WSJ What’s News - The U.S. Sits Down With Russia

Episode Date: February 18, 2025

A.M. Edition for Feb. 18. The Trump administration tries to reset relations with Moscow and lay the groundwork for an agreement to end the Ukraine war. WSJ correspondent Michael R. Gordon dials in from Riyadh, where the talks are under way. Plus, a Delta Air Lines regional jet crashes and flips over while landing in Toronto, but all passengers and crew survive. And WSJ’s Take On the Week looks at what’s behind Walmart’s winning retail strategy. Luke Vargas hosts. Sign up for the WSJ’s free What’s News newsletter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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U.S. and Russia hold talks to pave the way for Ukraine peace negotiations rattling Washington's European allies. And these nations in a sense are trying to get at least a figurative seat at the negotiation table by saying they may be prepared to put their troops on the ground in Ukraine to secure a settlement. And New York's governor weighs the unprecedented step of removing Mayor Eric Adams from office. It's Tuesday, February 18th. I'm Luke Vargas for the Wall Street Journal and here is the AM edition of What's News,

the top headlines and business stories moving your world today. The US and Russia are holding their highest-level talks in years today as the Trump administration attempts to lay the groundwork for negotiations to end the war in Ukraine. Journal National Security correspondent Michael Gordon is in the Saudi capital Riyadh where the talks are taking place. Michael, the US today is being represented by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, National Security Advisor Mike Walz, and Middle East Envoy Steve Witkoff. While Russia is represented there by Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Foreign Policy

Aid Yuri Ushakov, Ukraine is not present. You report that the goal of this is to lay the groundwork for a summit between President Trump and President Putin. All of this has come together quite quickly, has it not? Well, this is not unusual for this Trump administration. President Trump spoke with President Putin last week. And in less than seven days, top officials on both sides are meeting here in Riyadh, a meeting that was basically set in motion before the United States and European allies were deeply brought

into the picture. Trump administration officials say the president's a man of action, and he wants to move forward and improve US-Russian relations and bring the Ukraine war closer to an end. But the way it was done is a source of some angst to European nations and, of course, to Ukraine. Nat. Yeah, tell us more about that if you could, given that Europe's exclusion from these talks led to some rather urgent diplomacy over the weekend. Well, one response was President Macron of France held a meeting and convened leaders from a number of European countries, including the UK and Germany, to discuss the way forward

from the European perspective. But really the most significant thing is that Britain said they were prepared to deploy troops in Ukraine in a sort of peacekeeping role, to safeguard an agreement if there ever is a peace settlement between Ukraine and Russia. And Sweden has also indicated they may be prepared to do that. And these nations, in a sense, are trying to get at least a figurative seat at the negotiation table, if not a literal one, by saying they may be prepared to put their troops on the ground in Ukraine in this sort of peacekeeping role to secure a settlement, step the United

States has ruled out for its own troops. And is that potential European security guarantee making its way into the substance of these talks today? Dr. It's a little early to tell. The Russians have ruled that out. They said they won't accept European troops in Ukraine. But now it's up to the United States to set the terms of a peace settlement.

I don't know that these issues are going to be wrestled to the ground today. The talks that are going on here in this palace in Riyadh seem to be a little more preliminary to see if there's a basis for restoring US-Russian relations. The Russians want to get sanctions waived soon if they can and also to lay the foundation for eventual formal talks for a peace settlement over the conflict in Ukraine that would involve the participation of Ukraine, though not the Europeans. That was Wall Street Journal National Security correspondent Michael Gordon in Riyadh.

Michael, thank you so much. Thank you. Well, as we wait to see what comes out of those Riyadh talks, the prospect of higher military spending across Europe pushed stocks in the continent to new highs yesterday. Leading the way were London-listed BAE systems, France's Thales and Germany's Rheinmetall, all of which jumped following comments from NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte that the Alliance's defense spending targets would need to be considerably more than 3 percent of GDP, up from a current target of 2% agreed to in 2014. European Commission

President Ursula von der Leyen put a price tag on that target, predicting the EU's 27 members would need to increase combined defense spending by hundreds of billions of euros every year. American and Canadian authorities are investigating an incident involving a Delta Airlines regional flight that left at least 18 people injured at Toronto's Pearson Airport yesterday. Dramatic images posted on social media show the Bombardier jet upside down on the tarmac and stripped of its wings after the flight from Minneapolis crashed while landing. All 80 passengers plus crew aboard the flight, which was operated by Delta's regional subsidiary

Endeavour Air, were evacuated and survived. Communications between air traffic control and emergency workers captured the scene shortly after the crash courtesy of LiveATC.net. Just so you know, there's people outside walking around the aircraft there. Yeah, we've got aircraft there's upside down and burning. Toronto, like much of the US northeast, has been hit by a winter storm in recent days. Earlier yesterday, airport officials said they were working to clear snow from the airfield and that they anticipated strong winds. Coming up, New York Governor Kathy Hochul considers removing Mayor Eric Adams from his

post and Southwest Airlines slashes its corporate workforce. We've got those stories and more after the break. Are you crushing your bills? Defeating your monthly payments? Sounds like you're at the top of your financial game. Rise to it with the BMO Eclipse Rise Visa Card, the credit card that rewards your good financial habits. Earn points for paying your credit card bill in full and on time every month.

Level up from bill payer to reward slayer. Terms and conditions apply. New York Governor Kathy Hochul is suggesting she'll consider removing Mayor Eric Adams from his post amid turmoil at City Hall. The Mayor's administration has been rocked by the Justice Department's recent order to Manhattan prosecutors to drop their bribery case against Adams, saying his indictment interfered with his ability to participate in President Trump's immigration enforcement. That move prompted several top prosecutors to resign and some New York City officials to call on Adams to step down or be removed from office.

Yesterday, four deputy mayors in Adams' administration also resigned. Hokel is set to meet with city leaders today to discuss bringing stability to the government. As New York City governor, she has the power to remove the mayor from office, though this step has never been taken before. Adams didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. In Markets News today, the Reserve Bank of Australia has cut interest rates for the first time since 2020, joining overseas counterparts in the global easing cycle. Australia's Labour government is banking on the quarter point cut, boosting its odds ahead of federal elections to be held by mid-May, in which the cost of living is expected to

be a central issue. Back in the US, Southwest Airlines is preparing to cut 15% of its corporate workforce, or more than 1,700 jobs, in the first mass layoff in its 53-year history. The cuts are due to take effect in late April and are the most tangible signs of a shift in the airline's strategy after a battle with activist Elliott Investment Management last year. Southwest's shares are edging higher in off-hours trading. The stock is down about 10% so far this year.

And finally, Walmart is due to report earnings later this week, and WSJ's Take on the Week podcast has been taking a closer look at the retailer and why its shares are trading at tech stock multiples. On Sunday's episode, co-host Telus Demos sat down with Dana Telsey, the CEO and founder of consumer research firm Telsey Advisory Group, to discuss how Walmart's found success by targeting a broader customer base. What has Walmart been doing to appeal more to wealthier customers? What have they been doing? I know I've read a little bit about their private labels and things like that.

What else have they done? You know, CEO Doug McMillan has said that they're really making inroads with high-end shoppers. What's been behind that? I think the awareness and the marketing, I think the physical store locations, I think the loyalty programs, the essential nature of their goods, the ease of shipments that they've been delivering, they've been on time, and they really showcase that this is not the Walmart

of 30 or 40 years ago. Look what they did in their name. They took away the name Walmart stores because they're all channels in terms of appealing to the consumers. And to check out the rest of that conversation, look for the latest episode of WSJ's Take on the Week on YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts. And that's it for What's News for this Tuesday morning.

Additional sound in this episode was from Reuters. Today's show was produced by Daniel Bach and Kate Bullivant, with supervising producer Christina Rocca, and I'm Luke Vargas for The Wall Street Journal. We will be back tonight with a new show. And until then, thanks for listening.