Preliminary agreements
Any major peace deal requires a framework before the warring sides sit down at the negotiating table. In the case of the Ukraine/Russia talks it first required restoring relations between the US and Russia as well as a mineral agreement between the US and Ukraine.
Why is there a need for the latter?
Two reasons. 1) President Trump feels that Ukraine should try and repay the US with key raw materials, which the US has been overly reliant on China for. 2) such a deal would bond the two nations and give an aggressor second thoughts about threatening American interests.
Zelensky was at one point on board with the idea of such a deal but then changed his mind. He also had trouble understanding the fact that the US had to repair its relations with Russia to get them to the table. Zelensky thought he was being left out. Thus began a rift between Zelensky and Trump. The other day Special Envoy Keith Kellogg met with Zelensky and began to settle him down. Kellogg offered an "improved" offer and has now made additional modifications. Though the exact terms of the current U.S. offer are not clear, it appears the preliminary mineral deal is again on the table with Zelensky. I am afraid that it might just be a make-or-break deal for the negotiations to begin.
When negotiations do begin, if they begin, I hope our readers understand that a deal means both sides give something in exchange for something. I heard one idea for a settlement on this site yesterday that was truly laughable. I also want our readers to understand that if there is no deal Zelensky may lose everything.
In other news:
In private remarks, Secretary of State Marco Rubio tried to reassure European allies that the U.S. hasn’t significantly changed its position on Russia. European leaders are hopeful.
Senate Republicans took their first step Friday toward securing new funding for border security and the military , after Democrats forced GOP lawmakers to take uncomfortable amendment votes all night on hotly contested issues on Capitol Hill. The Senate passed Republicans’ budget blueprint aimed at unlocking $342 billion in spending—and the same amount of offsetting cuts—over four years. The blueprint, which Republican senators have cast as a backup to a far broader House GOP plan, cleared the Senate by 52-48 on Friday morning. Only one Republican—Sen. Rand Paul (R., Ky.)—voted no.
Senate Passes Budget Resolution After All-Night ‘Vote-a-Rama’
A federal judge allowed Trump's mass firings to proceed as the Trump administration fired about 6,700 IRS employees. A division of Housing and Urban Development cut about 80% of its staff. The C.I.A. plans to dismiss officers who worked on recruiting and diversity issues.
Trump signed an Executive Order ending all federal benefits for migrants.
The Senate confirmed Kash Patel as the new FBI director. Patel will end the politicization & weaponization of the FBI.
Senator Mitch McConnel in a statesman like fashion announced he would not seek another term in the US Senate.
Hamas returned the bodies of an elderly man and two young boys, but militants did not return the body of the boys' mother, as they had promised. Instead, a coffin they sent contained an unidentified body, jeopardizing the cease-fire.
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Good morning.
New York's radical governor said that she would not remove Eric Adams from office. Instead, she would impose new rules to limit his power and increase oversight of his office. It might be time for the President to cut off al federal aid to New York.
The reason the Trump minions like Rubioare even slightly walking back the Putin-Trump intentions is because of the world outcry against them. Trump will give Putin almost everything he demands and then call it "fair".
And your idea of a fair deal?
I'm really interested in knowing what you think each side should give and get.
Russia gets to keep HALF of the Ukrainian territory they captured, and pays Ukraine some form and extent of monetary reparations. They started the fucking war.
You seriously have to ask that? to the TDS unless Russia fully withdrawals from Ukraine and Crimea, and pays for 100% of the rebuilding of Ukraine and then supports Ukraine joining NATO, trump will have failed, their hat clouds everything.
That isn't a negotiated settlement. Those are victory demands. Ukraine did not win the war. As a matter of fact, they are faltering.
Zelensky wants security. Putin wants what he won on the battlefield. That is the framework.
Lol, I get it! They probably also want a nuclear bomb dropped on Moscow.
Unilateral demands only come with victory. We can discuss why Ukraine didn't or couldn't win, but 3 years in, Ukraine is on the ropes. Let us get them dependable security and end the killing.
The truly fair thing would be for Russia to withdraw from all Ukraine territory and pretend nothing happened.
You don't seem to understand that Russia was the aggressor. If they keep everything they "won" they will have been rewarded for invading another nation.
You wont even admit that Trump lied and blamed Ukraine for starting it , so your concept of "fair" is illusory.
Now all you have to get russia to agree to you idea of fairness. So assuming they don't what is plan B ?
Should England have submitted to Germany after France fell in 1940? They were "on the ropes" too. After all, Hitler had won western Europe fair and square, right?
Even better would have been if Putin couldn't have afforded to invade in the first place.
You don't seem to understand that Russia was the aggressor.
Yes, I do understand. The question is do you understand. Putin is not going to give up land he paid for in WWI type casualties. This is where we are now. A peace deal means give and take.
We never want to reward aggressors; we want to deter them.
The only other option is letting them fight it out. What do you think will happen if the war continues?
No, John. They almost went down in defeat.
Then again, they emboldened Hitler by letting him have the Rhineland back.
All that being said, England was saved because Soviet Russia and the US got into the war. Are you advocating that we all declare war on Russia?
Why wasn't Ukraine admitted to NATO under Obama, when the idea was first floated? Do you want to know the answer?
Because nobody including NATO wants to risk nuclear war over Ukraine (formerly known as Russia's bread basket.)
The triggered have a severely reduced ability to reason. Just too much Trump hatred filling the lump of coal that used to be their hearts.
Anyone who believes either side will get everything it wants in these negotiations isn’t being realistic. Or perhaps they are just dim.
If the Ukrainian people want to continue to fight they should be supported by the free world. It is their choice, not Trumps. Under your peace scenario Putin is rewarded for attacking a smaller weaker country. What would Russia be conceding? The territory they haven't conquered yet ?
A non sequitur but thanks for playing.
The US did not get into the war for a year and a half after France fell.
There is always too much of that. However, I will give the democrat party in general credit for one thing: For a political party once so in bed with Joe Stalin, they sure have come around to denouncing a dictator like Vladimir Putin.
How do we even know what they want? Elections haven't been held. Even if there was polling, about half the population has fled the country.
What would Russia be conceding?
A security agreement. I would want European troops stationed in Ukraine, maybe give Ukraine a form of the Iron Dome and make Russia sign an agreement recognizing Ukrainian sovereignty with penalties attached should Russia ever again attack Ukraine..
And your idea of a fair deal?
The fair deal is that Russia withdraws totally from all Ukraine territory as of December 2013
That includes the Crimea
Doubtful that will happen but that is the fair deal
If you recall, the US was a bit preoccupied with the country that actually attacked it and sunk much of the Pacific Fleet as well as taking the Philippines and Wake Island as well as threatening Australia. The combined British & French forces were forced off the continent in 1940 and England didn't even want to send them back because they feared they would have been slaughtered.
But the Soviet Union was forced into the war in June of 1941, and they tied up 3 quarters of the German Army until the end of the war. When the US opened a second front the Soviet Union had fatally damaged the German Army.
Enough with WWII.
Now Russia has nuclear weapons John. That gives everyone pause.
Correct on the former. Incorrect on the later.
You may not think it fair that Russia gets anything out of a war they started, but there is no deal without it. Look at the Israeli/Hamas deal. Was it fair for Israel give up hordes of terrorist prisoners to get back people who were taken hostage during an attack?
The families of the hostages took up all the news space and the world went along with that deal.
Yes they did, everybody knows that. And they have essentially won it. There is no path to victory for Ukraine.
That is what American Isolationists said of England against Hitler in 1939. They were all dead wrong and history burns them!
Did they?
I know FDR sold Great Britain a lot of supplies and basically took all their gold reserves in payment. Should Trump follow FDR's lead?
If you reward tyrants for their tyranny or reelect them despite a poor performance the first time around you encourage them to continue their objectionable behavior.
I served for 22 years and we fought to preserve democracies around the world and to rebuff bullies and tyrants.
Trump and Putin - the phrase birds of a feather comes to mind.
Yet Trump claims Ukraine started it.
Is that not just great?! Putin already has the president of our nation parroting his talking points. How proud we should all be ... how confident we should all be that our nation is in good hands.
So John, how mush should the US spend on protecting Ukraine? and should we get anything in return? when is it enough?
Horseshit! So now you think Trump listens to others? Which is it?
The United States could have "restarted" friendly relations with Germany and acted as a peace broker between Hitler and Churchill in 1940. Lucky Trump was not president then .
I see you didn’t answer my question. In the meantime see 2.1.12 above.
I don't answer questions related to "TDS". They are idiotic.
Interesting that you would project “TDS” onto my comment since it wasn’t used. I rest my case.
Keep running, keep avoiding.
Lucky that Germany hadn't developed the Atomic Bomb yet.
If Putin says either give me Poland or I will launch nuclear missiles against western Europe should he be given Poland?
No, but I believe that actually happened. Joe Stalin took parts of Poland and simply gave Poland parts of Germany, and the US went along with it.
Was Truman in bed with Stalin?
The US would say no, but Europe would capitulate with the exception of GB.
At the end of the day, I have a hard time taking opinions about trump pushing to end the Russia Ukraine war after thee years seriously from people who wanted Hamas given a cease fire within 48 hours of October 7th.
Isn't that odd.
The same people who demanded a deal in the middle east wanted Zelensky to fight on 'till the last man & the last cartridge.
Fox’s Mark Levin criticizes Trump for attacking Zelensky: ‘MAGA doesn’t support Putin’
Fox's Mark Levin criticizes Trump for attacking Zelensky
It is so hard to say: Mark is right