World

(WASHINGTON) — Despite President Donald Trump’s push for the forcible displacement of Palestinians from Gaza — a move that, if carried out, would be a violation of international law that some experts and U.S. allies have called ethnic cleansing — he is facing significant pushback from allies and states in the region.

There is “zero possibility” that Palestinians will be forcibly displaced from Gaza and into Jordan and Egypt, one expert told ABC News.

“I see no scenario where this happens,” Brian Katulis, a senior fellow for U.S. foreign policy at the Middle East Institute, a nonpartisan think tank, told ABC News. “This is their home. They’ve endured so much to stay in their home, even if their home — literal homes, family homes — have been destroyed.”

“It’s a model that just won’t work in today’s Middle East,” Katulis said, referring to the forced displacement of Palestinians.

“The risk is that [this] comes at a very uncertain time with the ceasefire and hostage release deal on thin ice, and it actually serves to distract from the important work of trying to keep that process moving forward — to get hostages released and much-needed aid into the people … and to actually try to move forward to something that is realistic,” Katulis said.

Trump at one point threatened to withdraw aid to Egypt and Jordan if they didn’t agree to take in Palestinians, though less than 24 hours later, he said, “I don’t have to threaten that, I don’t think. I think we’re above that.”

“The point of this is to ostensibly force Egypt and Jordan to accept all of the Palestinians currently living in the Gaza Strip, so they can engage, so the U.S. can annex the territory. I think it’s safe to say it’s a non-starter for the Saudis,” Daniel Drezner, a professor of international politics at Tufts University’s Fletcher School, told ABC News.

“The Jordanians, in particular, need the money. They’re not oil rich, and same with Egypt, but in some ways the expectation would be that if Trump actually threatened to cut them off, they would likely turn first to Saudi Arabia and the Emiratis,” Drezner said.

Arab nations quickly rejected Trump’s proposal to forcibly displace Palestinians and relocate them in neighboring states, with several calling it a hard line.

“The Foreign Ministry affirms that Saudi Arabia’s position on the establishment of a Palestinian state is firm and unwavering. HRH Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince and Prime Minister clearly and unequivocally reaffirmed this stance,” Saudi Arabia said last week, just hours after Trump called for the displacement of Palestinians from Gaza.

As much as a bind Jordan is in, it is unlikely that it would accept anything along the lines of what Trump proposed, Drezner said, adding the proposal is worse than losing the $1.5 billion in annual aid that it receives from the U.S.

“The question is the extent to which the Saudis are willing to bankroll both the Jordanians and the Egyptians,” Drezner said.

“Pay attention to how the Gulf states are reacting to all this, because they’re the ones that are simultaneously most likely to be able to resist Trump’s pressures, and also it will send a regional signal to Egypt and Jordan as to what their options are,” Drezner said.

After Trump’s comments, Egypt expressed its support for the legitimate and inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, calling for the need for a two-state solution and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state.

As Trump continued to double down on forcing out the Palestinians, Egyptian President Abdelfatah El Sisi announced he will indefinitely postpone his plan to visit Trump at the White House. According to Saudi-owned Al Arabiya News, Sisi said he won’t attend any White House talks if the displacement of Palestinians in Gaza is on the agenda.

“They’re probably trying to figure out how do they reposition themselves in light of Trump’s incendiary remarks, because they come directly at odds with Egypt’s own positions on this issue and its national security interests. And I don’t think they want to be put in any sort of position to actually directly challenge Trump right now until they assess,” Katulis said.

“[Egypt]’s security aid from the U.S. is part of a package that came out of the Israel-Egypt peace treaty. And if Trump wants to play games with that, he’s actually going to undercut a lot of America’s long-standing traditional security relationships in the region,” Katulis said.

Egypt also announced it plans to host a meeting with Arab states in Cairo later this month where they will discuss a counterproposal.

After meeting with Trump, King Abdullah of Jordan said in a statement he “reiterated Jordan’s steadfast position against the displacement of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank. This is the unified Arab position. Rebuilding Gaza without displacing the Palestinians and addressing the dire humanitarian situation should be the priority for all.”

Trump appeared to walk back his threat of withdrawing aid after his meeting this week with King Abdullah resulted in the news that Jordan would take in 2,000 sick Palestinian children for treatment.

“This is a replay of what we’ve seen with regard to threatening Canada and Mexico [with tariffs] — it’s the shining orb strategy. It turns out if you offer Trump like a pretty gaudy but not terribly significant concession, he’ll back down,” Drezner said.

“Jordan can never agree to this — to Trump’s proposal — that would be the end of the regime. And that’s the fundamental thing that I assume someone must have told Donald Trump,” Drezner said.

In addition to opposing the forced displacement of Palestinians, Jordan and Egypt also have strains on their economies and taking in millions of refugees could potentially produce more economic and security challenges.

For the last 20 years, Jordan has faced an influx of refugees from Iraq and Syria, which has strained their economy and their social fabric, according to Katulis.

Egypt’s economy has also faced strains, with the Egyptian pound being depreciated several times in recent years. According to the World Food Programme, from January 2016 to January 2025, the Egyptian pound was devalued by 84.5% relative to the U.S. dollar — a move that governments use to increase its competitiveness or trade balance. And the U.S. dollar appreciated by 543.8% relative to the Egyptian pound during that same time period, based on the official exchange rate, according to the World Food Programme.

Taking in all Palestinians living in Gaza could also pull other countries into a confrontation with Israel, Drezner noted.

“There is no scenario whereby the Palestinians that are displaced are not going to want to return. Essentially, you’re introducing the possibility of violent non-state actors to operate within your territory,” Drezner said.

Other international powers

While Egypt and Jordan are most likely to look to Gulf states for alternate sources of aid, other international actors could also fill a gap created by the U.S. if Trump follows through on his threats.

“I’m not sure Russia is really in all that strong a position, particularly in the Middle East, since they lost their last port [when the regime fell in Syria] and we just saw what happened to Bashar Al Assad. I’m not sure that [Vladimir Putin]’s necessarily a reliable benefactor,” Drezner said.

“It would make much more sense to make a pivot towards China, in no small part because, among other things, China actually has reasons to want to be involved in the region, given their various energy demands,” Drezner said.

But, Jordan and Egypt rely on military supplies from the U.S. and the West.

“The longer-term issue is that you can argue that the militaries in both Jordan and Egypt are a little bit stuck in that they rely primarily on U.S. weaponry. So to engage in a radical pivot means that in some ways you’re also weakening your own coercive apparatus at the same time,” Drezner said.

It would take time before the militaries would be prepared to use weaponry from a different source, and weapons from another source would likely also be incompatible with their existing military stock, according to Drezner.

“It would be hard to pivot to either Russia or China as your primary arms manufacturer,” Drezner said.

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(LONDON and ROME) — Pope Francis is being admitted to hospital on Friday for “necessary tests” and to continue his ongoing bronchitis treatment, the Vatican said.

“This morning, at the end of the audiences, Pope Francis will be admitted to the Agostino Gemelli Polyclinic for some necessary diagnostic tests and to continue in a hospital setting [his] treatment for bronchitis that is still ongoing,” the Vatican said in a statement released on Friday morning.

The Pope had some scheduled private audiences this morning, as he has most days, and will make his way to the hospital after his audiences have been received.

Just last month, Pope Francis fell and injured his arm in his residence, the Vatican said in January.

“Pope Francis suffered a bruise to his right forearm, without fractures,” the Vatican said in a statement in Italian. “The arm was immobilized as a precautionary measure.”

The pontiff, 88, was seen in a photo released by the Vatican after the incident with his arm in a soft sling.
Earlier this month, Pope Francis tripped while entering the Vatican auditorium for an audience when the handle of his walking stick broke but he was able to stop himself from falling.

The pope often has been known to use a wheelchair or a cane due to bad knees and has fallen twice in the past two months.

Just two days ago during his weekly general audience, Pope Francis paused and said, “me, with my bronchitis, I cannot (read) still” “I hope that next time I can,” before an aide aide finished the reading.

The pope was diagnosed with bronchitis last Thursday.

Friday’s hospitalization comes ahead of a packed schedule of events this weekend to mark the Catholic church’s jubilee year and, as a result of his medical condition, the jubilee audience for Saturday has been cancelled, the Vatican said.

“The Holy Mass on the occasion of the Jubilee of Artists and the World of Culture on Sunday, Feb. 16, will be presided over by His Eminence Cardinal José Tolentino de Mendonça, Prefect of the Dicastery for Culture and Education, while the meeting with artists, scheduled for Monday at Cinecittà, is cancelled due to the Pope’s inability to attend,” the Vatican confirmed.

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(LONDON) — Munich police said at least 30 people, including several children, were injured after a “vehicle drove into a group of people” in the center of the city on Thursday morning.

“The driver was able to be secured on site and currently poses no further danger,” police said in a post in German on social media.

The incident is being treated as a “suspected attack,” Bavarian state Premier Markus Söder told journalists.

A 2-year-old child was critically wounded in the attack, according to a spokesperson for the Dr. von Hauner Children’s Hospital.

“Doctors are currently fighting for the toddler’s life,” the spokesperson said.

The suspect is a 24-year-old Afghan asylum-seeker residing in Munich, police said.

The suspect was already known to police because he “was listed as a witness due to his previous work as a store detective,” not because he was a known criminal, police said.

Authorities have not yet suggested a motive or named the suspect.

Florian Volm, a spokesperson for the Munich Public Prosecutor’s Office, told ABC News that the Bavarian Central Office for Extremism and Terrorism of the Attorney General’s Office is “investigating today’s incident to find possible motives.”

Police said the incident occurred in the area of Dachauer Street and Seidle Street in the heart of Munich, close to the city’s central train station.

The incident occurred at Stilgmaierplatz, where a rally organized by the Verdi trade union was taking place from 10:30 a.m. local time, police said. The event was accompanied by police and therefore officers were already on site.

A Munich Police spokesperson told ABC News that the suspect overtook a police vehicle with his car before accelerating and plowing into the back of the demonstration. Police believe he acted alone.

Munich Mayor Dieter Reiter told reporters that “many people have been injured, including children. I am deeply shocked. My thoughts are with the injured.”

“The police have arrested the driver of the vehicle, but the exact circumstances are still unclear,” Reiter added.

Police said a “major operation” was underway, urging residents to avoid the area in order to assist emergency responders.

Images from the scene showed police and medical responders working near a damaged vehicle surrounded by belongings and debris. Police cordoned off the area of the incident as helicopters circled above. Police have not identified the suspect or the vehicle involved.

Thursday’s vehicle crash came less than two months after a car plowed through a Christmas market in Magdeburg, Germany, killing two people and injuring nearly 70 others, local officials said at the time.

ABC News’ Helena Skinner, Felix Franz and Dada Jovanovic contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(LONDON) — Germany’s defense minister criticized President Donald Trump for what he called “regrettable” concessions to Moscow, after the president unilaterally announced an immediate start to direct peace talks with President Vladimir Putin to end the Kremlin’s war on Ukraine.

Trump said in a post to social media on Wednesday that he spoke with Putin by phone, adding the two leaders “agreed to have our respective teams start negotiations immediately” to end the fighting in Ukraine after nearly three years of Russia’s full-scale invasion.

Trump’s announcement came shortly after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told allies that Ukraine cannot liberate all territory occupied by Russian forces and will not be given NATO security protection as part of any peace deal.

NATO ministers quickly pushed back. German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said it was “regrettable” that “the Trump administration has already made public concessions to Putin before negotiations have even begun.”

Estonian Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur concurred. “We must not hand Russia any advantage before negotiations even begin,” Pevkur said in a statement.

Moscow launched its attack in February 2022 with the aim of toppling Zelenskyy’s government in Kyiv and annexing swaths of the country. The “special military operation” — as the Kremlin termed the invasion — expanded on Moscow’s annexation of Crimea and its fomentation of, and active military support for, separatist rebellion in parts of eastern Ukraine in 2014.

“I think we’re on the way to getting peace,” Trump said. The president did not clarify whether Ukraine and its President Volodymyr Zelenskyy would be directly involved in any peace talks. Excluding Kyiv would align with Putin’s repeated demand that Ukraine be sidelined, the Russian leader having dismissed Zelenskyy as “illegitimate.”

Kyiv’s omission from negotiations would represent a striking break from years of U.S. and allied policy, which under former President Joe Biden was guided by the “nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine” principle, with the former president also refusing to speak directly with Putin while the war continued.

Trump spoke with Zelenskyy after his phone call with Putin. The Ukrainian leader said in a post to social media that the two discussed “opportunities to achieve peace, discussed our readiness to work together at the team level, and Ukraine’s technological capabilities — including drones and other advanced industries.”

Trump also said he would meet with Putin in Saudi Arabia, though did not set a date.
Addressing the conversation, Trump said on Truth Social that Zelensky,”like President Putin, wants to make PEACE.”

Trump separately hinted at the expiry of Zelenskyy’s presidential term. Ukraine was due to hold presidential elections last year, but the vote was delayed as the country is still under martial law as a result of Russia’s invasion. At “some point you’re going to have an election,” Trump said.

Ukraine and American allies in Europe called for a unified negotiating front.

“We are looking forward to discussing the way ahead together with our American allies,” said a joint statement from the foreign ministers of France, Germany, Poland, Italy, Spain, the U.K., Ukraine, the European Union’s European External Action Service and the European Commission.

“Our shared objectives should be to put Ukraine in a position of strength,” the statement added. “Ukraine and Europe must be part of any negotiations.”

Kaja Kallas, the EU’s foreign affairs chief, said on X, “Ukraine’s independence and territorial integrity are unconditional.”

Trump said a meeting between Zelenskyy, Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio was scheduled during the weekend Munich Security Conference event in Germany.

The State Department said that Ukraine-Russia envoy Keith Kellogg will begin a 10-day visit to Germany, Belgium and Ukraine on Thursday.

Hegseth preceded Trump’s latest remarks by telling allies in Belgium on Wednesday that Ukraine cannot liberate all territory from Russian occupation, and that Kyiv will not be given NATO security protection as part of any peace deal.

“The bloodshed must stop and this war must end,” Hegseth said. His address was the most detailed delineation of the Trump administration’s desired peace deal since the president returned to the Oval Office.
Pro-talk signals from the U.S. raised concerns in Ukraine and abroad that Kyiv will be forced into territorial and political concessions in exchange for an end to the fighting.

John Bolton — Trump’s former national security adviser — for example, said on X that the president’s approach is tantamount to a “sell out” of Ukraine. “Trump has effectively surrendered to Putin on Ukraine.”

The latest remarks from Trump and Hegseth also stoked concerns inside Ukraine. “It’s a bad sign that he has talked first to Putin, not to Zelenskyy,” Oleksandr Merezhko — a member of the Ukrainian parliament and the chair of the body’s foreign affairs committee — told ABC News.

“Such a phone call is in itself a reward for Putin,” he added. “It’s sort of a break in his political isolation.”
Still, Merezhko said Trump’s approach does “not quite” mean a total exclusion of Ukraine. “The principle ‘nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine’ is more about not taking decisions without Ukraine which have influence upon Ukraine,” he said.

Pressure for peace is building within and without. A Gallup poll published in November indicated that most Ukrainians favored a rapid end to the devastating war. Zelenskyy’s public rhetoric largely reflects this sentiment, though the president has warned that no peace deal is sustainable without concrete U.S. security guarantees.

“This war of attrition is only going to make us weaker,” Iuliia Mendel — Zelenskyy’s former press secretary — told ABC News. “For a long time, Ukraine has been at the stage when negotiations are urgent to save the nation.”

The Kremlin confirmed that Trump had spoken with Putin.

“The topic of a settlement in Ukraine was discussed,” spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters after the call on Wednesday.

“President Trump spoke in favor of an early end to hostilities and a peaceful solution to the problem,” he added. “President Putin, for his part, mentioned the need to eliminate the root causes of the conflict and agreed with Trump that a long-term settlement can be achieved through peaceful negotiations.”

On Thursday, Peskov told reporters that Moscow had begun preparing a negotiating group to organize a meeting between Trump and Putin. “Definitely started. And as the president makes the appropriate decisions, we will inform you,” Peskov said.

When asked if a visit by U.S. representatives to Moscow is expected in the near future, Peskov said: “Not yet. So far, there are no specific agreements in this regard.”

Both Moscow and Kyiv are maneuvering for leverage in preparation for revived talks. This week, Russia and the U.S. concluded a prisoner swap described by Trump as a goodwill gesture that could help advance peace talks.

Zelenskyy, meanwhile, met with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in Kyiv to discuss a potential deal to secure U.S. access to hundreds of billions of dollars worth of Ukrainian minerals.

Russian and Ukrainian leaders have both expressed readiness to resume negotiations, though neither side has indicated willingness to make significant concessions.

This week, Zelenskyy suggested Ukraine would be ready to give up territory it seized in Russia’s western Kursk region in exchange for the liberation of some Ukrainian territory occupied by Moscow’s troops.

Peskov dismissed the idea as “impossible” at a Wednesday briefing with journalists. “Russia has never discussed an exchange of its territories and never will,” Peskov said.

“Naturally, Ukrainian units will be ousted from this territory. Everyone who is not eliminated will be ousted,” Peskov added.

ABC News’ Will Gretsky, Anastasia Bagaeva, Nataliia Popova, Zoe Magee, Tanya Stukalova and Tom Soufi Burridge contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(LONDON) — Munich police said at least 28 people were injured after a “vehicle drove into a group of people” in the center of the city on Thursday morning.

“The driver was able to be secured on site and currently poses no further danger,” police said in a post in German on social media.

Police said in an update that at least two of those injured were in a serious condition and that one child required resuscitation.

Bavarian state premier Markus Söder told journalists that at least 28 people were injured. The incident is being treated as a “suspected attack,” Söder said.

Police said the suspect is believed to be a 24-year-old Afghan asylum seeker. Authorities have not yet suggested a motive or named the suspect.

Munich police said at least 28 people were injured after a “vehicle drove into a group of people” in the center of the city on Thursday morning.

“The driver was able to be secured on site and currently poses no further danger,” police said in a post in German on social media.

Police said in an update that at least two of those injured were in a serious condition and that one child required resuscitation.

Bavarian state premier Markus Söder told journalists that at least 28 people were injured. The incident is being treated as a “suspected attack,” Söder said.

Police said the suspect is believed to be a 24-year-old Afghan asylum seeker. Authorities have not yet suggested a motive or named the suspect.

Police said the incident occurred in the area of Dachauer Street and Seidle Street in the heart of Munich, close to the city’s central train station.

The incident occurred at Stilgmaierplatz, where a rally organized by the Verdi trade union was taking place from 10:30 a.m. local time, police said. The event was accompanied by police and therefore officers were already on site.

A Munich Police spokesperson told ABC News that the suspect overtook a police vehicle with his car before accelerating and plowing into the back of the demonstration. Police believe he acted alone.

Munich Mayor Dieter Reiter told reporters that “many people have been injured, including children. I am deeply shocked. My thoughts are with the injured.”

“The police have arrested the driver of the vehicle, but the exact circumstances are still unclear,” Reiter added.

Police said a “major operation” was underway, urging residents to avoid the area in order to assist emergency responders.

Images from the scene showed police and medical responders working near a damaged vehicle surrounded by belongings and debris. Police cordoned off the area of the incident as helicopters circled above. Police have not identified the suspect or the vehicle involved.

Thursday’s vehicle crash came less than two months after a car plowed through a Christmas market in Magdeburg, Germany, killing two people and injuring nearly 70 others, local officials said at the time.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

ABC News’ Helena Skinner, Felix Franz and Dada Jovanovic contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(LONDON) — Ukraine and key European nations demanded a role in any negotiations to end Russia’s war on the country, after President Donald Trump unilaterally announced an immediate start to direct peace talks with President Vladimir Putin after speaking with the Russian leader by phone.

Trump said in a post to social media on Wednesday that he spoke with Putin, adding the two leaders “agreed to have our respective teams start negotiations immediately” to end the fighting in Ukraine after nearly three years of Russia’s full-scale invasion.

Moscow launched its attack in February 2022 with the aim of toppling Zelenskyy’s government in Kyiv and annexing swaths of the country. The “special military operation” — as the Kremlin termed the invasion — expanded on Moscow’s annexation of Crimea and its fomentation of, and active military support for, separatist rebellion in parts of eastern Ukraine in 2014.

“I think we’re on the way to getting peace,” Trump said. The president did not clarify whether Ukraine and its President Volodymyr Zelenskyy would be directly involved in any peace talks. Excluding Kyiv would align with Putin’s repeated demand that Ukraine be sidelined, the Russian leader having dismissed Zelenskyy as “illegitimate.”

Kyiv’s omission from negotiations would represent a striking break from years of U.S. and allied policy, which under former President Joe Biden was guided by the “nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine” principle, with the former president also refusing to speak directly with Putin while the war continued.

Trump spoke with Zelenskyy after his phone call with Putin. The Ukrainian leader said in a post to social media that the two discussed “opportunities to achieve peace, discussed our readiness to work together at the team level, and Ukraine’s technological capabilities — including drones and other advanced industries.”

Trump also said he would meet with Putin in Saudi Arabia, though did not set a date.

Addressing the conversation, Trump said on Truth Social that Zelensky,”like President Putin, wants to make PEACE.”

Trump separately hinted at the expiry of Zelenskyy’s presidential term. Ukraine was due to hold presidential elections last year, but the vote was delayed as the country is still under martial law as a result of Russia’s invasion. At “some point you’re going to have an election,” Trump said.

Ukraine and American allies in Europe were quick to call for a unified negotiating front.

“We are looking forward to discussing the way ahead together with our American allies,” said a joint statement from the foreign ministers of France, Germany, Poland, Italy, Spain, the U.K., Ukraine, the European Union’s European External Action Service and the European Commission.

“Our shared objectives should be to put Ukraine in a position of strength,” the statement added. “Ukraine and Europe must be part of any negotiations.”

Kaja Kallas, the EU’s foreign affairs chief, said on X, “Ukraine’s independence and territorial integrity are unconditional.”

Trump said a meeting between Zelenskyy, Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio was scheduled during the weekend Munich Security Conference event in Germany.

The State Department said that Ukraine-Russia envoy Keith Kellogg will begin a 10-day visit to Germany, Belgium and Ukraine on Thursday.

Trump’s announcement of direct D.C.-Moscow talks came shortly after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told allies in Belgium that Ukraine cannot liberate all territory occupied by Russian forces and will not be given NATO security protection as part of any peace deal.

“The bloodshed must stop and this war must end,” Hegseth said. His address was the most detailed delineation of the Trump administration’s desired peace deal since the president returned to the Oval Office.

Pro-talk signals from the U.S. raised concerns in Ukraine and abroad that Kyiv will be forced into territorial and political concessions in exchange for an end to the fighting.

John Bolton — Trump’s former national security adviser — for example, said on X that the president’s approach is tantamount to a “sell out” of Ukraine. “Trump has effectively surrendered to Putin on Ukraine.”

“It’s a bad sign that he has talked first to Putin, not to Zelenskyy,” Oleksandr Merezhko — a member of the Ukrainian parliament and the chair of the body’s foreign affairs committee — told ABC News.

“Such a phone call is in itself a reward for Putin,” he added. “It’s sort of a break in his political isolation.”

Still, Merezhko said Trump’s approach does “not quite” mean a total exclusion of Ukraine. “The principle ‘nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine’ is more about not taking decisions without Ukraine which have influence upon Ukraine,” he said.

Pressure for peace is building within and without. A Gallup poll published in November indicated that most Ukrainians favored a rapid end to the devastating war. Zelenskyy’s public rhetoric largely reflects this sentiment, though the president has warned that no peace deal is sustainable without concrete U.S. security guarantees.

“This war of attrition is only going to make us weaker,” Iuliia Mendel — Zelenskyy’s former press secretary — told ABC News. “For a long time, Ukraine has been at the stage when negotiations are urgent to save the nation.”

The Kremlin confirmed that Trump had spoken with Putin.

“The topic of a settlement in Ukraine was discussed,” spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters after the call on Wednesday.

“President Trump spoke in favor of an early end to hostilities and a peaceful solution to the problem,” he added. “President Putin, for his part, mentioned the need to eliminate the root causes of the conflict and agreed with Trump that a long-term settlement can be achieved through peaceful negotiations.”

On Thursday, Peskov told reporters that Moscow had begun preparing a negotiating group to organize a meeting between Trump and Putin. “Definitely started. And as the president makes the appropriate decisions, we will inform you,” Peskov said.

When asked if a visit by U.S. representatives to Moscow is expected in the near future, Peskov said: “Not yet. So far, there are no specific agreements in this regard.”

Both Moscow and Kyiv are maneuvering for leverage in preparation for revived talks. This week, Russia and the U.S. concluded a prisoner swap described by Trump as a goodwill gesture that could help advance peace talks.

Zelenskyy, meanwhile, met with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in Kyiv to discuss a potential deal to secure U.S. access to hundreds of billions of dollars worth of Ukrainian minerals.

Russian and Ukrainian leaders have both expressed readiness to resume negotiations, though neither side has indicated willingness to make significant concessions.

This week, Zelenskyy suggested Ukraine would be ready to give up territory it seized in Russia’s western Kursk region in exchange for the liberation of some Ukrainian territory occupied by Moscow’s troops.

Peskov dismissed the idea as “impossible” at a Wednesday briefing with journalists. “Russia has never discussed an exchange of its territories and never will,” Peskov said.

“Naturally, Ukrainian units will be ousted from this territory. Everyone who is not eliminated will be ousted,” Peskov added.

ABC News’ Will Gretsky, Anastasia Bagaeva, Nataliia Popova, Zoe Magee and Tanya Stukalova contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(LONDON) — Munich police said “around 20” people were injured after a “vehicle drove into a group of people” in the center of the city on Thursday morning.

“The driver was able to be secured on site and currently poses no further danger,” police said in a post in German on social media.

Police said in an update that they didn’t yet have info on the severity of the injuries.

Police said the incident occurred in the area of Dachauer Street and Seidle Street in the heart of Munich, close to the city’s central train station.

Police said a “major operation” was underway, urging residents to avoid the area in order to assist emergency responders.

Thursday’s vehicle crash came less than two months after a car plowed through a Christmas market in Magdeburg, Germany, killing two people and injuring nearly 70 others, local officials said at the time.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

ABC News’ Helena Skinner contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(LONDON) — The United States is preparing to return cybercrime kingpin Alexander Vinnik to Russian custody as part of an exchange for American Marc Fogel, a U.S. official said Wednesday.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov declined to identify Vinnik but acknowledged earlier Wednesday that a Russian citizen was freed in exchange for Fogel, who had been held in Russian since his arrest in 2021.

“This citizen of the Russian Federation will also be returned to Russia in the coming days,” Peskov said Wednesday.

Fogel was returned to the United States on Tuesday.

Vinnik’s lawyers, Arkady Bukh & Associates, said he remained in the U.S. on Wednesday afternoon.

“At the moment, we can confirm that a hearing has recently been held in the Federal Court of the State of Florida regarding Mr. Vinnik,” they said in a statement. “However, due to the judge’s decision, the materials of the hearing are classified, and we cannot comment on its course and content.”

Vinnik, the owner and operator of one of the world’s largest currency exchanges, was allegedly instrumental in facilitating the transfer of billions of dollars for criminals across the globe, supporting drug trafficking rings, ransomware attacks and the corruption of public officials.

Last year, Vinnik pleaded guilty to conspiracy to launder billions of dollars through cryptocurrency exchange BTC-e. The Department of Justice alleged under Vinnik’s operation, BTC-e facilitated over $9 billion in worldwide transactions, serving as one of the main ways for cyber criminals to launder and move their criminal proceeds.

BTC-e has been implicated in multiple wide-ranging crimes, according to the Department of Justice, which alleges Vinnik himself was responsible for more than $120 million in losses.

As part of the deal, Vinnik is forfeiting $100 million of his criminal proceeds, an official said.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt called it “a very good deal for the United States of America and for the rest of the world.”

She continued, “As part of this exchange, he has forfeited more than $100 million that he obtained in that illegal crime. And in exchange, of course, we got Marc Fogel, who is a middle school teacher who kissed the American soil that kissed the ground last night when he returned to the United States of America. It was a great deal. And a great day for our country.”

Vinnik was arrested in Greece in July 2017 after he was charged in a 21-count indictment that implicated the Russian cryptocurrency operator in the infamous 2014 hack of Mt. Gox, which at one point handled more than 70% of the world’s bitcoin transaction. The DOJ alleges Vinnik laundered money he received as a result of the hack to conceal his involvement in the subsequent investigation of Mt. Gox’s collapse.

Vinnik and his lawyers have been outspoken about their interest in a potential prisoner swap, making the unusual request in 2023 to be released from a protective order so they could lobby for an exchange.

“Mr. Vinnik’s case is unquestionably one of significant public interest. He has been the subject of political negotiations over a prisoner swap with Russia at the highest levels of the government,” his lawyers wrote in a court filing.

Vinnik’s sentencing in California was scheduled to take place in June, though a federal judge held an abruptly scheduled status conference in the case Tuesday. Ahead of his sentencing, Vinnik was housed at Alameda County Jail in California and was transferred Tuesday, ABC News has learned.

President Donald Trump didn’t disclose on Tuesday the negotiations that led to Fogel’s release or say whether there had been any conversations with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“I can only say this: We got a man home whose mother and family wanted him desperately,” Trump said.

Mike Waltz, the White House national security adviser, said in a statement on Tuesday that Washington had “negotiated an exchange that serves as a show of good faith from the Russians and a sign we are moving in the right direction to end the brutal and terrible war in Ukraine.” His statement did not include details on the exchange.

Trump earlier on Tuesday had been asked if Russia had given the United States anything in return.

“Not much, no,” Trump said. “They were very nice. We were treated very nicely by Russia, actually.”

Peskov on Wednesday declined to say whether additional prisoner exchanges were expected in the future, but said that “contacts between the relevant departments have intensified in the last few days.”

Then-Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in October 2024 that Fogel, an American teacher, had been “wrongfully detained,” the State Department confirmed to ABC News.

The U.S. tried but was unable to include Fogel in the large prisoner swap in August 2024 that freed Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan, a State Department spokesperson said last year.

ABC News’ Joe Simonetti, Michelle Stoddart, Nathan Luna and Meredith Deliso contributed to this report.

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(WASHINGTON) — Belarusian journalist Andrei Kuznechyk was released from prison on Wednesday after serving more than three years in prison, according to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.

The terms of the deal were not immediately clear.

“This is a joyous day for Andrey, his wife, Alesya, and their two young children. After more than three years apart, this family is together again thanks to President [Donald] Trump,” RFE/RL President and CEO Stephen Capus said in a statement.

“We are also grateful to Secretary Rubio and his team, and to the Lithuanian government for their support,” Capus added.

Kuznechyk’s release comes a day after American schoolteacher Marc Fogel returned to the U.S. after being released from Russia.

Kuznechyk was initially sentenced in November 2021 to 10 days in jail on hooliganism charges, which he rejected at the time, according to RFE/RL.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

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(LONDON) — Egypt plans to “present a comprehensive vision for the reconstruction” of the Gaza Strip that does not require the displacement of Palestinians, the country’s foreign ministry said.

Cairo said it will work with President Donald Trump’s administration “to achieve a comprehensive and just peace in the region by reaching a just settlement of the Palestinian cause that upholds the rights of the region’s peoples,” the statement posted to X on Tuesday said.

Cairo’s reconstruction proposal will ensure “the Palestinian people remain in their homeland” and will align “with their legitimate and legal rights,” the statement said.

Any solution should “avoid endangering the gains of peace in the region” and address “the root cause of the conflict by ending Israel’s occupation of Palestinian land and implementing the two-state solution as the only path to stability and coexistence among the region’s peoples,” the ministry added.

Egypt’s proposal comes as Arab states scramble to respond to Trump’s proposal for the U.S. to “take over” and “clean out” Gaza, relocating its 2 million people and reconstructing the territory devastated by the war between Israel and Hamas since October 2023.

A source told ABC News on Wednesday that Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates will meet in Riyadh to discuss how to address Trump’s Gaza displacement proposal. The source said the talks will likely take place later next week before the Arab Summit in Cairo on Feb. 27.

Trump has suggested that regional partners like Jordan, Egypt or Saudi Arabia should rehome displaced Palestinians, whom he said would not be allowed to return to Gaza. Regional leaders have rejected the proposal.

The president said on Monday that he could “conceivably” withhold billions of dollars in aid to Egypt and Jordan to compel them into agreeing to host Palestinians displaced from Gaza. However, less than 24 hours later, while hosting King Abdullah II of Jordan at the White House, Trump said, “I don’t have to threaten with money.”

“I don’t have to threaten that, I don’t think. I think we’re above that. I do believe we’re above that,” Trump said Tuesday. The president’s comments came after Abdullah announced in the Oval Office that Jordan would take in 2,000 sick children from Gaza, but didn’t commit to anything beyond that.

Abdullah told Trump during a meeting at the White House on Tuesday that Arab states were putting together their own post-war plan for Gaza. The king will join other Arab leaders at a special summit in Egypt later this month to discuss Cairo’s counterproposal to Trump’s resettlement plan.

The king later said he reiterated to Trump Jordan’s “steadfast position” against the displacement of Palestinians in Gaza. “This is the unified Arab position,” he said in a post to X.

Saudi Arabia has also pushed back on Trump’s controversial plan, with its foreign ministry saying last week there would be no normalization deal with Israel without the establishment of a Palestinian state.

“The establishment of the Palestinian state is a firm, unwavering position,” the ministry said in a statement posted on X.

De facto Saudi ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman “has affirmed this position in a clear and explicit manner that does not allow for any interpretation under any circumstances,” the statement added.

Hamas, meanwhile, rejected Trump’s plan as “absurd.” In a statement, the group said the president’s comments “reflect a profound ignorance about Palestine and the region. Gaza is not a piece of real estate to be bought and sold; it is an inseparable part of our occupied Palestinian land.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu threw his weight behind Trump’s proposal, describing it as “a totally different vision, a much better one for the state of Israel.”

Netanyahu — who met with Trump at the White House last week — described the plan as “revolutionary, creative — and we’re discussing it. He is very determined to carry it out. It opens up many opportunities for us.”

The prime minister’s security cabinet met for several hours on Tuesday to discuss Trump’s Gaza plan. An Israeli official told ABC News that all members expressed support for what they called Trump’s “revolutionary vision for the future of Gaza.”

Netanyahu and his cabinet also discussed Hamas’ Monday announcement that it would delay the planned release of a group of Israeli hostages. Hamas said the delay was a response to alleged repeated Israeli violations of the ceasefire deal signed in January.

The delay prompted Trump’s threat that “all hell is going to break out” if all remaining Gaza hostages were not released by Saturday at noon. The Israeli official said the country’s security cabinet was in full support of Trump’s remarks.

“If Hamas does not return our hostages by Saturday noon, the ceasefire will be terminated, and the [Israel Defense Forces] will return to intense fighting until Hamas is finally defeated,” Netanyahu said in a statement.

Trump later told reporters of the deadline, “It’s going to be a big moment. We’ll see what happens. I don’t expect much happening with these people, but we’ll see what happens.”

ABC News’ Ayat Al-Tawy, Morgan Winsor, Sarah Kolinovsky, Will Gretsky, Joe Simonetti and Jordana Miller contributed to this report.

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