LEILA FADEL, HOST:
President Trump often boasts about his success in stopping global conflicts. The events this week will test his claims as the president and his envoys try to resolve three separate crises. NPR's Greg Myre joins us to break it all down. Good morning, Greg.
GREG MYRE, BYLINE: Hi, Leila.
FADEL: OK, so today is going to be a very busy day in Geneva, Switzerland. What should we be looking for?
MYRE: Yeah, Leila. We have a highly unusual diplomatic doubleheader set for Geneva today, with Trump's envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, taking the lead. Now, the first set of talks recently began today between the U.S. and Iran over that country's nuclear program. The impression we're getting, Iran may make some concessions on nuclear issues. But it's rejecting the U.S. call for a much broader Iranian pullback on multiple fronts.
No sign of an imminent agreement, while President Trump keeps ramping up the U.S. military presence in the Middle East. A second aircraft carrier is on the way, and Trump keeps threatening a military strike if there's no deal. The country of Oman is acting as the go-between. And the discussions may be somewhat limited because Witkoff and Kushner have another job awaiting them later today.
FADEL: What's next on their agenda?
MYRE: Well, they're supposed to head from those talks with Iran to a Geneva hotel for negotiations between Russia and Ukraine on ending that war that's still grinding on. Next week marks four years since the full-scale Russian invasion. Now, the Trump administration has met many times with each side separately. And they have reached the point where now the Russians and Ukrainians are at the same table talking to each other. But there's no sense that a deal is close.
Trump is still leaning much more heavily on Ukrainians to make concessions while Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, says the Russians aren't serious about peace. The Russians are still hammering Ukraine with airstrikes. There was another heavy round overnight. Now, these talks are supposed to continue on into Wednesday. And in the past, we've seen the Russians and Ukrainians reach some limited agreements on things like prisoner swaps, but no movement toward ending the war.
FADEL: OK, so Tuesday and Wednesday, they'll try to solve Iran and Russia and Ukraine. Tall order. What comes next?
MYRE: Well, it keeps going. President Trump is hosting his new international Board of Peace on Thursday here in Washington, and the focus will be on Gaza. Quick side note, the meeting is scheduled for what was the U.S. Institute of Peace. Trump shut it down last year and recently renamed it the Donald J. Trump U.S. Institute of Peace.
Couple key things to watch for. First, can the Israelis and Palestinians move to Stage 2 of a ceasefire agreement that Trump brokered back in October? A big step would be sending an international stabilization force to Gaza. The second thing is whether this Board of Peace appears to have any real substance and can address conflicts in Gaza and beyond, or if this looks more like a presidential vanity project.
FADEL: Right. And this ceasefire has had mixed results, still continued attacks inside Gaza. What are all these high-profile negotiations telling us when it comes to Trump's approach to foreign policy in his second term?
MYRE: Well, first, it's very clear he wants to play a leading role in every foreign conflict that draws his interest. And this wasn't necessarily what we were expecting at the beginning of his second term. And second, he's been pursuing quick deals and has had some success, like the Gaza ceasefire. But he hasn't reached lasting, long-term solutions. So we shouldn't expect any full-fledged deals this week. But we may get a sense of how committed Trump is for the long, hard slog of negotiations that will be needed.
FADEL: That's NPR's Greg Myre. Thank you, Greg.
MYRE: Sure thing, Leila. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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