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narrator: funding for presentation of this program is provided by... erika: i love seeing interns succeed, i love seeing them come back and join engagement teams and seeing where they go from there, i get to watch their personal growth, it makes my heart happy. (laughs) ♪ ♪ narrator: funding was also provided by, the freeman foundation, the judy and peter blum kovler foundation, upholding freedom by strengthening democracies at home and abroad. announcer: and now, bbc news. >> i'm sumi somaskanda in washington in this is "bbc world news america." u.s. president donald trump says nato membership for ukraine is not practical. that after he spoke with the

russian and ukrainian presidents to start talks to end the war in ukraine. there was a deal with belarus to release three people detained there including a journalist and an american citizen. a bbc investigation reveals allegations that british oil giant shall ignored repeated warnings about a $1 billion cleanup operation in nigeria. ♪ sumi: welcome to "bbc world news america." donald trump says negotiations for peace in ukraine should begin immediately and predicted a cease-fire in the not so distant future. he was speaking to reporters in the oval office after a 90 minute phone call with vladimir putin earlier in the day. mr. trump described the call as highly productive and said he expects to meet mr. putin face-to-face in saudi arabia in the near future.

he also called his ukrainian counterpart volodymyr zelenskyy. he said the ukrainian leader also wanted to make peace. >> do you view ukraine as an equal member of the peace process? >> um, that's an interesting question. i think they have to make peace. their people are being killed. i think they have to make peace. i said that was not a good war to go into and i think they have to make peace. sumi: mr. trump's conversations with the leaders of russia and ukraine came hours after the u.s. defense secretary told kyiv that the goal of nato membership is unrealistic. pete hegseth also told a meeting of ukraine's allies in brussels that the original borders would not be restored, describing the idea as an illusion, and rolled out sending u.s. troops to ukrainian soil as part of any guarantees if a peace deal is reached. he said it is up to european countries to take the lead. our defense correspondent jonathan peel was at the summit

in brussels. reporter: a bit of a shock here as to what they've heard but they have not heard what the trump admission -- administration wants to do with ukraine in such explicit terms until they heard from pete hegseth, the u.s. defense secretary, explicitly saying no nato membership for ukraine. that's the opposite of what they have been saying here. also that ukraine would not return to its original borders and would not regain territory. nobody here has explicitly said that even though some certainly thought that was likely. and also explicitly saying if there was a cease-fire, there would be no u.s. boots on the ground, europe would have to do the heavy lifting in terms of military support to ukraine, but also if there's a cease-fire, to police that if it happens. it is a bitter blow for

particularly president zelenskyy, it is very very sobering for america's european nato allies, and i think also it suggests that these discussions will be taking place between president putin and president trump and not directly with president zelenskyy. again, something they said they would not do here. no decisions about ukraine without ukraine is with the message was here but clearly that is not happening. it is a new reality. sumi: in kyiv itself, another u.s. cabinet secretary offered a more positive message. scott bessent was in the ukrainian capital for meetings with mr. zelenskyy and told ukraine's president that the u.s. wants to send a signal it will stand with his country in the face of russian aggression. they discussed a possible deal in which ukraine would sell rare earth minerals in return for military support. let's talk about this with the

president of kyiv's school of economics and former ukrainian economic minister. great to have you back on bbc news. i want to start with what we heard from president trump in the oval office. he was asked about whether he sees ukraine as an equal player in this peace process and he said ukraine has to make peace, referring to the civilians who are dying in ukraine. what did you think of that? >> overall the events of today and the sequence, that first president trump called president putin and only then called president zelenskyy, specific statements about no nato, no troops, it sort of was expected but this is all perceived as sort of not quite a sellout of ukraine but definitely ukraine does not feel to be an equal partner. it feels ukraine is being talked

at rather than talked with, so the mood is grim here. sumi: how does president zelenskyy see this himself? indeed the firm -- phone call first with president putin and then afterwards with him? >> zelenskyy continues to be a leader of ukraine, we have sovereignty. if the u.s. has nothing to offer in terms of guarantees, it is still for ukraine to decide what we do. our concern is really that russia is trying to play trumpet and has been succeeding at that because it looks like president trump has given up the key strategic positions in favor of russia without getting anything back. if that is the case, we don't understand what the leverage is over russia to stop the war? we worry that president putin is playing president trump in the war will continue. sumi: he seemed to question president zelenskyy's leadership itself in that press conference

in the oval office, talking about his approval ratings and the fact that there have not been elections. what do you make of that? >> that is definitely the russian trap. i did not want to push too hard on this because there could be an alternative story that we have to give some face-saving exercise to president putin and then in the meantime quietly support ukraine with more weapons, but i don't want to be engaging in wishful thinking. so this illegitimacy argument by putin has been there even before the war. it takes different forms. basically i think it's a trap to derail negotiations. whatever formal agreement will be signed, if we take seriously president zelenskyy is not legitimate, that means the kremlin has no force and putin can redneck -- renege on it all the time. sumi: if we look at what these

negotiations could be going forward, how would ukraine be going into that? >> the united states has leverage over us in terms of support and other weapons supplies. unless something is being offered to ukraine, that leverage is gone. ukraine will be considering these guarantees from the united states in particular against the sacrifices that has to take. i understand any peace requires unpleasant sacrifices on both sides, but the red line for ukraine is future sovereignty. if we are not getting anything back and getting no support, what is there to agree to? sumi: what could that support for future sovereignty look like particularly coming from the u.s.? >> it could be economic support, investments, defense support in

terms of technology in terms of joint ventures, it could be weapons or commitment to finance weapons purchases, all kinds of hybrid interaction between weapons essentially, military training and financial support. sumi: you pointed out on the next that europe is working to limit or russian oil revenues as this discussion is going on. do you think europe can assume some of the rule at least that the u.s. has until now? >> if you look at the numbers, the overall military support in numbers and dollars, it is similar between the united states and europe, but the quality of the weapons that have been supplied is different. militarily, europe cannot substitute or replace the united states. i also think if the united states fully withdraws the security umbrella from ukraine, it sends a strong signal to europe, so europe in the next

years as to think for itself how it's going to defend an increase defense capabilities so president trump has been a serious threat to the security of europe and you're a pastor take a leadership. there's no other choice but it will take time. sumi: always pay to have you on bbc news, thank you so much. meanwhile, the trump administration confirmed it is releasing a russian national convicted on cybercrime, a day after moscow handed over a jailed american teacher. alexander vidic was jailed in the u.s. after pleading guilty to funneling billions of dollars through his cryptocurrency exchange. u.s. officials said they will forfeit $100 million as part of the deal for his release. the white house called the swap a great deal for america. separately, u.s. officials say they secure the release of three people who were detained in belarus in a deal with that country. among them is a veteran

journalist with radio liberty. u.s. officials designated him a political prisoner. he was freed alongside another belarus should national and u.s. citizen both of whom have yet to be named. egypt and cutter -- qatar art intensify efforts to save the hamas cease-fire deal. egypt says it will present a comprehensive vision for the reconstruction of gaza that will not involve the displacement of palestinians. that follows donald trump's meeting with the king of jordan on tuesday, where he doubled down on his plan for the u.s. to take over gaza and relocate the entire population into neighboring arab countries. that is a plan the u.s. says it is against the international law. pressure is growing on the israeli prime minister bennett him and netanyahu to clarify his latest gaza cease-fire demands

after saying the deal would end if hamas does not free. hostages tuesday, mr. netanyahu did not specify whether he is now demanding the release of all 76 remaining hostages or only the three that hamas were expected to release on saturday in line with the cease-fire agreement. his security cabinet is reported to have unanimously backed president trump's demand that all remaining hostages must be freed by saturday. president trump previously weren't all hell would break loose if hamas does not comply. monday the palestinian armed because the release saying israel violated the cease-fire deal. reporter: the war of words has continued over the cease-fire in gaza which looks increasingly precarious as we get towards saturday's deadline. that's a deadline which israel and the united states have imposed on hamas to release israeli hostages or the cease-fire deal comes to an end to end the war against gaza

resumes. apart from mr. trump of course specifying that all 76 hostages should be released, outside the framework of the existing peace agreement, the israeli prime minister and other ministers have not specified how many prisoners they want to see released. but israel cats, the israeli defense minister, kept up the pressure and saying if it doesn't release hostages saturday, the "gates of hell would open on them" as the u.s. president promised. now to the terms of the cease-fire, hamas is only do to release three or four hostages every weekend over a six-week period but hamas of course has not released yet the names of those it intends to release from gaza on saturday. if it does that by friday evening, it will be difficult for benjamin netanyahu, the israeli president and prime minister, to turn around and say

all bets are off, the cease-fire is finished, we will resume the war, even though that might be his instinct to do so. so it's a very very difficult period. today egyptian and qatari negotiators who helped broker the cease-fire have told the bbc that behind the scenes they are doing their level best to get the cease-fire process back on track. but an egyptian source told the bbc they are very concerned a failure would lead to "a new wave of violence with serious regional repercussions." even though the cease-fire has brought tangible benefits to both sides, it is in a very precarious position. sumi: palestinians in gaza have been expressing their fears about a resumption of the war and rejecting donald trump's plan for them to leave the strip. >> we heard the news that trump wants to resume the war if the hostages are not released. however we don't want the war to

resume. we want to return to our homes and want our life to go back to normal and forget the tragic situation which we've lived in in the past year and three months. >> i have fears of a war starting again so i'm staying here instead of returning to the north until we see what happens because of trump about the displacement from gaza. we are determined we will die here and not leave. we won't respond to trump or anyone else. >> the policy of displacement, some of us to egypt, some to jordan, some to kuwait and others to i don't know where, we will not leave. we will remain here living on the rubble, stones and metal. we will remain on our homeland even if donald trump offers us the whole world, it is not possible. we will remain sitting at the doors of our homes. sumi: here in washington, tulsi gabbard has been sworn in as donald trump's director of national intelligence. the former democratic congressman has confirmed -- was

confirmed by the senate earlier. she has faced criticism for a meeting with now deposed bashar al-assad, and her pushed apart and edward snowden. she will advise the president on national security and so -- and oversee the country's intelligence agencies. the 52-48 but was largely along party lines. former senate minority leader mitch mcconnell was the only republican to join democrats voting against her confirmation. robert f. kennedy, jr. has moved one step closer to becoming the nation's health secretary. the senate voted along party lines to advance his confirmation and a final vote is expected later this week. u.s. inflation increased more than expected last month at higher egg and energy prices helped push up the cost of living for americans. inflation rose to 3%, the highest in six months. above the two .9% expected by

economists this. comes weeks after the u.s. central banks decides to hold rates saying there's significant uncertainty about where they're coming might be headed. it poses a challenge to president trump who may tackling inflation a secular -- centerpiece of his campaign. the trump administration is blaming inflation on the preceding biden administration. here is what white house press secretary karoline leavitt had to say. >> we did receive those numbers and they were worse than expected, which tells us that the biden administration indeed left us with a mess to deal with. as for tackling inflation and interest rates, the president has made his position on this very clear. he wants interest rates to be lowered, he wants inflation to be lower and he believes the whole of government economic approach that this administration is taking will result in lower inflation. sumi: that rise in inflation was the biggest monthly increase

since august 2023. the democratic republic of the congo is taking his allegations of human rights abuses committed by rwanda on congolese territory to an african human rights court. the case is linked to continued fighting involving the m 23 dr rebel group which the government claims is being aided by rwanda. the republic of congo says the conflict has caused the displacement of more than half a million people and a cholera epidemic. it says 20,000 children are deprived of education due to the destruction of schools. rwanda rejects the accusations and argues that human rights court does not have jurisdiction to hear the case. i would deputy africa editor has more. reporter: on the first day of the public hearings at the african court of human rights, they want to challenge to hear the case brought by the government in the democratic republic of the congo. the congolese government accuses

them of human rights violations. it accuses it of harboring leaders of the rebel movement wanted for war crimes and of supporting the m 23 rebels. the drc is seeking reparations including compensation for victims of human rights violations, the withdrawal of rwandan troops from eastern drc, and ceasing support to the rebels, allegations kigali has in the past t tonight. it declared the unilateral cease-fire which had violated shortly after. over the last two days, there has been renewed fighting to the south of goma. regional bodies in eastern and southern africa have been tempting to lucre -- broker peace and called for cease-fire, and urged kinshasa to enter talks with the rebels which is something kinshasa has been reluctant to do. sumi: a bbc investigation

revealed allegations that british oil giant shell ignored repeated warnings that a one billion dollar cleanup operation polluted land in southern nigeria is beset with problems and corruption. the claims, as a trial begins this week at the high court in london between two nigerian communities and shall over its pollution of the region ahead of the sale of its assets in the west african country. our correspondent reports from the delta. reporter: it's been seven decades since oil was discovered in southern nigeria. now formerly for trail landscapes appear as toxic wasteland. waters that brimmed with fish now glisten with oil. the family a 50-year-old mother of six paulina survived on fishing for generations until a decade ago. >> during this, most of the children have gotten diseases from drinking the water and many

have died. i've lost eight kids. my husband is sick. i think it is because of the pollution in the environment. reporter: it literally smells like petrol. and this is the water that you are expected to use to drink, cook, wash. it smells like we are in a fuel station. grace aldean lives in voegele with her partner and two-year-old. oil spills have contaminated the only borehole they have access to. do you have to be careful how much water you use? >> yes. reporter: in 2011, the u.n. found people were drinking water at levels with carcinogens over 900 times above the level of guidelines. a new cleanup agency called high prep run by the nigerian government and part funded by oil companies including shall.

the project was to take 30 years but one person who worked on the scheme and whose identity will be protected because they fear reprisals told us the operation is a con to siphon money and was widely known by the government and shell to be failing. >> they enter into the world a high degree of pollution, between the government, agencies, regulators and contractors. reporter: in a meeting with a british high commissioner to nigeria last year, according to minutes obtained other freedom of information laws, shell representatives acknowledged institutional challenges of the cleanup agency and the chance of refusal of future funding towards it. shell told the bbc high prep is an agency established and overseen by the federal government of nigeria, with its governing council largely made up of senior ministers and government officials along with five representatives of communities and ngos and a single cell representative --

shell representative. at the bbc also visited areas where the nigerian government and shell of repeated claims of being cleaned up. it did not take long for us to see oil seeped from the ground and float on the water. shell told the bbc the operating environment in the niger delta remains challenging because of the huge scale of illegal activities such as oil theft. " we take extensive steps to prevent this activity in the spills it causes. when spills do happen from our facilities, we cleanup and remediate, regardless of the cause. if it is an operational spill, we also compensate people and communities." this week, two nigerian communities will bring a case against shell at a london high court. the company is selling onshore facilities in nigeria but questions over its conduct and legacy remain. bbc news, nigeria. sumi: now it's being described as one of london's most

important pieces of roman history. archaeologists. . found a substantial part of the big -- first basilica, where major political, economic and administrative decisions were made. rebecca morelle. was given exclusive access it's a thriving modern city but a rich history lies beneath the streets reporter:. you can see there is definitely an office building with filing cabinets. but here it is. >> this is the first roman basilica. it is amazing. reporter: this is part of an important public building located in a large roman forum. >> the building is 40 meters long, 20 wide and two and a half stories wide, a huge roman building designed to impress.

a statement of their commitment to london and possibly reflect the change in the status of london and the fact that london was becoming the capital of britain. reporter: this is the center of the modern city. close to here was the roman basilica and forum, 2000 years ago it would have been the beating heart of ancient london. it would have been a thriving place with shops, offices and bustling markets. in this building here was where all of the major political and administrative decisions were made. the building the basilica is under is about to be redeveloped. the discovery has meant every designed to open the site to the public. >> the columns have had to literally move position so you are not destroying what is found in the ground. people are moving to see the remains of the incredible. reporter: pockets of roman london can be found all over the

city like it here at the temple of mithras, which uses technology to bring the archaeology to life. >> the fact that roman london is beneath your feet is a remarkable motion to experience and then you can walk outside and say look at the skyscrapers and look at the office blocks. this is progress, but at the same time progress combined with preservation. reporter: this unique history shaped what london is today, and now that history is being rediscovered, given the city's past a bright future rebecca morelle, bbc news. sumi: thank you so much for watching "bbc world news america." do stay with bbc news. ♪ narrator: funding for presentation of this program is provided by... bdo, accountants and advisors, funding was also provided by, the freeman foundation, the judy and peter blum kovler foundation, upholding freedom by strengthening democracies at home and abroad.

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