Global Hotspots: Trump’s Rift with Zelenskyy Amid U.S.-Russia Diplomacy

This week, U.S. and Russian officials met in Riyadh without any Ukrainian representation to discuss first steps for a Ukraine cease-fire, while U.S. President Donald Trump caused a diplomatic stir by calling Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy a “dictator.” In the Middle East, Israel and Hamas continued their prisoner exchanges and agreed to commence with the second phase of their cease-fire agreement by the end of the week, while regional states discussed alternative plans for the future of Gaza. In the Indo-Pacific, China filed official complaints with the World Trade Organization against U.S. tariffs, as Trump suggested he would expand tariffs to include 25% taxes on all imports of automobile, semiconductor, and pharmaceutical products. Read the full Weekly Forecast Monitor here: https://newlinesinstitute.org/forecast/week-20250221/ Marxist Arrow by Twin Musicom is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/