Keir Starmer, Emmanuel Macron and Friedrich Merz board train to Kyiv after Vladimir Putin's Red Square military parade
Fico, who broke ranks with the EU by visiting Moscow late last year, arrived in Russia after a circuitous journey made necessary due to Lithuania and other Baltic nations barring his aircraft from their airspace.
He met Putin in the Kremlin late on Friday evening after the parade and said his country wanted to develop relations with Russia.
Russian President Vladimir Putin (left) and Slovakia's Prime Minister, Robert Fico, at the Kremlin on Friday. Credit: AP
Russian news agencies quoted Fico as telling Putin he opposed the creation of any new 'iron curtain and pledge to do everything so that we can shake hands across a curtain'.
'Let us consider as a childish joke all the technical problems we confronted, created by our European Union colleagues.'
Putin said Russia appreciated Fico's decision to attend despite the 'logistical obstacles that were created. But you are nonetheless here.'
The visit to Ukraine on Saturday by its European allies comes at an unpredictable diplomatic moment in Russia's more than three-year-long war against Ukraine. Trump has been pushing for a rapid peace after tearing up the policies of his predecessor since entering the White House in January.
After engaging directly with Russian officials, clashing publicly with Zelensky and briefly cutting vital military aid to Ukraine, the Trump administration has patched up ties with Kyiv and signed an arduously negotiated minerals deal.
There has also been a palpable shift in tone from Trump, who has signalled growing frustration with Putin's foot-dragging over a ceasefire and Russia's restatement of its demands for a settlement.
Cossacks attend the Victory Day military parade in Moscow on Friday. Credit: AP
Trump has threatened to step up sanctions against Russia, but he has also said he could abandon the peace effort if there is no breakthrough. He called on Thursday for a 30-day ceasefire, and Zelensky said he would be ready to implement it immediately.
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Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was quoted as saying on Friday that Russia supports the implementation of a 30-day ceasefire in the conflict, but only with due consideration of 'nuances'.
On the eve of the summit, the US embassy in Kyiv warned of a 'potentially significant' air attack in coming days and told its citizens to be ready to seek shelter in the event of air-raid sirens.
The four foreign leaders will meet Zelensky on Saturday morning (local time) and are expected to pay their respects at a memorial in central Kyiv to honour Ukrainian soldiers killed in the war.
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Sky News AU
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Iran threatens US with ‘everlasting consequences' after strikes on nuclear sites
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9 News
an hour ago
- 9 News
'Obliterated' or 'quite superficial'? What's really happened to Iran's nuclear sites
Your web browser is no longer supported. To improve your experience update it here Warplanes. Submarines. Cruise missiles. Bombs that weigh more than 13 tons. After initially favouring diplomacy, US President Donald Trump resorted to an extraordinary use of force against Iran on Saturday night, striking three of the regime's key nuclear sites. Trump claimed Iran's nuclear facilities had been "obliterated," but some Iranian officials downplayed the impact of the strikes – just as they did when Israel first struck Iran's facilities on June 13. A file photo from inside the Fordow facility that was released by Iran in 2020. (EPA/AAP) With satellite imagery of the overnight strikes beginning to emerge, here's what we know about the damage the US inflicted on Iran's nuclear program. Fordow is Iran's most important nuclear enrichment facility, buried deep inside a mountain to guard it from attacks. The main halls are believed to be some 80 to 90 metres below ground. 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A satellite image of Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant in Iran, as it was in 2004. (Maxar Technologies via CNN Newsource) David Albright, president of the Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS), told CNN that the satellite imagery suggested "a considerable amount of damage could have been done to the enrichment hall and adjacent halls that provide support to enrichment." "Total destruction of the underground hall is quite possible," Albright said, while stressing that a full assessment of the damage would take time. NR Jenzen-Jones, a munitions specialist and director of the research company Armament Research Services (ARES), concurred that there were at least six entry points in Fordow following the US strikes. "The larger, central entry holes in the two groupings have irregular shapes and suggest multiple munitions struck the same precise location," Jenzen-Jones told CNN. "This is consistent with the theory of an attack on such a deeply buried target as the Fordow site, which would require multiple precisely delivered, and carefully calibrated, penetrating munitions to essentially 'smash' and blast their way through to the deeper, more protected areas of the site," he added. Satellite imagery also showed significant changes to the color of the mountainside where the facility is housed, indicating a vast area was covered with a layer of grey ash in the aftermath of the strikes. A CNN analysis of imagery collected before the US strikes suggested Iran had taken steps to reinforce the entrances to the tunnels believed to lead into the underground facility, likely in anticipation of a coming strike. That imagery showed dirt piled up in front of at least two of the six entrances. Although Iran's foreign minister said the US had crossed a "very big red line," other Iranian leaders downplayed the strikes' impact. 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Isfahan, in central Iran, is home to the country's largest nuclear research complex. The facility was built with support from China and opened in 1984, according to the non-profit Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI). Some 3000 scientists are employed at Isfahan, NTI says, and the site is "suspected of being the centre" of Iran's nuclear program. Following the US strikes, at least 18 destroyed or partially destroyed structures could be seen in satellite imagery, a CNN analysis found. The site was visibly blackened by the degree of rubble thrown up by the strikes. Albright said initial reports suggested that the US also struck tunnel complexes near the Isfahan site, "where they typically store enriched uranium." If confirmed, Albright said this would show that the US was trying to take out Iran's stocks of uranium that had been enriched to 20 per cent and 60 per cent. Weapons-grade uranium is enriched to 90 per cent. CNN could not independently verify reports that tunnel complexes near the Isfahan site were targeted. At a Pentagon news conference yesterday, General Dan Caine, US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said a US submarine had "launched more than a dozen Tomahawk land attack cruise missiles against key surface infrastructure targets" at the Isfahan site. Israel Iran Conflict World USA Donald Trump nuclear CONTACT US
Sydney Morning Herald
an hour ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
Inside Trump's final decision to attack Iran – and how he kept it top secret
For days, President Donald Trump played coy about his plans to strike Iran, declaring that he hadn't yet made up his mind even as he approved attack plans and directed military officials to ready their forces. Within a small circle of White House and administration officials, it was clear that even when Trump announced Thursday that he might take as long as 'two weeks' to decide, an attack on Iran's nuclear facilities was imminent, and the ruse was already underway. Just over 36 hours after the announcement, a host of military aircraft – including seven B-2 bombers – were on their way to Iran. Loading The number of administration officials read in on the plan to quickly strike Iran's key nuclear enrichment facilities remained small. Across the White House, a number of staff remained in the dark about if and when the strikes would occur until shortly before - in some cases after - Trump announced the mission to the world Saturday evening. Air Force General Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, described the 'highly classified mission' as one with 'very few people in Washington knowing the timing or nature.' Trump's statement about potentially waiting two weeks 'was our attempt to throw the Iranians off guard,' a senior administration official with direct knowledge of the operation said about the two weeks' notice. 'But there was also some truth to it,' said the official, speaking on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation. Trump, who had posed question after question to his advisers throughout the week about how the military could keep the operation surgical in an effort to avoid broader involvement in a war, made clear he reserved the right to abort the plan at any moment, up until planes reached Iranian airspace at roughly 6pm in Washington on Saturday night. The 'ultimate ultimatum', and the Pentagon's war gaming Trump repeatedly said he was still open to a diplomatic solution, but the president and top US officials had little expectation that Iran would make the sort of drastic concessions that would convince them to call off the strike. Trump had given Iran an ultimatum – the 'ultimate ultimatum,' he termed it on Wednesday (local time) – demanding that the country completely give up its ability to enrich nuclear fuel, a technology into which the nation's leaders had poured enormous resources over two decades. The Iranians had repeatedly refused to agree to that over the course of negotiations this spring. He knew there probably wouldn't be a breakthrough, which is why the Pentagon was putting together a plan.' Senior official Trump himself never had direct contact with Iranian officials. Steve Witkoff, Trump's special envoy to the Middle East, continued diplomatic talks with Iran throughout the week. European officials held a negotiating session with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Friday, but the White House did not expect meaningful progress to come from those talks, according to the senior official. 'He knew there probably wouldn't be a breakthrough, which is why the Pentagon was putting together a plan' throughout the week, the senior official said. After Israel began strikes on Iran on June 13, some top US officials privately cautioned Trump against military involvement, including Vice President JD Vance, an Iraq War veteran and vocal sceptic of US military intervention abroad, according to people with knowledge of the internal deliberations. But as it became clear that Trump was closing in on a plan to strike Iran, Vance and the rest of his advisers fell in line, according to the senior official. As the operation commenced, Trump was on a golf course A sense of 'camaraderie' quickly developed within the close-knit team, according to the official, even as news reports swirled about internal discord. The official insisted that accounts of Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard being sidelined were 'false reporting'. As the B-2 stealth bombers left the United States in the early hours of Saturday morning, Trump and his vice president were each far from the Situation Room, the president at his golf club in New Jersey, Vance in the air returning from California. Continuing with their scheduled trips to appear at fundraisers on opposite coasts further contributed to the reduced sense of urgency among observers. After returning from New Jersey in the early evening, Trump walked into the White House just as the B-2s and support planes entered Iranian airspace. The president made his way from the residence toward the West Wing, and within 40 minutes, the bombers were over their targets. At 7:50 pm – 20 minutes after the bombers had exited Iranian airspace – Trump and aides posted an announcement on his Truth Social site alerting the world that the attack had occurred. Hegseth described the operation as one that 'involved misdirection and the highest of operational security,' saying that 'months and weeks' of preparation had enabled the US to strike when it did. Among those in the Situation Room with Trump and Vance on Saturday - the team that had been apprised of the secret operation in the days beforehand - were Hegseth, Gabbard, Witkoff, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Caine, White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, White House counsel Dave Warrington, CIA Director John Ratcliffe and James Blair, Trump's deputy chief of staff for legislative affairs. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt and Dan Scavino, Trump's longtime aide who handles many of his social media posts, were also in the room and read in early on the strategy. Attorney General Pam Bondi had not been part of the core team involved in strategising, but was added to the group on Saturday. Defence and State officials worked to ensure US assets and Americans in the region were protected as best as possible, while US forces there were 'minimised,' according to the senior administration official. Throughout the week, White House officials also kept in close contact with influential leaders in Trump's base, including Stephen K Bannon, Charlie Kirk and Jack Posobiec, to make sure they were being – and felt – heard, according to two White House officials with knowledge of the communications. Loading Bannon and Kirk each paid a visit to the White House, with Bannon's lunch meeting - originally scheduled for 12:30 pm on Thursday - running slightly late. The lunch didn't begin until after Leavitt's press briefing started, during which she read the statement from Trump saying he would allow up to two weeks for continued negotiations. Officials said the president was happy to hear from Bannon and other voices critical of US involvement, even though they did not sway him from taking military action. He also continued to hear from more hawkish conservative voices such as Mark Levin – even as Levin was critical of Trump's claim that he wanted more time to make a decision. 'He was listening to people across the ideological perspective' of his political base, the senior administration official said. 'Ultimately, the president felt this is a decision the base should support and get behind, because ultimately, he's preventing a conflict that very well could have happened if the supreme leader instructed Iran to create the nuclear weapon.' Those in the Situation Room with Trump in recent days - including top Cabinet officials who had been apprised of recent intelligence as Trump weighed the strike - were hesitant Sunday to put a time on when, exactly, the president made the decision. The senior administration official said there was 'not really a moment' that Trump made his final decision. It was based on 'a feeling' the president had as he realized diplomacy would not lead to an acceptable outcome. Vance conceded on television Sunday morning that it wasn't entirely clear at what point Trump was fully on board. 'I don't know that any of us knew exactly when the president made the decision except for the president himself,' Vance said on 'Meet the Press.' He said that Trump made the decision 'right before - and I'm talking about minutes - before the bombs were dropped' on Saturday evening. 'He himself over time decided this was necessary,' Vance said. 'But of course he had the ability to call off this attack until the very last minute.' Hegseth, meanwhile, claimed there was a moment of clarity, but declined to elaborate on when it was. 'I won't say the particular moment,' Hegseth said. 'There was certainly a moment in time where he realised that it had to be a certain action taken in order to minimise the threat to us and our troops.'
