Foreign ministers from the G7 nations overcame their differences on Friday to back Ukraine’s territorial integrity and warned Russia to follow Kyiv in accepting a ceasefire or face possible further sanctions.
Their joint communique followed weeks of tension between U.S. allies and President Donald Trump over his upending of Western trade, security and Ukraine-related policy.
Trump urged Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday to spare Ukrainian troops being pushed back out of Russia’s Kursk region and said there was a “very good chance” the war could end.
Trump posted on social media after his envoy, Steve Witkoff, held a lengthy meeting with Putin on Thursday night in Moscow that Trump described as “very good and productive.”
The Kremlin said Putin had sent Trump a message about his ceasefire plan, which Kyiv has agreed to, via Witkoff, expressing “cautious optimism” that a deal could be reached to end the three-year-old conflict.
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Putin said …