Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Janine Herbst.
Chapter 2: What progress is being made on the U.S.-backed peace plan for Ukraine?
Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Ukrainian and European officials on the U.S.-backed 28-point peace plan in Switzerland today and says he's optimistic and that they are making progress.
Now, obviously, like any final agreement, they'll have to be agreed upon by the presidents. And there are a couple issues that we need to continue to work on. But I think the report today is that I think today was worthwhile. It was very, very—it is probably the most productive day we have had on this issue.
This amid confusion over who wrote the plan that was widely criticized for being too pro-Russian. The initial plan included requiring Ukraine to cede territory not already occupied by Russia, reduce its military, and never join NATO, which follows Russia's longstanding demands. This after a bipartisan group of U.S. senators yesterday said Rubio told them it was a Russian peace plan.
Rubio pushed back on that, saying it's a U.S. plan. The G20 Leaders Summit in Johannesburg wrapped up today with the South African government declaring it a success, despite the absence of the U.S. Kate Bartlett has more.
South African attendees broke out into cheers as President Cyril Ramaphosa declared the summit closed.
Discoveral of this G20 summit formally closes this summit and now moves on to the next president of the G20, which is the United States.
Usually, the outgoing president of the G20 hands over formally to the incoming one, but as President Trump was not in attendance, that didn't happen. The U.S. administration had boycotted the summit after falsely accusing South Africa of human rights abuses against its white minority. It had also objected to the summit's themes surrounding debt alleviation and climate change.
However, all other countries had representatives in attendance, and the summit achieved a joint declaration despite U.S. objections. Kate Bartlett, NPR News, Johannesburg.
Investors might be thankful for a holiday-shortened week ahead after the recent volatility in the stock market. NPR's Scott Horsley reports, in addition to Turkey, investors can expect some overdue data on retail sales.
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