FirstFT: US and Russia maintain first high-level talks on Ukraine battle

Good morning. We start in Riyadh, the place the US and Russia held their first high-level talks on the Ukraine battle since Vladimir Putin’s invasion. Additionally in at this time’s e-newsletter:

• Singapore’s Wong unveils funds giveaways

• Apple’s push into India

• Xi’s olive department to Chinese language tech leaders

Russia and the US have agreed to “lay the groundwork” for ending the Ukraine battle and a speedy normalisation of relations, in a rapprochement that has sparked fears in Kyiv and European capitals that President Donald Trump desires to settle the battle on Moscow’s phrases.

Following a number of hours of negotiations in Riyadh yesterday, the US state division mentioned the 2 sides would appoint “high-level teams” to hunt to finish the battle and set up a diplomatic channel to resolve bilateral points.

The talks marked a unprecedented flip of occasions after Trump referred to as Putin final week in an effort to finish the battle — with out consulting Ukraine or its European allies.

“The practical reality is that there’s going to be some discussion of territory and there’s going to be discussion of security guarantees, those are just fundamental basics,” mentioned US nationwide safety adviser Mike Waltz.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy mentioned he had rescheduled a go to to Saudi Arabia after the US-Russian talks, describing yesterday’s assembly as a “surprise”. Listed below are extra particulars on the US-Russian negotiations.

Learn extra about Europe’s quickly shifting safety panorama:

• Rheinmetall CEO: European nations have been left on the children’ desk in talks over the way forward for Ukraine due to many years of under-investment in defence, the chief of Germany’s largest defence contractor has warned.

• Ukraine’s mineral riches: Trump has the nation’s huge estimated deposits of lithium, titanium and uncommon earths in his sights, however these have but to be developed.

• Sanctioned Russian ship sails for Europe: A infamous vessel below sanctions for transporting arms from North Korea is ready to enter the Mediterranean through the Suez Canal, in a recent problem to the western sanctions system.

Right here’s what else we’re holding tabs on at this time:

• Financial information: China publishes the home worth index for January.

• Financial coverage: Indonesia and New Zealand announce their rate of interest selections.

• Europe disaster talks: French President Emmanuel Macron is planning an emergency assembly of European leaders at this time, the second to this point this week, amid US-Russia talks on ending the Ukraine battle.

• Outcomes: HSBC, Cling Seng Financial institution, United Abroad Financial institution, Rio Tinto and Santos report 2024 full-year outcomes.

5 extra high tales

1. The Philippines’ high diplomat has mentioned he’s “deeply disturbed” by a detailed encounter between a Chinese language navy helicopter and one of many south-east Asian nation’s fisheries plane over a disputed shoal within the South China Sea. In an interview with the FT yesterday, overseas secretary Enrique Manalo accused China’s navy of being “reckless” and “unprofessional” throughout the incident earlier within the day.

2. Singapore’s Prime Minister Lawrence Wong has promised a package deal of money handouts in his ultimate funds earlier than the nation goes to the polls this 12 months in an election prone to be fought largely on the difficulty of excessive dwelling prices. Wong warned that Singapore would undergo from rising tensions between the US and China, each large buying and selling companions for the city-state.

3. Unique: Honda is keen to renew merger talks with Nissan if the rival carmaker’s chief govt Makoto Uchida steps down, in keeping with individuals with information of the deliberations. Uchida has indicated his want to remain till 2026, however faces strain to depart from board members and companion Renault after botching negotiations for a $58bn mega-deal.

4. US gasoline exports are the most definitely beneficiaries of a pledge by Donald Trump and Narendra Modi to make India a number one purchaser of American power, analysts mentioned. “Gas will be the real deal. India is one of the last untapped markets for gas globally which has scale,” mentioned Rajeev Lala, director of upstream options at S&P International. Learn the total story.

5. Mira Murati, OpenAI’s former chief know-how officer, has launched a rival synthetic intelligence start-up centered on making the know-how extensively accessible. Considering Machines Lab has poached a number of senior former OpenAI workers in addition to researchers and engineers from opponents together with Google and Meta.

The Large Learn

Cellphones have now surpassed diamonds as India’s greatest product export and Apple is vital. About 15 per cent of iPhones are at the moment made in India and that’s anticipated to rise to 25 per cent by 2027, analysts say. The manufacturing shift has not gone unnoticed in Beijing, the place it’s handled with suspicion. The FT spoke to present and former executives and workers on the firm’s suppliers, Indian authorities officers, and analysts to piece collectively Apple’s rising footprint in India.

We’re additionally studying . . . 

• China’s tech trade: Xi Jinping’s outreach to main entrepreneurs confirmed how rapidly “political winds” can change for Chinese language enterprise, after a authorities crackdown on the sector.

• Peter Navarro: The China hawk was thwarted in Trump’s first time period however is now placing his imaginative and prescient of US commerce protectionism into motion.

• Musk’s wrecking ball: The world’s richest man is taking a torch to the American state on behalf of Trump, writes Edward Luce.

Chart of the day

Australia’s central financial institution yesterday reduce rates of interest for the first time in additional than 4 years, as inflation pressures started to indicate indicators of easing extra rapidly than anticipated.

Take a break from the information . . . 

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