Welcome back to World Brief, where we’re looking at a lack of progress is Russia-Ukraine peace talks, the United States clinching a trade deal with Japanand a landmark climate change ruling at the International Court of Justice.
Breakthroughs ‘Hardly Possible’
Russian and Ukrainian officials convened in Istanbul on Wednesday for their third round of peace talks. These are the first major negotiations to be held since U.S. President Donald Trump demanded that Moscow agree to a cease-fire deal by early September or else risk new sanctions and “secondary tariffs.” Although neither side appears willing to soften their demands—meaning that any significant breakthrough is unlikely—Wednesday’s talks will likely serve as an early litmus test on how seriously the Kremlin views Trump’s threats.
Welcome back to World Brief, where we’re looking at a lack of progress is Russia-Ukraine peace talks, the United States clinching a trade deal with Japanand a landmark climate change ruling at the International Court of Justice.
Breakthroughs ‘Hardly Possible’
Russian and Ukrainian officials convened in Istanbul on Wednesday for their third round of peace talks. These are the first major negotiations to be held since U.S. President Donald Trump demanded that Moscow agree to a cease-fire deal by early September or else risk new sanctions and “secondary tariffs.” Although neither side appears willing to soften their demands—meaning that any significant breakthrough is unlikely—Wednesday’s talks will likely serve as an early litmus test on how seriously the Kremlin views Trump’s threats.
According to Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov, this week’s talks will cover both sides’ positionsas outlined in draft memorandums, as well as the potential for further prisoner exchanges. Still, expectations remain low. “There is no reason to expect any breakthroughs in the category of miracles—it is hardly possible in the current situation,” Peskov said.
Ukraine is demanding a full, immediate cease-fire from Russia before it agrees to discuss a permanent peace deal. Russia, on the other hand, maintains that it will only lay down its arms once a peace agreement is signed. Moscow also seeks total control of the Ukrainian territories that it occupies as well as for Kyiv to agree to limits on its military; however, Ukraine has refused to budge on these conditions, arguing that Russia must respect Ukraine’s sovereignty.
Ahead of Wednesday’s meeting, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky suggested that the best way to make progress in talks was for him to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin personally. “A meeting at the leadership level is needed to truly ensure peace, lasting peace,” Zelensky said. However, the Kremlin rejected such a proposal on Tuesday, with Peskov saying that there is “a lot of work to be done before we can talk about the possibility of some top-level meetings.”
Neither side has abandoned talks, though, which analysts suggest is largely out of fear of angering the White House. Last week, Trump endorsed the sale of U.S. weapons to Ukraine via European NATO allies, and Ukraine is desperate to maintain U.S. military and economic support. At the same time, Russia aims to minimize any new U.S. sanctions or other punitive measures as well as prevent Trump from delivering even deadlier weapons to Kyiv.
In May, Russia and Ukraine agreed to exchange 1,000 soldiers each as part of their largest prisoner swap deal since the war began in February 2022. And in June, both sides began the process of returning the bodies of killed soldiers and publicly shared their lists of conditions for a peace deal. Zelensky has been clear that he seeks to prioritize the return of Ukrainian children and more prisoners of war in this latest round of talks.
Wednesday’s talks have an added stressor compared to past negotiations, though. Experts expect there to be greater scrutiny of the dialogue from within Ukraine, as Wednesday’s talks were the first held since chief Ukrainian negotiator Rustem Umerov was removed from his post as defense minister in a cabinet reshuffle. And they come amid widespread protests in Ukraine—the first since the conflict began—against Ukrainian legislation effectively eliminating the independence of the country’s anti-corruption agency.
Today’s Most Read
What We’re Following
U.S.-Japan trade deal. Trump announced a major trade deal with Japan late Tuesday. Under the new frameworkWashington will impose a 15 percent tariff on imported Japanese goods—a significant drop from the 25 percent rate that Trump threatened to impose come Aug. 1—and Tokyo will invest $550 billion in the U.S. economy, particularly in its automotive and agricultural sectors (specifically rice).
Japan is “the first in the world to be able to reduce tariffs on automobiles and auto parts without volume restrictions,” Japanese tariff negotiator Ryosei Akazawa told reporters late Tuesday, with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba heralding the deal as “the lowest figure to date for a country that has a trade surplus with the United States.” Securing a U.S. trade deal was a top priority for Ishiba, whose governing power was weakened after his ruling coalition suffered a debilitating defeat in upper house elections over the weekend.
Global stock markets rallied on Wednesday following the trade deal’s announcement. As of midday Wednesday Eastern Daylight Time, Japan’s Nikkei index had risen roughly 3.5 percentand U.S. Treasury yields had reversed their three-day slide. The S&P 500 and Dow Jones indices also recorded increases.
Landmark climate ruling. The International Court of Justice (ICJ) issued a landmark ruling on Wednesday stating that countries are obligated to address the “urgent and existential threat” of climate change. “States must cooperate to achieve concrete emission reduction targets,” judge Yuji Iwasawa said in a readout of the top court’s advisory opinion, adding that living in a healthy environment is a human right and that a state’s failure to comply with climate change treaties is thereby a breach of international law.
This was the ICJ’s first nonbinding ruling on climate change. Specifically, the ICJ ordered countries to prioritize national climate plans and work to achieve the aims of the 2015 Paris Agreement, whose signatories have committed to take action to keep global warming below 1.5 degrees Celsius (or 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) above preindustrial levels. As of this year, 194 parties plus the European Union had ratified the nonbinding agreement; the United States withdrew from the agreement for a second time in January, when Trump took office.
Climate activists celebrated Wednesday’s ICJ ruling as a major victory for small island and low-lying countries, which have repeatedly urged other nations to help bear the responsibility of combating climate change. According to the International Energy Agency, China, the United States, and India are the three largest carbon emitters in the world as of July 2025.
Gaza’s hunger crisis. More than 100 rights organizations demanded on Wednesday that Israel allow the unimpeded delivery of aid into Gaza, citing reports that the territory’s hunger crisis is spiraling out of control. Issued by groups including Mercy Corps, the Norwegian Refugee Council, and Amnesty International, the joint statement calls for an “immediate and permanent ceasefire” and the opening of all land crossings into Gaza.
“As the Israeli government’s siege starves the people of Gaza, aid workers are now joining the same food lines, risking being shot just to feed their families,” the joint statement said. “With supplies now totally depleted, humanitarian organisations are witnessing their own colleagues and partners waste away before their eyes.”
The joint declaration comes one day after foreign ministers from 28 nations denounced Israel’s “inhumane killing of civilians,” calling the Israeli- and U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) a “dangerous” aid delivery model that “fuels instability and deprives Gazans of human dignity.” Israeli forces have killed more than 1,000 Palestinians seeking food aid since late May, mostly at or near GHF locations, according to the United Nations’ human rights office.
Odds and Ends
Indian police arrested a man on Tuesday for falsely posing as an ambassador of a bogus embassy near New Delhi, a senior official confirmed on Wednesday. Authorities said that Harshvardhan Jain, 47, claimed to be an ambassador or advisor for the fictitious nations of “West Arctica,” “Seborga,” and “Lodonia,” among others. He allegedly promised people overseas employment in exchange for money and is facing charges of forgery, money laundering, impersonation, and possessing false documents. Authorities also uncovered four cars bearing fake diplomatic plates, nearly 4.5 million Indian rupees (roughly $52,095), other foreign currencies in cash, fake seals of India’s Foreign Ministry and those of almost three dozen other nations, and several doctored photos of Jain with world leaders.
