US President Donald Trump on Sunday blasted Ukraine for having “zero gratitude” for his efforts to end the war with Russia, as Ukrainian and American officials met in Geneva.
His comments come after the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Friday that his country has to confront the possibility of losing its dignity, or risking the loss of a vital partner, after being given a week by the US to accept the framework of a Washington-brokered peace deal.
“The War between Russia and Ukraine is a violent and terrible one that, with strong and proper US and Ukrainian leadership, would have never happened,” Mr Trump said in a post on Truth Social, taking a swing at both his predecessor Joe Biden and Mr Zelenskyy.
“Ukraine 'leadership' has expressed zero gratitude for our efforts, and Europe continues to buy oil from Russia.” Mr Trump also criticised Mr Biden for giving Nato weapons for use in Ukraine for “free, free, free”, and claimed millions of people have been killed in the conflict.
Mr Zelenskyy responded to the criticism in a post on Telegram, saying "Ukraine is thankful to the United States, to every American heart and particularly to President Trump for the help which, starting with Javelin [missiles], saves Ukrainian lives".
A leaked 28-point peace plan put forward by the US calls for Ukraine to cede territory to Russia and limit the size of its military. It would also prevent the future expansion of Nato, and Ukraine would be barred from admission.
In addition, $100 billion in frozen Russian assets would be used to rebuild Ukraine. There would also be a path to reintegrate Russia into the global economy.
Mr Trump said last week he wants a response from Kyiv on the proposal by Thursday, the Thanksgiving holiday in the US. He said on Saturday that the proposal is “not my final offer”, telling reporters after a question from NBC News: “One way or the other, we have to get it ended.”
Washington has reportedly warned that military and intelligence support could be curtailed if Kyiv resists.
“This is one of the most difficult moments in our history,” Mr Zelenskyy said in a video address to the nation last week. “Currently, the pressure on Ukraine is one of the hardest. Ukraine may now face a very difficult choice, either losing its dignity or the risk of losing a key partner.”
Critics have said the peace plan essentially grants Russia all of its major aims while Ukraine receives nothing.
Politicians critical of the Trump administration's approach to ending the war said on Saturday that Secretary of State Marco Rubio had told them the peace plan is a “wish list” of the Russians and not the actual proposal offering Washington's positions.
Mr Rubio denied those claims, however. “The peace proposal was authored by the US,” he said in a post on X on Saturday night.
“It is offered as a strong framework for ongoing negotiations. It is based on input from the Russian side. But it is also based on previous and ongoing input from Ukraine.”
Ukrainian, American and European officials met in Geneva on Sunday to discuss the plan, after Kyiv and allies voiced alarm over the plan. But Kyiv's lead negotiator said on Sunday the US plan includes "many Ukrainian priorities".
"We appreciate our American partners working closely with us to understand our concerns to reach this critical point and we expect to make more progress today," Rustem Umerov said in a post on X.
Mr Rubio said the talks had yielded “tremendous” progress. He said the US wanted to end the war “soon” but suggested Washington was flexible with its timeline.
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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.”
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