- 6 minutes ago
Europe Today: Trump sees Ukraine war ending soon as EU drops sanctions on two Russian oligarchs
US President Donald Trump said he expects the war to end sooner than people think. In Brussels, two Russian oligarchs came off the EU's blacklist yesterday after intense negotiations between EU countries. We speak exclusively about it to Latvian Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs.
READ MORE : http://www.euronews.com/2026/09/23/europe-today-trump-claims-ukraine-russia-deal-to-end-the-war-could-be-close
Subscribe to our channel. Euronews is available on Dailymotion in 12 languages
US President Donald Trump said he expects the war to end sooner than people think. In Brussels, two Russian oligarchs came off the EU's blacklist yesterday after intense negotiations between EU countries. We speak exclusively about it to Latvian Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs.
READ MORE : http://www.euronews.com/2026/09/23/europe-today-trump-claims-ukraine-russia-deal-to-end-the-war-could-be-close
Subscribe to our channel. Euronews is available on Dailymotion in 12 languages
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:14Good morning, it's Wednesday, September 23rd, you're watching Euronews and this is Europe Today.
00:22Coming up, Vladimir Zelensky and Donald Trump have met at the UN General Assembly in New York
00:28as strikes continue to cross Ukraine.
00:31Trump called the meeting very fruitful.
00:34Both leaders were figuring out a way to end the war, Trump said.
00:38But there's been no let-up in Russia's bombardment across Ukraine,
00:41with more attacks on the capital, Kiev, as well as ballistic missile and drone strikes on railways,
00:48energy facilities and residential homes.
00:51The U.S. president and the leaders of Greenland and Denmark signed an agreement
00:55that permits a larger U.S. military presence on the territory.
00:59It may resolve a standoff over the strategically located and mineral-rich island.
01:05The agreement, signed during Trump's visit to the UN General Assembly in New York,
01:10stops short of Trump's demand that the U.S. adopt Greenland as a U.S. territory
01:15to head out the growing Arctic presence of Russia and China.
01:18Leaders of Denmark and Greenland had argued against the complete U.S. takeover.
01:23And conflicting reports emerged from Tehran yesterday
01:28over whether Iran had privately offered to reopen the Strait of Hormuz within seven days.
01:34News agencies quoted unnamed Iranian officials as saying
01:38that the proposal had been conveyed to Washington through mediators,
01:41a claim Iranian state-affiliated media quickly denied.
01:45The proposal reportedly aims to achieve a permanent end to the war between the two countries
01:51and revive diplomatic relations.
01:53This is not the first time Tehran has sent conflicting signals about a potential agreement.
02:00Welcome to the program. I'm Stefan Grober.
02:03Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy have met in New York
02:06as Washington steps up efforts to end the war in Ukraine.
02:10Trump told the U.N. that the U.S. is working closely with both Kyiv and Moscow
02:15and that he expects the war to end sooner than many people think.
02:20But Zelenskyy is bringing a more immediate proposal to the table,
02:24a reciprocal halt to attacks on energy infrastructure and in the Black Sea.
02:29Our Ukraine correspondent, Sasha Vakulina, joins us now to bring us up to speed.
02:34Good morning, Sasha.
02:35So, let's start with Ukraine's proposal.
02:39What is Zelenskyy asking for?
02:41A full and total energy ceasefire for all of the attacks on both sides,
02:46for Kyiv and for Moscow.
02:48This is something that Ukrainian officials have been trying to push forward for months now,
02:52specifically after a very harsh winter last year, Stefan.
02:56And now, you know, when the weather is already changing
02:59and Russia is deliberately attacking Ukraine's energy infrastructure,
03:04this is something that Kyiv insists upon.
03:06And this is the idea that Zelenskyy is trying to pitch to Trump.
03:09Now, the U.S. president also last week, as you remember,
03:11preemptively announced the energy truce,
03:14but that did not anyhow materialize,
03:16with Moscow continuing to attack Kyiv
03:19and Kyiv continuing its long-range strikes against Russia's oil refineries.
03:25Now, Kyiv insists it is ready to stop at any moment,
03:28but only when Russia stops.
03:30And that has not happened.
03:31So, Trump told the UN that Washington is working closely with both Russia and Ukraine,
03:38and that a deal will come sooner than people understand.
03:42So, after this meeting with Zelenskyy,
03:44is there now a clear path towards a ceasefire and peace?
03:48Not yet.
03:49No clear path and no concrete proposal.
03:51But yes, indeed, Donald Trump sounded more optimistic
03:53when he made that statement,
03:55when he was addressing the United Nations General Assembly.
03:57Let's take a listen to it.
04:10Donald Trump did not reveal all the details of how exactly he's going to get that done,
04:13but he did mention that he can also impose more sanctions and tariffs
04:18to add that pressure on Moscow to stop its war against Ukraine.
04:23And one more, Sasha, how does this fit into the, say, wider U.S. diplomatic effort,
04:29especially the work of Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner?
04:33We have been seeing Washington's renewed push and diplomatic push,
04:37trying to put an end to Russia's war against Ukraine.
04:41And on Tuesday evening, reportedly, there was a meeting between U.S. envoys of Witkoff and Kushner
04:47and the Ukrainian negotiating team alongside the national security advisors
04:51from the U.K., France, and Germany.
04:54And also then, today, we're going to keep an eye on the meeting
04:56between Marco Rubio and Sergei Lavrov, who is in the U.S. staff.
05:01And now, another thing here on the agenda is something that Zelenskyy also spoke about on Tuesday,
05:06possible trilateral meeting between Donald Trump, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and Vladimir Putin.
05:11Now, Zelenskyy said he is ready to meet Putin at any moment,
05:13and this is something that is now on the agenda,
05:16possibly for a meeting at the G20 summit in Miami in December.
05:20All right, Sasha, thank you very much.
05:22Our Ukraine correspondent, Sasha Vakulina, on the Trump-Zelenskyy meeting.
05:27The Latvian Prime Minister Andris Kulberg spoke exclusively to Euronews
05:31about the nitty-gritty of a sanctions saga that gripped Brussels,
05:35which ultimately resulted in two Russian businessmen coming off the EU's blacklist.
05:41While the Latvian leader welcomed getting tough on Moscow,
05:44he expressed concern about the legacy it leaves.
05:47For more on this, I'm now joined by our defence correspondent, Angela Skugins.
05:52Good morning, Angie. Bring us up to speed on this.
05:55Good morning, Stefan.
05:56So, yes, I spoke exclusively with the Latvian Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs
06:00yesterday after the news broke that Latvia had dropped its veto
06:04against the EU's latest sanctions package against Russia.
06:08The reason that Riga dug its heels in so significantly against this
06:12is that France successfully lobbied for the removal of Alisha Uzmanov from the sanctions list
06:18as part of a prisoner swap deal with Azerbaijan
06:21and Slovakia with the removal of Mikhail Friedman.
06:24Riga didn't want this, as well as a range of other nations, particularly the Baltics.
06:30This means now that these individuals can travel to the European Union
06:34and access money frozen within the European Union.
06:38They haven't been able to do this since 2022.
06:41But the gist of why the Latvian Prime Minister dropped his veto,
06:46instead moving to an abstention,
06:47is that he didn't want to risk the 2,600 other individuals and entities
06:53that are a part of this package,
06:55effectively now sanctioned for the next three years.
06:58He did warn, however, that this could set a dangerous precedent
07:02when it comes to haggling over the sanctions packages in particular.
07:06He doesn't want this to be a political bargaining chip in the future.
07:11So I spoke to Andris Kulbergs and I started by asking him
07:15whether he was disappointed by Paris and Bratislava
07:20when it comes to this issue.
07:21Generally, yes, because Latvia stood to the end,
07:26the last one in Europe to be against this,
07:29because we consider if war is continuing
07:32and the aggression and the occupation of Ukraine is happening,
07:36there cannot be any discussion of any sanctions.
07:39Either it is sports, what we've seen, either culture,
07:43and now, one by one, cherry-picking out of sanctions,
07:46that is not the way to go.
07:47That is normalising Russia.
07:50So, but there, I cannot communicate
07:53and I cannot know the reasons behind the national security aspects
07:58of each of those countries' positions.
08:01I can't speak for them, but I speak for Latvia
08:05and for our position and for Europe's unity.
08:07It's important.
08:08You spoke on the phone to French President Emmanuel Macron.
08:12Did he not communicate why he needed that individual
08:15in particular to be delisted?
08:17I understand it's a matter of France's national security,
08:21a very highly important matter,
08:23which should be communicated by Macron himself, Emmanuel.
08:27So I would not be comfortable on communicating this further
08:33because that's not my business at the moment.
08:36I'm worried an important point is about Latvia,
08:40the eastern flank security.
08:43That's because these two individuals directly are associated also in Latvia
08:48because we have their frozen assets here.
08:51And that's the reason we are worried about our security,
08:55Europe's eastern flank security.
08:58Thus, I have pushed as well for this not to happen.
09:02So that's why we were the last one standing.
09:04And we said we had a choice.
09:07We had a choice to stand to the end,
09:09but that was a high risk of European unity.
09:12And it was an issue.
09:14Do we let go 2,600 by end of today?
09:19And we consulted with Ukraine about it,
09:22with Mr. Zelensky and the prime minister.
09:24And it's also their point.
09:26And they also said it's not worth risking that we let loose all 2,600,
09:32including Putin himself.
09:34Thus, it's better to keep the unity and have this compromise.
09:38And we stressed as well that we have to have more allied forces in Latvia,
09:45and we need the support of France.
09:47And France already did good with the Rafale jet fighter fighting off the drones,
09:53what we have.
09:53But we need more presence here.
09:55And that is something we both agreed.
09:57Mr. Macron has also agreed to come over to Latvia
10:00to see himself the situation on the eastern flank.
10:04You're talking a lot about unity here,
10:06particularly from French President Emmanuel Macron.
10:08But still, are you not disappointed in the way that this has played out?
10:12You've managed to save face.
10:13But what message does it send to the 2,600 individuals and entities that are still listed?
10:19Could they compromise or negotiate to try and get delisted as well?
10:23We spoke all night and this day.
10:26Very important matter is that we all have in place 36 months instead of six months.
10:34So 36 months frozen.
10:36Nothing can be taken out of 2,600.
10:39No one can just go and cherry pick.
10:41That's it.
10:42We closed the books.
10:43And you spoke to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on the phone.
10:47Is this what he communicated to you,
10:48that it's better to have these sanctions locked in for 36 months
10:52or risk derailing it all?
10:55No, no.
10:56We coordinated the information through also the Prime Minister of Ukraine
11:01and Zelensky that in the interests,
11:06and he has talks in New York now, in UN,
11:09and there's a discussion with Macron himself as well as Mr. Trump and Wanderlion.
11:15These all meetings take place,
11:16and it's important that we support Ukraine to the most their position.
11:20But we all understood it's not worth risking for these two individuals the whole 2,600.
11:27So it's a better position that there is no country which can go and now in six months again have
11:33anyone taken out.
11:35So 36 months, even if there's peace talks, even if there's anything changing, will remain.
11:41What do you think this saga in Brussels regarding the sanctions,
11:45what message does that send Russia regarding peace?
11:49I don't consider myself that this is something to impact the peace talks.
11:57No, this is something, this is not a good message, generally not.
12:01But this, I'm worried here about the playbook, which it leaves.
12:08I don't think this is a very good example because that gives a message,
12:13oh, hey, we arrest some politicians somewhere and then we can ask for a sanctions package.
12:19You know, this is not a good playbook.
12:22And that's exactly why we freeze.
12:24It's 36 months.
12:25That's it.
12:26No discussion.
12:27You've also joined us on Euronews before.
12:30We've previously spoken about the Baltic security situation.
12:33But what is your assessment today?
12:35Has it changed?
12:36Do you think Russia could mount a more aggressive threat when it comes to the Baltics and in particular Latvia?
12:43Yes, we've had definitely our security meetings over here.
12:47At the moment, there is no direct information.
12:51We've seen also the Belarusian exercises, military exercises.
12:56They were lacking the Russian counterpart there.
12:59So they don't have the man force at the moment.
13:02But things can change.
13:07All right, Angela Skucin speaking to the Latvian minister, prime minister, of course.
13:12Now, the U.S., Denmark and Greenland have signed a deal aimed at strengthening Arctic security.
13:19The deal also ends over a year of tensions between the U.S. and its Nordic allies with U.S.
13:25President Donald Trump after the president threatened to take the world's largest island, which is also a semi-autonomous territory
13:32of Denmark.
13:33Our NATO correspondent, Shona Murray, joins me now.
13:37Good morning, Shona.
13:39So first question, what's in the deal?
13:41Well, I think the point that you made at the start there is very important, because if this works out,
13:46it does end a highly corrosive and unprecedented moment at NATO, where one ally, the United States, the one with
13:52the biggest army, was going to take a territory of another ally.
13:56And so really, if this is resolved, then everyone's for the better in terms of the alliance.
14:01Now, what it does is it really builds on an already existing pact between the U.S. and Denmark from
14:071951, from the Cold War era, which gave the United States considerable access to Greenland for fear of the Soviet
14:12Union.
14:13Now, the idea is that the next threat comes from Russia and China.
14:17So just let's take a look at how both sides are interpreting the deal.
14:20Mette Frederiksen, the Danish prime minister here.
14:2775 years ago, we entered into an agreement about the defence of Greenland.
14:32Today, we are signing an even bigger and better agreement, a deal that can last forever.
14:39However, this deal is good for the United States.
14:43It's good for Greenland, for Denmark, for the NATO alliance, and therefore also good for Europe.
14:51And then we look at the tweet from Katie Miller, who's the wife of Stephen Miller.
14:54We know the very highly influential deputy chief of staff in Trump's administration.
14:59She said this, which is effectively what Donald Trump is saying, which is that the United States has full control
15:04over Greenland now.
15:06Now, it does, when you look at the deal, have a lot to say about Danish sovereignty and Greenlandic sovereignty.
15:12But at the same time, there is quite a considerable, almost untrammeled access for the United States within the territory.
15:18And if you look at one line here, it says the United States aircraft may fly over and land in
15:23any territory in Greenland, including territorial waters.
15:26The United States public vessels may have undersea access and movement within the waters without restriction.
15:32So there is also within it a veto for the United States to not allow countries that are not in
15:39NATO or the European Union to have commercial interest there as well.
15:43So I think the devil is in the detail, but there is a bit of constructive ambiguity there.
15:48What I want to know now, Shona, is is this the end of this matter?
15:52This is a really interesting question, because I think if it's put to the test, it may not be.
15:57But for now, I think there's at least a sigh of relief that this confrontation is over.
16:02Well, what a story. I hope you're going to keep covering this for us.
16:06Our NATO correspondent, Shona Murray.
16:09Morocco goes to the polls today in legislative elections that come at a critical moment for the country.
16:15The economy is growing and Morocco is investing heavily in infrastructure.
16:19But many young Moroccans remain frustrated by unemployment, public services and the political system they often feel disconnected from.
16:28So what is really at stake in this election and can it restore trust in politics?
16:34To discuss this, I'm now joined by Aboubakar Jamai, a Moroccan writer and dean of the Dona Dill Manning School
16:41of Global Affairs at the American College of the Mediterranean in Exxon, Provence.
16:46Good morning. Good to have you.
16:48Good morning. Thank you for having me.
16:50So some critics argue that Moroccan elections can change governments without fundamentally changing where power lies, a.k.a. the
16:59monarchy.
17:00Is that a fair description of the system?
17:05Absolutely. Suffice to read the Moroccan constitution and to look at the recent history of Morocco to see that when
17:12it comes to the biggest issues,
17:13there are this decision-making processes with the royal cabinet and not with the parliament.
17:18The economy in Morocco has grown, infrastructure has expanded and Morocco is preparing for the 2030 World Cup.
17:26Yet many young people feel left behind.
17:30Why has economic growth not translated into enough jobs?
17:35Because first of all, these economic growth numbers need to be put into perspective.
17:39So when we talk about growth in Morocco and the last years we had an average growth of 4%, it
17:44might seem impressive from a Western country's perspective.
17:47But from an immersion market perspective, this is not impressive at all, because Morocco needs at least 6% to
17:537% growth to absorb only the newcomers to the job market,
17:57that alone absorbs those who are already unemployed.
17:59The second problem with the Moroccan system is that it's kind of a trickle-down system, which is not really
18:06trickling down resources to the bottom of the pyramid.
18:10So you see this very shiny project, but they do not translate into money in people's pockets and in better
18:16jobs.
18:18And finally, yesterday, EPP leader Manfred Weber called on Morocco to take back all irregular migrants who entered the Spanish
18:26enclave Ceuta,
18:28warning there would be consequences if Rabat wouldn't act.
18:32Now, what do the elections mean for Morocco's relations with the EU?
18:37I don't think much.
18:38The function of a parliament in a hybrid or authoritarian regime is a shock absorber.
18:44So it means that really the equation for the regime is to give a little bit of credibility,
18:48because to be a shock absorber you need to absorb the shock, so you need a little bit of credibility,
18:53without having really any political decision-making power.
18:57And the real issue here, which is really a thorny one, is that Morocco will continue producing you discontent.
19:03It's in the numbers.
19:05It's inevitable, given the demographic evolution of the country and the failure of the political economic system to produce jobs.
19:11And hence, this migration pressure actually are here to stay with us.
19:16So something creative needs to be found between the EU and Morocco to solve that problem.
19:20All right.
19:21Aboubakar Jemai on the elections in Morocco.
19:23Thank you for your insights.
19:25That does it for us today.
19:27Stay tuned to Euronews throughout the day.
19:31I'm Stefan Grobe.
19:32See you tomorrow.
Comments