The Breakfast Table

When two people are too upset to talk, a friend sometimes carries messages between them. Countries do this too. On Thursday two Americans, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, carried messages about the war in Ukraine. They met Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin, in Moscow. Then they flew to Dublin, in Ireland, to report to Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

The talking is not finished. A Russian official called the Moscow meeting useful and said the three-way talks will continue. Witkoff said, “I think progress was made.”

The hardest question has not moved. Putin said he would not soften his demands for land in Ukraine. Meanwhile, leaders were meeting in Dublin. About 40 countries there said choices about Europe’s safety should be made with Europe’s governments. Witkoff said Europeans will take part in the next stage.

Onions go into so many meals that their price is felt in kitchens across India. This October, onions cost more than twice as much as a year earlier. Garlic, ginger and lemons were much dearer too, though potatoes and cauliflower got cheaper.

Numbers like these come from a government check of prices in more than 1,400 city markets and more than 1,400 villages. On Thursday it reported October’s inflation, the yearly rise in prices: 6.09%, up from 5.54% the month before. For food alone it was 8.94%.

The Reserve Bank of India, the country’s central bank, tries to hold inflation between 2% and 6%. October broke through the top of that range, which had not happened for two years. To slow prices, the bank can raise its main interest rate, now 5.5%, which makes borrowing cost more. Its committee meets from 2 to 4 December. Economist Aditi Nayar said a rise is “almost certain.” She also warned that weak monsoon rains could keep food prices high.