European leaders sought to overcome differences over whether they should send troops to Ukraine at an emergency meeting on Monday in Paris before US-Russia peace talks begin in Saudi Arabia.
Leaders from the UK, Germany, Denmark, Italy, Poland, Spain and the Netherlands, as well as Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte, European Council President Antonio Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, took part in the meeting.
There were suggestions that Europeans send troops to Ukraine, which most leaders treated with caution while others expressed their frustration. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said he was "a little irritated" by such suggestions.
Any debate now on sending peacekeepers to Ukraine was "completely premature" and "highly inappropriate" while the war is continuing, Mr Scholz said after the Paris meeting.
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who had said on Sunday in an opinion piece that he was ready to "put our own troops on the ground if necessary", called on security commitments from the US.
"There must be a US backstop because a US security guarantee is the only way to effectively deter Russia from attacking Ukraine again," Mr Starmer said.
Another key participant in the meeting, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, called for increased defence spending. "We realise that transatlantic relations are in a new stage," Mr Tusk said.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said that European countries must increase defence spending to protect themselves against Russia. "Russia is threatening all of Europe now, unfortunately," Ms Frederiksen told reporters.
Monday's meeting may "be extended in other formats, with the aim of bringing together all partners interested in peace and security in Europe", the French presidency said in a statement.
The idea of sending troops to Ukraine led to a backlash when it was raised last year by French President Emmanuel Macron, but it appears to have gained traction in the past few days after indications that US President Donald Trump may negotiate a peace deal directly with Russia, while sidelining Europe and Ukraine.
While Russia's presence in Ukraine is viewed as a threat in Europe, most leaders have said they want to avoid the possibility of a direct confrontation with Moscow.
Speaking before the meeting, Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares said it was "too soon" to discuss sending its troops to Ukraine as part of any force.
"It is too early at the moment to talk about deploying troops in Ukraine. There is no peace at the moment, and the effort has to be to achieve it as soon as possible," Mr Albares told a joint news conference with visiting Brazilian Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira.
"When we have peace, we will have to see what conditions that peace requires. And whenever there is talk of any kind of deployment of forces, we have to consider what the mission is, who can make it up, under what flag, with what mandate," Mr Albares added.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said at the weekend that it would fall to Europe to guarantee any peace deal in Ukraine, adding he expected the US to "revise their level of commitment to Nato, including in terms of geography".
The American policy shift "requires that we truly wake up, and even take a leap forward, to take our place for the security of the European continent", Mr Barrot said.
On Monday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio landed in Saudi Arabia for talks with Russian officials as Russian media reported that Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and President Vladimir Putin's aide, Yuri Ushakov, were on their way to Riyadh.
Mr Trump's special envoy to Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, has said Europe would not be directly involved in talks on Ukraine, although it would still have "input".
Speaking in Brussels at a Nato meeting, Mr Kellogg said that no one would impose a peace deal on Kyiv and that questions about whether Washington would provide guarantees for any future European peacekeepers would be addressed later. Nobody will impose a deal "on an elected leader of a sovereign nation", he said.
The meeting in Paris comes after Mr Trump last week spoke to Mr Putin by phone and ordered senior officials to begin negotiations on the conflict, which he repeatedly vowed to end during his presidential campaign. The talks will be among the first high-level in-person discussions in years between Russian and US officials and are intended to precede a meeting between the US and Russian presidents.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is in the UAE to discuss the release of prisoners of war. He is also scheduled to visit Saudi Arabia and Turkey. On Sunday, he called for the creation of a European army, arguing the continent could no longer count on Washington.
In an interview broadcast on Monday, Mr Zelenskyy said that the US was trying to "please" Moscow in talks on Ukraine and warned of Europe's military "weakness".
Reacting to conciliatory comments towards Russia by US officials, he said: "The US is now saying things that are very favourable to Putin … because they want to please him."
"They want to meet quickly and have a quick win. But what they want – 'just a ceasefire' – is not a win," Mr Zelenskyy said in an interview on Saturday in Munich.
Abu Dhabi GP schedule
Friday: First practice - 1pm; Second practice - 5pm
Saturday: Final practice - 2pm; Qualifying - 5pm
Sunday: Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix (55 laps) - 5.10pm
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What vitamins do we know are beneficial for living in the UAE
Vitamin D: Highly relevant in the UAE due to limited sun exposure; supports bone health, immunity and mood.
Vitamin B12: Important for nerve health and energy production, especially for vegetarians, vegans and individuals with absorption issues.
Iron: Useful only when deficiency or anaemia is confirmed; helps reduce fatigue and support immunity.
Omega-3 (EPA/DHA): Supports heart health and reduces inflammation, especially for those who consume little fish.
The biog
Full name: Aisha Abdulqader Saeed
Age: 34
Emirate: Dubai
Favourite quote: "No one has ever become poor by giving"
Match info
Uefa Champions League Group B
Tottenham Hotspur 1 (Eriksen 80')
Inter Milan 0
Defending champions
World Series: South Africa
Women’s World Series: Australia
Gulf Men’s League: Dubai Exiles
Gulf Men’s Social: Mediclinic Barrelhouse Warriors
Gulf Vets: Jebel Ali Dragons Veterans
Gulf Women: Dubai Sports City Eagles
Gulf Under 19: British School Al Khubairat
Gulf Under 19 Girls: Dubai Exiles
UAE National Schools: Al Safa School
International Invitational: Speranza 22
International Vets: Joining Jack
Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD)
What is THAAD?
It is considered to be the US' most superior missile defence system.
Production:
It was first created in 2008.
Speed:
THAAD missiles can travel at over Mach 8, so fast that it is hypersonic.
Abilities:
THAAD is designed to take out projectiles, namely ballistic missiles, as they are on their downward trajectory towards their target, otherwise known as the "terminal phase".
Purpose:
To protect high-value strategic sites, such as airfields or population centres.
Range:
THAAD can target projectiles both inside and outside of the Earth's atmosphere, at an altitude of 93 miles above the Earth's surface.
Creators:
Lockheed Martin was originally granted the contract to develop the system in 1992. Defence company Raytheon sub-contracts to develop other major parts of the system, such as ground-based radar.
UAE and THAAD:
In 2011, the UAE became the first country outside of the US to buy two THAAD missile defence systems. It then deployed them in 2016, becoming the first Gulf country to do so.
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Match info
What: Fifa Club World Cup play-off
Who: Al Ain v Team Wellington
Where: Hazza bin Zayed Stadium, Al Ain
When: Wednesday, kick off 7.30pm
