Diplomatic efforts surrounding the war in Ukraine are among the leading topics in the world press today, BTA writes.
US President Donald Trump has threatened his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin if he is not satisfied with his decisions regarding peace in Ukraine. He, in turn, said that he would continue to achieve his goals in Ukraine by military means if his peace agreement is not accepted, writes the British newspaper "Independent".
"You will see things happening" if Washington is not satisfied with Moscow's decisions, Trump said and stressed that he expects a decision from his Russian counterpart.
Putin previously said that he was ready to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Moscow, the British publication notes.
In response, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Szybiga said that at least seven other countries - Austria, the Vatican, Turkey, Switzerland and three Gulf states - were ready to host the meeting, notes the British newspaper "The Guardian". "These are serious proposals and President Zelensky is ready for such a meeting at any time," he emphasized. According to him, the Russian president is "making deliberately unacceptable proposals".
A trip to Moscow would represent not only a symbolic capitulation, but also a serious risk to the safety of the Ukrainian president, whom Russia has been trying to kill since the very beginning of the full-scale war, the publication added in a comment on the idea launched by Putin at a press conference in Beijing.
The Russian president was in China, where he met with his counterpart Xi Jinping, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Pyongyang has sent Moscow soldiers and ammunition, and China and India are buying Russian oil, supporting its wartime economy. There is also evidence that Beijing is providing it with dual-use goods, notes "The Guardian", quoting the statement of the EU's foreign policy chief, Kaia Kallas.
"Russia is not acting alone. China supplies Russia with up to 80% of its imports of dual-use goods," she said yesterday in Brussels. Dual-use goods are components and materials that at first glance appear to be civilian but are ultimately used to produce weapons, often with the full knowledge of the supplier.
Yesterday, China demonstrated its strength with a military parade, notes the British newspaper "Telegraph" and adds that the Chinese president showed the world nuclear missiles, drones and robot dogs, issuing a veiled threat to the United States.
Chinese supersonic missiles are capable of sinking ships. Drones are capable of providing support, and ballistic missiles that can carry nuclear weapons are capable of reaching the US territory, emphasizes the "New York Times".
The parade also marked Kim Jong-un's transition from the category of isolated world leaders to allies of Moscow and Beijing, adds the British edition "Financial Times", noting that this was his first visit to China. A "historic moment not only for Kim's rule but also for the region", notes John Delury, a senior fellow at the Asia Society, describing it as "an incredible achievement that speaks to the constant underestimation of both himself and his regime by outside observers".
Kim, who stood alongside Putin and Xi at the military parade, also introduced his daughter Kim Cho-ae, his likely successor, to Beijing.
Europe is ready to provide security guarantees to Ukraine, notes the French newspaper "Monde", citing the statement of French President Emmanuel Macron, made in the presence of his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky at a meeting in Paris.
After the completion of the long preparatory work, Europe is ready to provide "guarantees for the security of Ukraine and Ukrainians on the day peace is signed," Macron announced. "Europe is ready, for the first time with such a level of commitment and intensity", he told the media at the Elysee Palace, referring to the results of a meeting of defense ministers yesterday afternoon. Now the results of this preparatory work "will be approved at the political level".
This "gives us a solid basis to say that we are ready for a stable and lasting peace for Ukraine and for Europeans", Macron stressed, noting that it now remains "to understand whether Russia is sincere and consistent in its commitments when it offers peace to the United States".
His statement was made on the eve of the summit of the "coalition of the willing", ready to provide Kiev with security guarantees, as well as before the expected telephone conversation with Donald Trump.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has already rejected the idea of deploying foreign troops in Ukraine "in any form," Le Monde added.
Possible guarantees for Ukraine's security include troops on the ground, the purchase of weapons, and monitoring of the Black Sea, the French newspaper Le Figaro noted.
The only problem with this plan is that it is based on a very hypothetical cessation of mass fighting, the French publication added. Most members of the "coalition of the willing" require the existence of an American "security net" as a condition for their participation.
Trump "told European leaders in Washington in August that he was ready to consider the issue and that he was ready to work (on it)," Le Figaro said, citing a statement from the French presidency. Although Washington has ruled out any deployment of American forces on the ground, American support could compensate for European shortcomings in command and control systems, intelligence or air defense, as a senior European military official pointed out.