Iran said it would make detailed proposals in the next two weeks to close gaps in nuclear talks with the United States, according to a US official on Tuesday.

“Progress was made, but there are still a lot of details to discuss," said the official, who declined to be identified, detailing discussions in Geneva. "The Iranians said they would come back in the next two weeks with detailed proposals to address some of the open gaps in our positions.” (Jerusalem Post – Continue Reading)

The Ukrainian people would reject a peace deal that involves Ukraine unilaterally withdrawing from the eastern Donbas region and turning it over to Russia, President Volodymyr Zelensky told Axios in an interview Tuesday.

Why it matters: As Zelensky was speaking to Axios, Ukrainian and Russian negotiators were meeting for a third round of direct talks in Geneva. The main sticking point is control of the Donbas, around 10% of which is still in Ukrainian hands.

- Zelensky said U.S. mediators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner have told him Russia genuinely wants to end the war, and that he should coordinate with his own negotiating team on that basis ahead of the talks.
- But Zelensky made clear he's much more pessimistic. He also advised Witkoff and Kushner that they shouldn't try to force him to sell a vision of peace his own people would see as an "unsuccessful story." (Axios – Continue Reading)

Concerns over financial firms and information technology have muted investor confidence in Europe’s largest economy.

Germany’s ZEW thinktank said Tuesday that its February expectations indicator for the coming half-year slipped to 58.3 points to fall short of the forecast of 65.2 and last month’s reading of 59.6, the best showing since July 2021.

This seemed to reflect the mood of investors in German blue chips: The Dax 40 index was down around 0.4% over the last five trading days and the past month in Frankfurt's morning session on Tuesday. (LiveSquawk – Continue Reading)