Morning opening: It’s Riyadh Season
Jakub Krupa
Since 2019, Saudi Arabia has organised what is known as “Riyadh Season,” a series of events in entertainment, sports, and culture promoting the kingdom. It included football games, boxing bouts, and massive concerts, among others.
It now appears that talks about the new global order are a part of the programme, too.
After the inaugural US-Russia talks last month, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy is in town today for talks with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, after which his team will stay over for critical talks with the US on Tuesday.
Overnight, US president Donald Trump said he was hoping that US-led talks could “make a lot of progress, I believe, this week,” as he suggested that a pause on sharing intelligence with Ukraine was “just about” lifted.
Over the weekend, Russia continued its attacks against Ukraine, with Zelenskyy wearily pointing out that “they are not thinking about how to end the war, but how to destroy and capture more while the world allows them to continue.”
But he insisted he was “fully committed” to talks.
“Ukraine has been seeking peace from the very first second of this war. Realistic proposals are on the table. The key is to move quickly and effectively,” he said.
Let’s see if this week’s talks can lead to any movement on this.
I will bring you all reactions and other developments across Europe – and from Riyadh.
It’s Monday, 10 March 2025, and this is Europe live. It’s Jakub Krupa here.
Good morning.
Key events
Greenland PM dismisses ‘disrespectful’ comments from Trump ahead elections
US president Donald Trump has repeated his promise to Greenlanders to “keep you safe” and “make you rich,” as he bids to “welcome [them] to be a part of the greatest nation anywhere in the world, the United States of America.”
His latest intervention came in a social media post overnight on his Truth Social network, and just days after he made similar promises in a joint address to Congress.
The timing of his comments is somewhat problematic as Greenlanders will go to the polls on Tuesday, choosing their next government.
And Greenland’s prime minister Múte B. Egede is less than impressed, as he told the Danish broadcaster DR that his comments were disrespectful.
“We deserve to be treated with respect, and I don’t think the American president has done that lately since he took office,” he said.
He added that Trump’s interventions were, in fact, counterproductive, putting some people off the idea of closer cooperation with the US.
Egede, who favours Greenland’s independence of Denmark, said that the territory needs to work more closely with countries that can show it respect and be reliable allies instead.
He also called Trump “very unpredictable,” saying it was part of a broader problem:
There is a world order that is faltering on many fronts – and a president of the United States who is very unpredictable – in such a way that makes people feel insecure.
Pro-Russia candidate Călin Georgescu barred from Romanian presidential elections
Romania’s central election authority has barred far-right pro-Russia frontrunner Călin Georgescu from running in May’s presidential election re-run.
The rejection of his candidacy, which was announced on Sunday evening and was condemned by far-right party leaders as undemocratic, can be challenged at the constitutional court.
Georgescu has 24 hours to lodge a complaint, which would then have to be decided within 48 hours, so we are going to hear the final verdict this week.
Responding to the decision last night, a group of supporters of Georgescu gathered outside the election bureau shouting “Freedom” and briefly tried to force their way through the security cordon, prompting clashes with the police.
Romania’s highest court annulled the ballot two days before the second round of voting in December, citing allegations of Russian interference in Georgescu’s favour, which Moscow has denied.
Germany hit by strikes at main airports, leaving thousands stranded
A one-day strike by workers at 13 German airports, including the Frankfurt and Munich hubs and all the country’s other main destinations, caused the cancelation of most flights on Monday, AP reported.
The 24-hour walkout, which started at midnight, involves public-sector employees at the airports as well as ground and security staff.
At Frankfurt Airport, 1,054 of the day’s 1,116 scheduled takeoffs and landings had been canceled, German news agency dpa reported, citing airport traffic management.
All of Berlin Airport’s regular departures and arrivals were canceled, while Hamburg Airport said no departures would be possible. Cologne/Bonn Airport said there was no regular passenger service and Munich Airport advised travelers to expect a “greatly reduced flight schedule.”
The ver.di service workers union’s strike also targeted the Hamburg, Bremen, Hannover, Berlin, Duesseldorf, Dortmund, Cologne/Bonn, Leipzig/Halle, Stuttgart and Munich airports. At the smaller Weeze and Karlsruhe/Baden-Baden airports, only security workers were called out.
Russia expels two British ‘diplomats’ on spying charges
Russia said it was expelling two British “diplomats” on suspicion of carrying out espionage activities, the FSB Security Service said, reported by AFP.
Announcing the expulsion of the embassy’s second secretary and the husband of the first secretary, the FSB said “counterintelligence work had revealed an undeclared British intelligence presence under the cover of the national embassy.”
The foreign ministry also summoned an embassy representative, it said in a post on Telegram.
Morning opening: It’s Riyadh Season
Jakub Krupa
Since 2019, Saudi Arabia has organised what is known as “Riyadh Season,” a series of events in entertainment, sports, and culture promoting the kingdom. It included football games, boxing bouts, and massive concerts, among others.
It now appears that talks about the new global order are a part of the programme, too.
After the inaugural US-Russia talks last month, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy is in town today for talks with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, after which his team will stay over for critical talks with the US on Tuesday.
Overnight, US president Donald Trump said he was hoping that US-led talks could “make a lot of progress, I believe, this week,” as he suggested that a pause on sharing intelligence with Ukraine was “just about” lifted.
Over the weekend, Russia continued its attacks against Ukraine, with Zelenskyy wearily pointing out that “they are not thinking about how to end the war, but how to destroy and capture more while the world allows them to continue.”
But he insisted he was “fully committed” to talks.
“Ukraine has been seeking peace from the very first second of this war. Realistic proposals are on the table. The key is to move quickly and effectively,” he said.
Let’s see if this week’s talks can lead to any movement on this.
I will bring you all reactions and other developments across Europe – and from Riyadh.
It’s Monday, 10 March 2025, and this is Europe live. It’s Jakub Krupa here.
Good morning.