Tag: Ceasefire

Today Is The Big Day

The Middle East is a bit more silent than in the npast two years…..hostages have been returned and there are meetings to further the accords….

President Trump was addressing the Israeli parliament on Monday to celebrate the release of the remaining hostages taken by Hamas, and he proclaimed the “dawn of a new Middle East” to lawmakers. Highlights:

  • “After so many years of unceasing war and endless danger, today the skies are calm, the guns are silent,” Trump said, referencing the first phase of a ceasefire his administration helped broker, per the Washington Post. “And the sun rises on a holy land that is finally at peace. This is the historic dawn of a new Middle East.”
  • “Generations from now, this will be remembered as the moment that everything began to change,” he declared.

A ‘dawn of a new Middle East’….how many times has that old line been thrown around?

Now that the first stage has been completed what is the next?

This is what the agreement was all about…..

Trump laid out a 20-point plan on Monday for ending the Israel-Hamas war and establishing a postwar governance in the war-battered Palestinian territory. Trump’s plan states that Gaza would be governed by a committee made up of “qualified Palestinians and international experts, with oversight and supervision by a new international transitional body.” The “Board of Peace” would be headed by Trump, “with other members and heads of State to be announced,” including Tony Blair. The full text of the plan can be seen here.

  • The plan does not require people to leave Gaza and calls for the war to end immediately if both sides accept it, the AP reports. It also calls for all remaining hostages to be released within 72 hours of Israel accepting the plan.
  • “Israel will not occupy or annex Gaza,” the plan states. It says the US will work with Arab nations and other partners to create an International Stabilization Force. The plan says as the ISF “establishes control and stability” in Gaza, the Israel Defense Forces “will withdraw based on standards, milestones, and time frames linked to demilitarization that will be agreed upon between the IDF, ISF. the guarantors, and the United States.”
  • The proposal states that after hostages are freed, “Hamas members who commit to peaceful co-existence and to decommission their weapons will be given amnesty,” CNBC reports. “Members of Hamas who wish to leave Gaza will be provided safe passage to receiving countries.”
  • Trump said Israel would have the “full backing” of the United States to take steps to defeat Hamas if it doesn’t accept the proposed peace deal. “I think we are beyond very close,” Trump said at the start of a news conference with Netanyahu where he detailed the plan. “We’re not quite finished. We have to get Hamas.” Netanyahu said, “If Hamas rejects your plan, Mr. President, or if they supposedly accept it and then do everything to counter it, then Israel will finish the job by itself. This can be done the easy way or it can be done the hard way, but it will be done.”
  • The plan states that a panel of experts will create a “Trump economic development plan to rebuild and energize Gaza.” It says the “new” Gaza “will be fully committed to building a prosperous economy and to peaceful coexistence with their neighbors.”
  • The New York Times notes that the plan “seems to tread delicately” around some of the more contentious subjects, remaining vague on issues including Palestinian statehood and the role of the Palestinian Authority. It states that after PA reforms are carried out, “the conditions may finally be in place for a credible pathway to Palestinian self-determination and statehood.”
  • Trump and Netanyahu did not take questions at the news conference. That could be a “reflection of the fact that many specifics still need to be figured out before answering queries about what is an extremely complicated plan where many things could potentially go wrong,” notes Bernd Debusmann Jr. at the BBC. Earlier Monday, Netahyahu called Qatar from the White House to apologize for the Israeli airstrike on the country earlier this month.
  • A Hamas official said the group was briefed on the plan but has yet to receive an official offer from Egyptian and Qatari mediators. The group has repeatedly rejected laying down arms and has linked its weapons to the establishment of an independent Palestinian state.

A groundbreaking agreement by all accounts…..but did you know that it is basically the same agreement that Hamas agreed to earlier only Biden and BiBi axed it?

Hamas agreed to the terms of the current Gaza ceasefire deal more than a year ago, but at the time, the potential agreement was rejected by both Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and then-US President Joe Biden, according to an Israeli involved in the negotiations.

“What we should also know is that this deal could have been done a long time ago. Hamas agreed to all the same terms in September 2024, as outlined in the ‘Three Weeks Deal’ that I had received in both written and voice messages, in Arabic and English,” Gershon Baskin wrote in The Times of Israel.

Baskin said that in October 2024, he met with members of the US negotiating team who told him they were “as frustrated as I was with their inability to convince Biden and Biden’s people to look seriously at the deal on the table.”

Earlier this year, Michael Herzog, who served as the Israeli ambassador to the US during the Biden administration, said that Biden never put pressure on Israel to reach a ceasefire in Gaza. “God did the State of Israel a favor that Biden was the president during this period, because it could have been much worse,” Herzog said. “We fought for over a year, and the administration never came to us and said, ‘ceasefire now.’ It never did. And that’s not to be taken for granted.”

The Biden administration also pushed the narrative that Hamas was the only impediment to a ceasefire deal when it was clear that Israel was blocking it. Baskin said that the Arab mediating countries, Qatar and Egypt, both conveyed to him that Israel was blocking an agreement.

“That is the same message I received from the Egyptian intelligence – Hamas was ready for a deal to release all of the hostages, not to govern Gaza any longer, and to end the war. But Israel was not prepared to go ahead,” he said.

(antiwar.com)

Why is it a good plan now and not originally?

May I see a show of hands on people that believe this will work?

Something happen and someone will get trigger happy in the name of self defense.

Thoughts?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Was It A Breakthrough?

First Donny and Vlad made nice in Alaska then the Z man and the big cheese from NATO came to town a few days later…..and it would appear that some down the line of talks someone convinced the Z man that territory must be relinquished.

We may now be closer to a peace deal between Ukraine and Russia—but “the road to any settlement seems long,” reports the Washington Post, noting that while European leaders seem to have convinced President Trump that granting Russia a chunk of Ukrainian territory is not immediately necessary, Moscow is uneasy with the direction of talks, especially around security guarantees for Ukraine.

  • Potential meeting: Trump said he was trying to arrange a one-on-one meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the next couple of weeks, to be followed by a trilateral meeting involving Trump, per NBC News. But Russian officials said only that they had agreed to “explore the possibility” of a meeting, per the Post.
  • Fast timeline: Zelensky on Tuesday suggested that some of the thorniest issues could be worked out in 10 days. “Security guarantees will probably be ‘unpacked’ by our partners, and more and more details will emerge,” he said, per Reuters. “All of this will somehow be formalized on paper within the next week to 10 days.” A meeting with Putin would presumably follow.
  • Security guarantees: Trump said the US would be “involved” in keeping peace in Ukraine once a deal is reached, though he has ruled out the idea of sending ground troops. “We will give them very good protection and very good security,” he said, per the New York Times. Moscow had said Monday that it would not accept any peacekeeping efforts involving NATO members.
  • Analysis: CNN‘s Stephen Collinson suggests Putin will never agree to NATO-like security guarantees for Ukraine after “fighting a war to crush his neighbor’s NATO aspirations.” He also questions whether Western nations are prepared to fight a war against Russia to save Ukraine from another invasion. Russia, of course, has broken prior pacts not to invade Ukraine, per the Wall Street Journal.
  • Land swap: Putin on Friday suggested Ukraine should surrender its eastern Donbas region, including parts remaining under Ukrainian control, which Ukraine’s constitution prevents. That would “mean telling thousands of Ukrainians they have must leave home or become Russians,” writes Collinson, noting “land swaps create epochal upheaval and seed future feuds—as the Middle East shows.”
  • Putin’s intentions: Some European officials question whether Putin is playing for time or negotiating in good faith, which would mean accepting that he’s failed his mission in Ukraine. By proposing terms unacceptable to Ukraine, Russia may be trying to shift “blame for a breakdown in talks to Kyiv,” allowing it to continue the war, per the Journal. It has rejected calls for a ceasefire during the talks.
  • Kudos to Trump: Even if it all falls apart, Trump deserves credit for trying, writes Collison. “Monday’s meetings were the most compelling sign yet that the president really means it when he says he wants to stop the killing in Ukraine,” he notes. “He may deserve more credit than he gets for his energy and commitment so far.”

This is good news indeed that the people of Ukraine could actually realize some peace for a change….but is it good news?

I mean after years of war and the solution is something proposed before and dismissed….it still sounds like the US and NATO will be ass deep in Ukraine for years to come.

Is this truly a breakthrough or just another shot in the dark hoping for something that may never be?

I have reservation but I will give the process a chance and I wish all involved success.

So was it a breakthrough or much ado about nothing?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Donny Goes To Russia

There is a supposed meeting between Donny and Putin to negotiate a ceasefire and stop all the BS….in and around Ukraine.

Why Russia?

Well the meeting is not in Russia it is in Alaska….but apparently the ‘stable genius’ does not know that Alaska is a state and no long belongs to Russia.

President Donald Trump appeared to mix up Russia with Alaska ahead of his meeting with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, during a White House press conference about crime in Washington, DC and his plans to deploy the National Guard and put the city’s police under his control.

Trump delivered the news from the podium in the press briefing room — joined by Attorney General Pam Bondi, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and newly confirmed DC U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro — where he decried the level of crime in Washington, DC.

“This is a tragic emergency, and it’s embarrassing for me to be up here,” Trump told reporters. “You know, I’m going to see Putin. I’m going to Russia on Friday. I don’t like being up here, talking about how unsafe and how dirty and disgusting this once-beautiful capital [is].”

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-putin-meeting-russia-alaska-ukraine-war-b2805880.html

He’s an idiot!

Then there is VP Vance thumping his weezy chest….

Vice President JD Vance explained that the White House was done funding the war in Ukraine. He said President Donald Trump would allow Europe to buy American weapons for Ukraine.

“The president and I certainly think that America [is] done with the funding of the Ukraine war business,” the Vice President told Fox News’s Maria Bartiromo on “Sunday Morning Futures.”

“We want to bring about a peaceful settlement to this thing. We want to stop the killing, but Americans, I think, are sick of continuing to send their money, their tax dollars, to this particular conflict.” He continued, “But if the Europeans want to step up and actually buy the weapons from American producers, we’re okay with that, but we’re not going to fund it ourselves anymore.”

(antiwar.com)

They want to stop the killing but will supply the weapons if the money is right.

The one thing that Ukraine said they would not do to end the conflict is lose land mass….but Donny has another plan….

President Trump said on Monday that there will be “land swapping” between Russia and Ukraine as part of a potential peace deal and pushed back on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s public rejection of ceding any territory to Moscow.

“I was a little bothered by the fact that Zelensky was saying, ‘Well, I have to get constitutional approval.’ I mean, he’s got approval to go into war and kill everybody, but he needs approval to do a land swap — because there’ll be some land swapping going on,” Trump told reporters.

The president is gearing up for a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska this Friday and said that after the talks, he will relay Moscow’s “parameters” to end the war to Ukraine and the US’s European allies. “If it’s a fair deal, I will reveal it to the European Union leaders and to the NATO leaders and also to President Zelensky,” he said. “I may say, ‘lots of luck, keep fighting,’ or I may say we can make a deal.”

According to reports from The Wall Street Journal, Putin has conveyed to the US that he would end the war if Ukraine withdrew its forces from the territory it still controls in Donetsk in the eastern Donbas region. The reports suggest Moscow would be willing to accept freezing the lines in Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, a potential climbdown from Moscow’s earlier demand for a full Ukrainian withdrawal from both oblasts.

(antiwar.com)

Okay there is the major points of the upcoming ‘summit’…..

Will we have a deal or was this just another waste of time?

And Alaska is still our 49th state no matter what the ‘stable genius’ thinks.

This ought be a fun summit. (Sarcasm in case one missed it)

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Russia: Another Ultimatum

After he was elected to his second non-consecutive term as president Donny promised to end the Russia/Ukraine mash-up within 24 hours….(damn that is the longest 24 hours I have spent)….he has issued another of his now famous ultimatums….how will Russia respond?

“I use trade for a lot of things,” President Trump said Monday. “But it’s great for settling wars.” During a meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in the Oval Office, Trump threatened to hit Russia with “very severe tariffs” if there was no deal to end the Ukraine war within 50 days, the AP reports. “We’re going to be doing secondary tariffs if we don’t have a deal in 50 days. It’s very simple,” Trump said. “And they’ll be at 100%. And that’s the way it is.” The Washington Post reports that with “secondary tariffs,” Trump was likely referring to tariffs on countries that buy Russian energy, not to Russian exports to the US. A bipartisan group of more than 80 senators has been urging Trump to hit buyers of Russian oil and uranium with 500% tariffs, the New York Times reports.

  • Trump described Vladimir Putin as a “tough guy” who has “fooled a lot of people,” including previous presidents. “He fooled Clinton, Bush, Obama, Biden—he didn’t fool me,” Trump said. “I speak to him a lot about getting this thing done. And I always hang up and say, well, that was a nice phone call. And then missiles are launched into Kyiv or some other city, and (I say) strange,” Trump said, per Reuters. “And after that happens three or four times, you say the talk doesn’t mean anything.”
  • Trump said a deal had been reached for other NATO members to buy billions of dollars in US-made weapons to send to Ukraine. “We make the best equipment, the best missiles, the best of everything, the European nations know that, and we made a deal today,” he said, per the Guardian. “We are going to be sending them weapons, and they’re going to be paying for them.”
  • “I have to tell you, Europe has a lot of spirit for this war,” Trump said, per the Times. “When I first got involved, I didn’t think they did, but they do.” He said he wanted to stress that “this is not Trump’s war.”

How will this fiasco end?

Will Russia bow down and kiss Donny’s fat white ass?

In the first six months of his second term, President Donald Trump has demonstrated his love for three things: deals, tariffs, and ultimatums.

He got to combine these passions during his Oval Office meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte on Monday. Only moments after the two leaders announced a new plan to get military aid to Ukraine, Trump issued an ominous 50-day deadline for Russian President Vladimir Putin to agree to a ceasefire. “We’re going to be doing secondary tariffs if we don’t have a deal within 50 days,” Trump told the assembled reporters.

The threat is unlikely to change Putin’s calculus, however, or bring the conflict to a near-term conclusion. Instead, Trump’s deadline is likely to make his own life more difficult, limiting his future flexibility, putting the settlement he craves farther out of reach, and forcing him to take steps that harm rather than advance U.S. interests.

Trump’s intention to impose “secondary tariffs” on Russia if Putin does not meet his deadline was not well-explained in his press conference with Rutte. Nor was it immediately clear if the planned punishment for Putin’s continued intransigence would include tariffs on Russian trade with the United States or “secondary sanctions” on Russia’s trading partners — or some combination of the two.

Whatever the details, however, looming economic consequences are unlikely to intimidate Putin or convince him to accept an early ceasefire. For starters, if Trump is indeed talking about tariffs on Russian trade with the United States, then his threat is an empty one. The United States imported only about $3 billion in goods from Russia in 2024, meaning that U.S. tariffs will impose little, if any, new costs on Moscow.

https://responsiblestatecraft.org/trump-50-day-deadline-russia/

I am sorry but this tariff thing is a cop-out to avoid doing the hard work of finding a good negotiated ceasefire.

We will see what Vlad the Invader has to say.

This is too good to ignore.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

How Did It Happen?

That is the ceasefire that is struggling right now come together to try and stop the insanity…..I am so glad you asked….

One name is emerging as a key figure in helping President Trump secure a ceasefire between Israel and Iran—the emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani. A rough chronology, from various reports.

  • On Monday afternoon, shortly after Iran’s relatively low-key retaliation against the US, Trump called Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu and secured a pledge to a ceasefire, reports the New York Times.
  • Trump then spoke with the Qatari emir to ask for help in getting Iran to agree as well, reports Reuters. Al Thani spoke with Iranian officials by phone and did so, according to the account.
  • When both sides agreed, Trump announced the deal on Truth Social, and it caught many administration officials by surprise, per the Times. However, three in the loop were Vice President JD Vance, envoy Steve Witkoff, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio. All three had been using “direct and indirect” channels to convey messages to Iran, according to the account.
  • Rubio also reportedly spoke with Qatar’s prime minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, who is also believed to have helped sway the Iranians, perhaps in tandem with the emir.
  • Axios reports that Trump actually began pushing in earnest for a ceasefire on Saturday, after American bombers hit Iranian nuclear sites. The president instructed Witkoff that day “to communicate to the Iranians his desire “to negotiate a deal to end the war,” the report says. Iranian initially rebuffed him, saying it planned to retaliate first.

Thank you to all involved to help this insanity de-escalate.

But how did Donny accomplish this after the rocky start?

A fragile ceasefire between Israel and Iran appears to be holding after it got off to a shaky start, and President Trump publicly urged Israel to stop the bombing.

Trump announced the truce on Monday night, which was followed by heavy Israeli attacks on Tehran. Iran then hit back with several waves of ballistic missile strikes.

“[Iran] violated it, but Israel violated it too,” Trump told reporters on the White House lawn before boarding Marine One to go to the NATO summit in The Hague. “Israel, as soon as we made the deal, they came out and dropped a load of bombs the likes of which I’ve never seen before, the biggest load that we’ve seen. I’m not happy with Israel.”

When Trump announced the ceasefire, he said it would take effect in 12 hours. “When I say, ok, now you have 12 hours, you don’t go out in the first hour and just drop everything you have on them. So I’m not happy with them. I’m not happy with Iran either, but I’m really unhappy if Israel is going out this morning because of one rocket,” Trump said.

“We have two countries that have been fighting so long and so hard that they don’t know what the f–k they are doing,” the president added.

(antiwar.com)

Great job but I am a bit suspicious….but that is my nature….my bad.

On another front….after the airstrikes on the Iranian nuke sites we were told that they were ‘obliterated’…..hold the phone!

The US strikes on nuclear facilities in Iran were not as successful as President Trump claimed they were, according to details of an early intelligence assessment leaked to outlets including CNN. Trump said the Saturday strikes “completely obliterated” nuclear facilities but according to CNN’s sources, core components of Iran’s nuclear program, including its stockpile of enriched uranium, survived and the US strikes only set the program back “maybe a few months, tops.”

  • Sources tell the Washington Post that the Defense Intelligence Agency report, based on the Pentagon’s early assessment of damage, also concluded that many of the centrifuges Iran uses to enrich uranium survived the strikes on the Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan sites. Sources said the strikes collapsed the entrances to two of the sites but did not destroy underground buildings.
  • Experts who looked at satellite photos earlier called the strikes “incomplete.” Reuters reports that the Trump administration told the United Nations Security Council on Tuesday that the strikes had “degraded” the program.
  • The assessment could change as more intelligence comes in, CNN notes. The White House said it rejected the report. “This alleged assessment is flat-out wrong and was classified as ‘top secret’ but was still leaked to CNN by an anonymous, low-level loser in the intelligence community,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement. “The leaking of this alleged assessment is a clear attempt to demean President Trump, and discredit the brave fighter pilots who conducted a perfectly executed mission to obliterate Iran’s nuclear program.”
  • Classified Iran briefings for the House and Senate were postponed on Tuesday. Democratic Rep. Mike Quigley, a member of the House Intelligence Committee, tells the Post that many lawmakers believe the hearings were delayed because the administration is embarrassed by the early intelligence reports. “They don’t delay briefings that have good news,” he says.

Only time will tell….if the reports are true then how long will it be before Israel starts their push for more US involvement?

Anyone want to venture a guess?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“Lego ergo scribo”

Is It A Ceasefire?

Yes the US had hits on Iran’s nuke facilities and the world braced for the possible retaliation after all the tough talk….and then….

Iran has made its first retaliatory response to the US airstrikes—it fired a barrage of missiles at an American military base in Qatar on Monday, reports the Wall Street Journal. However, Qatar said it had successfully intercepted the missiles, or at least the first round of them. Sources tell the New York Times that Iran warned Qatari officials about the strikes in advance to minimize civilian casualties—and the attack came shortly after Qatar shut down its airspace.

Iran confirmed the attack on the Al Udeid Air Base after explosions were heard there. An announcement on Iran state TV boasted of “a mighty and successful response by the armed forces of Iran to America’s aggression,” per the AP. The base, headquarters of US Central Command, is the biggest American military installation in the Mideast. There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties there.

After attack analysis…..

The Pentagon says it has no reports of injuries or deaths at its military base in Qatar after Iran fired a barrage of missiles, reports the Washington Post. And the AP notes that Iran made a point to say that it used the same number of missiles as the US dropped on Iran, which the outlet sees as a “likely desire to de-escalate.” Whether that’s an accurate read remains to be seen, but a few other details suggest that Tehran kept things relatively contained:

  • The New York Times, citing three Iranian officials, reports that Iran gave Qatar a head’s up about the attack on the Al Udeid Air Base in order to limit casualties. Qatar says it was able to intercept all the missiles, and the nation also shut down its airspace as a precaution.

After the smoke and dust had cleared Dear Clueless Leader announces a ceasefire…..

President Trump claimed in a post on Truth Social on Monday that Israel and Iran have agreed to a ceasefire, ending what he called “The 12 Day War,” an announcement that came amid heavy Israeli attacks on Tehran.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Aragchi said in a post on X that there was no “agreement” on a ceasefire but said Iran would cease counterattacks on Israel if Israel stopped its strikes, which has been Tehran’s position.

“As Iran has repeatedly made clear: Israel launched war on Iran, not the other way around. As of now, there is NO ‘agreement’ on any ceasefire or cessation of military operations,” Aragchi said.

“However, provided that the Israeli regime stops its illegal aggression against the Iranian people no later than 4 am Tehran time, we have no intention to continue our response afterwards. The final decision on the cessation of our military operations will be made later,” he added.

https://news.antiwar.com/2025/06/23/trump-says-iran-and-israel-have-agreed-to-a-ceasefire/

One note here….Neither Israel nor Iran immediately confirmed Trump’s announcement that they had agreed to a ceasefire.

Tit for tat warnings?

The New York Times, citing three Iranian officials, reports that Iran gave Qatar a head’s up about the attack on the Al Udeid Air Base in order to limit casualties. Qatar says it was able to intercept all the missiles, and the nation also shut down its airspace as a precaution.

I am sure that Qatar shared that info with the US.

Then there was a report that the US told Iran of the upcoming airstrike….

Vice President JD Vance raised major questions about the success of the U.S. strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities after suggesting that Tehran’s near-bomb-grade uranium was moved before the attacks.

Israeli sources were quoted as saying that Iran moved as much as 880 pounds of uranium enriched to 60 percent purity from a secure nuclear storage plant in the ancient city of Isfahan.

“Iran has made no secret that they have protected this material,” Mariano Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, told CNN.

Announcing the raids, the president said the nuclear sites at Fordo, Isfahan, and Natanz were “completely and fully obliterated.”

(thedailybeast.com)

The physical sites may have been obliterated but the material remains….where was the success?

The situation is still fluid in my opinion and subject to stupid thinking.

If the ceasefire is a reality then I say bully for not escalating this to the breaking point.

Here is a closing thought….the hope was the attack would cause a popular uprising against the standing government in Iran….so far that has not happened….

However, this strategy has already backfired. Instead of provoking division, namely between opponents of the Iranian government and its backers, the attacks have galvanized national unity across ideological lines. Millions have taken to the streets in cities across Iran including Tehran, Mashhad and Isfahan—not only in protest of foreign aggression, but in defense of Iran’s sovereignty. Even longstanding critics of Iran’s government have closed ranks, recognizing that the existential threat posed by US-Israeli aggression transcends domestic political grievances. Iranians around the country are now even assisting security forces to counter and dismantle espionage networks working with Mossad inside Iran. This convergence of sentiment, seen in everything from volunteer enlistments to mass mobilization efforts, underscores a recurring lesson of imperialist miscalculation: external pressures often consolidate, rather than fracture, national identity.

Does not look like ‘regime change’ is in the wind….for now….

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

 

The Trump/Putin Gab Fest

While Donny was in the Middle East signing deals that would make some lots of cash and accepting delivery of his new ‘flying palace’ he made a statement on the Russia-Ukraine War….

US President Donald Trump has repeatedly vowed to bring the war to an end, but said earlier this week that no progress would be made in the peace talks until he personally met with Putin. Following the negotiations on Friday, Trump said his administration was working to set up just such a meeting.

“I think it’s time for us to just do it,” he told reporters, later adding, “[Putin] and I will meet, and I think we’ll solve it or maybe not. At least we’ll know. And if we don’t solve it, it’ll be very interesting.”

That meeting was top be in Turkey but he had to hurriedly rush back home to meet his new grand kid, number 11 I believe.

So the meeting is off.

Then on Sunday we hear it will be a phone call not a face to face….

Monday has the potential to be a big day with regard to the Russia-Ukraine war: President Trump speaks with Vladimir Putin by phone on Monday morning, followed by a call later to Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky. “Hopefully it will be a productive day, a ceasefire will take place, and this very violent war, a war that should have never happened, will end,” Trump wrote on Truth Social over the weekend, per the New York Times.

“Tomorrow, President Putin must show he wants peace by accepting the 30-day unconditional ceasefire proposed by President Trump and backed by Ukraine and Europe,” French President Emmanuel Macron tweeted afterward. The Kremlin is paying deference to Trump—”if the political services of the US—which we highly value and are grateful to the American side—if they actually help us reach our goals with peaceful means, that would indeed be preferable” to war, said spokesman Dmitri Peskov on Monday.

Then the phone call happened…..and guess what the result was….

Monday held great promise for progress in ending the Russia-Ukraine war. The gist of coverage on Tuesday is that there is no resolution in sight after President Trump spoke with Vladimir Putin, and also with Volodymyr Zelensky and European leaders.

  • Trump suggested progress: “Russia and Ukraine will immediately start negotiations toward a Ceasefire and, more importantly, an END to the War,” he wrote on Truth Social, and he told reporters later at the White House that he thought “some progress is being made,” reports Reuters. But this fell well short of the hoped-for breakthrough. The war will continue, with no ceasefire in sight, only the promise of the continuation of talks.
  • “The ground shifted again,” is how Anthony Zurcher of the BBC puts it in an analysis. Trump once promised to end the war in his first 24 hours in office, then said it would be resolved only after he and Putin put their heads together. Now, after the two-hour call, Trump “said that the conditions of a peace deal could only be negotiated between Russia and Ukraine—and maybe with the help of the pope.”
  • The New York Times similarly finds that Trump “appeared enthusiastic to surrender his mediating role to a higher power: the pope.” Trump even floated the idea of the US washing its hands of the war: “I tell you, big egos involved, but I think something’s going to happen. And if it doesn’t, I just back away and they’re going to have to keep going,” he said, per CNN.
  • After his call with Putin, Trump spoke with Zelensky, along with the leaders of Germany, France, Italy, Finland, and the European Commission in a conference call. They hoped to hear that he had convinced Putin to agree to an immediate ceasefire, perhaps under pressure of US penalties. But, according to Axios, the leaders “seemed surprised that Trump seemed relatively content with what he heard from Putin, and presented it as a new development, even though the Russian leader did not seem to have changed his position at all.”
  • The Washington Post sees a pattern emerging after Trump’s third call with Putin since his inauguration: The US “demands on Putin to show that he is serious about peace, countered by the Kremlin insisting that the complexity of a broader peace deal prevents an immediate ceasefire.”

The ‘call’ basically worries world leaders…..why?

Several world leaders were shocked by how submissive Donald Trump was to Moscow’s demands following a two-hour phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Shortly after hanging up Monday with his favorite autocrat, Trump hopped on the line with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, French President Emmanuel Macron, and a few other world leaders to update them on negotiations.

Sources told Axios that some of the leaders seemed “surprised” and “shocked” when Trump reported that Putin had agreed to begin negotiations toward a ceasefire—something that the Russian president had previously done, as talks had already taken place in Istanbul last week.

When Zelenskiy pointed this out, Trump did not respond.

Additionally, Trump reportedly pushed back on commitments to impose penalties on Moscow, after previously discussing levying sanctions on Russia with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer if Russia refused calls for a ceasefire. While Trump declined to ramp up pressure on Putin, Starmer followed through, imposing 100 new sanctions on Russia Tuesday.

https://newrepublic.com/post/195501/donald-trump-vladimir-putin-call-global-leaders-terrified

I guess the conflict that he said he would end on Day One will continue to be hot and destructive.

There was a time when Donny coveted a Peace Prize….if he really wants one then Ukraine/Russia would be the perfect vessel….I guess he wants one but does not want to work at it.

Donald Trump was going to end the war in Ukraine in 48 hours five months ago, but it has not been so easy! Especially when he is not sure invaded who, and which one is the dictator. Still, he wants you to know, he’s tried everything.

Everything?  Really?

What Trump has not tried:

  • Demanding a timeline for a ceasefire
  • US involvement
  • More sanctions
  • Insisting Vladimir Putin sit down with him and Zelenskyy at the same time

or

  • Putting any kind of pressure on Putin whatsoever, unless you count pretending to be mad.

Job well done.  (And that my friends is how you do sarcasm).

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

India/Pakistan News

Last week old enemies started yet another cross border conflict….a conflict that has been basically going on since 1947 and on occasion becomes deadly….sometimes it appears as if they start these things on a whim….Conflict between India and Pakistan is not rare, with the two countries having periodically engaged in wars, clashes and skirmishes since gaining independence from British India in 1947.

After several days of firing across at each other these two nations have said to have agreed to a ceasefire and a halt to hostilities….

India and Pakistan said they won’t escalate hostilities if the other reciprocates, after they both fired volleys of missiles across their borders. It was the most serious increase in hostilities so far in a conflict triggered by a gun massacre last month that India blames Pakistan for. Pakistan’s foreign minister said on Saturday that his country would consider de-escalation if India stopped any further attacks. However, Ishaq Dar warned that if India launched any further strikes, “our response will follow.” Indian Wing Commander Vyomika Singh told a news conference in New Delhi that her country was committed to “non-escalation, provided the Pakistan side reciprocates.” However, Pakistani ground forces were observed mobilizing toward forward areas, she said, “indicating an offensive intent to further escalation.”

President Trump said the detente is now official. “After a long night of talks mediated by the United States, I am pleased to announce that India and Pakistan have agreed to a FULL AND IMMEDIATE CEASEFIRE,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. “Congratulations to both Countries on using Common Sense and Great Intelligence.” Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed as much from the US side with his own tweet announcing a ceasefire, and Pakistan’s Foreign Minister, Ishaq Dar, also made the same acknowledgment. The AP reports that India also confirmed the ceasefire.

Good news right?

Diplomacy has won again, right?

Apparently not so much…..

Not long after India and Pakistan said they had agreed to an immediate ceasefire on Saturday, both nations said the other had violated it. Multiple explosions were heard in two large cities of Indian-controlled Kashmir, the AP reports, and shelling was reported along the border hours after the announcement. “What the hell just happened to the ceasefire?” Omar Abdullah, chief minister of India-controlled Jammu and Kashmir, wrote in posting video of tracer fire and artillery sounds, per the Washington Post. “Explosions heard across Srinagar!!!” Blasts were heard in Jammu, as well, and blackouts followed in both cities.

India’s foreign secretary accused Pakistan of violating the truce, per the New York Times. Vikram Misri told reporters there were “repeated violations of the understanding arrived between the two countries today” and said India would respond strongly. Pakistan’s foreign ministry denied any violations, with a spokesman saying his nation “remains committed to faithful implementation of ceasefire between Pakistan and India” and suggesting India had broken the peace. The clash began Wednesday with India launching airstrikes on Pakistan and Pakistani-administered Kashmir. It’s the largest military confrontation between the nuclear-armed neighbors in decades, per the BBC.

Looks like the unqualified idiots at State did not do such a good job after all.

 

Meanwhile Back To Ukraine

Sorry to bring this conflict up again since most people could care less but I am an international relations nerd and it interest me….

At the somber funeral for the Pope Donny made time to hold a meeting with Zelenskyy in the Vatican chapel….

President Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met briefly on Saturday before the funeral for Pope Francis as the American leader steps up pressure to end Russia’s war against Ukraine. It was the first face-to-face encounter between the presidents since they argued during a heated Oval Office meeting at the White House in late February, per the AP. After the funeral, on his flight home, Trump questioned in a social media post whether Russian President Vladimir Putin is committed to ending the war. “There was no reason for Putin to be shooting missiles into civilian areas, cities and towns, over the last few days” in Ukraine, Trump wrote, per NBC News. “It makes me think that maybe he doesn’t want to stop the war, he’s just tapping me along.”

Part of any deal will involve the Donbas region and the Crimea….and Donny made a pronouncement on that situation…..

President Trump spoke five words in an interview with Time that won’t please Ukraine leader Volodymyr Zelensky: “Crimea will stay with Russia.” It’s only the latest development about the Crimean peninsula, which has emerged this week as a sticking point in any peace deal to end the war with Russia.

  • The interview was published Friday, and Trump spoke those words on Tuesday. The next day, he also cast doubt on whether Ukraine should retain control of the peninsula seized by Russia in 2014. In a Truth Social post, Trump criticized Zelensky after the Ukraine leader—in an interview with the Wall Street Journal—flatly rejected any peace plan that calls for it to cede control of Crimea.
  • “This statement is very harmful to the Peace Negotiations with Russia in that Crimea was lost years ago under the auspices of President Barack Hussein Obama, and is not even a point of discussion,” wrote Trump. “Nobody is asking (Zelensky) to recognize Crimea as Russian Territory but, if he wants Crimea, why didn’t they fight for it eleven years ago when it was handed over to Russia without a shot being fired?”
  • An analysis at the BBC explains that Zelensky cannot cede control because it’s seen as a “red line” within his country. An American-designed peace plan, however, seems to call for just that, though details remain murky. “Trump is correct that there is little chance of Ukraine regaining Crimea in the foreseeable future, and it is in reality—de facto—under Russian control,” writes Paul Kirby. “But that is a far cry from recognizing it as legal.”
  • Another analysis at the New York Times points out that Zelensky is constrained on Crimea by Ukraine’s own constitution—and by political realities. “There is not a single Ukrainian politician who would vote to legalize the occupation of Ukrainian territories,” says Kostyantyn Yeliseyev, former presidential deputy chief of staff. “For members of Parliament, it would be worse than political suicide.”

Zelenskyy will not accept this….at least that is the position he held for all these years.

Donny seems to think that Zelenskyy is read to give up Crimea….

US President Donald Trump said he believed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was ready to concede Crimea to Russia as part of any ceasefire deal, as talks on a truce entered what Washington called a critical week on Monday.

Trump also stepped up pressure on Vladimir Putin, saying the Russian president should “stop shooting” and sign an agreement to end the grinding war that started with Moscow’s February 2022 invasion.

Trump’s comments came a day after he met Zelensky during the funeral of Pope Francis, breaking the ice after a major row between the US and Ukrainian leaders at the White House in February.

“Oh, I think so,” Trump told reporters in Bedminster, New Jersey, when asked whether he thought Zelensky was ready to “give up” Crimea — despite the Ukrainian president repeatedly saying he never would.

Trump Thinks Zelensky Ready to Give Up Crimea to Russia

Is he really willing to give up Crimea?

The mayor of Kyiv had a different take….

Ukraine may have to cede territory in order to secure “temporary” peace with Russia, Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko told the BBC in an interview published Friday.

“One of the scenarios is… to give up territory. It’s not fair. But for the peace, temporary peace, maybe it can be a solution, temporary,” the former boxing champion said.

His comments came after a Russian missile-and-drone attack on his city killed at least 12 people and injured more than 80.

Klitschko told the BBC that he was “responsible for the capital of Ukraine” and that President Volodymyr Zelensky may have to accept a “painful solution” to achieve peace.

Ukraine May Have to Cede Land ‘Temporarily’ for Peace: Kyiv Mayor

After Donny was skeptical of Putin….Vlad announced a temporary ceasefire….

Vladimir Putin on Monday declared a three-day ceasefire in Ukraine on May 8-10 to mark the World War II Victory Day, reports the AP. The move comes as President Trump’s administration decides whether a deal to end the more than three-year war is within reach.

  • The Kremlin said the truce will start on May 8 and last through the end of May 10. The Kremlin said that Putin ordered the full cessation of hostilities on “humanitarian grounds” to mark the May 9 holiday celebrating the defeat of Nazi Germany.
  • Just before the ceasefire announcement, Ukraine and Russia targeted each other with long-range strikes. The Russian Defense Ministry said its forces downed 119 Ukrainian drones overnight, most of them over Russia’s Bryansk border region. In Ukraine, air raid sirens rang out across the country Monday morning. There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage.
  • The outcome of a push by Trump’s administration to swiftly end the fighting remains unclear, clouded by conflicting claims and doubts about how far each side might be willing to compromise amid deep hostility and mistrust. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Sunday that this week would be “very critical.” The US needs to “make a determination about whether this is an endeavor that we want to continue to be involved in,” he said on NBC’s Meet the Press.
  • Trump said over the weekend that he harbors doubts about Putin’s sincerity in pursuing a deal, as Russian forces have continued to strike civilian areas of Ukraine while the talks have proceeded. But on Friday, Trump described a brokered settlement on the war as “close.”

Is this a break in the ice?

No one trust anyone so this may be a fart in the wind….but the Ukrainian people need a break from the death and destruction…

This situation gets more convoluted month by month.

Any thoughts?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“Lego ergo scribo”

“Screw It!” Is That What Little Marco Is Saying?

This is the feeling I get from the so-called talks that are going on about the conflict in Ukraine….it seems that after promising to end this conflict on day one the US has had about 100 days and we are NO closer to a ‘peace’ deal.

To make matters worse the SecState Rubio has is throwing up his hands and possibly walking away from the negotiations.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Friday that the US may be ready to “move on” from efforts for a Russia-Ukraine peace deal if there is not progress in the coming days. Speaking in Paris after a marathon day of landmark talks among US, Ukrainian, and European officials, Rubio said the discussions had been constructive and produced an outline for steps toward peace. “We’re not going to continue with this endeavour for weeks and months on end,” Rubio said, per the BBC. The US, he said, has “other priorities to focus on.”

  • After weeks of efforts by the Trump administration to broker a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine have failed to bring an end to the fighting, Rubio said the US administration wants to decide “in a matter of days whether or not this is doable in the next few weeks,” the AP reports.
  • “The president has spent 87 days at the highest level of his government repeatedly taking efforts to bring this war to an end,” Rubio said, per the Washington Post. “We are now reaching a point where we need to decide and determine whether this is even possible or not, which is why we’re engaging both sides.”
  • The high-level talks hosted by France Thursday were the first time since President Trump’s inauguration that top American, Ukrainian, and European officials are known to have met together to discuss an end to the war. French officials said a new meeting in the same format is expected in London in the coming days. Rubio said he could join that meeting, expected early in the week.
  • Rubio and presidential envoy Steve Witkoff have helped lead U.S. efforts to seek peace. Several rounds of negotiations have been held in Saudi Arabia. Witkoff has met three times with Vladimir Putin, Rubio said.
  • Moscow has effectively refused to accept a comprehensive ceasefire that Trump has pushed and Ukraine has endorsed. Russia has made it conditional on a halt in Ukraine’s mobilization efforts and Western arms supplies, which are demands rejected by Ukraine.
  • At least two people were killed and dozens injured in Russian attacks on Ukrainian cities overnight, the Telegraph reports. “This is how Russia began this Good Friday—with ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, Shaheds—maiming our people and cities,” Volodymyr Zelensky said.

Who knew well pretty much everyone that has a brain that his promise was nothing more than a fanciful LIE.

But then that is what is expected from Little Donny and his Merry band of sycophants….lies and broken promises

I am not surprised….are you?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”