Trump’s Middle East Tour, Peace Talks in Disarray, Trade War Ceasefire

VIDEO SERIES World Review with Ivo Daalder
Matt Kaminski, Prashant Rao, and Anna Sauerbrey join guest host Carla Anne Robbins to discuss the week's top news stories.
President Donald Trump and UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan (right) tour the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi, UAE on May 15, 2025. Play Video
Alex Brandon / AP

About This Episode

This week, President Trump’s whirlwind tour of the Middle East sees him striking arms deals and declaring an end to nation-building, even as he engages in tense discussions with former jihadist-turned-Syrian leader Ahmed al-Shara. Meanwhile, in Istanbul, Russian and Ukrainian negotiators prepare for the first peace talks in three years — without Putin, Zelenskyy, or Trump at the table. Russia’s battlefield bluster contrasts with its costly, minimal gains, raising questions about its true leverage, and Zelenskyy argues that Putin's absence signals an unwillingness to seek peace. And finally, a temporary truce in the US-China trade war cools tensions, but economists warn that the economic fallout is far from over. Matt Kaminski, Prashant Rao, and Anna Sauerbrey join guest host Carla Anne Robbins on World Review to discuss this week’s diplomacy, deals, and doubts. 

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About the Panelists
Matt Kaminski
Editor-at-Large, POLITICO
Headshot of Matt Kaminski
Matt Kaminski is the cofounder of Politico Europe and former editor in chief in Washington. He’s now writing a column on global affairs for POLITICO.
Headshot of Matt Kaminski
Prashant Rao
Senior Editor, Semafor
Prashant Rao
Prashant Rao is a senior editor at Semafor. Prior to that, he was a former senior editor at The Atlantic, where he oversaw the Global section, and was the deputy Europe business editor for The New York Times.
Prashant Rao
Anna Sauerbrey
Foreign Editor, Die Zeit
Dr. Anna Sauerbrey
Dr. Anna Sauerbrey is the foreign editor at the German largest weekly newspaper, Die Zeit. Before assuming this position, she was deputy editor-in-chief at Der Tagesspiegel, a daily newspaper based in Berlin. She has written about German politics in The New York Times and comments on German and international politics on public German radio and television programs.
Dr. Anna Sauerbrey
Carla Anne Robbins
Senior Fellow, Council on Foreign Relations
Headshot of Carla Anne Robbins
Before joining CFR, Carla Anne Robbins was the deputy editorial page editor of The New York Times and chief diplomatic correspondent of the Wall Street Journal. She is also faculty director of the MIA program at Baruch College's Marxe School.
Headshot of Carla Anne Robbins
Issues Global Economy Global Politics US Foreign Policy
Regions China Eastern Europe Middle East and North Africa
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