Zelensky: US offered Ukraine 15-year security guarantee

0:00This BBC podcast is supported by ads outside the UK. If journalism is the first draft of history, what happens if that draft is flawed? In 1999, four Russian apartment buildings were bombed, hundreds killed. But even now, we still don't know for sure who did it. It's a mystery that sparked chilling theories. I'm Helena Merriman, and in a new BBC series, I'm talking to the reporters who first covered this story. What did they miss the first time? The History Bureau, Putin and the apartment bombs. Listen on BBC.com or wherever you get your podcasts. This is the Global News Podcast from the BBC World Service.

0:46Hi, I'm Ankur Desai and on Monday the 29th of December, these are our main stories. The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, says the United States has offered security guarantees against Russia lasting 15 years, but he would like them to last a lot longer. Elsewhere, Taiwan has put its forces on high alert after China began a life-fire rehearsal of a blockade of the island. And after these protests in India last week...

1:15India's Supreme Court stops the suspension of the life sentence given to a former regional BJP legislator for raping a 17-year-old girl. Also coming up in this podcast, we hear from the man who disarmed a gunman on Bondi Beach in Sydney after 15 people died when two men opened fire at a Hanukkah gathering at the famous beach location in mid-December. And football superstar Cristiano Ronaldo is still enjoying playing, he says, and he won't stop until he's scored a thousand career goals.

1:50We begin with our top story and the ongoing efforts to find a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine. The US says an agreement is getting a lot closer. Moscow says negotiations are at a final stage. And Ukraine's president Zelensky described recent meetings with Donald Trump as great. So a lot of optimism then, but it doesn't seem to have reached the streets of Kiev just yet. That's according to these Ukrainians.

2:19Unfortunately, the talks won't have an effect. They're good for the people to understand what's going on. But I don't think the war will end soon. And yet we have to wait for the deal to be reached. Even after a deal, Russia could attack Ukraine. Trump is an unpredictable person. He changes his mind as the wind blows. But we have very high hopes because we want the war to end. My husband has been fighting for four years and I want peace and victory. So just what are the sticking points? Well, speaking a few hours ago, President Zelensky said the main unresolved issues in the 20-point peace plan were control over Ukraine's eastern Donbass region and the Russian-occupied Zafiritsya nuclear power plant.

3:05He says he wants any plan to end the war with Russia to be signed by Ukraine, Russia, Europe and the United States. And he said it should be put to a referendum in Ukraine. Well, our correspondent in Kyiv is Abdujalil Abdurusulov and he told me more about President Zelensky's comments. He has outlined some of the details of what has come out from the meeting with Donald Trump. President Zelensky says that the security guarantees have been 100 % agreed and they're pretty much ready. He says that the US offers those guarantees for 15 years and Kiev wants them to be in place for much longer, for at least 30 years.

3:45And President Zelensky says that Ukraine has been at war for nearly 15 years. And if you look at the annexation of Crimea, which happened in 2014, that means Ukraine is effectively at war for 12 years. And therefore Zelensky says that those security guarantees must be in place for a much longer period. And there are some other details that he mentioned about these guarantees. So there will be a monitoring mechanism. And he mentioned that there will be presence of partners. Does that mean boots on the ground? It is not clear. But earlier there were discussions about sending European military contingents to Ukraine as part of those security guarantees.

4:22Now, Moscow is adamant that any presence of foreign military troops on the territory of Ukraine will not be accepted and will be treated as a legal target by their forces. But the main issue, the issue of the territory has not been resolved. And that was the main objective for President Zelensky's meeting with Donald Trump. And that issue hasn't been resolved because Russia does not want to have any, even a temporary ceasefire agreements to allow a referendum. And the compromise that the U.S. offered to resolve this issue of territory involves creation of this demilitarized zone, or as they called it, a free economic zone.

5:01But in order to do that, Ukraine says they need a referendum so that the people of Ukraine can decide. But without the ceasefire, it will not be possible. OK, so can the U.S. president convince Vladimir Putin to compromise on a deal? And the Kremlin says they will be having a conversation soon. The general impression here in Ukraine is that Donald Trump is too favorable to Russia, because those things that he said during the press conference yesterday were met here with a lot of skepticism, but also with anger, frankly, because when he says that Russia wants Ukraine to succeed, or when he said that he understands why Russia is not willing to accept even a temporary ceasefire, of course, that was met with the confusion here in Ukraine.

5:42And for many people here. It's a sign that Donald Trump is too favorable to Russia, but that means he is not the person who can deliver peace in Ukraine. Abdujalil Abdurasulov reporting from Kiev. It's a show of strength on a massive scale.

6:07That was footage from Chinese state television showing missiles being fired and military aircraft taking off as the government simulates a blockade of Taiwan.

6:25You can hear the announcement of the drill's codenamed Justice Mission 2025. Xiyi from the Chinese People's Liberation Army said they were sending a stern warning to separatist forces. Put simply, China says it owns the island. The Taiwanese government disagrees. The war games have come after the largest ever U.S. arms sales to Taiwan. In a press conference, Taiwan's defence ministry described the war games as unacceptable, saying it had detected 89 Chinese military aircraft and 28 vessels near the island. I spoke to iChina correspondent Stephen McDonnell for more details. So what we have are these huge war games going on, and in the same way that they have in years gone by, it's all around Taiwan.

7:11So we've got these five zones. We know there's five zones because maps have been released. And what they're doing is practicing blockading Taiwan. So I guess it's a practice of a precursor to an attack. But then also, at some point, it would enable an invasion of Taiwan. So this is also practicing for that attack. Now, Taiwan has already been tense. This comes two weeks after the US had its biggest ever arms sale to Taiwan. And before that, the Japanese prime minister said that she couldn't rule out Japanese involvement if the People's Liberation Army tried to take Taiwan by force. Now, this was an answer to a hypothetical question, but nevertheless, it upset Beijing.

8:01And so now it's kind of trying to, I guess, show its authority again by reflexing its muscles in such a significant way with the air force, with the navy, with the rocket force. I suppose what the view is, is that it would deter others from getting involved. What about the impact then on Taiwan and the Taiwanese response? You know, it's funny in Taiwan, these drills for the average people, there seem to be a bit like sort of water off a duck's back. They're used to it now. And you might expect that it might drive them nuts. I mean, for example, the government in Taiwan has said that this is going to affect commercial aviation, that it's not safe for commercial aviation.

8:42Over the next two days, it might disrupt flights. And you've got this propaganda from the People's Liberation Army, for example, they've released these images in conjunction with the drills, with these shields, which have got the Great Wall of China on them, with a message that anyone who confronts this shield, i.e. the People's Liberation Army, will be annihilated. So blood-curdling threats. And yet, I mean, after years and years of this, of a combination of threats and statements from the Chinese government, most people in Taiwan, according to opinion polls, according to the election results we've seen, they don't want to unify with mainland China.

9:21They would prefer to have their independent judiciary, their free courts, their democratic elections. And so, despite all the bluster from Beijing, doesn't seem like it's had any impact in terms of convincing the vast majority of people in there that their lives would be better if they were to unify with mainland China. Well, what can we expect next in terms of either a retaliation or a response from either side, really? Well, we've had the government in Taipei straight away criticising these drills, saying that they're potentially in breach of international law because of the disruptions to commercial aviation.

10:01In China, I think, again, for ordinary people, they're kind of used to these drills. Now we've seen them. And although they're getting bigger, it's kind of the same. And then in a couple of days time, when the shooting's over, things will go back to normal in inverted commas. And yet it is increasing the pressure, though. As I said earlier, there has been a lot of tension around the Taiwan issue. and no doubt having big war games like this, it'll only increase that pressure. Our China correspondent Stephen McDonnell. Now to India, where a decision by the High Court in Delhi last week to suspend a life sentence given to a former regional BJP legislator for rape was met with big protests.

10:43Kuldeep Senga was sentenced to life in 2019 after being found guilty of luring the 17-year-old girl to his home and then attacking her. Demonstrators outside Delhi's High Court voiced their anger over the turnaround.

11:01Well, now the Supreme Court has stepped in to hold the suspension of the man's sentence. Our South Asia specialist, Ambarasan Ethirajan, told me more about the case. This was one of the high-profile rape cases in India at that time, between 2017 and 2019, when the details started emerging. So this former legislator, an MLA from Uttar Pradesh state, from the governing BJP party, and he was convicted of raping a minor, a 17-year-old girl. And later on, her family also went through very difficult times. Her father was beaten by a group of men after she filed this complaint. And then he died in custody while he was being held by police on a trumped-up charge.

11:47and later on she also met with a road accident in which two of her aunts got killed. So this triggered outrage across the country how someone influential can behave this way and Kuldeep Singh Senghar, the former MLA, he was given a life term for this and also he was given a tenure for culpable homicide and the subsequent case. So when the Delhi High Court last week gave him bail and suspended his life sentence, that triggered outrage across the country. How? This was one of those cases which clearly saw what went wrong to these women, how she and her family suffered, and the court went through all the details and gave this verdict.

12:30So that triggered the protest, which you heard a short while ago. What was it put on hold in the first place then? The High Court's judgment was about a technical detail about whether it is an aggravated assault. And if someone like a public servant commits aggravated assault, then it qualifies for a stricter punishment. Now, whether he can be called a public servant or not at that time, that was the technical detail. The governing BJP in 2019 expelled him before the original verdict came. It also shows how people can manipulate the judicial process or the system and also how people in power can wield their influence.

13:08And that is why this triggered such an outrage in India, like people have been protesting and in social media, everywhere people have been raising questions. So the Supreme Court now says that it will look at, it will hear the case now. Ambarasan Ethirajan reporting. Next, Israel's announcement last week that it will formally recognise Somalia's breakaway region Somaliland as an independent state has been condemned by regional blocs and neighbouring countries. The United Nations Security Council will gather later to debate the issue. The question of Somaliland's independence from Somalia has long divided the region.

13:43While the territory declared its sovereignty in the 1990s, it is not recognized by Mogadishu or any other world government apart from Israel. Israel's decision sparked protests in Somalia's capital last night, with hundreds of people taken to the streets.

14:03protesters waved the light blue flag of somalia and some people held posters saying somalia will not be an alternative homeland to palestine this is in reference to rumors that israel plans to resettle palestinians from gaza in somalia but in somaliland this weekend people rejoiced in israel's recognition of the territory in its self-declared capital of harjisa

14:30Here's Somali's Minister of Information, Dawud Awais.

14:54And if there is anything to do with our internal affairs, we have our constitutional framework, we have our legal framework, and we have our own mechanism. That means that we will not allow any external factor to have any say into our own internal affairs. So this was a blatant aggression or blatant attack against the sovereignty of Somalia. So that is how we describe the decision by the Israelis. and it's not something that the Somali government and the people of Somalia will allow. Well, what's the view in Somaliland? Osman Dube used to represent Somaliland in the federal government in Mogadishu.

15:34Somaliland got a new route, bilateral agreements or bilateral recognition, and then the state of Israel became the first nation to recognize Somaliland, which is a new era. That means for Somaliland people, I think you have seen how they celebrated, how they like it. Because of 34 years, Somaliland people were seeking to get recognition. And they were just so keen to get that one. And the first nation became a state of Israel. That's why they became so joyful, extremely happy. And it means everything. Osman Dube speaking to the BBC. Still to come on this podcast, we follow the bird poachers of Beijing.

16:22Eventually, we hear footsteps. He's there, he's there, he's there. Go, go, go, he's there. He's there? Yeah, yeah, he's there. Careful, careful. Police across China have launched a three-year crackdown on the illegal trade in wild birds.

16:43If journalism is the first draft of history, what happens if that draft is flawed? In 1999, four Russian apartment buildings were bombed, hundreds killed. But even now, we still don't know for sure who did it. It's a mystery that sparked chilling theories. I'm Helena Merriman, and in a new BBC series, I'm talking to the reporters who first covered this story. What did they miss the first time? The History Bureau, Putin and the apartment bombs. Listen on BBC.com or wherever you get your podcasts.

17:22More than a year has passed since the ousting of Syria's longtime dictator, Basha al-Assad. But huge challenges remain for a country that has been shattered by almost 14 years of war. During the conflict, about 6 million Syrians fled the country. More than half a million have now returned home from neighbouring Turkey. It took in more than anyone else, with the number of Syrians rising to 3.5 million at its peak, causing political tension and on occasion xenophobic attacks. Syrians in Turkey have temporary protection, not refugee status, but President Erdogan has insisted no Syrian will ever be forced to leave.

18:00The decision to return home or not is a complicated one, as our senior international correspondent Ola Gherin reports from the Turkish border city of Gaziantep. It's a cold, grey morning. We're at the border, at a crossing into Syria. I can see the hills of Syria just in front of me through the gates. the people going through this border gate are going home to visit. They have Turkish nationality so they can come and go. Can I ask you to tell me your name and how long you've been here in Turkey? My name is Mahmoud Sattouf and my wife is Suad Ahlal. We are living in Turkey for about 14 years. And we were very happy in Turkey because they are very good people.

18:51Do you think you will go back to live in Syria? We are going to return to our country because we love our country. It is our country in general. We say in English, east, west, home is best. I'm standing by a stone wall in the shadow of an ancient castle which watches over Gaziantep. I've come here to meet a 32-year-old Syrian woman, Aya Mustafa. She fled here with her family from the Syrian city of Aleppo when she was just 18 years old.

19:48water, work to have our income. Do you think a day will come when you can go back? Sure, we believe that day will come soon, but it will take time.

20:02I've just come into a small Syrian coffee shop. Customers are starting to arrive for a morning coffee.

20:14Mohammed is working here in the coffee shop. He's 26 and he's been here since 2014. Are you planning to go back to Syria, Mohammed?

20:25No, after now, because the situation is not stable now. So right now we are staying here. The relatives who are there or even the friends who come back advise them not to come.

20:39All along this street there are Syrian businesses selling everything from gold to spices. Some of those who fled here have managed to make a living but they've always faced a lot of restrictions. Syrians are not supposed to move from the cities where they are first registered. They need permission to do that. It's always been hard to get a work permit. Officially, they are still free to remain here. But people tell me beneath the surface there is pressure to make them go.

21:16Ola Gerin reporting. Now to a discovery that transports us back to the reign of King David I of Scotland. He was on the throne in the first half of the 12th century. And it was during his reign that the first coins being used in Scotland were actually minted in the country. Prior to that time, they were made outside. The earlier such coin has now been acquired by the National Museum of Scotland, prompting the headline Saved for the Nation After 900 Years. It was actually discovered nearly two years ago by a metal detectorist in woods in central Scotland. My colleague Julian Warwicker has been hearing more from a senior curator of medieval archaeology and history at National Museum Scotland, Dr Alice Blackwell.

21:58This is a really tremendous discovery for Scotland and for our understanding of the early Scottish Kingdom. It's the first coin struck within Scotland at a proper Scottish mint that's known to have survived. So it was found by a metal detectorist about 10 miles south of Edinburgh, and we were lucky enough to be allocated this really, really nationally significant object. You, I'm told, have held it. You've felt it. What's this coin like? I have, yeah. Like coins of this period, it's a very thin silver disc. Coins of this day were made by striking a thin flan of silver against a die with a hammer.

22:39So it's very thin in order for the image to come across. So it's very thin, it's very small, it's very beautiful. It's slightly worn and a little bit bent, as is not surprising given its age. Presumably it was buried in this one place where it was found for all of its lifespan, was it? Yes, I mean, it shows a little bit of wear. So I think the coin was probably used for a little bit. It will have been struck in the late 1130s. So it's really amongst the earliest Scottish coins produced. And there's a little bit of wear, suggests it's been used a little bit before it was lost. It was found by itself.