US and Russia hold talks to end Ukraine war

Good morning and welcome back. The meeting to discuss the future of Ukraine between US and Russian representatives is under way. We’ll bring you the latest. Here’s what else we’re covering:

• OpenAI considers ways to fend off hostile bids

• Milei’s memecoin scandal

• Apple’s push into India

• And the impact of the USAID cuts

US and Russian officials have started talks in Riyadh about the war in Ukraine, amid fears in Kyiv and in European capitals that Donald Trump wants to settle the conflict on Vladimir Putin’s terms.

The talks in the Saudi capital are the first high-level effort to broker an end to Putin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and represent a major shift in US foreign policy which, under former president Joe Biden, had sought to isolate and punish Russia for its invasion of Ukraine. Today’s meeting is expected to pave the way for a Trump-Putin meeting also in Riyadh.

The US already appeared to make significant concessions to Putin before the negotiations began by dismissing Ukraine’s aspirations to join Nato and restore control over land at present occupied by Russia.

Ukraine is not present at the talks and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has pledged to reject any deal imposed by the US and Russia, saying “we cannot recognise . . . any agreements about us without us”. Our reporters will be following developments closely throughout the day.

Here’s what else you need to know ahead of today’s meeting.

• ‘Boots on the ground’: European countries have clashed over sending troops to Ukraine with Germany, Italy, Spain and Poland expressing reluctance after the UK said it is prepared to commit forces.

• Rheinmetall warning: The chief of Germany’s largest defence contractor has said decades of under-investment in the military has left the region isolated in US-Russia negotiations.

• Ukraine’s mineral riches: Trump has the country’s vast estimated deposits of lithium, titanium and rare earths in his sights, but these have yet to be developed.

Europe faces an era-defining moment. How should policymakers and business leaders prepare? Hear from experts from the Financial Times on what lies ahead in this exclusive webinar on February 27. Save your spot here. 

Here’s what else we’re keeping tabs on today:

• Market preview: US markets are set for a lacklustre start after yesterday’s public holiday. In Europe, the pan-European STOXX 600 index hit an all-time high on the back of gains for defence and aerospace stocks.

• Companies: Tech groups Baidu and Bumble publish fourth-quarter results.

• Economic data: Mexico’s national statistics agency publishes its preliminary economic growth figures for January and Statistics Canada releases January inflation figures. Argentina releases its January trade balance.

• Fed speak: Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco president Mary Daly will take part in a public event in Arizona and Federal Reserve vice chair for supervision Michael Barr will be speaking on artificial intelligence and the economy at an event in New York.

• Charlie Javice case: The trial of Frank’s founder starts today. She faces charges over the $175mn sale of the student finance company to JPMorgan in 2021.

• Israel-Hizbollah ceasefire agreement: Israel has announced its forces will temporarily remain at five locations inside south Lebanon ahead of today’s deadline to withdraw from the country.

Five more top stories

1. OpenAI is considering granting special voting rights to its non-profit board in order to preserve the power of its directors, as the $157bn start-up fends off an unsolicited takeover bid from Elon Musk. The takeover offer, rejected on Friday by the board, has focused minds at the start-up on how to retain control once its conversion to a more conventional for-profit business is completed. Read the full report.

2. A Delta Air Lines plane crash-landed and flipped upside down at Toronto Pearson International Airport yesterday, the latest aviation accident involving a regional jet operated by a US carrier. Photos and videos from the scene showed the aircraft lying belly-up on a snowy, windswept tarmac. All 76 passengers and four crew were evacuated safely.

3. Argentina’s libertarian president Javier Milei has been buffeted by a scandal over his promotion of a memecoin called $LIBRA that soared in value before collapsing, triggering impeachment calls and lawsuits. Buyers accused the coin’s creators of a possible “rug pull” scheme. Here’s what we know about the scheme.

4. Israel has set up a “special directorate” to facilitate the “emigration” of Palestinians from Gaza, as it steps up its public embrace of the plan by US President Donald Trump for residents to leave the devastated territory. The new offer, which would include “among other things, special departure arrangements by sea, air, and land”, underscores how Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is capitalising on Trump’s proposal.

5. Deutsche Bank has undertaken a three-year hiring spree that has reversed almost all of the steep cuts to jobs imposed by chief executive Christian Sewing at the start of his tenure. Bloated levels of staffing have been an intractable problem for Deutsche, hampering the bank’s efforts to control costs. Here’s what the Financial Times analysis found.

Today’s big read

Mobile phones have now surpassed diamonds as India’s biggest product export and Apple is key. About 15 per cent of iPhones are currently made in India and that is expected to rise to 25 per cent by 2027, analysts say. The production shift has not gone unnoticed in Beijing, where it is treated with suspicion. The FT spoke to current and former executives and employees at the company’s suppliers, Indian government officials, and analysts to piece together Apple’s growing footprint in India.

We’re also reading . . . 

• Peter Navarro: The China hawk was thwarted in Trump’s first term but is now putting his vision of US trade protectionism into action.

• Maga SWF: Trump’s proposal for a sovereign wealth fund should be taken seriously. The potential cumulative investment returns can be huge, writes Stephen Jen, Eurizon SLJ Capital’s chief executive.

• Paul Weiss’s London raid: The UK expansion of the quintessential New York firm is a long-term bet on the importance of English commercial law, writes John Gapper.

• Vance’s real warning to Europe: If the US vice-president hoped to persuade his audience in Munich, rather than insult it, he failed, argues Gideon Rachman.

Chart of the day

Donald Trump’s administration has slashed US international aid commitments. The planned shrinking of the US Agency for International Development (USAID) is the headline move in a wave of overlapping actions that global institutions and recipient countries are scrambling to address. This piece explains how the cuts are affecting aid projects around the world.

Take a break from the news . . . 

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