gaza
Trump had promised quick end to war
(Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday that Washington was in “very deep” negotiations with Palestinian militant group Hamas and urged them to release all hostages held in Gaza.
“We are in very deep negotiation with Hamas,” Trump told reporters, saying the situation will be “tough” and “nasty” if Hamas continues to hold Israeli hostages.

4 September
Gwynne Dyer: Greenland, Ukraine and all that
There’s nothing particularly original about getting some dissident or sold-out minority to call on a great power to intervene in order to provide political cover for what is really an invasion. The old Soviet Union did it to Czechoslovakia in 1968 and to Afghanistan in 1979.
At peak arrogance, when the US was the sole superpower, it didn’t bother with such niceties. It just sent in the troops: Dominican Republic 1965, Grenada 1983, Libya 1986, Panama 1989, Afghanistan 2001, Iraq 2003. Now it needs a bit more cover, especially when invading the territory of a long-standing ally, so let’s find or buy some amenable Greenlanders.
To be fair, the attempt to recruit a few ‘pro-American’ Greenlanders to front the operation suggests that the Trump regime prefers a non-violent conquest if at all possible. On the other hand, it also indicates that at least some of the planners in Washington have been instructed to start preparing the ground for an American takeover. (Canadians take note.)
… Russia is already a fascist state and America may end up as its closest ally if Trump survives. So who is left to defend the rule of law, and above all to protect the fundamental international rule that nobody may change borders by force?
That was the law, written in 1945 by the survivors of the greatest war in history, that has saved us from far worse wars for the past eighty years. Indeed, there have been no wars even one-tenth as bad as 1939-45 in all this time. Fear of nuclear war forced us to be reasonable, but ‘no territorial changes by force’ was how we turned that into a policy.
Now Russia has moved outside that law, and the United States is heading the same way. So who’s left?
Well, actually, almost everybody else. China’s obsession with Taiwan is regrettable, but it is rooted in a civil war between rival Chinese governments. On every other matter, it is a devout defender of the territorial status quo.

30 August
The Nobel Prize and a Testy Phone Call: How the Trump-Modi Relationship Unraveled
President Trump’s repeated claims about having “solved” the India-Pakistan war infuriated Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India.
(NYT) Mr. Trump had been saying — repeatedly, publicly, exuberantly — that he had “solved” the military conflict between India and Pakistan, a dispute that dates back more than 75 years and is far deeper and more complicated than Mr. Trump was making it out to be.
During a phone call on June 17, Mr. Trump brought it up again, saying how proud he was of ending the military escalation. He mentioned that Pakistan was going to nominate him for the Nobel Peace Prize, an honor for which he had been openly campaigning. The not-so-subtle implication, according to people familiar with the call, was that Mr. Modi should do the same.
The Indian leader bristled. He told Mr. Trump that U.S. involvement had nothing to do with the recent cease-fire. It had been settled directly between India and Pakistan.

27 August
Trump’s Nobel Delusions
Nina Khrushcheva
US President Donald Trump appears to find it unbearable that Barack Obama has a Nobel Peace Prize and he does not. But whereas Obama’s was premature, coming just months after he took office, Trump’s would be parodic, turning the Peace Prize into a punchline.
(Project Syndicate) We have already seen one world leader after another kissing up to Trump and capitulating to his bullying. And, in fact, he has already received nominations for his coveted Nobel. One, Pakistan, is not exactly a beacon of peace, and another, Cambodia, is led by the sort of authoritarian Trump admires.

5 Wars That Experts Fear Could Start in the Next 5 Years
(Politico) Ask those whose job it is to worry about conflict where war might break out in the next five years, and the Baltics — the trio of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania that broke away from the Soviet Union after the fall of the Berlin Wall, and a region which Putin would love to reclaim — are on nearly every expert’s list.
But it’s not the only one. This year has already seen two of the world’s most-watched potential conflicts erupt into reality — with missiles flying over the India-Pakistan border in May and then in June, Israel going to war with Iran over its nuclear weapons program. While the India-Pakistan skirmish quickly came to an end, the strategic outcomes of Israel’s immediate tactical success in Iran remain very much an open question.
Analysis of recent U.S. intelligence testimony and reports, as well as interviews with a half-dozen geopolitical experts make clear that in addition to the Middle East, there are five high-profile, high-risk conflicts that conceivably could unfold in the next five years, all of which could have profound and serious consequences for the U.S. — militarily, economically or geopolitically. These are high-tension areas where a military incursion, akin to Russia’s 2021 invasion of Ukraine, spiraling escalation, or even just a bad 24-hour period of misunderstandings, mistakes, military accidents or miscalculations could lead to major showdown, loss of life and global ruptures.
Aggrieved Nuclear Neighbors – India-Pakistan
One particularly worrisome facet is that Pakistani military doctrine is believed to have a low threshold of use of nuclear force against India — and domestic political pressures mixed with the relative immaturity of both countries’ arsenals and doctrines could mean that any nuclear exchange spirals into a rush to use dozens or scores of weapons as quickly as possible, resulting in hundreds of nuclear attacks during just a few days of war
The Most-Feared Invasion – China-Taiwan
If China took Taiwan — either without international opposition or despite it — the aggression would instantly rewrite the geopolitics and alliances of the Pacific, as countries across Southeast Asia and the Pacific rim that have long allied themselves first with the United States reconsider which superpower might better serve their long-term economic and security interests. A Taiwan takeover could even spur nuclear proliferation in nervous countries like South Korea — and Japan — who might doubt whether when push-comes-to-shove the U.S. would be there when needed in the future. Xi is believed to have set a 2027 deadline for his armed forces to be ready for an invasion of Taiwan.
Testing NATO – Russia and the Baltics
The three Baltic countries are tiny in size and population, which makes them a tempting target for Russia seeking to reassert itself. Putin’s goal in any Baltic incursion would be two-fold — both to regain territory he believes historically should be part of Russia, but also to test NATO and Europe by targeting some of its smallest and most isolated members.
The Tensest Border – India-China
Geopolitical experts worry about the reputational risk both countries would quickly feel as any fighting erupted — China might see fighting India as necessary to chill other regional adversaries — or as a way to embarrass the U.S. with a key Indo-Pacific ally.
Never-Ending War – The Korean Peninsula
Along its edges, about 2.5 miles apart, the outer perimeter of the DMZ is one of the most heavily fortified and defended places on earth, with artillery and land mines at the ready, and all of Seoul in easy missile range of the North.

27 August
Denmark summons top U.S. diplomat after reports of American influence operations in Greenland
Public broadcaster report indicated 3 Americans with ties to Trump administration raised suspicion
(CBC) Public broadcaster DR cited unnamed sources as saying the government believed at least three U.S. nationals with ties to President Donald Trump’s administration had been involved in influence operations aimed at promoting Greenland’s secession from Denmark to the United States.
Denmark summons US diplomat over alleged Greenland influence campaign
Danish media reports three men with ties to Donald Trump are accused of attempting to infiltrate Greenlandic society
Denmark has summoned the US charge d’affaires for an urgent meeting over an alleged influence campaign in Greenland aimed at shaping public opinion and the future of the Arctic territory.
It comes after reports from Danish media, confirmed by the Danish foreign office, that at least three US men with ties to Donald Trump and the White House had been accused of trying to infiltrate Greenlandic society.
Their activity – which, according to the broadcaster DR, includes compiling lists of Trump-supporting Greenlandic citizens – is being closely watched by the Danish government, which is understood to be aware of “foreign agents and actors” trying to shape public opinion in Greenland.

25-27 August
Trump Aims To End Israel-Gaza Conflict Before 2025 Ends
The US State Department separately said Secretary of State Marco Rubio will meet Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar in Washington on Wednesday.
Trump had promised a swift end to the war in Gaza during the 2024 US election campaign and after taking office in January, but almost seven months into his term, that stated goal remains elusive.
Trump predicts ‘conclusive ending’ to Gaza war within three weeks
The US president has made such claims before, but Israel has pressed on with its genocidal war with full US backing.

26 August
Trump claims to have ended the war in Congo. People there say that’s not true
(AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump claims that the war in eastern Congo is among the ones he has stopped, after brokering a peace deal between Congo and Rwanda in June. But residents, conflict researchers and others say that’s not true.
Trump on Monday repeated claims that he ended the decades-long conflict, describing Congo as the “darkest, deepest” part of Africa. “For 35 years, it was a vicious war. Nine million people were killed with machetes. I stopped it. … I got it stopped and saved lots of lives,” he asserted.
The Associated Press previously fact-checked Trump’s claim and found the war far from over. Now residents report clashes in several hot spots, often between the Rwanda-backed M23 rebels who seized key cities earlier this year and militia fighting alongside Congolese forces.
A final peace deal between Congo and the rebels, facilitated by Qatar, appears to have stalled. Each side has accused the other of violating peace terms.

25 August
Trump hints he will change Pentagon’s name to Department of War
“I don’t want to be defense only,” the president said. “We want offense too.”
(Politico) The switch is telling. Trump has championed his role in trying to settle conflicts around the world. But the effort to swap the Defense Department’s name indicates a president who is just as eager to talk about military strength overseas.

22 August
Trump ups number of wars he claims to have ended from 7 to 10: ‘If you think about pre-wars’
Claim comes as Ukraine war rages on despite Trump peacemaking attempts
(The Independent) Earlier this week, the president had put the figure at “six wars in six months” in a post on Truth Social. It was an apparent reference to diplomacy around disputes between Armenia and Azerbaijan, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda, Iran and Israel, India and Pakistan, Cambodia and Thailand, and Ethiopia and Egypt.
21 August
Trump touts his peace deal between ‘Aberbaijan and Albania’ – getting both countries’ names wrong
‘Er Albania, I mean […],’ President Trump said, while referring to the decades-long conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan
Earlier this month, Trump announced a peace deal, ending decades of conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia, two nations who have been in a state of tension since the 1980s.

19-20 August
How many wars has President Trump really ended?
As President Donald Trump tries to broker an end to the Russia-Ukraine war, he has been highlighting his track record in peace negotiations since starting his second term in office.
Speaking at the White House on 18 August, where he was pressed by European leaders to push for a ceasefire, he claimed: “I’ve ended six wars… all of these deals I made without even the mention of the word ‘ceasefire’.”
The following day the number he cited had risen to “seven wars”.
Some lasted just days – although they were the result of long-standing tensions – and it is unclear whether some of the peace deals will last.
Trump also used the word “ceasefire” a number of times when talking about them on his Truth Social platform.
BBC Verify has taken a closer look at these conflicts and how much credit the president can take for ending them.
The Trump administration says a Nobel Peace Prize is “well past time” for the “peacemaker-in-chief”, and has listed the “wars” he has supposedly ended.
Israel and Iran The US carried out strikes on Iranian nuclear sites – a move widely seen as bringing the conflict towards a swift close. On 23 June, Trump posted: “Officially, Iran will start the CEASEFIRE and, upon the 12th Hour, Israel will start the CEASEFIRE and, upon the 24th Hour, an Official END to THE 12 DAY WAR will be saluted by the World.”
After the hostilities ended, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei insisted his country had secured a “decisive victory” and did not mention a ceasefire.
Israel has since suggested it could strike Iran again to counter new threats.
Pakistan and India …in May hostilities broke out following an attack in Indian-administered Kashmir. After four days of strikes, Trump posted that India and Pakistan had agreed to a “FULL AND IMMEDIATE CEASEFIRE”. Pakistan thanked Trump and later recommended him for the Nobel Peace Prize, citing his “decisive diplomatic intervention”.
India, however, played down talk of US involvement: “The talks regarding cessation of military action were held directly between India and Pakistan under the existing channels established between both militaries,” Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said.
Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo In June, the two countries signed a peace agreement in Washington aimed at ending decades of conflict. Trump said it would help increase trade between them and the US.
Egypt and Ethiopia There was no “war” here for the president to end, but there have long been tensions over a dam on the River Nile.
Thailand and Cambodia Malaysia held the peace talks, but President Trump threatened to stop separate negotiations on reducing US tariffs (taxes on imports) unless Thailand and Cambodia stopped fighting.
Serbia and Kosovo On 27 June, Trump claimed to have prevented an outbreak of hostilities between them, saying: “Serbia, Kosovo was going to go at it, going to be a big war. I said you go at it, there’s no trade with the United States. They said, well, maybe we won’t go at it.” The two countries signed economic normalisation agreements in the Oval Office with the president in 2020, but they were not at war at the time.
Trump Says He’s Ended 6 (or 7) Wars. Here’s Some Context.
President Trump has cast himself as a global peacemaker. His interventions have calmed some conflicts, while in others his role is less clear.
Every U.S. president has world conflicts land on his desk, and Mr. Trump has used the power of his office, including the threat of economic penalties, to intervene in several this year, leading to a stop in fighting. In some cases, warring parties have credited him with advancing peace or calming hostilities. In others, his role is disputed or less clear — or fighting has resumed.
Asked for clarification, the White House provided a list of the six wars he says he has resolved. It did not respond to a subsequent question about the seventh.
Armenia and Azerbaijan
Mr. Trump brought the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan to the White House this month to sign a joint declaration aimed at bringing their long-running conflict closer to an end. It was not a peace deal, but it was the first commitment toward one since fighting broke out in the late 1980s when a weakening Soviet Union unleashed interethnic strife in the Caucasus. …

8 August
Trump Wants to Win the Nobel Peace Prize. He’s About to Make Two Wars Worse.
(Slate) President Donald Trump has publicly moaned that he deserves a Nobel Peace Prize, and yet he seems to be on the verge of intensifying at least two wars—while, at the same time, weakening America’s position in the world and strengthening that of the most powerful dictatorships.
One of these calamities, Trump has already inflicted. Earlier in the week, he gave a green light to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s then-rumored plan to occupy all of Gaza—and, on Thursday, Israel’s security Cabinet approved the policy.
… As of midafternoon Friday, it seems that Trump is going to proceed with the meeting with Putin anyway—no need for the Russian leader to meet with his Ukrainian foe, contrary to Trump’s earlier demands that the two engage in the summit together. Not only that, but Trump seems prepared to hand Putin a major victory, the likes of which his army has been unable to win on the battlefield, despite 3½ years of intense fighting.
Politico reported on Friday that a deal, worked out between Putin and Witkoff, would require Ukraine to cede Crimea and all of the eastern Donbas region to Russia—and to withdraw from the slivers of territory in that region that Kyiv now controls.

President slaps his name on Armenia-Azerbaijan peace passage: The Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity
The agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan will end decades of conflict while reopening key transportation routes in the region

18 June
Trump and India’s Modi split over U.S. role in Pakistan ceasefire
In a Tuesday phone call, India’s Modi told Trump that the U.S. did not play a role in de-escalating tensions between India and Pakistan.
The call was the first time the two leaders had spoken since the early May military conflict between the two countries.
Trump has repeatedly praised his own role in allegedly stopping the conflict, even saying Wednesday morning that the mediation was his doing.