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nicole: at bdo i feel like a true individual, people value me for me, they care about what i want, my needs, my career path, i matter here. ♪ ♪ 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. anchor: this is bbc world news america. european leaders at an emergency summit promised to stick by ukraine and continue defending it. president trump momentarily suspend some tariffs on mexico and canada. this special envoy praises a

gaza reconstruction plan as a good-faith first step. ♪ hello, gray tabby with us, thank you for being here. the president of ukraine says he will fly to saudi arabia on monday, where his people meet u.s. officials for talks. the only nation not to sign the agreement was hungry. it is seen as an ally of russia. 20 countries are thought to be interested.

belgium said it expects to deliver fighter jets to ukraine next year. croatia, slovenia, and norway are boosting their defense funding. the u.k. government announced new contracts were $38 million to supply ukraine with attack drones. a lot of air zelenskyy said he is thankful his country is not alone. but moscow warned against european peacekeepers being posted to ukraine. whom reporter: actions often speak louder than words. ukraine's president now wary of where he stands with washington. he is amongst a firm friends here. >> so important that we stand together. this is a watershed moment for europe. ukraine is part of our european family. >> we are not alone.

these are not just words. we feel it. reporter: ukraine is also feeling exposed. it does not get more personal than this. russia bombed president zelenskyy's hometown last night. the u.s. has cut off crucial military intelligence. that is where europe comes in. >> that is the most important message. at the same time, continue to support ukraine. reporter: europe's leaders are raising really high expectations. can europe act as one? >> yes.

reporter: but europe is made up of different countries with different priorities. united decision-making is tough. that will cost a lot of money. on the eve of today's summit, the president of france tried to get voters on board. >> the future of europe cannot be decided in washington or moscow. we have to take difficult decisions. reporter: the french and others far from russia may need persuading. those living close by says boosting defense budgets is a no-brainer. >> if you have a crazy neighbor, which is russia, and putin has not changed his course, we don't have any other way to keep our

country safe. reporter: welfare or warfare? these are financing decisions europe's governments now face. the pressure is on. donald trump acts fast and furiously in foreign policy. europe needs to catch up. anchor: president putin has said russia will not retreat from ukraine and will not give away anything that belongs to russia. his foreign minister warned that moscow will see any deployment to ukraine as an active war against his country. reporter: it feels like something is changing in russia. a country resurgent and unrepentant. russia feeling more powerful, confident, from seeing an american president putting more and more pressure on ukraine.

and less and less desire to make any concessions. russia's foreign minister made that quite clear. i estimate there was anyway moscow would agree to european countries sending peacekeepers to ukraine. the answer was no way. >> we see no room for compromise here. this discussion is being held within overtly hostile aim. that would mean no longer involvement. we must not allow this to happen. reporter: no compromise, but a lot of excitement lately on russian state tv. america is doing things differently. it certainly is.

just three weeks after trump and putin spoke on the phone, the u.s. has pause military aid and cut off intelligence sharing. right now it feels like everything the trump administration is saying and doing is good news for moscow and very bad news for ukraine. one russian new paper -- newspaper describes the u.s. as russia's partner. later, a private ceremony in the president's office. putin awarding the hero of russian metal to the widow of a russian soldier. then off to meet more women whose soldiers, sons, and husbands have been killed. we are not going to give ground, he said. we need that kind of peace that suits us. in moscow, this talk of a new world order. and a growing belief that russia

is heading for victory in ukraine. russia's confidence fueled by america's u-turn. anchor: here in washington, the u.k. defense secretary met his u.s. counterpart at the pentagon. they discussed the war in ukraine and the u.s. decision to pause intelligence sharing with ukraine. they reflected on their historical partnership at a press conference in washington. here is a little bit of what was said. >> i think it has been very encouraging to watch france step up to say they are ready to take the lead. the president has said time and time again, let's not get ahead of ourselves. let's get both sides to the table. it's get a commitment to peace. that is what trump is doing. anchor: for more on what has

been going on today, we can speak to the former u.s. ambassador to ukraine. thank you for being with us. today make up for the absence of the u.s.? >> partly but not entirely. they don't make the missiles with that range. they can partly make up for that. they have been too timid to send them to ukraine. there is no real substitute for the u.s. >> has the u.s. left ukraine exposed?

not just the withdrawal but those physical parts of the military? >> this is a serious mistake of trump administration. it is clear that ukraine is ready for peace talks. the russians have disappointed -- disagreed on key points. trump himself said a couple of weeks ago of course we have to continue aiding ukraine. here they are allowing it. hopefully we will get past this. if it changes quickly, no big deal. if it goes on for weeks and

weeks, it is a problem. anchor: this is part of u.s. foreign policy, taking action that would blame the victim? >> that is not the normal style of american diplomacy. it certainly does not meet american interests. if we remove american weapons and intelligence from ukraine, the war will end very quickly. that is not in america's interests. trump said that less than three weeks ago. anchor: we know president zelenskyy will travel to saudi arabia on monday for talks with u.s. and russian officials. we don't know which personnel will be there. what could change? >> trump still says his objective is to achieve durable

peace. you cannot do that if moscow's on the military offensive. this could very well wind up happening. trump has said multiple times that he can get a durable peace. maybe this mistake on the pause in american military systems is simply a short-term glitch. anchor: listening to european leaders, all of the events of the last couple of weeks have damaged the relationship between the u.s. and it's very close allies in europe. can that relationship be recovered? >> it certainly can be recovered. if future policy goes in the

historic direction of american policy. if it doesn't, we are entering a new world. anchor: how does the u.s. approach this from year? with those talks and the relationships and perhaps restarting military aid? >> we know several things. first, despite all of the hiccups in the u.s.-ukrainian relationship, the trump administration has reaffirmed its commitment to nato. i know some people in europe are worried about that that they have been pretty clear on that. the second part comes back to what i just said. trump of forward elements that could secure ukraine. if he acts on them, i think it will turn out just fine.

they will run into american opposition. if the trump administration is more interested in good relations with the kremlin than in helping ukraine establish a durable peace, there are lasting problems to come. not least for the u.s. anchor: we will wait to see what happens. thank you for joining us. >> thank you. anchor: president trump to canada a short-term reprieve on terrorists. -- tariffs. the threatened 25% spook to financial markets. but president trump said economic uncertainty is not what prompted his shift in policy.

rather, he was swayed by a phone call with the mexican president. here she is speaking about the call with president trump. >> many thanks to president donald trump. we had an excellent and respectful call in which we agreed on our work and collaboration. while respecting our solvency. we will continue to work together on migration and security issues, including police -- illegal crossing of fentanyl into the u.s. and weapons into mexico. anchor: live speak to our correspondent in mexico city. tell us a little bit about president sheinbaum responded to president trump. reporter: what was interesting was in that morning press

briefing, she pointed out there are figures to be published by u.s. customs and border protection that shows a drop in fentanyl seizures. the lowest level in three years. she would've pointed out that when he asked for that, she did that. she spent 29 key drug cartel figures. that fell on quite receptive ears. in canada, it is a lot more hostile. this is how they have reacted.

anchor: what has been the impact of these tariffs? this relaxation is not on all products. reporter: she said that will be on most products. she said she thought she had played the card she have been dealt. this is just the very start. already we are getting this month-to-month delay.

they wanted more stability from that. they sort of need to get beyond that. for now, there is contentment within her circle. there has been a further stay of execution for another month. anchor: thank you for being with us. let's talk more about the issue of tariffs and the impact they are having on all of these economies. my colleague was just talking about the uncertainty that all of these tariffs are creating. what impact is that having on the economy here? >> firms are broadly complaining to policymakers. about the uncertainty. we are seeing less evidence of

how those complaints are resulting in firms giving up on hiring and investment plans. that is the next step we are worried about. there was a survey done that shows that 21% of business leaders expect to increase capital investments. how on earth could you make investment decisions in this environment? that resulted in pulling back on certain plans. anchor: when you're looking at these key relationships, the levying of tariffs, we arguing

that canada will announce a removal of tariffs. how is this fair? >> there are a couple of reasons i am way most for the consumer. one is for all the straightforward reasons. if tariffs get put in place, babble in the best higher prices that consumers see on the shelves. we are already seeing wild swings in international trade. this will affect consumer prices. even if they do not come to pass. we saw imports go through the roof in certain categories in january. i would not all be surprised if some consumers now go to stores

and see shortages. we should also worry about the consumer. do you anticipate a situation where companies will seek other markets for their products? specifically for food items? >> the sense that i get is right now u.s. firms are holding back. they are waiting to see what will happen. i am not sure they have a better choice. even if that remain -- means the uncertainty gets resolved and

they decide that means we are in for a weak economy. and they will just socks their money away. i don't know that firms can really shield themselves by taking their investments abroad. keep in mind that this is not the only source of uncertainty that u.s. firms are facing. we broadly have a very chaotic environment. anchor: just briefly, because we are almost out of time, if the plan pays off, what would that mean for the u.s. economy? >> they need to plan around what his goals are.

that is how the sins -- this ends. anchor: thank you for being with us. president trump's special envoy praised egypt for coming up with a gaza plan. he describes the proposal as a good first step. but he stopped short of endorsing the plan. this contrasts greatly with president trump's vision of turning gaza into a middle east riviera. hamas has warned that any

military incursion will lead to the killing of hostages. about 60 hostages are still in gaza. fewer than half of them are thought to be still alive. earlier president trump said this on social media -- in his first audio message since being hospitalized, the pope thanked those who have been praying for his recovery. the tears some of what he said. in the brief message, he thanked well-wishers from the bottom of his heart. it was played at the start of the easing rosary prayer.

the pope has been in hospital for nearly three weeks with double ammonia. the holy see said he remain stable and had not had any new episodes. from the assassination attempt on donald trump to the war in gaza, we have watched history unfold. last night, the people who brought us those stories were celebrated. bbc news brought home many awards. including for breaking news. for our coverage of the trump assassination attempt. we brought you that story the moment it happened. he gave a message of encouragement to aspiring journalists with disabilities. >> it was a pretty tough thing for disabled people.

i was told by the head of journalism that i could not be a reporter. that has been a difficult journey. it can be done. even when the naysayers are around. don't let them stand in the way. never take no for an answer. thank you to the judges. this is fantastic. anchor: 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 the best of pbs anytime, anywhere.

jeff. how the back-and-forth is making it difficult for businesses to plan ahead. geoff: president trump's push to fire federal workers and slashed