Good morning and welcome back to FirstFT Asia. Today we’ll be covering:
- Trump allays European concerns over Putin summit
- South Korea’s former first lady arrested
- Iranians seize more daily freedoms after war
- Why Indian tech innovation has fallen behind
Donald Trump promised “very severe consequences” for Russia if its leader Vladimir Putin refused to agree to end the war with Ukraine at their meeting in Alaska on Friday. Here’s what to make of the US president’s warning.
Talks with Europe: Trump issued the threat after holding talks yesterday with European leaders that helped calm their fears he could strike a deal on territory with Putin and then try to impose it on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Trump described his call with European allies as “very good”, adding that he would like the Alaska meeting to be followed shortly by a trilateral gathering with Putin and Zelenskyy.
Cautious optimism: Earlier in the day, speaking alongside Zelenskyy, Germany’s Chancellor Friedrich Merz hailed a “very constructive and good conversation” with Trump, who would make achieving a ceasefire “one of his priorities” when meeting Putin. While European leaders appeared to draw some reassurance from their conversation with Trump, some Ukrainian and European officials remain concerned that he could be swayed once in the room with the Russian leader.
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