Italian singer claims he was asked to perform in Russia to mark end of Ukraine war

Lorenzo Tondo

in Rome

The popular Italian singer Albano Carrisi, better known by his stage name Al Bano, has said that he has been invited to perform in a concert between the end of August and the beginning of September on Moscow’s Red Square to celebrate the end of the war in Ukraine.

In an interview with Italy’s state radio broadcaster Radio Rai 1, Al Bano—one of the most well-known Italian singers in Russia, who met Russian President Vladimir Putin on several occasions—said that he was contacted a few days ago by his Moscow-based agent, who told him to prepare to perform in a major concert to celebrate the end of the war, which is nearing its third year.

“‘The other day I received an SMS from the Russian agent,’” said Al Bano. “‘It’s the same manager who introduced me to Putin and his entire staff. He told me, “Al Bano, get ready, because between the end of August and, at the latest, the beginning of September, we will hold the concert on Red Square—the famous concert for peace. And it will happen. I am absolutely convinced it will happen.”

Asked if he was ready to perform, he replied: “As always.”

Al Bano did not name the manager and the Guardian could not independently verify the report.

Hungarian foreign minister Péter Szijjártó has welcomed the restart of the high level talks between Russia and the US, criticising “pro-war” European leaders who he said were trying to prevent a peace deal for Ukraine.

Szijjártó spoke at a press conference with his counterpart in Kazakhstan, streamed on his Facebook and reported by Reuters.

Hungary has long been a vocal critic of the European response to the war, and repeatedly called for the removal of sanctions against Moscow.

US state secretary Marco Rubio has now arrived in Saudi Arabia, where he will take part with talks with Russia, expected to start on Tuesday. He is expected to be joined by US national security advisor Michael Waltz and Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff.

He is continuing his first visit to the Middle East since taking office last month; he flew into Riyadh from Israel, where he met with the country’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

US president Donald Trump’s special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, Keith Kellogg, will visit Warsaw on Tuesday where he will meet with Polish president Andrzej Duda to discuss the peace talks about Ukraine, a senior Polish administration official said.

Duda’s most senior foreign policy aide, Wojciech Kolarski, told RMF24 radio that the pair would meet on Tuesday afternoon at the Presidential Palace in Warsaw at the initiative of the US side.

He declined to say if Poland would be prepared to send troops to Ukraine.

Swedish foreign minister Maria Malmer Stenergard told public radio Sveriges Radio that the country would not rule out sending peacekeeping troops to Ukraine if necessary.

“We must first now negotiate a fair and sustainable peace that respects international law… When we have such a peace in place, it will need to be maintained and for that our government is not ruling out anything,” she said.

Keir Starmer has said he is prepared to put British troops on the ground in Ukraine if there is a deal to end the war with Russia – acknowledging it could put UK forces “in harm’s way” if Vladimir Putin launches another attack.

It is understood to be the first time the prime minister has explicitly stated he is considering deploying British peacekeepers to Ukraine. The comments came just before emergency talks with European leaders in Paris on Monday.

Writing in the Daily Telegraph (£), he said the UK was “ready to play a leading role” in Ukraine’s defence and security, including the commitment of £3bn a year until 2030. Starmer said that along with military aid, “it also means being ready and willing to contribute to security guarantees to Ukraine by putting our own troops on the ground if necessary”.

“I do not say that lightly. I feel very deeply the responsibility that comes with potentially putting British servicemen and women in harm’s way,” Starmer said.

“But any role in helping to guarantee Ukraine’s security is helping to guarantee the security of our continent, and the security of this country.

The Paris meeting will aim to outline a European action plan after days of chaotic briefing by the Trump administration. The summit will also need to decide how to respond to a request by the US to spell out whether leaders are prepared to commit troops to a stabilisation force in the event of a ceasefire.

Confirming the Paris meeting, France’s foreign minister, Jean-Noël Barrot, told France Inter radio on Sunday: “The president will bring together the main European countries tomorrow for discussions on European security.” He said there was a wind of unity blowing through.

It will discuss what defence capabilities Europe could provide to give Ukraine credible security guarantees, including a plan for Ukraine to be given automatic Nato membership in the event of a clear ceasefire breach by Russia. The US has said there must be devastating consequences for any side that breaches a ceasefire agreement, an element missing from previous Ukraine ceasefires since 2014.

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Morning opening: Make Europe Relevant Again

Jakub Krupa

After a brutal awakening about the state of the transatlantic alliance over the weekend, key European leaders are meeting in Paris today to figure out what to do next.

They will not be necessarily looking how to Make Europe Great Again, as JD Vance claims he would have want them to, but how to Make Europe Relevant Again in the looming talks about Ukraine’s future.

Hastily convened by French president Emmanuel Macron, the talks will see key regional leaders try to path a way forward outside the formal structures of the European Union, and without the risk of being sabotaged by the likes of Viktor Orbán.

Macron is expected to be joined by Germany’s Scholz, Italy’s Meloni, Poland’s Tusk, Denmark’s Frederiksen (representing the Nordic-Baltic Eight), Spain’s Sanchez, the Netherlands’ Schoof and EU leaders in Commission president von der Leyen and Council president Costa.

The meeting will discuss what defence capabilities Europe could provide to give Ukraine credible security guarantees, including a plan for Ukraine to be given automatic Nato membership in the event of a clear ceasefire breach by Russia.

But there is no hiding from the fact that the Paris summit will be taking place just as US officials will be prepping to meet with Russian counterparts in the Saudi capital of Riyadh to discuss some of the issues at hand – without any Ukrainians or Europeans attending.

If Europe wants to put itself back in this conversation, there is not much time left to do this before it is too late, with potentially devastating consequences for the security order that kept us safe since 1945.

Pas de pression, Paris.

It’s Monday, 17 February 2024, and this is Europe Live. It’s Jakub Krupa here.

Good morning.