Thursday Briefing – New York Times

Trump and Putin called for peace in Ukraine

President Trump said he has “a long and very productive call” with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Trump then said he spoke with Ukrainian President Volodimia Zelensky.

“Each of us talked about the strengths of our countries and the great benefits we have from working together one day,” Trump wrote on social media in which he called out with Putin. “But first, as we both agreed, we want to stop millions of deaths” – in fact, an estimated hundreds of thousands of people – “It's happening in war.”

This call implies the collapse of Western efforts to diplomatically isolate Putin.

Trump did not say how Ukraine's interests will be considered in negotiations. However, Defense Secretary Pete Hegses said at a NATO meeting in Brussels that the peace agreement “unrealistic” was “unrealistic” in 2014, when Russia annexed Crimea. Russia currently accounts for around 20% of Ukraine. Trump added that he does not support Ukraine's NATO membership as part of his peace plan.

Mineral Trade: Ukraine's precious mineral resources have become a prominent element of piloting beyond the country's future after Trump promoted the idea of ​​exchanging Ukrainian minerals with US aid. The US Treasury Secretary was in Kiev for a meeting on possible deals.

Modi wants to keep India away from Trump's target list

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to try to ease the potential friction between his country and the United States when he meets President Trump in Washington today. Modi talks about his warm relationship with the president, but Trump can become a whimsical friend.

Two obvious issues can complicate Modi's goals: trade and immigration. Modi is “trying to show Trump that he is helping with tariffs and locking up illegal immigrants,” said our South Asia Director Mujib Mashar. “Trump mentions that India is taking the same breath as China as one of the leading abusers in tariffs enjoying a trade deficit with the US.”

India's trade surplus with the US is on the rise, allowing Modi to offer lower obligations for US goods such as bourbon and pecans produced primarily in Republican states.

Deportation: India is also the biggest source of illegal immigration to the United States after Latin America. The Modi government has made it clear that even if it caused a fuss in India last week, it will cooperate with Trump's deportation efforts.

Jordan and Egypt attempt to divert Gaza

Jordan and Egypt are moving at a speed that tries to discourage President Trump from forcing him to take two million Palestinians from the Gaza Strip. Two Arab countries view the proposal as an existential threat.

The strategy is to appease Trump with his offer to work together to rebuild Gaza, bring peace to the region and expand humanitarian efforts. It could help them buy time, analysts say – perhaps enough for the idea to be completely abandoned, or its strategic and security shortcomings to be revealed. And with Trump, flattery is very effective.

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Listen to the podcast and read Mandy's original essay here.

For more information, for decades, these heart-shaped tubs have attracted love-stricken couples on their honeymoon holidays in eastern Pennsylvania. What happened to them when it closed?

That's for today's briefing. Thank you for starting your day with the New York Times. – Natasha

Reach Natasha and your team and reach Briefing@nytimes.com.