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00:00Austria's Kicill said talks on forming a coalition government with the Conservative People's
00:06Party have collapsed.
00:09U.S. President Donald Trump said he and Russian President Vladimir Putin have agreed to begin
00:15negotiations on ending the war in Ukraine.
00:21European foreign ministers warned that negotiations on Ukraine's future must involve both Europe
00:26and Kyiv.
00:35Austrian far-right leader Herbert Kicill said on Wednesday that talks on forming a coalition
00:41government with the Conservative People's Party have collapsed.
00:45Meanwhile, Austria's President Alexander Van der Bellen said that he will continue to search
00:50for a new government.
01:16The president also said that the country has four options in moving forward.
01:21First, the parliament could decide on new elections, until which time the interim government
01:27stays in place.
01:28Second, a minority government with the approval of parliament.
01:32Third, a government of experts working together with the parliament.
01:37And fourth, the possibility of forming a majority for a coalition government, efforts for which
01:42have so far failed.
01:46U.S. President Donald Trump upended three years of U.S. policy towards Ukraine, saying
01:55that he and Russian leader Vladimir Putin agreed to begin negotiations on ending the
02:00war.
02:02After Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, many NATO members vowed Kyiv's membership
02:06was inevitable.
02:08But Trump's news threatens this possibility.
02:13Long before President Putin, they said there's no way they'd allow that.
02:17This has been going on for many, many years.
02:20They've been saying that for a long time, that Ukraine cannot go into NATO.
02:26And I'm OK with that.
02:27I just want the word whether they are or they're not.
02:30But it certainly would seem to be that most people have said that that is something that's
02:34not going to happen.
02:38The conversation could potentially signal Washington and Moscow might hammer out a deal
02:43by going around Ukraine's government.
02:46When asked about Ukraine being an equal member in the peace process, Trump responded that
02:50it was an interesting question and, I think they have to make peace.
03:01European foreign ministers warned that Ukraine's future must involve both Europe and Kyiv.
03:07As news broke that U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin
03:12agreed to immediately hold peace talks.
03:16Europe plays its active role in ensuring just and comprehensive, long-lasting peace for
03:26Ukraine.
03:27Ukraine's security and European security are indivisible.
03:33What's at stake is not just Ukraine's territorial integrity, it's not just the security of the
03:39European continent, it's also, and more generally, the future of international law.
03:49Meanwhile Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Putin and Trump agreed in a telephone
03:55conversation to organise a meeting in person.
03:58And that the Russian President told Trump he is ready to receive Americans in the country.
04:10U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has said Ukraine's desire to return to its pre-2014
04:17borders and its potential membership of NATO are unrealistic objectives.
04:22His comments came during a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group in Brussels,
04:27which consists of 46 nations.
04:30But we must start by recognizing that returning to Ukraine's pre-2014 borders is an unrealistic
04:37objective.
04:39Chasing this illusionary goal will only prolong the war and cause more suffering.
04:45That said, the United States does not believe that NATO membership for Ukraine is a realistic
04:53outcome of a negotiated settlement.
04:56Hegseth also stressed that President Donald Trump's top priority is to end the war using
05:01diplomatic means by bringing both Russia and Ukraine to the negotiating table.
05:07However, he added that any future peacekeeping forces would not include U.S. troops and that
05:13a prospective peace deal shouldn't include NATO's Article 5 protections, which trigger
05:18assistance from the U.S. or NATO members if they come into contact with Russian forces.
05:26A wave of Russian drone and missile attacks hit 11 regions of Ukraine overnight, including
05:33at least three districts in the capital Kyiv, according to the Ukrainian Air Force.
05:39Ukraine's emergency service reported two office buildings were struck in Kyiv's Obolonsky
05:44district, where one person was killed and four injured.
05:57The city of Krivyi Rih was also attacked, damaging apartment buildings, offices and a local school,
06:23although no one is reported to have been killed or injured.
06:26Meanwhile, the Russian Ministry of Defence has released footage of what it says shows
06:31artillery units using howitzers and Grad multiple rocket systems to attack various Ukrainian
06:38positions.
06:42The Greek parliament elected Konstantinos Tassoulas, the former parliamentary speaker,
06:47as president of Greece on Wednesday.
06:51Tassoulas, who is a member of the governing centre-right's New Democracy Party, was elected
06:56in the fourth round, winning 160 votes out of 300 in parliament.
07:01Tassoulas has been serving as Greece's Minister of Culture and was a leading figure in the
07:24campaign for the return of the Parthenon sculptures from the British Museum in London.
07:30Roberta Metzola, president of the European Parliament, congratulated Tassoulas on his
07:35election in a post on X, while other top government officials from European countries also sent
07:41their congratulations.
07:43Tassoulas will be sworn in on the 13th of March.
07:49The European Commission is taking the first step towards reforming the EU budget between
07:542028 and 2034.
07:57On Wednesday, it published a first document laying the groundwork for a budget that is
08:02simpler, more flexible and better aligned with the bloc's priorities.
08:06Of course we need a balance between the traditional priorities, agriculture, cohesion, helping
08:13the least developed regions, but also the new priorities, research, innovation, digital,
08:19greening.
08:20These have to be balanced and it's clear that if we want Europe to do more, it cannot do
08:24more with a budget that is smaller.
08:27The current budget, which runs until 2027, totals 1.2 trillion euros, 1% of the EU's GDP.
08:57The position of the Spanish government is irresponsible.
09:05The debt made for a next generation EU is not paid back and the Spanish government says
09:09we should do more debt.
09:11That is particularly bad for young people.
09:13The European Commission says it will present its proposal for the multi-annual financial
09:18framework 2028 to 2034 in July.
09:24Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban hosted the co-leader of Germany's AFD party, Alice
09:31Weidel, in Budapest on Wednesday, using the opportunity to issue a joint call to demand
09:37a new EU migration policy and criticise the EU's Green Deal.
09:42Migration has an economic problem that needs to be changed, but the most important thing
09:47is that we see that the Green Deal is dead.
09:51It cannot be reformed, it cannot be reformed, it simply has to be forgotten.
10:00We need a green approach, the climate is also important, but the way it has been put together
10:06and is called the Green Deal in Europe, that is what destroys us.
10:10Weidel called Orban and the Hungarian government a role model for the AFD, especially in dealing
10:17with illegal immigration.
10:20Hungary is the bulwark against illegal migration.
10:24And as an alternative for Germany, we also do not want any more illegal migration in
10:31our country.
10:33Our country is suffering, the people are suffering in our country, under illegal migration,
10:39under imported crime, high foreign crime, high youth crime.
10:46For many years, Orban has not sought contact with the AFD, which is considered a far-right
10:51movement by German intelligence services.
10:54He now justifies the meeting by saying the party has gained huge support in Germany,
11:00while an opposition MP protested against the meeting in front of the Prime Minister's office.
11:07Those people who are called populists in Europe, they use the tools of fascists even today,
11:14because they use propaganda tools to fabricate people's intentions and fears.
11:21Orban Viktor is a master of using the Hungarian propaganda machine.
11:26Orban is the role model for these people today.
11:31Orban made it clear during the press conference that he sees the AFD as the future of Germany.