February 18, 2025

Good morning. We’re covering European leaders meeting to discuss security and the war in Ukraine, and Beijing’s embrace of private enterprise.

Plus, the jury’s out on meat alternatives.

President Emmanuel Macron of France, right, with Chancellor Olaf Scholz of Germany in Paris yesterday. Ludovic Marin/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

E.U. leaders met as the U.S. moved forward on Ukraine

European leaders convened in Paris yesterday to discuss a coordinated response as the Trump administration prepared to start its own talks with Russia about ending the war in Ukraine. Leaders were also expected to discuss issues including military spending and how to guarantee Ukraine’s security once a permanent cease-fire or a peace deal was reached.

But what would an end to the war look like? Right now, Ukraine has few options for reversing Russia’s recent gains on the battlefield, and any deal is likely to involve Kyiv having to make painful territorial concessions.

Russia is suffering about 1,000 casualties a day, and its economy is hurting under runaway inflation amid enormous war spending. A settlement could pave the way for a reduction of Western sanctions. Here’s what the experts think could happen next.

Diplomacy: President Volodymyr Zelensky was in the United Arab Emirates yesterday for talks with Russia that are focused on prisoner exchanges and the return of Ukrainian children from Russia.

More on Trump Four top aides to Mayor Eric Adams of New York plan to resign after the Justice Dept. moved to dismiss his corruption case after he embraced Trump’s deportations. The first test of Trump’s ability to remove independent government officials has reached the Supreme Court after he tried to fire the head of a watchdog agency. With a pliant Congress, Trump is using his office to benefit his own family’s business interests, former prosecutors and ethics lawyers say. In his first month in office, the president has carried out a campaign of retribution that has little precedent in U.S. history. And the list of targets is growing. A member of Elon Musk’s government efficiency team could soon have access to sensitive taxpayer data, people familiar with the matter said. Canada’s conservative front-runner for prime minister is facing an electorate worried about Trump’s vow to annex the country. Track Trump’s actions since he took office.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio, left, with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, yesterday. Pool photo by Evelyn Hockstein

U.S. envoys met with Saudi Arabia’s leader

Secretary of State Marco Rubio, along with two other U.S. envoys, met yesterday in Saudi Arabia with the kingdom’s de facto leader, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Rubio and his colleagues were expected to press the Saudi leadership to propose a vision for postwar Gaza.

Few details were released about the meetings, except for a video in which the prince said he was glad to work with the Trump administration. Trump has been widely criticized for his idea to depopulate and occupy Gaza.

Cease-fire: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s cabinet ministers were set to debate advancing negotiations on extending the truce with Hamas.

Lebanon: The Israeli military said yesterday that it would keep forces in five locations in southern Lebanon after a deadline for its full withdrawal lapses today.

West Bank: A weekslong Israeli operation across several cities has displaced roughly 40,000 Palestinians from their homes, in what historians and researchers say is the biggest displacement of civilians in the territory since the Arab-Israeli war of 1967.

Jack Ma, second from left, with other Chinese business leaders during a meeting in Beijing yesterday. China Central Television

China’s leader embraced private enterprise

Xi Jinping, China’s president, met yesterday with his country’s business leaders in what was seen as a show of support for private enterprise. The Alibaba Group founder, Jack Ma, was there in his first public appearance with Xi since Beijing stopped the $34 billion initial public offering of Ma’s Ant Group in 2020, sending the message that no company was above the Chinese Communist Party.

Some executives saw the summit as a sign of a course correction after Xi sidelined the private sector in favor of state-owned enterprises. But it was not yet clear whether the meeting would result in positive change for companies or help address China’s broader economic woes.

Related: German automakers are losing the Chinese market to rivals that have shifted the definition of a high-end car to one that is electric, smart and affordable.