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Putin Calls Xi, Modi and Other Foreign Leaders Ahead of Planned Meeting with Trump

Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping attend a military parade on Victory Day, marking the 80th anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany in World War Two, in Red Square in central Moscow, Russia, May 9, 2025. (Sergei Bobylyov/Host agency RIA Novosti/Handout via Reuters)
Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping attend a military parade on Victory Day, marking the 80th anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany in World War Two, in Red Square in central Moscow, Russia, May 9, 2025. (Sergei Bobylyov/Host agency RIA Novosti/Handout via Reuters)
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Putin Calls Xi, Modi and Other Foreign Leaders Ahead of Planned Meeting with Trump

Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping attend a military parade on Victory Day, marking the 80th anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany in World War Two, in Red Square in central Moscow, Russia, May 9, 2025. (Sergei Bobylyov/Host agency RIA Novosti/Handout via Reuters)
Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping attend a military parade on Victory Day, marking the 80th anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany in World War Two, in Red Square in central Moscow, Russia, May 9, 2025. (Sergei Bobylyov/Host agency RIA Novosti/Handout via Reuters)

Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke to the leaders of China, India and three ex-Soviet states on Friday in a flurry of calls to brief them on his contacts with the United States about the war in Ukraine.

Putin met US President Donald Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff in Moscow on Wednesday, after which the Kremlin said a summit between Putin and Trump could take place as early as next week. No venue, date or agenda have been announced.

Trump, pressing for an end to the 3-1/2-year war, had set a deadline that expires on Friday for Russia to agree to peace or face new sanctions on Moscow and countries that buy Russian exports. China and India are the biggest buyers of Russian oil.

China's President Xi Jinping told Putin in a phone call that China is pleased to see Russia and the United States maintaining contact and improving ties to advance a political resolution of the Ukraine crisis, Chinese state broadcaster CCTV said.

China is a major backer of Russia in its confrontation with the West, as well as Russia's biggest trading partner. Putin is due to visit China in September for events marking the 80th anniversary of the end of World War Two.

The Kremlin said that Putin also discussed his talks with Witkoff with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Trump this week announced an additional 25% tariff on Indian goods to penalize New Delhi for its purchases of Russian oil.

"Had a very good and detailed conversation with my friend President Putin. I thanked him for sharing the latest developments on Ukraine," Modi said in a post on X.

On Thursday Putin spoke with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, who expressed South Africa's "full support to peace initiatives that will end the war and contribute to a lasting peace between Russia and Ukraine."

Putin on Friday also discussed the outcome of Witkoff's visit in calls with his ally Alexander Lukashenko, president of Belarus, and with the leaders of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.

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World

Russia's Lavrov Warns against Any New US Strike on Iran

FILE PHOTO: Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov speaks during an annual press conference in Moscow, Russia, January 14, 2025. REUTERS/Evgenia Novozhenina/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov speaks during an annual press conference in Moscow, Russia, January 14, 2025. REUTERS/Evgenia Novozhenina/File Photo
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Russia's Lavrov Warns against Any New US Strike on Iran

FILE PHOTO: Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov speaks during an annual press conference in Moscow, Russia, January 14, 2025. REUTERS/Evgenia Novozhenina/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov speaks during an annual press conference in Moscow, Russia, January 14, 2025. REUTERS/Evgenia Novozhenina/File Photo

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, in ‌an interview made public on Wednesday, said that any new US strike on Iran would have serious consequences and called for restraint to find a solution to enable Iran to pursue a peaceful nuclear program.

Lavrov's interview with Saudi Arabia's Al-Arabiya television was aired a day after US and Iranian negotiators held indirect talks in Geneva to head off a new mounting crisis between Washington and Tehran, Reuters said.

"The consequences are not good. There have already been strikes on Iran on ‌nuclear sites ‌under the control of the International Atomic ‌Energy ⁠Agency. From what ⁠we can judge there were real risks of a nuclear incident," Lavrov said in the interview, which was posted on his ministry's website.

"I am carefully watching reactions in the region from Arab countries, Gulf monarchies. No one wants an increase in tension. Everyone understands this is playing with fire."

Boosting ⁠tensions, he said, could undo the ‌positive steps of recent years, including ‌improved relations between Iran and nearby countries, notably Saudi Arabia.

A senior ‌US official told Reuters on Wednesday that Iran was ‌expected to submit a written proposal on how to resolve its standoff with the United States after the talks in Geneva.

US national security advisers met in the White House on Wednesday and ‌were told all US military forces deployed to the region should be in place ⁠by mid-March, ⁠the official said.

The United States wants Iran to give up its nuclear program, and Iran has adamantly refused and denied it is trying to develop an atomic weapon.

Lavrov said Arab countries were sending signals to Washington "clearly calling for restraint and a search for an agreement that will not infringe on Iran's lawful rights and ... guarantee that Iran has a purely peaceful nuclear enrichment program".

Russia, he said, remained in close, regular contact with Iran's leaders "and we have no reason to doubt that Iran sincerely wants to resolve this problem on the basis of observing the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty".

World

AI Cannot Be Left to 'Whims of a Few Billionaires', UN Chief Says

India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaks with United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres during a welcoming ceremony at AI Impact Summit, in New Delhi, India, February 18, 2026. India's Press Information Bureau/Handout via REUTERS
India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaks with United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres during a welcoming ceremony at AI Impact Summit, in New Delhi, India, February 18, 2026. India's Press Information Bureau/Handout via REUTERS
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AI Cannot Be Left to 'Whims of a Few Billionaires', UN Chief Says

India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaks with United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres during a welcoming ceremony at AI Impact Summit, in New Delhi, India, February 18, 2026. India's Press Information Bureau/Handout via REUTERS
India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaks with United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres during a welcoming ceremony at AI Impact Summit, in New Delhi, India, February 18, 2026. India's Press Information Bureau/Handout via REUTERS

UN chief Antonio Guterres warned technology leaders Thursday of the risks of artificial intelligence, saying its future cannot be left to "the whims of a few billionaires".

Speaking at a global AI summit in India, the UN chief called on tech tycoons to support a $3 billion global fund to ensure open access to the fast-advancing technology for all.

"AI must belong to everyone," he said.

"The future of AI cannot be decided by a handful of countries -- or left to the whims of a few billionaires," he added, warning the world risked deepening inequality unless urgent steps were taken.

"Done right, AI can... accelerate breakthroughs in medicine, expand learning opportunities, strengthen food security, bolster climate action and disaster preparedness and improve access to vital public services," he said.

"But it can also deepen inequality, amplify bias and fuel harm."

The UN has set up an AI scientific advisory body to help countries make decisions about the revolutionary technology.

Guterres warned that people must be protected from exploitation, and that "no child should be a test subject for unregulated AI".

He pressed for global guardrails to ensure oversight and accountability, and the creation of "Global Fund on AI" to build basic capacity.

"Our target is $3 billion," he told the conference, which includes national leaders as well as tech CEOs, including Sam Altman of OpenAI and Google's Sundar Pichai.

"That's less than one percent of the annual revenue of a single tech company. A small price for AI diffusion that benefits all, including the businesses building AI."

Without investment, "many countries will be logged out of the AI age", exacerbating global divides, he said.

He also cautioned that as AI's energy and water demands soar, data centers must switch to clean power, rather than "shift costs to vulnerable communities".

World

US Military Tells Trump It's ‘Ready’ to Strike Iran as Soon as Saturday

A shot showing personnel preparations aboard the US aircraft carrier "Gerald Ford" (US Navy)
A shot showing personnel preparations aboard the US aircraft carrier "Gerald Ford" (US Navy)
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US Military Tells Trump It's ‘Ready’ to Strike Iran as Soon as Saturday

A shot showing personnel preparations aboard the US aircraft carrier "Gerald Ford" (US Navy)
A shot showing personnel preparations aboard the US aircraft carrier "Gerald Ford" (US Navy)

Top national security officials have told US President Donald Trump the military is ready for potential strikes on Iran as soon as Saturday, but the timeline for any action is likely to extend beyond this weekend, sources familiar with the discussions told CBS News.

Trump has not yet made a final decision about whether to strike, said the officials, who spoke under condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive national matters.

The conversations have been described as fluid and ongoing, as the White House weighs the risks of escalation and the political and military consequences of restraint, added CBS.

Over the next three days, the Pentagon is moving some personnel temporarily out of the Middle East region — primarily to Europe or back to the United States — ahead of potential action or counterattacks by Iran if the US were to move ahead with its operation, according to multiple officials.

It's standard practice for the Pentagon to shift assets and personnel ahead of a potential US military activity and doesn't necessarily signal an attack on Iran is imminent, one of the sources told CBS.

Contacted by CBS News on Wednesday afternoon, a Pentagon spokesperson said they had no information to provide.

Iran was discussed in the White House Situation Room on Wednesday, a US official and a senior military official told CBS News. All military forces deployed to the region are expected to be in place by mid-March.

Axios had also said that a war between the United States and Iran is looming — and there are several factors suggesting President Trump might push the button soon.

On Wednesday, Iran's top diplomat Abbas Araghchi said that Tehran was "drafting" a framework for future talks with the United States, as the US energy secretary said Washington would stop Iran's nuclear ambitions "one way or another".