Trump backs IMEC corridor, seeks energy routes away from Iran, talks war with Zelensky

Amid rising tension in the Middle East, US President Donald Trump has taken a major strategic decision. He said energy facilities and oil transport routes in the Middle East need to be moved away from Iranian checkpoints, and that his administration fully backs the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor, or IMEC, for this reason.

According to Trump, repeated attacks by Iran on neighbouring countries' trade vessels have become a major challenge to global energy security. He said it has therefore become necessary to find an alternative route, free of Iranian interference, to secure the transport of oil and goods. Trump said the IMEC project could become a new and completely secure energy route for world trade, whether through pipelines or new sea and rail routes, and that the US would support the project with full strength. He said this could permanently resolve the security problems that have troubled the Middle East for decades.

On Tuesday, US President Donald Trump held a high-level meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, in which they had a long and important discussion on the Russia-Ukraine war. After the meeting, Trump said, "Our relationship is very good. President Zelensky and I are trying to find a solution to this war as soon as possible, and I am fully confident that a positive path will emerge."

Speaking on the severity of the war, Trump said both Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Zelensky now want to end the war. He said thousands of people have lost their lives needlessly in this war, that nobody wants this violence, and that the time has come to stop the war. Zelensky, for his part, thanked Trump for his personal and bilateral support, and said he hoped US help in ending the war before or as winter begins would prove to be a major turning point.

Speaking on global security and economic matters, Trump specifically mentioned the "Shield of the Americas" alliance. He said he was pleased to take part in its second meeting and called it the largest and most powerful economic and national security alliance in the history of the Western Hemisphere. Trump also said Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner had met with mediators over the Iran deal, and that progress was being made on several issues.

On Chinese President Xi Jinping's upcoming three-day state visit, Trump said relations between the two countries were good. "He likes China, I like America. There is going to be a great meeting between the two big countries," he said.