Welcome back to World Brief, where we’re looking at Russia-U.S. talks on a Ukraine peace deal, India’s controversial cybersecurity app, and mass protests in Bulgaria.
One Step Forward, Two Steps Back
Russian President Vladimir Putin met with senior U.S. negotiators in Moscow on Tuesday to discuss the Kremlin’s terms for a proposed Russia-Ukraine peace deal. Representing Washington was U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff, long criticized for being too accommodating to Russia, and President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner. Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev and Putin aide Yuri Ushakov also attended.
Welcome back to World Brief, where we’re looking at Russia-U.S. talks on a Ukraine peace deal, India’s controversial cybersecurity app, and mass protests in Bulgaria.
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One Step Forward, Two Steps Back
Russian President Vladimir Putin met with senior U.S. negotiators in Moscow on Tuesday to discuss the Kremlin’s terms for a proposed Russia-Ukraine peace deal. Representing Washington was U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff, long criticized for being too accommodating to Russia, and President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner. Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev and Putin aide Yuri Ushakov also attended.
Tuesday’s meeting followed a flurry of diplomatic activity. Over the weekend, U.S. and Ukrainian officials convened in Florida to define Kyiv’s red lines, and on Monday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and French President Emmanuel Macron spoke with Witkoff and lead Ukrainian negotiator Rustem Umerov.
Ahead of Tuesday’s meeting, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the administration feels “very optimistic.” But shortly before the talks in Moscow began, Putin accused Kyiv’s European allies of being “on the side of war” and trying to undermine the peace process with counterproposals. An initial 28-point peace plan, drafted without Ukrainian input, included restrictions on Kyiv’s military, ceded some Ukrainian territory to Russia, and barred Kyiv from ever joining NATO. The deal has since been whittled down to a 19-point framework that excludes several of these demands.
“We can clearly see that all these changes are aimed at only one thing: to block the entire peace process altogether, to make such demands which are absolutely unacceptable to Russia,” Putin said on Tuesday in remarks to reporters.
European leaders, meanwhile, worry that any deal that does not respect Ukraine’s territorial sovereignty could encourage Moscow to attack NATO members. “If Russia’s army is big, if their military budget is as big as it is right now, they will want to use it again,” European Union foreign-policy chief Kaja Kallas said on Monday.
Putin maintained that he is committed to seeking peace and has no plans to fight Europe. However, he continued: “If Europe suddenly starts a war with us, I think it will end very quickly.” If Europe starts a war with Russia, then Moscow will soon have “no one to negotiate with,” he added.
Putin’s repeated threats to seize more Ukrainian land if Kyiv does not agree to Moscow’s conditions have further undermined foreign trust in his promises. Russia controls more than 19 percent of Ukraine, having advanced this year at its fastest pace since the war began in February 2022. On Monday, Russian forces claimed to have fully captured the strategic Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk. And on Tuesday, Putin threatened to sever Ukraine’s access to the Black Sea following drone strikes on Moscow’s so-called shadow fleet; Kyiv has denied any involvement in these attacks.
Concerns over a lack of European representation in this week’s talks have also weakened faith in the peace process. European officials were not involved in the Florida or Moscow dialogues, and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio plans to skip a NATO foreign ministers meeting in Brussels on Wednesday.
Witkoff and Kushner, however, are expected to meet with Zelensky in Europe later this week.
Today’s Most Read
What We’re Following
India’s cybersecurity app. New Delhi confirmed on Monday that private companies must preinstall a government app on all phones manufactured or imported for use in India within 90 days. The app, known as Sanchar Saathi, is intended to “identify and report acts that may endanger telecom cybersecurity,” such as phone smuggling and call-center fraud. There are more than 1 billion active phones in India, and last year, New Delhi recorded 2.3 million “cybersecurity incidents.”
Opposition parties have denounced the mandate, though, accusing Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government of using the app for mass surveillance. “Sanchar Saathi is a snooping app,” opposition lawmaker Priyanka Gandhi wrote on X. “There’s a very fine line between reporting fraud and seeing what every citizen of India is doing on their phone.” Sanchar Saathi has the ability to track phone locations.
In response, Modi’s government appeared to retreat from its initial demands. “If you don’t wish to register, you shouldn’t register and can remove it at any time,” Communications Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said on Tuesday, calling the app “completely optional.” New Delhi informed several major companies of the requirement last week, urging them to push the app via software updates; already, Apple has vowed not to comply.
Rescinded proposal. Bulgarian Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov promised on Tuesday to withdraw his controversial 2026 budget plan. Last week, Zhelyazkov’s minority government vowed to rescind the controversial proposal following sweeping protests. But just days later, Zhelyazkov appeared to change his mind, sparking another wave of demonstrations on Monday that resulted in some violent clashes.
Opposition groups have condemned Zhelyazkov’s plan to increase taxes and social security contributions, saying it could hurt Bulgaria’s economy ahead of its planned adoption of the euro come Jan. 1, 2026. Around half of all Bulgarians oppose taking up the euro, with some arguing that doing so will hurt the country’s sovereignty and could entice retailers to raise prices. Many Bulgarians also remain concerned about large-scale government corruption and a lack of investor confidence.
Following a meeting on Tuesday, Zhelyazkov said the government was ready to make compromises “to ensure that the budget is consensual.” However, Zhelyazkov refused to bow to demands that he step down. Opposition leader Assen Vassilev has pledged to issue a confidence vote against Zhelyazkov if he does not resign within the week.
Papal diplomacy. Pope Leo XIV concluded his first foreign trip on Tuesday with an appeal to end the “horror of war” in the Middle East. “We need to change course,” Leo said during a Mass in Beirut that was attended by some 150,000 people. The international community must “spare no effort in promoting processes of dialogue and reconciliation.”
Leo’s overseas tour began in Turkey late last month before he headed to Lebanon. Experts have pointed to his choice of destinations as evidence that the Vatican seeks to prioritize peace promotion and religious unity. Turkey has repeatedly served as a mediator in the Russia-Ukraine war, and both Turkey and Lebanon have minority Christian populations. For the first time, Leo also appeared to reference renewed Israeli airstrikes on alleged Hezbollah sites, saying on Tuesday that he could not visit Lebanon’s south due to the “state of conflict and uncertainty.”
For his second foreign trip, Leo said on Tuesday that he hopes to visit Africa to address Christian-Muslim relations in Algeria. He also expressed interest in traveling to Argentina, Uruguay, and Peru; before becoming pope, Leo served in Peru as a missionary.
Odds and Ends
Someone clearly lacked the Christmas spirit. Over the weekend, a baby Jesus doll was stolen from its crib in a Nativity scene in Brussels, prompting fierce online backlash. But not everyone appears upset over the theft. The city’s Nativity had received extensive criticism over its figures’ lack of facial features, including eyes, noses, and mouths. Although artist Victoria-Maria Geyer said the lack of identifying characteristics was so “every Catholic, regardless of their background or origins can identify themselves” in the biblical story, some have condemned the unorthodox approach, with one center-right Belgian lawmaker comparing their faces to what he described as “zombie-like” people found at train stations.
