UK PM says US security guarantee only way to deter Russia from attacking Ukraine again. Also: Using AI to detect prostate cancer and tributes paid to Paquita la del Barrio whose songs empowered women around the world.
Chapter 1: What is the purpose of the US security guarantee for Ukraine?
Hello, I'm Oliver Conway. This edition is published in the early hours of Tuesday, the 18th of February. European leaders have insisted Ukraine should have a say in any peace deal, even as the US prepares to negotiate directly with Russia. They also stress the need to take responsibility for their own defense.
The US Secretary of State has told the Saudi Crown Prince that a deal for Gaza must contribute to regional security. And could artificial intelligence revolutionize the detection of prostate cancer?
Also in the podcast.
A new treatment that could help those who lost their sense of smell to Covid. And the maestro, the mafia and a chorus of disapproval. European leaders have met in Paris to work out how to respond to America's new big power approach to Europe and the war in Ukraine.
With the US seemingly keen to scrap its post-war security guarantees for the continent, one of the big issues of discussion was how to beef up European defence. Es ist völlig verfrüht und der
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Chapter 2: What are the concerns of European leaders regarding US-Russia negotiations?
It's completely premature and completely the wrong time to have this discussion. I'm actually a little irritated by these debates. Discussions are taking place over the heads of Ukraine about various possible results of peace talks that have not taken place and which Ukraine did not agree to and has not been at the table. That is highly inappropriate. We do not know what the result will be.
Mr Schultz also said plans to send peacekeeping troops to Ukraine were premature. But the British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he would be willing to do so under certain conditions.
Chapter 3: Why is a US backstop essential according to Keir Starmer?
I'm prepared to consider committing British forces on the ground alongside others if there is a lasting peace agreement. But there must be a US backstop because a US security guarantee... ist der einzige Weg, um Russland effektiv wieder von der Ukraine-Attackung zu verhindern.
Der hungarische Premierminister Viktor Orban, der nahe Donald Trump und Wladimir Putin ist, hat den Summit nicht beschlossen und es als einen Versuch beschrieben, um Frieden zu vermeiden. Für mehr über das, was am Meeting gesagt wurde, haben wir von unserem Paris-Korrespondenten Andrew Harding gehört.
They have been having a fairly informal discussion about the implications of the Trump administration's blizzard of diplomacy and of rhetoric, which has made a lot of European leaders very nervous, both about the short-term issue of a potential ceasefire deal, even a peace deal, cooked up between Russia and America without proper input from Europe and from Ukraine.
There is real concern about that and the way... dass die Diplomatie dort behandelt wird, auch wenn russische und amerikanische Offiziere das unterhalten und sagen, dass Europa überwältigt ist und dass es richtig konsultiert werden wird. Es gibt auch, denke ich, eine längere Zeit, eine größere Bildung von Europa, die ist, dass diese amerikanische Administration scheint, sich zurückzuhalten.
away from the long-term security guarantees that it's always had for Europe and that Europe as a result needs to step up and really aggressively and urgently increase its defense spending and coordinate and integrate its arms manufacturing processes so that it can ultimately defend itself against Russian aggression if it comes to a point that it can no longer trust the Americans to help out.
Yeah, I mean, to do that it will need to act in a unified manner and yet we are already seeing disagreements over the prospect of sending peacekeeping troops to Ukraine in the event of any settlement there.
Ja, ich meine, was wir so weit hören, ist, dass die Briten sagen, dass wir potenziell bereit sind, Schuhe auf den Boden zu legen. Die Schweden haben gesagt, dass sie das auch tun würden. Andere sind meistens vorsichtig. Sie verfügen nicht daran, zu vertreten.
Wir haben Indikationen von Deutschland und anderen Ländern gehört, dass es zu früh ist, zu sagen, dass wir Schuhe auf den Boden legen werden. Das kann für domänische politische Gründe sein, in manchen Fällen. Es kann aus einem genügenden Sinn der Aufmerksamkeit kommen.
Es kann auch eine Art von Druck auf die Trump-Administration sein, um zu sagen, warte mal, wenn du versuchen wirst, einen Deal zu machen, der Europa und europäische Kriegsführer betrifft, musst du uns konsultieren, musst du diesen Prozess langsamen, und du musst vor allem nicht von Präsident Putin, der, Andra Harding in Paris.
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Chapter 4: How might AI revolutionize prostate cancer detection?
Chapter 5: What alternative plans are Arab nations proposing for Gaza?
So the only way that this can work is with some sort of integrated force that involves the Americans, even if they haven't actually got boots on the ground.
Correct. And that depends on the purpose, though. If your purpose is simply to put a symbolic force, an assurance force in the rear of Ukraine, somewhere in western Ukraine, perhaps doing training, perhaps helping with other tasks, freeing up Ukrainian troops to go to the front, you can do that in a more limited way. But that kind of force isn't going to deter the Russians from attacking again.
If you have a tripwire force like we do presently in Eastern Europe, the so-called enhanced forward presence battle groups, there's about eight of them I think strung out from Estonia to Romania, then absolutely it needs American support. No Europeans are going to take the risk of a force like that without American backing. That's just a fact.
The Economist, Defence Editor Shashank Joshi talking to Sarah Montagu. Well, ahead of meeting his Russian counterpart in Riyadh later today, America's top diplomat Marco Rubio held talks on Monday with the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. According to the US State Department, Mr Rubio stressed the importance of an arrangement for Gaza that contributes to regional security.
He's been trying to win support for President Trump's plan to take over the territory, forcing Palestinians to resettle in neighbouring countries like Egypt and Jordan. Arab nations have rejected the idea and are putting forward an alternative plan. So what might it look like? Faisal Abbas ist Editor-in-Chief für die Middle East English Language Daily Arab News.
So I think you will hear from the Arab League. There are consultations that are about to happen in Saudi Arabia involving a number of concerned countries such as Jordan and Egypt, as well as a number of other Gulf states. And there will be a counter proposal now, whether or not the other side, i.e. the Israelis, accept to it is a different story.
What Saudi Arabia brings, perhaps compared to other countries who have signed Abraham Accords, or have signed normalization deals with Israel, is Saudi Arabia is in a league of its own, given the religious, given the political and the economic clout and leadership, the position that it has in the Arab and Muslim world.
So what it brings is not a role, but more of leverage, because with Saudi Arabia comes a stamp of approval from the custodian of the two holy mosques, and that will be a sign for the rest of the Muslim and Arab world.
Specifically, what are the red lines that you believe need to be respected for the Kingdom to resume any normalization talks with Israel?
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