US considers banning travelers from Russia, Belarus, and 41 other nations

Donald Trump looks set to ban people from 43 countries from travelling to the US if international governments from those nations ’do not address deficiencies within 60 days’.

Countries including Russia and Belarus are thought to be among those blacklisted from the United States under Trump’s latest proposal, a leaked memo has revealed.

The document obtained, obtained by the New York Times, includes a list of 11 "red" countries whose citizens would be barred from entering the United States under the draft proposals.

Some of those included in the "red" list include Afghanistan, Bhutan, Cuba, Iran, Libya, North Korea, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Venezuela and Yemen, an insider familiar with the matter said.

It comes as Donald Trump insisted that peace talks with Russia were going "really well", despite claims that Putin is trying to delay the deal.

The news coincides with Keir Starmer’s attempt to secure lasting peace in Ukraine with the help of European leaders, with the PM hosting a video call with up to 25 national representatives on Saturday.

The virtual talks are thought to surround the development of a peacekeeping mission he has dubbed the "coalition of the willing".

The list, drafted by the White House, also contains an "orange" and "yellow" list, sorting nations by potential levels of concern.

The "orange" list is thought to include countries such as Belarus, Russia, South Sudan and Haiti among others, and will likely sharply restrict their ability to obtain visas.

"Yellow" nations listed are also thought to include Cambodia, Malawi, St. Lucia and Zimbabwe.

The officials, who are said to have spoken to the outlet on the condition of anonymity, suggested that the list had been developed by the State Department several weeks ago.

The sources added that changes to the working list were highly likely and would ultimately change by the time the draft reached the White House.

It comes as Putin declared the US had "good" talks with Russia during the Moscow visit earlier this week.

Speaking on Friday, Trump said that his envoy Steve Witkoff had had "good" and "productive" talks with Putin.

But the US president also said that Ukrainian troops in the Kursk region of Russia were "completely surrounded" and in a "very bad and vulnerable position".

He said that he had requested to Putin that their "lives be spared" to avoid a "horrible massacre".

Ukraine has denied being surrounded in Kursk and said its troops had been pulled back.Writing on his TruthSocial site, Trump said there was "a very good chance that this horrible, bloody war can finally come to an end".