International

Ukraine to present US with Russia partial ceasefire deal

Published

12 months ago

March 11, 2025

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Ukraine will present the United States on Tuesday with a plan for a partial ceasefire with Russia, hoping to restore support from its key benefactor, which under President Donald Trump has demanded concessions to end the three-year war.

The talks in Saudi Arabia come as Russia has ramped up attacks against Ukraine and Kyiv has hit back, including with an overnight attack on Moscow involving dozens of drones, the city’s mayor said Tuesday.

The meeting will be the most senior since a disastrous White House visit last month when Trump berated Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky for purported ingratitude.

Since Trump’s dressing down of Zelensky, Washington has suspended military aid to Ukraine as well as intelligence sharing and access to satellite imagery in a bid to force it to the negotiating table.

Zelensky, who wrote a repentant letter to Trump, flew to the port city of Jeddah to meet Saudi rulers, but was leaving the talks to three top aides.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who will be joined by Trump’s national security advisor Mike Waltz, said the aid suspension was “something I hope we can resolve” in the talks on Tuesday.

“Hopefully, we’ll have a good meeting and good news to report,” Rubio said.

Rubio said that the United States had not cut off intelligence for defensive operations.

Zelensky left the White House without signing an agreement demanded by Trump that would give the United States access to much of Ukraine’s mineral wealth as compensation for past weapons supplies.

Zelensky has said he is still willing to sign, although Rubio said it would not be the focus of Tuesday’s talks.

Russia has since escalated its strikes against Ukrainian infrastructure and retaken villages in its Kursk region that Ukraine had captured in a bid for bargaining leverage.

On the eve of the Saudi talks, Ukraine carried out what Moscow mayor Sergei Sobyanin described as a “massive” attack on the Russian capital, with 69 drones intercepted as of early Tuesday morning.

The attack killed at least one person and injured another three, according to Andrei Vorobyov, governor of the Moscow region.

– Forced into concession –

In the White House meeting, Zelensky refused to bite his tongue in the face of criticism from Vice President JD Vance, with the Ukrainian leader questioning why his country should trust promises from Russia which launched a full-scale invasion in 2022 despite previous diplomacy.

But faced with Washington’s pressure, Ukraine will lay out its support for a limited ceasefire.

“We do have a proposal for a ceasefire in the sky and ceasefire at sea,” a Ukrainian official told AFP on Monday, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Because these are the ceasefire options that are easy to install and to monitor, and it’s possible to start with them.

”Rubio signalled that the Trump administration would likely be pleased by such a proposal.

“I’m not saying that alone is enough, but it’s the kind of concession you would need to see in order to end the conflict,” he told reporters.

“You’re not going to get a ceasefire and an end to this war unless both sides make concessions.”

“The Russians can’t conquer all of Ukraine and obviously it will be very difficult for Ukraine in any reasonable time period to force the Russians all the way back to where they were back in 2014,” Rubio said, referring to the time of a partial offensive and Russian seizure of the Crimea peninsula.

In a meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ahead of the US-Ukraine talks, Zelensky discussed Ukraine’s conditions for any permanent peace deal, including the release of prisoners and the return of children Kyiv accuses Moscow of abducting, the Ukrainian leader’s office said in a statement Monday.

The two leaders “discussed the possible mediation of Saudi Arabia in the release of military and civilian prisoners and the return of deported children”, the statement said.

“The leaders exchanged views on the formats of security guarantees and what they should be for Ukraine so that war does not return again.”

– Reporting back to Russia –

Rubio said he did not expect to sit in a room in Jeddah with the Ukrainians “drawing lines on a map” towards a final deal.

But Rubio said he would bring the ideas back to Russia. Rubio and Waltz met last month, also in Saudi Arabia, with counterparts from Russia, ending a freeze in high-level contacts imposed by former president Joe Biden after Russia defied Western warnings and launched its invasion.

Trump last week also threatened further sanctions against Russia to force it to the table as it carried out strikes on Ukraine.

But Trump’s abrupt shift in US policy has stunned many allies. Rubio said the United States was objecting to “antagonistic” language on Russia at a gathering of Group of Seven foreign ministers later this week in Canada.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock called the scene from the White House “unspeakable” and described a “new age of infamy” that will require Europeans to shoulder more responsibility.

French senator Claude Malhuret, in a speech that went viral in the United States even in translation, said that Trump had failed to see through Kremlin propaganda and that Russia was failing in Ukraine, picking up only small pockets of land after three years attacking a smaller country.

“The American lifeline to Putin is the biggest strategic mistake ever made during a war,” he said.

AFP

Related Topics:Ceasefire Featured Russia Ukraine USA Zelensky

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International

Global energy body plans to release strategic oil reserves

IEA member countries currently hold over 1.2 billion barrels of public emergency oil stocks, with a further 600 million barrels of industry stocks held under government mandates.

Published

8 hours ago

March 10, 2026

OCHEFA

20 Views

° An oil tanker unloads crude oil at a terminal at the port in Qingdao, in China’s eastern Shandong province on March 10, 2026. (Photo by CN-STR / AFP) / China OUT / CHINA OUT

G7 Energy Ministers met today, at the International Energy Agency (IEA) headquarters in Paris and discussed the situation in global oil and gas markets, which have been significantly affected by the conflict in the Middle East.

Following the assessment of the crisis, they want to make emergency stocks of their oil reserves available to the global market in order to ease the supply disruptions.

IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol , disclosed this in a statement after the meeting .

IEA member countries currently hold over 1.2 billion barrels of public emergency oil stocks, with a further 600 million barrels of industry stocks held under government mandates.

About 100 million barrels of oil are consumed globally every day.

The Paris-based IEA was created to coordinate responses to major supply disruptions after the 1973 oil crisis.

“In oil markets, conditions have deteriorated in recent days. In addition to the challenges of transit through the Strait of Hormuz, a substantial amount of oil production has been curtailed. This is creating significant and growing risks for the market,” he said.

“I have convened an extraordinary meeting of IEA member governments, which will take place later today to assess the current security of supply and market conditions to inform a subsequent decision on whether to ,” Birol added.

He said the G7 meeting addressed “all the available options, including making IEA emergency oil stocks available to the market”.

Italy’s Environment and Energy Minister Gilberto Pichetto Fratin said that regarding the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, “countries have committed to showing solidarity by using stockpiled reserves in order to compensate for the lack of availability at the global level.”

Crude prices have seen sharp fluctuations due to supply disruptions, jumping 30 percent on Monday to nearly $120 per barrel before retreating later that day.

They fell further on Tuesday, reassured by US President Donald Trump stating Monday that the US-Israel war on Iran was “going to be ended soon”.

Nevertheless risks remain, with Iran vowing earlier Tuesday that not one litre of oil would be exported from the Gulf while the United States and Israel press ahead with their bombardment of the country.

International

Mojtaba Khamenei named Iran’s supreme leader

Politicians and institutions issued pledges of loyalty to the new supreme leader, whose wife, son and mother also died at the start of the U.S.-Israeli air onslaught according to Iranian state media.

Published

1 day ago

March 9, 2026

OCHEFA

24 Views

• Photo : People hold placards with an image of Iran’s new supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei in Tehran. Majid Asgaripour/WANA via REUTERS.

Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei 56, a Shi’ite cleric with a power base among the security forces and their vast business empire, has been declared the new Supreme Leader of Iran.

Iranian state media reports on Monday that large crowds in several cities rally behind the new leader, waving Iranian flags and holding portraits of his father Ali Khamenei, killed by strikes on the war’s first day.

In Isfahan, state TV reported the sound of nearby explosions from apparent airstrikes as loyalists gathered in the historic Imam Square, chanting “God is the Greatest”

In Tehran, a eulogist could be heard singing: “Either death or Khamenei, our blood leads to paradise.”

Politicians and institutions issued pledges of loyalty to the new supreme leader, whose wife, son and mother also died at the start of the U.S.-Israeli air onslaught according to Iranian state media.

“We will obey the commander-in-chief until the last drop ⁠of our blood,” a defence council statement said.

Iranians reached by telephone were divided, with supporters of the authorities hailing the choice as a declaration of defiance and opponents fearful it would dash their hopes for change.

“I am so happy that he is our new leader. It was a slap in the face to our enemies that thought the system will collapse with the killing of his father. Our late leader’s path will continue,” said university student Zahra Mirbagheri, 21, from Tehran.

International

President Tinubu Approves 65 Ambassadors for Postings [Full List]

President Tinubu has directed that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs should immediately commence the induction programme for the ambassadors-designate and High Commissioners.

Published

5 days ago

March 6, 2026

OCHEFA

51 Views

• President Bola Tinubu. Credit: X

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has approved the postings of 31 career and 34 non-career ambassadors to various countries and the United Nations.

The Senate confirmed the ambassadors-designate last December.

Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President(Information and Strategy), confirmed the postings, on Friday.

NON CAREER AMBASSADORS / HIGH COMMISSIONERS

1. SENATOR GRACE BENT: LOME-TOGO
2. SEN. ITA ENANG: SOUTH AFRICA
3. IKPEAZU VICTOR: SPAIN
4. NKECHI LINDA UFOCHUKWU: TEL-AVIV, ISRAEL
5. MAHMUD YAKUBU: QATAR
6. PAUL OGA ADIKWU: THE VATICAN CITY HOLY SEE
7. VICE ADMIRAL IBOK-ETE EKWE IBAS: THE PHILIPPINES
8. MR. RENO OMOKRI: MEXICO CITY, MEXICO
9. HON. (ENGR.) ABASI BRAIMAH (FMHR): BUDAPEST, HUNGARY
11. MRS. ERELU ANGELA ADEBAYO: PORTUGAL
12. BARR. OLUMILUA OLUWAYIMIKA AYOTUNWA: TOKYO, JAPAN
13. RT. HON. UGWUANYI IFEANYI LAWRENCE: ATHENS, GREECE
15. BARR. CHIOMA PRISCILLA OHAKIM: WARSAW, POLAND
16. AMINU DALHATU: UNITED KINGDOM, UK
17. LT. GEN ABDULRAHMAN BELLO
18 DAMBAZAU: BEIJING, CHINA
19 .HON. TASIU MUSA MAIGARI: GAMBIA
20. OLUFEMI PEDRO: AUSTRALIA
21. BARR. MUHAMMED UBANDOMA ALIYU: ARGENTINA
22. LATEEF KAYODE ARE: USA
23. AMB. JOSEPH SOLA IJI: RUSSIA
24. SEN. JIMOH IBRAHIM: UN PERMANENT REPRESENTATIVE
25. FEMI FANI KAYODE: GERMANY
26. PROF. ISAAK FOLORUNSO ADEWOLE. OTTAWA, CANADA
27. AJIMOBI FATIMA FLORENCE (F): AUSTRIA
28. MRS. LOLA AKANDE (F): SWEDEN
29. AYODELE OKE: FRANCE
30.YAKUBU N. GAMBO: SAUDI ARABIA
31. SENATOR PROF. NORA LADI DADUUT: SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA
32. BARR. ONUEZE CHUKWUJIKA JOE OKOCHA SAN: DUBLIN
33. DR. KULU HARUNA ABUBAKAR: TUNIS, TUNISIA
34. RT. HON. JERRY SAMUEL MANWE: PORT OF SPAIN, T&T

CAREER AMBASSADORS / HIGH COMMISSIONERS

AMB. NWABIOLA EZENWA CHUKWUMEKA: COTE D’IV/OIRE
BESTO MAIMUNA IBRAHIM: NIAMEY-NIGER
MONICA OKWUCHUKWU ENEBECHI: SAO TOME, STP
AMB. MOHAMMED MAHMUD LELE: ALGIERS-ALGERIA
ENDONI SYNDOPH PAEBI: OUAGADOUGOU-BURKINA FASO
AHMED MOHAMMED MONGUNO: CAIRO EGYPT
AMB.JANE ADAMS (NEE OKON) MICHAEL (F): KINGSTON-JAMAICA
AMB. CLARK-OMERU ALEXANDRA (F): LUSAKA-ZAMBIA
CHIMA GEOGGREY LIOMA DAVID: BAMAKO-MALI
AMB. ODUMAH YVONNE EHINOSEN: MALABO –E/GUINEA
AMB WASA SEGUN IGE: BEIRUT, LEBANON
RUBEN ABIMBOLA SAMUEL (F): ROME, ITALY
AMB.ONAGA OGECHUKWU KINGSLEY: MAPUTO, MOZAMBIQUE
AMB.MAGAJI UMAR: KINSASHA, DR CONGO
AMB.MUHAMMAD SAIDU DAHIRU: NEW DELHI-INDIA
AMB. ABDUSSALAM HABU ZAYYAD: DAKAR-SENEGAL
AMB SHEHU ILU BARDE: ACCRA GHANA
AMB.AMINU NASIR: ETHIOPIA
ABUBAKAR MUSA MUSA: N’DJAMENA, CHAD
AMB. HAIDARA MOHAMMED IDRIS: THE HAGUE-NETHERLANDS
AMB.BAKO ADAMU UMAR: RABAT-MOROCCO
AMB. SULU GAMBARI OLATUNJI AHMED: MALAYSIA
AMB.ROMATA MOHAMMED OMOBOLANLE (F): TANZANIA
AMB. SHAGA JOHN SHAMAH: BOTSWANA
SALAU, HAMZA MOHAMMED: TEHRAN, IRAN
AMB.IBRAHIM DANLAMI: KENYA
IBRAHIM ADEOLA MOPELOLA (F): COTONOU-BENIN
AMB.AYENI ADEBAYO EMMANUEL: BRUSSELS, BELGIUM
AMB.AKANDE WAHAB ADEKOLA: BERNE-SWITZERLAND
AMB. AREWA (NEE ADEDOKUN) ESTHER (F): WINDHOEK-NAMIBIA
AMB.GERGADI JOSEPH JOHN: LIBREVILLE-GABON
AMB. LUTHER OGBOMODE AYO-KALATA (F): SIERRA LEONE
DANLADI YAKUBU NYAKU : KHARTOUM-SUDAN
BELLO DOGON-DAJI HALIRU: BANGKOK, THAILAND

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has already received agrément from the United Kingdom for the High Commissioner-designate, Ambassador Aminu Dalhatu. Similarly, France has sent the agrément for Ambassador Ayo Oke.

The Ministry has also conveyed the nominations of the other 62 designated envoys to all the countries concerned, including a request for their agréments in line with standard diplomatic practice.

President Tinubu has directed that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs should immediately commence the induction programme for the ambassadors-designate and High Commissioners.