Global News Podcast
Concern in Europe after Trump and Putin agree to start Ukraine talks
13 Feb 2025
Senior figures in Europe have accused President Trump of making unnecessary concessions to Russia ahead of peace talks on Ukraine, and a breakthrough is reported in talks to get the Gaza ceasefire deal back on track.
Full Episode
This is the Global News Podcast from the BBC World Service. I'm Jackie Leonard, and at 14 hours GMT, these are our main stories. The US Defence Secretary has denied that President Trump has betrayed Ukraine by pushing for a peace deal with Russia. Meanwhile, Germany has accused Mr Trump of making concessions to Russia on Ukraine before peace talks have even started.
And a breakthrough has been reported in talks to get the Gaza ceasefire deal back on track. Also in this podcast, a man has driven a car into a crowd of pedestrians in the German city of Munich in what officials suspect was a deliberate attack.
The fact that there are many injured is a slap in the face. We feel for the victims. We pray for the victims. We very much hope that everyone will make it.
And researchers in Australia say a warming planet is changing the behaviour of crocodiles. We begin with Ukraine. As the third anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion approaches, there's been a flurry of activity from the US about ending the conflict.
As you'll have heard in our last edition, Donald Trump has had a long phone call with President Putin of Russia and says he plans to meet him in person, reversing years of the US isolation of the Russian leader. Mr Trump has also spoken on the phone to President Zelensky. The news of these conversations has been front and centre at a meeting of NATO defence ministers in Brussels.
Boris Pistorius of Germany accused the US president of making concessions to Russia before peace talks had begun. He said the possibility of Ukraine joining NATO should remain, as well as the issue of losses of territory.
Putin is constantly provoking the West and attacking us in a hybrid manner. It would be naive to believe that this threat will actually subside as a result of any peace agreement whenever it comes.
On Wednesday, the US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said it was unrealistic to expect Ukraine to return to its pre-2014 borders and he downplayed the prospect of Ukraine joining NATO. But today he insisted the US isn't betraying Ukraine and it's time to move towards a negotiated settlement.
We recognize the incredible commitment that has been made over many years. And no country, as President Trump has pointed out, has made a larger commitment to the Ukrainian mission than the United States of America, north of $300 billion. So the United States has invested in stabilising those front lines after the aggression of Russia. There is no betrayal there.
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