♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ 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. hello, i'm rajini vaidyanathan. this is the context on bbc news. president zelensky put out a statement saying, i'm ready for peace. on the military and intelligence front, the pause that allow that to happen, will go away and i think we will work shoulder to shoulder with ukraine. with my counterpart the

ukrainian national security adviser we are having good talks on location for the next round of negotiations on delegations, on substance. translation: we need to have support for ukrainian army and deployment of the european forces. ukraine has the right for peace and security and it is our interest for the security of the european continent. the us presses pause on sharing military intelligence with ukraine in the latest break in cooperation between washington and kyiv following that fractious meeting in the oval office last week. volodymyr zelensky says talks with the us have been positive - and he hopes to see results next week.

with the meeting possibly next week. meanwhile president trump and prime minister trudeau hold a call to discuss tariffs - we'll discuss what impact they could have on america's farmers. the white house also confirms us officials are negotiating directly with hamas over hostages still in gaza - and later this hour, the american vice president and defence secretary visit the us-mexico border as the trump administration looks to highlight its immigration crackdown. in a week where ukraine's relationship with america has suffered multiple blows - that meeting in the oval office last friday, the withdrawal of aid on monday. us officials have confirmed that america has stopped sharing intelligence with kyiv. the cia director john ratcliffe says president trump had a real question about whether president zelensky was committed to the peace process, but indicated military and intelligence suypport but indicated military

and intelligence support to ukraine could resume. president trump had a real question about whether president zelensky was committed to the peace process. and he said, "let's pause. i want to give you a chance to think about that." and you saw the response that president zelensky put out a statement saying, "i'm ready for peace, and i want donald trump's leadership to bring about that peace." and so i think on the military front and the intelligence front, the pause that allowed that to happen, i think will go away. and i think we'll work shoulder to shoulder with ukraine as we have to push back on the aggression that's there. but to put the world in a better place for these peace negotiations to move forward. as those comments around us intelligence sharing with ukraine came out earlier - here in the uk, prime minister sir keir starmer was asked in the house of commons whether the us could still be considered a "reliable ally". we are working very closely with the united states on defence, on security and on intelligence. we have done for many,

many years, we are intertwined and of course they are a reliable ally. we are operating on that basis, day in, day out across the world, as he knows. in relation to the situation as it develops, obviously our main focus, our only focus is on a lasting peace in ukraine. the french president emmanuel macron has tonight warned that france needs to be ready if the united states is no longer by its side. he has vowed to double the size of the french army over the next five years. in a televised address mr macron said european forces could be deployed to ukraine after a peace deal is agreed. translation: once the piece is assigned so that ukraine will not be invaded again by russia, we need to have a support for ukrainian army over time at the deployment of european forces. this is not, we are not fighting today. not on the

front line. but it will be there once peace has been signed to guarantee this piece. all of this as we're hearing tonight that there could be fresh talks between the us and ukraine next week. in his nightly address president zelensky said there has been progress when it comes to patching up the relationship - a sentiment echoed by the white house in the last couple of hours. president zelensky did put out a statement yesterday which we believe is a positive step forward. and national security adviser mike waltz has been talking to his ukrainian counterparts and so we are in the midst of this and we will see what happens next. let's now get the thoughts of douglas lute - retired us army left-tenant general - who previously served as us ambassador to nato under president obama as well as national security adviser for iraq and afghanistan under president george w bush. welcome to the programme. there

is a lot to talk about, it this evening. first of all, on the intelligence sharing being paused, how significant do you see that? i think it is significant. going forward, it will be hard to assess the real impact of this cut off. it will not be like a quantifiable impact of military weaponry, it will be more subtle, more behind-the-scenes, but it will have an impact. intelligence usually means, intelligence sharing, sharing both the collection of intelligence, targets, signals, indicators and so forth, but also the analysis of that collection. so what do these indicators mean? what are the significance of the indicators? i think both of these aspects, collection and analysis will be affected by the cut off. in terms of

operationally, on the grounds, how do you think this could affect the course of the war as it continues on? i think two major effects. first, some of the intelligence being shared today or before the cut off was for defensive purposes. think for example, early warning of russian air and missile attacks on ukrainian civilian infrastructure. if any of your listeners or viewers have visited ukraine since the war, they will be familiar with the phone app based warning system that warns of incoming russian attacks. an offence of purposes as well. likely targeting russian military assets or energy infrastructure using us space systems so it will have an impact both in all offensive and defensive ways. what about diplomatically as well? we are now seeing some signs of the relationship between the us and ukraine perhaps warming up, we

of course a president trump in his address talk about the letter that he received from president zelensky and we are now hearing that there could be some form of talks between the two nations next week. what are your thoughts on where things sit at the moment after what has been such a dramatic few days? i think dramatic is the right adjective. if you look back over even the last several weeks, you have a set of signals to our ukrainian partners that the relationship, the ukrainian relationship with the united states is based on, at best, unsteady and perhaps unreliable. think back to the munich security conference, think back to the bilateral us- russian engagement that did not include ukraine. think of on the un vote just last week with the us aligned itself, very unusually, aligned itself with russia. then you have the oval office session last friday and

now the cutoff of aid and shared intelligence. when you add that up, it sends a very clear signal to our ukrainian partners in equally and important signal to our nato allies that the us, compasses nutrition in particular is unsteady and even unreliable. you mentioned nato partners, that was the next thing was going to come onto because of course, we heard from key nato allies like france tonight as well and of course we have been hearing a lot from the uk as well. these continual call court nato members to step up when it comes to defence spending. mr macron saying france needs to be ready if the us is no longer by its side. did you imagine you would hear a french president saying something like this in this day and age? no, i had hoped i would never hear such a thing. but the political messages coming out of berlin, paris and

london are all aligned. that is that they have to assemble -- assemble the hard power of military and intelligence capability required if in fact the united states proves that the end of the day to be unreliable. where do you see the next steps in terms of, of course, we have these potential talks between the united states and ukraine, of course, europe as we have been discussion just now, beefing up its own military spending. what do you think is the next thing that might come? it's hard to predict what may come out of the trump administration, but where are you seeing things from where you are? i think there are number of upcoming milestones that are worth watching. this week have on the european council meeting, that will be interesting to see if the sanctions regime against russia is strengthened. later in the summer in june he has a g7 meeting. there is some talk today about, will there be a

move to move the g7 to the g8 and that is returned russia or to the g6, without the united states. so what is the way forward with the g7? later in june, a nato summit in the hague. so there are a number of key international events which i think will be real mile markers in terms of how this is going to play out beyond just the last few weeks. religious thing to talk to and thank you so much. former us ambassador to nato. the white house has confirmed

tonight that the us special envoy for hostage affairs has been holding direct talks with hamas over the release of us hostages held in gaza. the confirmation marks the first time the us has engaged directly with hamas - which it designates as a terrorist organisation. white house press secretary

karoline leavitt was asked about the reports in the last couple of hours. well, when it comes to the negotiations that you're referring to. first of all, the special envoy who's engaged in those negotiations does have the authority to talk to anyone. israel was consulted on this matter. and look, dialogue and talking to people around the world to do what's in the best interest of the american people is something that the president has proven is what he believes is a good faith effort to do what's right for the american people. the comments from the white house come as the foreign ministers of the uk, france and germany have called on israel and hamas to immediately engage in the next steps of the ceasefire. they said aid should not be used as a political weapon, after israel stopped allowing aid into gaza, accusing hamas of taking control of supplies. earlier earlier, the us and israel

rejected a plan for a post war gaza, which was approved by arab leaders. under the eygpt led proposal, gaza would be temporarily governed by a committee of independent experts, and the more than two million palestinians living there would be able to stay there. it was seen as an alternative to president trump's highly controversial plan to quote "clean up" the territory, and turn it into what he described as the "gaza riviera". let's speak now to gina abercrombie-winstanley - former us diplomat, and president of the middle east policy council. good to talk to you, as always here on bbc news. let's begin by discussing what we have heard from the white house and the last couple of hours. a confirmation that the united states is engaging directly in talks with hamas. what are your thoughts on that? i think the white house is right. we do indeed have to talk to whomever we need to talk to in order to

get done what is necessary for the american people. in this case, the release of american hostages. it is something president biden did float as a possibility and there were many, certainly the families of the american hostages who urged that the us government become more engaged in working toward their release. we don't believe in paying ransoms, we don't believe in speaking to terrorist organisations. it would show that governments often have to make compromises in order to get done what needs to get done. friends don't need to make peace, friends don't need to negotiate, it is enemies that have to do this. so it is in logical step forward, one that has been considered in the past and this administration has done it. logical, but not typical, so

why now? as i said. president biden did float the idea of having separate talks to have the american hostages released. president trump has continued to show himself as acting, if not thinking, outside of the box. these are american citizens and you have to deal with those who can make the changes. in this case that is hamas. let's talk about some of the other developments relating to the middle east as well. of course, the eight blockade which continues and of course, the question marks that are remaining over the cease-fire. certainly the eight certainly the eight blockade -- aid blockade, the world come the united states have spoken out against, it is against

international humanitarian law. there are those who would argue it goes as far as a war crime. there is a cease-fire in place right now. it is completely unacceptable and people will continue to need to speak out on this. aid should not be used as a weapon of war. it international law has any meaning, then we have to stand by this. as difficult as it may be, as desirable as it may be to move hamas from its position, which is doing damage to the palestinian people refusing to give up arms and refusing to take the steps that would allow progress to improve the state of palestinians in the gaza strip, but aid cannot be used as a weapon. israel saying hamas is not ready to sign up to the next phase of the cease-fire which of course would see the next phase in terms of getting to a conclusion when it comes to ending the war. where do you

see we are with that now? would have the first phase of that cease-fire, but it is a challenge to get to that next phase. we all knew from the beginning that it was going to be a challenge to get to the next phase, that it was likely not to happen and then we would be exactly where we find ourselves. both sides have goals that are absolutely unacceptable to the other side. hamas, of course, is saying that it is ready to have negotiations which would continue the cease-fire. but israel recognises that hamas still says it will not give up its arms. it is not intended to immediately give up power or control of the gaza strip. that is a redline for israel. the requirement that hamas leave and to give up control is a redline for hamas. so we are at this impasse. presumably, hopefully, there have been conversations on going all the time during this first phase as those who were supporting these

negotiations understood we were going to come to this day. this proposal to continue the cease-fire was a way of getting past it, but of course, that means hamas loses all of its leverage. if it continues in the cease-fire, continues to release hostages, of course, at the end israel is going to start the war again and there we are. so hamas's position from their perspective, of course, make sense. the united states is trying to find another way to get more hostages out at this point. thank you so much, gina, president of the middle east policy for sharing your thoughts on that. we are hearing from our colleagues in the middle east that a well-informed housing unit official has told the bbc that to direct meetings between hamas and he was official preceded by several

communications into ohio. the source stated that talks focused on the fate of american hostages in gaza in the outcome of those talks remains unclear. the white house press secretary has announced that the trip and administration will grant a one-month tariff exemptions on cars being imported from canada and mexico. it comes after warnings the income tax has cut a third of north american vehicle production. tonight - donald trump says he spoke to canada's prime minister justin trudeau - accusing him on social media our new trade policy

will also be great for the american farmer. i love the farmer. the tariffs will go on agricultural products coming into america. and our farmers, starting on april 2nd, it may be a little bit of an adjustment period. we had that before when i made the deal with china, $50 billion of purchases and i said, "just bear with me." and they did. they did probably have to bear with me again, and this will be even better. "an adjustment period" says the president. well, many american farmers have been here before. american tariffs slapped on chinese products in donald trump's first term led to china refusing to buy major us agricultural exports such as wheat or soybeans. and the government ended up

paying out tens of billions of dollars in support to farmers over the first few years of the president's first term. joining me now is the founder and president of the national black farmers association john boyd jr, who is a fourth generation farmer. welcome to the context. bear with me, president trump says, what do you make of that? farmers don't have the time that the president is speaking about and talked about last night in his joint message to congress. it's planting season and the president would be announcement of the tariffs has painted a cloud of uncertainty for america's farmers. many here in the united states don't have the income, i sold my whole soybean crop last year for $9 a bushel, and since the president announced the tariffs, prices have plummeted here in the united states for corn, wheat and soybeans. so the president says bear with him, and the last time we did

that, soybeans went from $16 a bushel all the way down to less than $6 a bushel. and he's bargaining and playing with american farmers'lives. it's really a trade war and it's a war on america's farmers that the president is announcing and moving full steam ahead at. the president would argue that he is doing this too, in the longer term, protect america's interests. well, he tried it before with china. and nothing has really happened as i just told you, here in the united states, last year. i sold my whole soybean crop for $9 a bushel and the tariffs that the president is imposing on canada and china is the number one pressure centre of the us growing soybeans, mexico is the number one purchaser of us grown corn, so the very people

he says he wants to help are the very people that he is hurting. and the american people are going to pay when they walk into local stores and supermarkets around the country, the american people are going to be the one to pay for this trade war that the president has started with everybody. and he mentioned the first term and how that impacted you, of course, in the end, money ended up being paid out. just reflect on that and what you would say to the president about the biggest lessons he needs to take into account from that first attempt. the biggest lesson from, especially from the national black farmers association, many of our members didn't receive a dime of the proposed payout, or the actual payout that went out to america's farmers. we didn't even make up 1% of the actual payout that went out, many black farmers are now on grid. we have our own lawsuit. the president and i heard him say

very clearly that he loved america's farmers, but he won't return the land they came from black farmers in lloyd versus the us government. he says, but on the other tail end of the corn we are hurting. we have poultry farmers that can't get chicken contracts and we have eggs at the highest levels in history. so the president is saying all these things but when we, at the end result, we're not getting the money so we can't depend on the government become of the very people that mistreated us, to say, hey, i'm going to turn to the government to help america's farmers. it's a losing solution for america's farmers. ok, thank you so much for sharing your thoughts, john boyd junior, president of the black farmers association and the united states. stay with us here on the context, we're expecting to hear from the us vice president jd vance alongside the us defence secretary. at the us-mexico border

in the coming minutes. the visit marks the first time senior members of the trump administration have visited the border - and comes after the president touted his record so far on immigration in a speech to the us congress last night. plenty more on all of the stories we've talked about on the bbc news website, i'll be back after a short break, stay with us on 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. ♪ ♪ usa today calls it "arguably the best bargain in streaming" that's because the free pbs app let's you watch

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