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President Donald Trump on Friday told reporters he wants to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss the war in Ukraine "as soon as we can set it up." 

The president, speaking from Abu Dhabi during the last stop of his four-day Middle East tour, said: "I think it’s time for us to just do it." 

Trump had said earlier that a meeting between him and Putin was crucial to breaking the deadlock. 

Putin spurned an offer this week by Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy to meet face-to-face for peace talks in Istanbul. Trump said he didn’t think Putin would show up if he didn’t attend the talks himself.

RUBIO DOUBTS 'ANYTHING PRODUCTIVE' WILL HAPPEN IN UKRAINE PEACE TALKS TRUMP, PUTIN

"I said, you know, they all said Putin was going, Zelensky was going, and I said, if I don't go, I guarantee Putin's not going. And he didn't go," Trump told reporters Friday. 

When asked for a timeline, Trump said, "as soon as we can set it up." 

In place of Zelenskyy and Putin, a Ukrainian delegation led by Defense Minister Rustem Umerov is expected to meet with a low-level Russian team headed by presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky. 

Officials and observers expect these talks to yield little immediate progress on stopping the more than three-year war between Russia and Ukraine. 

RUBIO TAKES SOMBER TONE ON RUSSIA-UKRAINE PEACE DEAL: 'CLOSE BUT NOT CLOSE ENOUGH'

The two sides are far apart in their conditions for ending the war. Ukraine has accepted a U.S. and European proposal for a full, 30-day ceasefire, but Putin has effectively rejected it by imposing far-reaching conditions.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian government and Western military analysts allege that Russian forces are preparing a fresh military offensive.

After Putin declined Zelenskyy's challenge to sit down with him in the Turkish capital on Thursday, the Ukrainian president accused Moscow of not making a serious effort to end the war by sending a low-level negotiating team that he described as "a theater prop."

PUTIN SENDING FOREIGN MINISTER TO SAUDI ARABIA FOR TALKS WITH TRUMP OFFICIALS

Even so, Zelenskyy said that he was sending a team headed by his defense minister to Friday's meeting in Istanbul. That would show Trump that Ukraine is determined to press ahead with peace efforts despite Russian foot-dragging, Zelenskyy said, amid intense diplomatic maneuvering by Kyiv and Moscow.

The Russian delegation also includes three other senior officials, the Kremlin said. Putin also appointed four lower-level officials as "experts" for the talks.

Ahead of Friday’s talks, a three-way meeting between Turkey, the U.S. and Ukraine also took place, per Turkish Foreign Ministry officials. The U.S. side included Secretary of State Marco Rubio as well as retired Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg.

Rubio on Thursday said he did not foresee any major breakthroughs in Istanbul.

"We don't have high expectations of what will happen tomorrow. And frankly, at this point, I think it's abundantly clear that the only way we're going to have a breakthrough here is between President Trump and President Putin," Rubio told reporters Thursday in Antalya, Turkey.

Secretary of State Macro Rubio cast a pessimistic tone ahead of talks in Turkey now set for Friday after both Russian President Vladimir Putin and President Donald Trump said they would not be in attendance. 

The peace talks, which were supposed to happen on Thursday, got thrown into disarray after both Russian and Ukrainian delegations, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, landed in various cities in Turkey as confirmation arrived that not only would Putin not be engaging in the discussions, but neither would senior members from the Kremlin.

According to reports, frustration grew as the delegations and mediators spent much of the day questioning when, and even whether, they would meet on Thursday before the meeting was ultimately pushed to Friday.

TRUMP TO SKIP RUSSIA-UKRAINE PEACE TALKS, CALLS ZELENSKYY THE ‘GREATEST SALESMAN, MAYBE IN HISTORY’

"Frankly, at this point, I think it's abundantly clear that the only way we're going to have a breakthrough here is between President Trump and President Putin," Rubio told reporters. "It's going to require that level of engagement to have a breakthrough in this matter. 

"I don't think anything productive is actually going to happen from this point forward… until they engage in a very frank and direct conversation, which I know President Trump is willing to do," he added. 

The peace talks first came about after Putin suggested last week that Ukraine and Russia should engage in direct talks. Zelenskyy agreed and said those talks should be held by the leaders of the warring nations. 

Trump sparked surprise earlier this week when he suggested he might travel to Turkey from the UAE if progress was made in the talks on Thursday, but it was never previously suggested that the U.S. president, who was set to be wrapping up a Middle East tour, would be present for the negotiations. 

PUTIN PROPOSES DIRECT PEACE TALKS WITH UKRAINE TO END WAR

The Kremlin on Thursday confirmed Putin was not going to participate in the peace talks. 

Aboard Air Force One on Thursday, Trump suggested Putin did not attend because of a scheduling miscommunication and told reporters that there was no hope on any real progress in negotiations until he and Putin speak.

"Look, nothing's going to happen until Putin and I get together. OK?" Trump said. "He was going to go, but he thought I was going to go. He wasn't going if I wasn't there. 

"I don't believe anything's going to happen, whether you like it or not, until he and I get together," he added.

Any future plans for Trump and Putin to talk remain unknown.

"What I can say with certainty is that the president's… willing to stick with [this] as long as it takes to achieve peace," Rubio said. "What we cannot do, however, is continue to fly all over the world and engage in meetings that are not going to be productive.

"The only way we're going to have a breakthrough here is with President Trump sitting face to face with President Putin and determining once and for all whether there's a path to peace," he added.

Zelenskyy did not hold back in expressing his frustration over what he said is proof that Putin’s "attitude is unserious."

"No time of the meeting, no agenda, no high-level of delegation – this is personal disrespect to Erdoğan, to Trump," Zelenskyy reportedly said at a Thursday news conference after meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

U.S. energy officials are reassessing the risk posed by Chinese-made devices that play a critical role in renewable energy infrastructure after unexplained communication equipment was found inside some of them, two people familiar with the matter said.

Power inverters, which are predominantly produced in China, are used throughout the world to connect solar panels and wind turbines to electricity grids. They are also found in batteries, heat pumps and electric vehicle chargers.

While inverters are built to allow remote access for updates and maintenance, the utility companies that use them typically install firewalls to prevent direct communication back to China.

CHINESE OFFICIALS CLAIMED BEHIND CLOSED DOORS PRC PLAYED ROLE IN US CYBERATTACKS: REPORT

However, rogue communication devices not listed in product documents have been found in some Chinese solar power inverters by U.S. experts who strip down equipment hooked up to grids to check for security issues, the two people said.

Over the past nine months, undocumented communication devices, including cellular radios, have also been found in some batteries from multiple Chinese suppliers, one of them said.

Reuters was unable to determine how many solar power inverters and batteries they have looked at.

The rogue components provide additional, undocumented communication channels that could allow firewalls to be circumvented remotely, with potentially catastrophic consequences, the two people said.

Both declined to be named because they did not have permission to speak to the media.

"We know that China believes there is value in placing at least some elements of our core infrastructure at risk of destruction or disruption," said Mike Rogers, a former director of the U.S. National Security Agency. "I think that the Chinese are, in part, hoping that the widespread use of inverters limits the options that the West has to deal with the security issue."

A spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in Washington said: "We oppose the generalization of the concept of national security, distorting and smearing China's infrastructure achievements."

Using the rogue communication devices to skirt firewalls and switch off inverters remotely, or change their settings, could destabilize power grids, damage energy infrastructure, and trigger widespread blackouts, experts said.

"That effectively means there is a built-in way to physically destroy the grid," one of the people said,

The two people declined to name the Chinese manufacturers of the inverters and batteries with extra communication devices, nor say how many they had found in total.

The existence of the rogue devices has not previously been reported. The U.S. government has not publicly acknowledged the discoveries.

Asked for comment, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) said it continually assesses risk associated with emerging technologies and that there were significant challenges with manufacturers disclosing and documenting functionalities.

"While this functionality may not have malicious intent, it is critical for those procuring to have a full understanding of the capabilities of the products received," a spokesperson said.

Work is ongoing to address any gaps in disclosures through "Software Bill of Materials" - or inventories of all the components that make up a software application - and other contractual requirements, the spokesperson said.

As U.S.-China tensions escalate, the U.S. and others are reassessing China's role in strategic infrastructure because of concerns about potential security vulnerabilities, two former government officials said.

"The threat we face from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is real and growing. Whether it's telecom hacks or remotely accessing solar and battery inverters, the CCP stops at nothing to target our sensitive infrastructure and components," said U.S. Representative August Pfluger, a Republican member of the Committee on Homeland Security.

"It is about time we ramp up our efforts to show China that compromising us will no longer be acceptable," he told Reuters.

In February, two U.S. Senators introduced the Decoupling from Foreign Adversarial Battery Dependence Act, banning the Department of Homeland Security from purchasing batteries from some Chinese entities, starting October 2027, due to national security concerns.

The bill was referred to the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs on March 11 and has yet to be enacted.

THE REAL BREAKTHROUGH IN U.S.–CHINA TRADE TALKS IS MUCH BIGGER THAN JUST TARIFFS

It aims to prevent Homeland Security from procuring batteries from six Chinese companies Washington says are closely linked to the Chinese Communist Party: Contemporary Amperex Technology Company (CATL), BYD Company, Envision Energy, EVE Energy Company, Hithium Energy Storage Technology Company, and Gotion High-tech Company.

None of the companies responded to requests for comment.

Utilities are now preparing for similar bans on Chinese inverter manufacturers, three people with knowledge of the matter said.

Some utilities, including Florida's largest power supplier, Florida Power & Light Company, are attempting to minimize the use of Chinese inverters by sourcing equipment from elsewhere, according to two people familiar with the matter. FPL did not respond to requests for comment.

The DOE spokesperson said: "As more domestic manufacturing takes hold, DOE is working across the federal government to strengthen U.S. supply chains, providing additional opportunities to integrate trusted equipment into the power grid."

Huawei is the world's largest supplier of inverters, accounting for 29% of shipments globally in 2022, followed by Chinese peers Sungrow and Ginlong Solis, according to consultancy Wood Mackenzie.

German solar developer 1Komma5 said, however, that it avoids Huawei inverters, because of the brand's associations with security risks.

"Ten years ago, if you switched off the Chinese inverters, it would not have caused a dramatic thing to happen to European grids, but now the critical mass is much larger," 1Komma5 Chief Executive Philipp Schroeder said.

"China's dominance is becoming a bigger issue because of the growing renewables capacity on Western grids and the increased likelihood of a prolonged and serious confrontation between China and the West," he said.

Since 2019, the U.S. has restricted Huawei's access to U.S. technology, accusing the company of activities contrary to national security, which Huawei denies.

CHINESE IMPORTS TO US PLUMMET TO LOWEST LEVELS SINCE PANDEMIC AMID TRUMP TARIFFS

Chinese companies are required by law to cooperate with China's intelligence agencies, giving the government potential control over Chinese-made inverters connected to foreign grids, experts said.

While Huawei decided to leave the U.S. inverter market in 2019 - the year its 5G telecoms equipment was banned - it remains a dominant supplier elsewhere.

Huawei declined to comment.

In Europe, exercising control over just 3 to 4 gigawatts of energy could cause widespread disruption to electricity supplies, experts said.

The European Solar Manufacturing Council estimates over 200 GW of European solar power capacity is linked to inverters made in China - equivalent to more than 200 nuclear power plants.

At the end of last year, there was 338 GW of installed solar power in Europe, according to industry association SolarPower Europe.

"If you remotely control a large enough number of home solar inverters, and do something nefarious at once, that could have catastrophic implications to the grid for a prolonged period of time," said Uri Sadot, cybersecurity program director at Israeli inverter manufacturer SolarEdge.

Other countries such as Lithuania and Estonia acknowledge the threats to energy security. In November, the Lithuanian government passed a law blocking remote Chinese access to solar, wind and battery installations above 100 kilowatts - by default restricting the use of Chinese inverters.

Energy minister Zygimantas Vaiciunas said this could be extended to smaller rooftop solar installations.

Estonia's Director General of the Foreign Intelligence Service, Kaupo Rosin, said the country could be at risk of blackmail from China if it did not ban Chinese technology in crucial parts of the economy, such as solar inverters.

Estonia's Ministries of Defense and Climate declined to comment when asked if they had taken any action.

In Britain, the government's review of Chinese renewable energy technology in the energy system - due to be concluded in the coming months - includes looking at inverters, a person familiar with the matter said.

In November, solar power inverters in the U.S. and elsewhere were disabled from China, highlighting the risk of foreign influence over local electricity supplies and causing concern among government officials, three people familiar with the matter said.

Reuters was unable to determine how many inverters were switched off, or the extent of disruption to grids. The DOE declined to comment on the incident.

The incident led to a commercial dispute between inverter suppliers Sol-Ark and Deye, the people said.

"Sol-Ark does not comment on vendor relationships, including any relationship with Deye, nor does it have any control over inverters that are not branded Sol-Ark, as was the case in the November 2024 situation you referenced," a Sol-Ark spokesperson said.

Deye did not respond to requests for comment.

The energy sector is trailing other industries such as telecoms and semiconductors, where regulations have been introduced in Europe and the U.S. to mitigate China's dominance.

Security analysts say this is partly because decisions about whether to secure energy infrastructure are mostly dictated by the size of any installation.

Household solar or battery storage systems fall below thresholds where security requirements typically kick-in, they said, despite now contributing a significant share of power on many Western grids.

NATO, the 32-country Western security alliance, said China's efforts to control member states' critical infrastructure - including inverters - were intensifying.

"We must identify strategic dependencies and take steps to reduce them," said a NATO official.

President Donald Trump on Thursday will soon land in the United Arab Emirates for his final stop in the Middle East this week in a visit that marked the first time a U.S. president has traveled to the nation in nearly 30 years, following President George W. Bush's trip in 2008.

Trump, who has secured major business deals first in Saudi Arabia and then Qatar, is expected to announce more agreements with what has long been one of the U.S.’ chief trading partners in the region — though given recently announced trillion-dollar deals, it is unclear what more the Emiratis will agree to. 

In March, the UAE pledged a $1.4 trillion investment in the U.S. economy over the next decade through AI infrastructure, semiconductor, energy and American manufacturing initiatives, including a plan to nearly double U.S. aluminum production by investing in a new smelter for the first time in 35 years. 

TRUMP SIGNS AGREEMENTS WITH QATAR ON DEFENSE AND BOEING PURCHASES

On the eve of the president’s visit to the Middle Eastern nation, the State Department also announced a $1.4 billion sale of CH-47 F Chinook helicopters and F-16 fighter jet parts to Abu Dhabi.

However, lawmakers on Wednesday suggested they may block this sale amid concerns over direct personal business ties, as Trump’s crypto venture has also received a $2 billion investment by a UAE-backed investment firm.

"If I was a betting person, I’d bet that the Emiratis almost certainly kept some things in reserve for President Trump’s actual visit that can be announced when he’s on the ground in Abu Dhabi," John Hannah, former national security advisor to Dick Cheney and current Randi & Charles Wax senior fellow at the Jewish Institute for National Security of America (JINSA), told Fox News Digital. "I wouldn’t be at all surprised if we see some new items unveiled or some additional details put out on some of the earlier announcements." 

"The UAE has clearly staked its future on being the Middle East leader in a wide range of 21st-century technologies, from AI to chips to space," he added. "And of course, the shopping list for high-end weapons is almost limitless and always a possible deliverable for a trip like this."  

Increased scrutiny arose around Trump’s Middle East tour as engagement with all three nations holds personal value to him, given the Trump Organization’s luxury resorts, hotels, golf courses, real estate projects and crypto investment schemes in the region.

TRUMP CONTINUES TO DEFEND QATAR GIFTING US $400M JET: 'WE SHOULD HAVE THE MOST IMPRESSIVE PLANE'

But all three nations also hold significant value to Washington, as they have become key players in some of the toughest geopolitical issues facing the U.S. and its allies. 

Saudi Arabia and Qatar have been integral in facilitating U.S. negotiations when it comes to ending Russia’s war in Ukraine and hostage negotiations in the Gaza Strip.

While neither of these issues appeared to be top points of discussion in Trump’s visit to Saudi Arabia or Qatar, he may hit on geopolitical ties more heavily when it comes to the UAE, particularly given that Abu Dhabi is one of the few Middle Eastern nations that holds normalized diplomatic ties with Israel.

The UAE has ardently opposed Israel’s military operations in the Gaza Strip, has called for a two-state solution, and has rejected Trump’s "riviera plans," instead favoring an Egypt-reconstruction alternative.

But Abu Dhabi has also maintained relations with the U.S.’ biggest adversaries, including China, Russia and Iran, which could be a topic of conversation during Trump’s one-day visit.

"As everywhere on this trip, the headlines will likely be dominated by the dollar signs and deal-making," Hannah said. "But I’m personally most interested in the geopolitical angle of trying to reset the U.S.-Emirati strategic partnership, especially in the context of America’s great power competition with China and to a lesser extent Russia, and regionally with Iran."

Hannah explained that Trump's visit to the UAE exemplifies a recommitment by the U.S. economically and militarily to support Abu Dhabi’s "stability, security, and success in a dangerous neighborhood" and could "pay real dividends going forward."

 "The UAE’s top leadership has come to believe that putting most of its eggs into the American basket was an increasingly risky bet as one president after another decided that the Middle East was a lost cause — nothing but ‘blood and sand’ as President Trump famously said in his first term — and the country needed to pivot its focus toward Asia," he continued. "With a country as influential and resource-rich as the UAE, correcting that unhelpful perception and putting the strategic relationship back on a much more positive dynamic is an important goal."   

President Donald Trump on Thursday said he would skip Russia-Ukraine peace talks in Istanbul and downplayed Russian President Vladimir Putin’s decision not to attend. 

The president had pressed for Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to meet in Istanbul. But speaking at a business roundtable with executives in Doha as part of a four-day tour of the region, Trump said he wasn’t going because of scheduling conflicts. 

"I actually said, why would he go if I’m not going?" Trump said when asked by a reporter if he was disappointed by Putin’s decision not to attend the peace talks. "I didn't think it was possible for Putin to go if I'm not there."

Trump earlier this week floated the idea of potentially attending himself. But he noted during the business roundtable that Secretary of State Marco Rubio was already in Istanbul for meetings with NATO counterparts. Trump's special envoy, Steve Witkoff, also plans to be in Istanbul on Friday for the anticipated Russia-Ukraine talks.

TRUMP CONSIDERS JOINING RUSSIA-UKRAINE NEGOTIATIONS IN TURKEY, UNCLEAR IF PUTIN WILL SHOW

The push for direct talks between Zelenskyy and Putin comes amid a flurry of negotiations aimed at producing a ceasefire agreement between Russia and Ukraine.

RUBIO TAKES SOMBER TONE ON RUSSIA-UKRAINE PEACE DEAL: 'CLOSE BUT NOT CLOSE ENOUGH'

Putin was the first to propose restarting direct peace talks Thursday with Ukraine in the Turkish city that straddles Asia and Europe. Zelenskyy challenged the Kremlin leader to meet in Turkey in person.

But the Kremlin has said its delegation at the talks will be led by Putin's aide, Vladimir Medinsky, and include three other officials. Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said Zelenskyy will only sit down with the Russian leader.

Speaking in Doha, Trump said the Russia-Ukraine war "has to stop." The president lamented the lives lost and money spent on the war effort.

"We spent $350 billion there – just handed. Nobody even knows where the money is. There’s no accounting. There’s no one. It’s just give him money," Trump said, referring to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.   

RUBIO DENIES TRUMP IS EXCLUDING UKRAINE FROM RUSSIA TALKS, PUSHES BACK ON NATO CRITICISM

"I have to hand it to him. I think he’s the greatest salesman, maybe in history. Every time he came to the United States, he’d walk away with $100 billion. That’s a good salesman, right?" Trump said. "Last time he didn’t do as well. He only got $60 billion." 

Zelenskyy last visited the White House in February, but tensions quickly broke out with President Trump and Vice President JD Vance. The two leaders last met on the sidelines of Pope Francis’ funeral last month. 

Later Thursday, Trump will visit a U.S. installation in Qatar at the center of American involvement in the Middle East. He has used his four-day visit to Gulf states to reject the "interventionism" of America's past in the region.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.  

Former Hamas hostages are calling on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Donald Trump and Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff to move quickly to free the remaining hostages, even if it means halting military operations. 

After American Israeli Edan Alexander’s release earlier this week, 65 survivors of Hamas captivity urged Netanyahu, Trump and Witkoff to seize the moment and "not let this historic momentum stop."

"We believe the Israeli government now faces a genuine opportunity to return to the negotiating table. We urge all those involved in this process: Please do not walk away until a comprehensive deal is signed," the letter states.

EDAN ALEXANDER'S RELEASE OFFERS ‘WINDOW OF OPPORTUNITY’ FOR WIDER HOSTAGE DEAL AMID TRUMP MIDDLE EAST VISIT

On Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas took 251 hostages, 12 of whom were American citizens. Keith Siegel, Edan Alexander and Sagui Dekel-Chen have all been released alive. Hersh Goldberg-Polin’s body was taken out of Gaza in August 2023. Hamas is still holding the remains of multiple Americans who have been confirmed dead: Omer Neutra, Itay Chen, Judith Weinstein Haggai and Gadi Haggai.

HOSTAGES FREED FROM GAZA TELL TRUMP HE WAS 'SENT BY GOD' TO SAVE THEM, BUT DOZENS MORE REMAIN

Siegel is among the former hostages who signed the letter. He has previously thanked Trump for securing his release, even crediting the president for his being alive. Now, he is joining other former Hamas captives demanding freedom for those who remain in Gaza, "regardless of which citizenship they hold."

While in the Middle East in the days after Alexander’s release, Trump has worked on making deals for the U.S., many of which could also benefit Israel, though the latest slate of deals seems to be unrelated to the remaining hostages.

The president asked Syria to join the Abraham Accords and normalize ties with Israel in exchange for sanctions relief. Additionally, Trump said Damascus would need to deport "Palestinian terrorists," help the U.S. prevent the resurgence of ISIS and assume charge of ISIS detention centers in northeast Syria. 

Netanyahu’s office declined to comment on the letter. The White House did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment in time for publication.

Fox News Digital's Bradford Betz contributed to this report.

Jose Mujica, a one-time guerrilla and later president of Uruguay who drove a beat-up VW Beetle and enacted progressive reforms that carried his reputation well beyond South America, has died aged 89.

The straight-talking Mujica, known to many Uruguayans by his nickname "Pepe," led the small farming country's leftist government from 2010 to 2015 after convincing voters his radical past was a closed chapter.

FORMER URUGUAYAN PRESIDENT JOSE MUJICA ANNOUNCES ESOPHAGEAL CANCER DIAGNOSIS

"It is with deep sorrow that we announce the death of our comrade Pepe Mujica," President Yamandu Orsi said in a post on X. "Thank you for everything you gave us and for your deep love for your people."

As president, Mujica adopted what was then a pioneering liberal stance on issues related to civil liberties. He signed a law allowing gay marriage and abortions in early pregnancy, and backed a proposal to legalize marijuana sales. The gay marriage and abortion measures were a big shift for Catholic Latin America, and the move on marijuana was at the time almost unprecedented worldwide.

Regional leaders, including leftist presidents in Brazil, Chile and Mexico, mourned Mujica's passing and praised his example.

"He defended democracy like few others. And he never stopped advocating for social justice and the end of all inequalities," said Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. Mujica's "greatness transcended the borders of Uruguay and his presidential term," he added.

During his term in office, Mujica refused to move to the presidential residence, choosing to stay in his modest home where he kept a small flower farm in a suburb of Montevideo, the capital.

Shunning a formal suit and tie, it was common to see him driving around in his Beetle or eating at downtown restaurants where office workers had lunch.

In a May 2024 interview with Reuters in the tin-roofed house that Mujica shared with his wife, former Senator Lucia Topolansky, he said he had kept the old Beetle and that it was still in "phenomenal" condition.

But, he added, he preferred a turn on the tractor, saying it was "more entertaining" than a car and was a place where "you have time to think."

Critics questioned Mujica's tendency to break with protocol, while his blunt and occasionally uncouth statements sometimes forced him to explain himself, under pressure from opponents and political allies alike.

But it was his down-to-earth style and progressive musings that endeared him to many Uruguayans.

"The problem is that the world is run by old people, who forget what they were like when they were young," Mujica said during the 2024 interview.

Mujica himself was 74 when he became president. He was elected with 52% of the vote, despite some voters' concerns about his age and his past as one of the leaders of the Tupamaros rebel group in the 1960s and 1970s.

Lucia Topolansky was Mujica's long-term partner, dating back to their days in the Tupamaros. The couple married in 2005, and she served as vice president from 2017-2020.

After leaving office, they remained politically active, regularly attending inaugurations of Latin American presidents and giving crucial backing to candidates in Uruguay, including Orsi, who took office in March 2025. They stopped growing flowers on their small holding but continued to cultivate vegetables, including tomatoes that Topolansky pickled each season.

BEHIND BARS

Jose Mujica's birth certificate recorded him as born in 1935, although he claimed there was an error and that he was actually born a year earlier. He once described his upbringing as "dignified poverty."

Mujica's father died when he was 9 or 10 years old, and as a boy he helped his mother maintain the farm where they grew flowers and kept chickens and a few cows.

At the time Mujica became interested in politics, Uruguay's left was weak and fractured and he began his political career in a progressive wing of the center-right National Party.

In the late 1960s, he joined the Marxist Tupamaros guerrilla movement, which sought to weaken Uruguay's conservative government through robberies, political kidnappings and bombings.

Mujica later said that he had never killed anyone but was involved in several violent clashes with police and soldiers and was once shot six times.

Uruguay's security forces gained the upper hand over the Tupamaros by the time the military swept to power in a 1973 coup, marking the start of a 12-year dictatorship in which about 200 people were kidnapped and killed. Thousands more were jailed and tortured.

Mujica spent almost 15 years behind bars, many in solitary confinement, lying at the bottom of an old horse trough with only ants for company. He managed to escape twice, once by tunneling into a nearby house. His biggest "vice" as he approached 90, he later said, was talking to himself, alluding to his time in isolation.

When democracy was restored to the farming country of roughly 3 million people in 1985, Mujica was released and returned to politics, gradually becoming a prominent figure on the left.

He served as agriculture minister in the center-left coalition of his predecessor, President Tabaré Vázquez, who would go on to succeed him from 2015 to 2020.

Mujica's support base was on the left, but he maintained a fluid dialogue with opponents within the center-right, inviting them to traditional barbecues at his home.

"We can't pretend to agree on everything. We have to agree with what there is, not with what we like," he said.

He believed drugs should be decriminalized "under strict state control" and addiction addressed.

"I do not defend drug use. But I can't defend (a ban) because now we have two problems: drug addiction, which is a disease, and narcotrafficking, which is worse," he said. 

In retirement, he remained resolutely optimistic.

"I want to convey to all the young people that life is beautiful, but it wears out and you fall," he said following a cancer diagnosis.

"The point is to start over every time you fall, and if there is anger, transform it into hope."

Several nations met at the United Nations (U.N.) on Monday to revisit a topic that the international body has been discussing for over a decade: the lack of regulations on lethal autonomous weapons systems (LAWS), often referred to as "killer robots." 

This latest round of talks comes as wars rage in Ukraine and Gaza.

While the meeting was held behind closed doors, U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres released a statement doubling down on his 2026 deadline for a legally binding solution to threats posed by LAWS. 

"Machines that have the power and discretion to take human lives without human control are politically unacceptable, morally repugnant and should be banned by international law," Guterres said in a statement. "We cannot delegate life-or-death decisions to machines," he later added.

FORMER TRUMP OFFICIAL SLAMS UN REFORM EFFORTS AS 'EIGHT AND A HALF YEARS LATE'

International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) President Mirjana Spoljaric delivered a statement to nations participating in Monday's meeting. Spoljaric expressed the ICRC’s support for efforts to regulate LAWS but warned that technology is evolving faster than regulations, making threats posed by the systems "more worrying."

"Machines with the power and discretion to take lives without human involvement threaten to transform warfare in ways with grave humanitarian consequences. They also raise fundamental ethical and human rights concerns. All humanity will be affected," Spoljaric said.

NUCLEAR WATCHDOG URGES 'TRUST BUT VERIFY' THAT IRAN ENGAGES IN GOOD-FAITH NEGOTIATIONS

Artificial intelligence is not necessarily a prerequisite for something to be considered an autonomous weapon, according to the U.N., as not all autonomous systems fully rely on AI. Some can use pre-programmed functions for certain tasks. However, AI "could further enable" autonomous weapons systems, the U.N. said.

Vice President of the Conservative Partnership Institute Rachel Bovard, however, says that while regulation of autonomous weapons is necessary, the U.S. needs to be cautious when it comes to the development of international law.

"AI is the wild west and every country is trying to determine the rules of the road. Some regulation will be imperative to preserving our humanity. When it comes to international law, however, the U.S. should proceed with caution," Bovard told Fox News Digital. "As we have learned with everything from trade to health, subjecting our national sovereignty to international dictates can have lasting unintended consequences. If existing international law is sufficient at the moment, that is what should govern."

Countries in the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons have been meeting since 2014 to discuss a possible full ban on LAWS that operate without human control and to regulate those with more human involvement, according to Reuters.

In 2023, more than 160 nations backed a U.N. resolution calling on countries across the globe to address the risks posed by LAWS. However, there is currently no international law specifically regulating LAWS.

Pope Leo XIV made his first social media post on Tuesday in which he sent a message of peace, as he seeks to maintain an active social media presence through the official papal accounts.

The pontiff has chosen "to maintain an active social media presence through the official papal accounts on X and Instagram," the Dicastery for Communication said in a press release.

In his first post since taking over the Vatican’s official Instagram and X accounts, he repeated the first words he said to the world as pope.

PRESIDENT TRUMP CALLS FIRST AMERICAN POPE LEO XIV AN ‘HONOR’ FOR US, ‘VERY HAPPY’

"Peace be with you all!" he began in an Instagram post.

The post featured some of the photos showing the first days of his time as the new pope, after he took over from his predecessor, Pope Francis, who died last month at the age of 88.

"This is the first greeting spoken by the Risen Christ, the Good Shepherd," the Instagram post continued. "I would like this greeting of peace to resound in your hearts, in your families, and among all people, wherever they may be, in every nation and throughout the world."

The Vatican said it was archiving the posts from Francis' 12-year papacy. The new X account did not appear to be active yet as of Wednesday morning.

Previous popes did not publish the posts themselves, as they were curated by the Vatican.

FIRST AMERICAN-BORN POPE INSPIRES FAITH LEADERS ACROSS THE NATION

Before he was elected as pope, the former Cardinal Robert Prevost occasionally posted on an X account started in 2011. It had been inactive since July 2023 before he returned to the platform earlier this year to criticize the Trump administration's immigration policies and comments by Vice President JD Vance, who had also been at odds with Francis in his final months over the administration's immigration agenda that included a mass deportation plan.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

President Donald Trump, speaking at the Gulf Cooperation Council in Riyadh on Wednesday, reiterated his desire to make a deal with Iran and called for building upon the progress of the Abraham Accords by adding more countries to the historic agreement. 

Trump made the comments while addressing leaders of the Gulf Cooperation Council as part of his four-day visit to the region. 

"I want to make a deal with Iran. I want to do something if possible. But for that to happen, it must stop sponsoring terror, halt its bloody proxy wars, and permanently and verifiably cease its pursuit of nuclear weapons. They cannot have a nuclear weapon," Trump said. 

TRUMP SAYS HE'LL DROP SANCTIONS ON SYRIA IN MOVE TO NORMALIZE RELATIONS

Trump praised the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain for "their vision and courage in signing the historic Abraham Accords," an agreement brokered by the U.S. in 2020. As part of the agreements, the UAE and Bahrain recognized Israel’s sovereignty and established full diplomatic relations. It marked the first time Israel had established peace with an Arab country since 1994, with the Israel-Jordan peace treaty. 

"In the future, we’ll continue that progress by adding more countries to the Abraham Accords," Trump said. 

The remarks, made just moments after Trump met with Syria’s Interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa on the sidelines, came a day after Trump announced his administration was lifting sanctions on Syria. 

Trump also said that Lebanon had a "new chance for a future free from the grip of Hezbollah terrorists if the new president and prime minister can rebuild an effective Lebanese state." 

TRUMP'S MIDDLE EAST TOUR BEGINS WITH SYRIA LOOMING AS STRATEGIC OPPORTUNITY

"This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to forge a Lebanon that is prosperous and at peace with its neighbors," Trump said. 

At the end of his remarks, Trump appealed to the entire region more broadly, saying: "We’re going to forge a Middle East that will be a thriving commercial, diplomatic and cultural crossroads at the geographic center of the world. It’s what it is, it’s the center of the world." 

Trump will head to Qatar later Wednesday for his second stop on the four-day Middle East tour. 

Fox News Digital’s Emma Colton contributed to this report.  

The U.S. State Department announced it has approved a potential sale of more than $1.4 billion in helicopters and F-16 fighter jet parts to the United Arab Emirates, just ahead of President Donald Trump’s visit to the Middle Eastern nation.

The proposed sale includes $1.32 billion for CH-47 F Chinook helicopters and $130 million for F-16s parts, the State Department said on Monday. 

The agency has notified Congress of the proposed sale, although some Democrats have previously signaled they may be hesitant to give the green light to such a sale.

This comes as Trump is expected to travel to the UAE later this week for the final stop on his four-day trip to the Middle East. He is also visiting Saudi Arabia and Qatar on his first major international trip of his second administration.

HOUSE DEMOCRAT CALLS FOR 'IMMEDIATE' ETHICS PROBE OF QATARI PLANE GIFT TO TRUMP

The UAE has already vowed to spend $1.4 trillion in U.S. investments over the next decade, which are expected to focus on semiconductors, manufacturing, energy and artificial intelligence.

Arms transfers and defense trade are overseen by the Pentagon’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency and the State Department.

The State Department first reviews deals wanted by other countries to ensure they meet the U.S. government's goals. If approved, the agency notifies Congress of the sale. Federal lawmakers may reject a proposed sale, but if they elect not to, the U.S. government proceeds to negotiations.

Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., said on Monday ahead of the State Department's announcement that he would "block any arms sale to a nation that is doing direct personal business with Trump," citing the UAE-backed investment firm putting $2 billion into Trump’s crypto venture and the U.S. president's administration accepting Qatar’s gift of a luxury Boeing 747-8 jumbo jet to serve as Air Force One.

"We should have a full Senate debate and vote," Murphy wrote on X. "UAE’s investment in Trump crypto and Qatar’s gifting of a plane is nuclear grade graft. An unacceptable corruption of our foreign policy."

"Normally, arms sales go forward without a vote," he continued. "But any Senator can object and force a full debate and Senate vote. I will do that for any military deal with a nation that is paying off Trump personally. We can't act like this is normal foreign policy."

In January, Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., and Rep. Sara Jacobs, D-Calif., expressed opposition to a $1.2 billion arms sale to the UAE, pointing to the country providing weapons to the Rapid Support Forces in Sudan, which the U.S. has accused of war crimes and ethnic cleansing.

TRUMP DEFENDS QATAR JUMBO JET OFFER AS TROUBLED BOEING FAILS TO DELIVER NEW AIR FORCE ONE FLEET

Congress has previously attempted to block Trump from completing arms sales to Gulf nations, including in 2019 during his first term, when lawmakers placed holds on deals with Saudi Arabia and the UAE over concerns about civilian casualties in the war in Yemen, as the Saudi coalition has been accused of being responsible for the majority of civilian deaths.

However, Trump has invoked a provision allowing sales to go through immediately without a review period in cases considered an emergency.

The self-styled "king" of Germany and three of his senior "subjects" were arrested for attempting to overthrow the state, according to media reports. 

Peter Fitzek, 59, was taken into police custody during morning raids conducted Tuesday in seven German states, the BBC reported. 

Fitzek's group, the Reichsbürger, or "citizens of the Reich," has also been banned by the government. 

TRUMP CELEBRATES CONSERVATIVE PARTY WIN IN GERMANY

The group's aim is to establish the Königreich Deutschland, or "Kingdom of Germany."

"I have no interest in being part of this fascist and satanic system," Fitzek previously told the news outlet in a 2022 interview.

Reichsbürgers reportedly have their own currency, flag and identification cards and want to set up separate banking and health systems.

The Reichsbürger undermined "the rule of law," said Alexander Dobrindt, Germany's interior minister, by creating an alternative state and spreading "antisemitic conspiracy narratives to back up their supposed claim to authority," the news report states. 

GERMANY'S NEW LEADER LOOKS TO DISTANCE EUROPE FROM TRUMP

He said the group finances itself through crime. 

Fitzek, who claims to have thousands of "subjects," denied having violent intentions but also called Germany "destructive and sick."

In 2022, dozens of people associated with the Reichsbürger were arrested for plotting to overthrow the German government in Berlin. They were accused of planning a violent coup, which included kidnapping the health minister in an effort to create "civil war conditions" to bring down German democracy, according to the BBC. 

Once dismissed as eccentric by critics, the group is now seen within Germany as a serious threat as the far right has grown politically over the past decade, the report said. 

President Donald Trump targeted Iran in his first major speech in Saudi Arabia, warning Tehran that it must choose between never having a nuclear weapon or dealing with his wrath.

"If Iran’s leadership rejects the olive branch and continues to attack their neighbors, then we will have no choice but to inflict massive maximum pressure," Trump said during an address to business leaders in Riyadh.

"The choice is theirs to make," he added.  

4TH ROUND OF US-IRAN TALKS ENDS AS TRUMP SET TO EMBARK ON HISTORIC MIDDLE EAST TOUR

Though Trump said he wants to make a deal with Iran and see Tehran prosper, his comments came after he first went after the Iranian regime and accused it of not only deteriorating its own nation, but the region at large. 

"Iran's leaders have focused on stealing their people's wealth to fund terror and bloodshed abroad. Most tragic of all, they have dragged down an entire region with them," Trump said. 

The president pointed to the "countless lives lost" in Iran’s effort to prop up the former Bashar al-Assad regime in Syria – which collapsed in December – and accused its support of Hezbollah for the downfall of Beirut, which he said was "once called the Paris of the Middle East."

"Can you imagine all of this misery and so much more was entirely avoidable, absolutely avoidable," Trump said. 

TRUMP TARGETS IRANIAN OIL WITH SANCTIONS, INCREASING PRESSURE ON ISLAMIC REPUBLIC TO MAKE DEAL ON NUKES

Trump asserted the Biden administration’s removal of some sanctions on Tehran as the chief method in how Iran financed terrorist organizations, including Hamas, which he argued led to the deadly Oct. 7, 2023, attacks on Israel.

Fox News Digital reached out to a spokesperson for President Joe Biden for comment on Trump's claims.

"If only the Iranian regime had focused on building their nation up instead of tearing the region down," Trump continued. "Yet I'm here today not merely to condemn the past chaos of Iran's leaders, but to offer them a new path and a much better path toward a far better and more hopeful future.

"In the case of Iran, I have never believed in having permanent enemies," he said. "Enemies get you motivated. 

"In fact, some of the closest friends of the United States of America are nations we fought wars against in generations past," Trump pointed out. 

It is unclear how Trump’s negative comments toward Tehran could impact ongoing nuclear negotiations with Iran. 

The Iranian representative to the U.N. Mission in New York did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s questions. 

French movie star Gérard Depardieu was found guilty of sexually assaulting two women on the set of a movie in which he starred, and was given an 18-month suspended prison sentence by a Paris court on Tuesday.

He was also fined a total of 29,040 euros (around $32,350), and the court requested that he be registered in the national sex offender database.

The 76-year-old actor was convicted of having groped a 54-year-old set dresser and a 34-year-old assistant during the filming of "Les Volets Verts" ("The Green Shutters") in 2021. The case was widely seen as a key post-#MeToo test of how French society and its film industry address allegations of sexual misconduct involving prominent figures.

FRENCH ACTOR GÉRARD DEPARDIEU CHARGED WITH ALLEGED RAPE AND SEXUAL ASSAULT FROM 2018 CASE

Depardieu, who has denied the accusations, didn't attend the hearing in Paris. Depardieu’s lawyer said that his client would appeal the decision.

"It is the victory of two women, but it is the victory of all the women beyond this trial," said Carine Durrieu Diebolt, the set dresser's lawyer. "Today we hope to see the end of impunity for an artist in the world of cinema. I think that with this decision we can no longer say that he is not a sexual abuser. And today, as the Cannes Film Festival opens, I’d like the film world to spare a thought for Gérard Depardieu’s victims."

Depardieu’s long and storied career — he told the court that he’s made more than 250 films — has turned him into a French movie giant. He was Oscar-nominated in 1991 for his performance as the swordsman and poet Cyrano de Bergerac.

In recent years, the actor has been accused publicly or in formal complaints of misconduct by more than 20 women, but so far only the sexual assault case has proceeded to court. Some other cases were dropped because of a lack of evidence or the statute of limitations.

During the four-day trial in March, Depardieu rejected the accusations, saying he’s "not like that." He acknowledged that he had used vulgar and sexualized language on the film set and that he grabbed the set dresser's hips during an argument, but denied that his behavior was sexual.

JEAN-CLAUDE VAN DAMME HITS BACK AT 'GROTESQUE' SEX TRAFFICKING ALLEGATIONS

The court, composed of a panel of three judges, concluded that Depardieu’s explanations in court were "unpersuasive" and "not credible" and stressed both accusers' "constant, reiterated and substantiated declarations."

The court also said that both plaintiffs have been faced with an "aggressive" defense strategy "based on comments meant to offend them." The judges therefore considered that Depardieu’s lawyer's comments in court aggravated the harm to the accusers and justified higher fines.

Depardieu’s lawyer, Jérémie Assous, regretted that the court "considered that questioning the accusations is an additional assault ... which means that now the defense, even in this type of trial, is no longer accepted."

The set dresser described the alleged assault, saying the actor pincered her between his legs as she squeezed past him in a narrow corridor.

She said he grabbed her hips, then started "palpating" her behind and "in front, around." She ran her hands near her buttocks, hips and pubic area to show what she allegedly experienced. She said he then grabbed her chest.

The woman also testified that Depardieu used an obscene expression to ask her to touch his penis and suggested he wanted to rape her. She told the court that the actor’s calm and cooperative attitude during the trial bore no resemblance to his behavior at work.

FRENCHMAN FOUND GUILTY IN HORRIFIC RAPE TRIAL THAT SHOCKED THE WORLD

The other plaintiff, an assistant, said that Depardieu groped her buttocks and her breasts during three separate incidents on the film set.

The Associated Press doesn’t identify by name people who say they were sexually assaulted unless they consent to be named. Neither woman has done so in this case, although one has agreed to be pictured.

"I’m very moved," one of the plaintiffs, the set dresser, told reporters after the verdict. "I’m very, very much satisfied with the decision, that’s a victory for me, really, and a big progress, a step forward. I feel justice was made."

Some figures in the French cinema world have expressed their support for Depardieu. Actors Vincent Perez and Fanny Ardant were among those who took seats on his side of the courtroom.

French media reported last week that Depardieu was shooting a film directed by Ardant in the Azores archipelago, in Portugal.

The actor may have to face other legal proceedings soon.

In 2018, actor Charlotte Arnould accused him of raping her at his home. That case is still active, and in August 2024 prosecutors requested that it go to trial.

For more than a half-century, Depardieu stood as a towering figure in French cinema, a titan known for his commanding physical presence, instinct, sensibility and remarkable versatility.

A bon vivant who overcame a speech impediment and a turbulent youth, Depardieu rose to prominence in the 1970s and became one of France’s most prolific and acclaimed actors, portraying a vast array of characters, from volatile outsiders to deeply introspective figures.

In recent years, his behavior toward women has come under renewed scrutiny, including after a documentary showed him repeatedly making obscene remarks and gestures during a 2018 trip to North Korea.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday pledged to move against Hamas with "full force" in the coming days to "complete" the fight against the Iran-backed terror group.

Netanyahu made the remarks about the war in Gaza while visiting with Israel Defense Forces reservists.

"In the coming days, we are going in with full force to complete the operation," Netanyahu said. "Completing the operation means defeating Hamas. It means destroying Hamas."

Netanyahu said that eliminating Hamas and freeing the remaining hostages that the group took during its deadly attack on Oct. 7, 2023, "go hand in hand."

AMERICAN HOSTAGE EDAN ALEXANDER IS RELEASED BY HAMAS AFTER MORE THAN 580 DAYS IN CAPTIVITY

"It’s possible that Hamas will say, ‘Time out — we want to release ten more [hostages].’ Fine, bring them. We’ll take them, and then we’ll go in," the prime minister said. "But there will not be a situation in which we stop the war. There may be a temporary cease-fire, but we’re going all the way."

With Hamas' release of Israeli American hostage Edan Alexander on Monday, there are 58 hostages now being held in Gaza. Netanyahu's remarks came just before Alexander was released.

TRUMP STRAINS RELATIONSHIP WITH NETANYAHU AS MIDDLE EAST POLICY INCREASINGLY ISOLATES ISRAEL

U.S. Special Envoy Adam Boehler and Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff met with the families of hostages for nearly two hours in Tel Aviv on Tuesday before traveling to Doha, Qatar, to join talks on a possible ceasefire in Gaza.

Boehler said that following Alexander’s release, there is a better chance of securing the release of the remaining hostages.

Boehler and Witkoff told families that if they did not believe there was a genuine chance for progress in negotiations, they would not be making the trip to Doha.

As the war in Gaza drags on, President Donald Trump kicked off a four-day Middle East trip on Tuesday in Saudi Arabia, where he and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman were expected to hold talks on ending the war in Gaza and more.

Fox News' Yonat Friling and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

British police arrested a 21-year-old suspect Tuesday after the private London home of United Kingdom Prime Minister Keir Starmer was targeted by a "suspicious" fire, reports say. 

The Metropolitan Police said the suspect was detained on suspicion of arson with intent to endanger life a day after an early-morning fire on Monday damaged the door of the house where Starmer and his family lived before he was elected to lead the country, according to the Associated Press. 

"As a precaution and due to the property having previous connections with a high-profile public figure, officers from the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command are leading the investigation into this fire. Enquiries are ongoing to establish what caused it," the Met Police said in a statement. 

Police said that the arrest also concerns two other fires that may be linked — a vehicle fire near Starmer's house on Sunday and a May 8 door fire at a property in another part of north London. The second property is a house converted into apartments and also is linked to Starmer. 

BRITISH POLICE INVESTIGATE FIRE AT PRIME MINISTER KEIR STARMER’S LONDON HOME 

"All three fires are being treated as suspicious at this time, and enquiries remain ongoing," the Met Police said. 

No injuries were reported from any of the fires. 

Starmer doesn't currently live in his private house. Since taking office in July, Starmer has lived with his family in the prime minister’s official Downing Street residence. 

Neighbor Charles Grant told the AP that police searched his yard on Monday and "said they were looking for a projectile." 

RETIRED UK POLICE OFFICER SUING AFTER BEING ARRESTED OVER ‘THOUGHT CRIME’ POST ON SOCIAL MEDIA 

"From what other people have told me today, I gather someone threw a firebomb at Keir Starmer’s house," he said. 

The main opposition leader, Kemi Badenoch of the Conservative Party, called it "a shocking incident." 

"No one should face these sorts of threats, let alone people in public service," she posted on X. "It’s an attack on our democracy and must never be tolerated." 

Starmer’s house has attracted protesters in the past. Last year, three pro-Palestinian activists were arrested and charged with public order offenses after unfurling a banner covered in red handprints outside the building, the AP reported. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

American and Israeli officials believe the release of Edan Alexander, 21, presents a "window of opportunity" to free the remaining 58 hostages still held by Hamas after 585 days since their capture on Oct. 7, 2023. 

Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff and hostage envoy Adam Boehler will travel from Israel to Doha, Qatar, on Tuesday for further negotiations for the release of not only the 24 hostages still believed to be alive, but also the bodies of at least 34 individuals who have been held by the terrorist group including four Americans: Itay Chen, Omer Neutra, and Gadi Haggai and Judi Weinstein Haggai.

In a nearly two-hour meeting with Witkoff, Boehler and the Hostages Families Forum, both officials emphasized that they remain committed to returning all hostages and confirmed they would not be traveling to Doha if they did not believe there was a real chance in advancing negotiations. 

AMERICAN HOSTAGE EDAN ALEXANDER RELEASED BY HAMAS AFTER MORE THAN 580 DAYS IN CAPTIVITY

While Alexander's return has been championed as a major success story, and both President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu were reported to have spoken with the Israeli American from a hospital in Tel Aviv, immense concern remains over the hostages still held in the Gaza Strip.

Though Israel ceased its military operations in the Gaza Strip to secure the safe transport of Alexander on Monday, it has not committed to any continued cessation of strikes. 

In Witkoff’s comments to the families of the hostages, he said President Trump would not "tolerate anything other than everybody coming home, and he will be relentless in that pursuit." He continued, "you saw what happened with the Houthis. You saw what happened when people don't do well with the United States, we don't do so well with them. So it's a message of do what we ask you to do. And you know then things will be better."

Israeli reports also suggested the envoy may be feeling frustrated with his Israeli counterparts.

"We want to bring the hostages home, but Israel is not willing to end the war. Israel is prolonging it despite the fact that we don’t see where else we can go and that an agreement must be reached," Witkoff reportedly said during the meeting with the hostage families.

"There is currently a window of opportunity that we hope Israel and all the mediators will take advantage of," he was reported to have added. "We are putting pressure on all the mediators and doing everything we can to bring the hostages home."

The comments reportedly come following reports that Trump has also grown increasingly frustrated with his Israeli counterpart. 

TRUMP STRAINS RELATIONSHIP WITH NETANYAHU AS MIDDLE EAST POLICY INCREASINGLY ISOLATES ISRAEL

Israel said last week that Trump’s visit to the Middle East would be "the window of opportunity" to secure a ceasefire otherwise it would continue with its newly announced plans to capture all of Gaza, despite immense international pushback and concerns over human rights abuses and violations of U.N.-established borders. 

The comments came after Netanyahu prompted immense outcry after he said his number one priority was destroying Hamas, not returning the hostages, despite opposition to the plan by the majority of Israelis. 

On Monday, Netanyahu reiterated his intent to "destroy" Hamas while speaking with injured reservists and confirmed that even if Hamas agrees to return the hostages, Israel will continue with its military operations. 

"In the coming days, we are going in with full force to complete the operation. Completing the operation means defeating Hamas. It means destroying Hamas," he said. 

"It’s possible that Hamas will say, ‘Time out — we want to release ten more [hostages].’ Fine, bring them. We’ll take them, and then we’ll go in. But there will not be a situation in which we stop the war. There may be a temporary ceasefire, but we’re going all the way," he confirmed.

Witkoff’s team did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s questions. 

President Donald Trump arrived in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday for his first major overseas trip since retaking office, hoping to secure major deals on trade and diplomatic breakthroughs across the Middle East. 

The president might have an unexpected and willing partner in Syria’s new president who could offer him a huge diplomatic win.

"This is a historic opportunity, and it would be a shame if the U.S. lost it," Natasha Hall, senior fellow with the Middle East Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), told Fox News Digital.

President Trump seems open to renewed relations with Syria, including the possibility of lifting crippling sanctions imposed under the previous regime of Bashar al-Assad.

ISLAMIST GROUP RUNNING SYRIA HAS MIXED RECORD OVER GOVERNANCE IN PROVINCE, RULED WITH 'IRON FIST'

"We may take them off of Syria, because we want to give them a fresh start," President Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Monday.

The president added that "we want to see if we can help them out" and that a determination on Syria sanctions will be made at some point.

"Syria now, for the first time, has a government in power that is not only no longer reliant on Iran to survive but is quite hostile to Iran, and so that would be a big opportunity lost if the U.S. didn’t step up," Hall added.

Mouaz Moustafa, executive director of the Syrian Emergency Task Force, a non-profit helping to bring democracy to Syria, recently met with Syria's interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa in Damascus. 

Moustafa exclusively told Fox News Digital that the two spoke for over three hours about a potential breakthrough in U.S.-Syrian relations, which have been severed since 2011 following the outbreak of the Syrian civil war, which led to the deaths of over 500,000 people.

Moustafa and others are pushing for a meeting between al-Sharaa and President Trump during his visit to the Gulf this week. For Syria’s new government, this will be their opportunity to persuade the new administration to do business with a country coming out of a devastating 14-year civil war and mend ties with a leader who was once aligned with the Islamic State and al Qaeda.

"Syria’s objectives are quite clear on why they would want to meet President Trump in Saudi Arabia, to make headway on some of these core issues of cooperation and to alleviate any of the concerns the White House may have. And some of the things they’ve been trying to do is to show that they can be cooperative on intelligence issues, on business, and talking about companies seeking to do business in Syria," CSIS’ Hall said.

SYRIA'S NEW REGIME HITS HEZBOLLAH TARGETS IN LEBANON OVER CLAIMS ITS FIGHTERS WERE EXECUTED

Yet others urge caution. "Right now, Sharaa is not restricting political and civil liberties, but he's an authoritarian by nature." former U.S. Ambassador to Syria Robert Ford told Fox News Digital.

Ford, who was the last U.S. ambassador in Damascus, was pulled from the embassy in October 2011 after the Syrian uprising turned violent. Ford led the effort to put al-Sharaa on the terrorist list in 2012 and said, although he is pragmatic, he is leading an extremely weak government.

"He doesn’t control all of Syria yet. The government in Damascus that he leads is not very strong, and it will take time to reassert all of its authority over Syria," Ford said. 

Ford does not believe al-Sharaa will pursue terrorism as he did in the past, but while there have been some promising developments since taking power, the U.S. must keep its expectations relatively low.

"Syria is so weak, militarily and economically, with lots of internal political divisions. Therefore, it's not going to be in a position to sign huge arrangements with the U.S.," Ford cautioned.

A senior official in the Syrian Foreign Ministry told Fox News Digital that President al-Sharaa emphasizes "that the new Free Syria seeks to establish a strong strategic relationship with the United States, one grounded in mutual interests and shared partnership."

The senior official added that "Damascus sees U.S. President Donald Trump as the leader most capable of achieving peace in the Middle East," noting that Syria hopes to become an active and influential ally to Washington on regional issues.

Moustafa also met with members of the National Security Council and conveyed the Syrian president's desire for a new partnership. 

The National Security Council did not immediately respond to a Fox News Digital request for comment.

The new Syrian leader has already shown a willingness to cooperate on some key issues important to the U.S. The new Syrian government has cooperated with U.S. intelligence agencies and foiled several ISIS plots to attack Damascus. Syrian intelligence services also arrested ISIS commander Abu al-Harith al-Iraqi in February. 

TRUMP TARGETS MASSIVE INVESTMENTS IN FIRST MIDDLE EAST TRIP

Moustafa also said that al-Sharaa was worried about the massive buildup of Iranian-backed militias along the Iraqi side of the Syrian border. This is a worry for the U.S. as well as the Trump administration, he said, as it has been looking to reengage with Iran to curb its nuclear program.

In al-Sharaa’s eyes, the deal of the century would bring peace to Syria and its neighbors, including Israel. Moustafa added the deal would keep China, Russia and Iran out and allow U.S. troops to go home in the right way.

Yet critics warn a potential deal with the United States is not without its obstacles. 

Al-Sharaa led the Islamist rebel group Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) to victory over the Assad dictatorship in December. He had a $10 million bounty for his capture that was lifted in February amidst the administration’s efforts to talk to the new Syrian government. 

CHRISTIAN WATCH GROUP RISES UP TO PROTECT COMMUNITY AMID GROWING VIOLENCE IN SYRIA

HTS is still a designated foreign terrorist organization, which complicates doing business in Syria.

"The question at hand is whether to believe that a change in behavior, following the fall of the regime, translates into a more permanent change in character, ideology, and governance," Caroline Rose, director of The New Lines Institute, told Fox News Digital.

Rose, who recently traveled to Syria, noted that while HTS has been incrementally breaking away from affiliations with terrorist organizations and has adopted some moderate elements over time, there are still doubts that this will "stick," particularly with recent sectarian tensions.

"Skeptics of lifting restrictions on Syria immediately fear that any move could be too premature and could risk the U.S.’ credibility among its regional counterparts," Rose added.

Since becoming president, al-Sharaa has formed a transitional government composed of close allies from the HTS rebel group and a mix of technocrats, former opposition leaders, civil society activists and even some former members of the Assad government. 

The temporary constitution signed by al-Sharaa in March guarantees basic freedoms such as freedoms of opinion, expression and the press. It also protects women’s rights and promises equal rights for all Syrians regardless of ethnicity, religious sect or gender, yet it still leaves the country under Islamist rule during the transitional process.

There remain some concerns over the power concentrated in the hands of the president. The president can unilaterally declare a state of emergency and suspend basic rights if national security is threatened.

The vast powers granted to the executive in the new constitution is a reminder for many Syrians of the authoritarian past many suffered at the hands of the Assad regime for over 50 years.

Although there is a new sense of optimism within Syrian society about its future, civil peace and security remain elusive.

Deadly sectarian clashes in March launched by remnants of the former Assad regime in Syria’s coastal region led to the deaths of 200 members of the security forces. Forces allied with the government and armed civilians responded with brute force. The Syrian Network for Human Rights reported that these groups were responsible for the deaths of at least 396 people. 

Tensions have also escalated with Syria’s Druze population as well, highlighting the delicate balance of Syria’s complex ethnic divides and the new authority’s ability to control various armed factions. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

A visual tribute to Pope Leo XIV’s faithful service – reflecting his journey through priesthood, leadership, and devotion within the Catholic Church.

The Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) announced on Monday that it will disband and disarm following its more than four-decade insurgency against the Turkish state that has resulted in the deaths of over 40,000 people at the hands of PKK militants and Turkey’s military.

The PKK has sought to create an independent Kurdish state on Turkish soil, where the Kurds make up some 20% of Turkey's 86 million population. The U.S., the European Union and Turkey have classified the PKK as a terrorist organization.

In its statement, the PKK said, according to a Reuters report, it "has completed its historic mission," which over the years shifted to seeking greater Kurdish rights and limited autonomy in southeast Turkey, rather than an independent state.

TURKISH DRONE STRIKES IN SYRIA KILL 4 U.S.-BACKED FIGHTERS, WOUND 11 CIVILIANS, KURDISH GROUP SAYS

"The PKK struggle has broken the policy of denial and annihilation of our people and brought the Kurdish issue to a point of solving it through democratic politics," it said on the Firat news website, which showed images of senior PKK members attending the congress in fighter fatigues.

Turkey will take necessary measures to ensure smooth progress toward a "terror-free" country after the PKK decision, said Turkey’s presidential communications director, Fahrettin Altun.

The dissolution of the PKK raises a host of questions for the Islamist government of Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and the pro-American Kurdish forces (YPG) in northern Syrian who helped defeat the Islamist State terrorist movement. Turkey considers the YPG an affiliate of the PKK and has repeatedly launched military strikes against Syrian Kurds. 

TURKEY'S INVASION THREATS SHOULD BE TAKEN 'VERY SERIOUSLY': CYPRUS OFFICIAL

The jailed PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan, who has been held on an island south of Istanbul since 1999, urged in February that the PKK disband. 

Separately, Mazloum Abdi, the pro-American commander in chief of Syrian Kurdish fighters, called the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which ousted the Islamic State, said Ocalan’s call did not apply to his organization. The YPG is part of the larger umbrella organization, the SDF, and is not associated with the PKK.

The U.S. and the EU are allied with the SDF and the YPG in the fight against Islamist terrorism in Syria and, in contrast to Turkey, do not see an affiliation between the SDF, YPG and the PKK.  

Fox News Digital has reported over the years on Turkey’s efforts to wipe out pro-U.S. Syrian Kurdish forces (SDF and YPG) who played a key role in the dismantlement of the Islamic State.

In December, after former Syrian dictator Bashar Assad fled to Russia and his regime collapsed, Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., declared repeatedly in an address to Erdoğan in Congress, "Leave the Kurds alone." He added, "The Kurds are America's friends… The people most responsible for helping us, most responsible for destroying ISIS, were the Kurds."

The Kurds are among the largest stateless ethnic groups in the world, with some 30 million concentrated in an area straddling Turkey, Iraq, Iran and Syria. A minority in all four countries, the Kurds speak their own language, with several dialects. Most are Sunni Muslims.