https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=54HiobbNraI

REACTION: Prof. Mearsheimer reacts to FMR AMB to Russia Michael McFaul

 

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YOURDEMOCRACY.NET RECORDS HISTORY AS IT SHOULD BE — NOT AS THE WESTERN MEDIA WRONGLY REPORTS IT.

 

         Gus Leonisky

         POLITICAL CARTOONIST SINCE 1951.

 

Russian President Vladimir Putin shared his perspective on the policies of his US counterpart, Donald Trump, the future of Ukraine’s statehood, and the potential role of Europe in the negotiation process.

In an interview with Russia 1 TV journalist Pavel Zarubin on Monday, Putin dismissed concerns over US-Ukraine resource agreements, criticized Zelensky’s leadership, and framed Trump’s policies as pragmatic and pro-American rather than beneficial to Russia. He also pointed out that European leaders are constrained by past commitments to Kiev, while Moscow remains open to economic cooperation with the US despite ongoing sanctions.

 

’Toxic’ Zelensky and Ukrainian statehood

Putin described Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky as a “toxic figure” for Ukrainian society, claiming that his irrational orders, driven by obscure political motives, have led to “unjustifiably high losses, if not catastrophic ones.

READ MORE: Zelensky has ‘no chance’ of winning a fair election – Putin

Putin suggested that if Zelensky, whose five-year presidential term expired in May 2024, were to face new elections, he would have no chance of winning: “His chances of winning are absolutely zero – unless, of course, something is blatantly rigged.”

He argued that Zelensky’s popularity has collapsed and that he is actively avoiding peace negotiations with Russia to maintain his hold on power: “If negotiations start, this will sooner or later lead to lifting martial law. And as soon as that happens, elections must be held.”

 

‘Rational’ Trump

Putin suggested that Trump sees Zelensky as an obstacle to stabilizing Ukraine and securing a peace deal: “Trump likely understands that Zelensky is a destabilizing factor. He wants to bring Ukrainians back together, consolidate its society, and create conditions for the survival of the Ukrainian state.”

Addressing claims that Trump’s position on Ukraine plays into Russia’s hands, Putin strongly disagreed: “In the current situation, strange as it may seem, we would be more interested in [Zelensky] sitting there and further corrupting the regime with which we are in an armed conflict. And from the point of view of strengthening Ukrainian statehood, it is necessary to act in a completely different direction – to bring to power those who will enjoy the trust of the people of Ukraine.”

The Russian president also commented on Trump’s political style, rejecting the notion that Trump acts based purely on emotion: “No, of course not. His actions are based on cold calculation and a rational approach to the situation.”

The role of Europe

Putin argued that European politicians are “shackled” by their past commitments and are unable to change their approach to Ukraine without losing credibility: “Unlike the newly elected US president, European leaders are tied to the current regime in Kiev. They are too invested and have made too many promises.”

He criticized Europe’s reaction to recent US-Russia diplomatic interactions, saying: “Their response was emotional and lacked practical meaning. Instead of addressing real issues, they focus on maintaining appearances.”

While dismissing demands by EU officials to have a say in Russia-US negotiations, Putin acknowledged that European involvement could be useful in broader discussions: “Their participation is welcome, of course. We never refused to engage with them.”

He also noted that Moscow values the efforts of non-European actors, such as BRICS nations, in promoting peace: “Not only Europeans but other countries as well have the right to participate, and we respect that.”

Military and trade relations with the US

Putin responded positively to Trump’s proposal to cut defense spending, indicating Moscow’s openness to negotiations: ”We are not against it. The idea is good: the US cuts by 50%, we cut by 50%, and if China wants, they can join later.”

Commenting on US trade policies, Putin criticized American sanctions but acknowledged that each country sets its own trade priorities: ”For many years, US trade policy has been tied to sanctions. We consider these sanctions illegal and harmful to global trade.”

Regarding Trump’s shift toward tariffs, Putin said he understood the reasoning behind the move: “Each country determines independently what is beneficial… I can understand the logic—to move production back home, create jobs, force taxes to be paid… But at some point, of course, these actions will encounter certain difficulties associated with inflationary pressure.”

Putin also confirmed that “some Russian and American companies are in contact and discussing major projects” but did not specify details.

‘Rare earths’ cooperation

The rare earth minerals deal that the Trump administration is reportedly pushing with Kiev “doesn’t concern” Moscow, Putin said, emphasizing that Russia is focused on developing its own rare earth sector due to its critical importance in multiple industries.

“We would be ready to offer this to our American partners… if they showed interest in working together,” he stated, clarifying that this applies to both private companies and government entities. He stressed that Russia has significantly larger reserves of rare earth metals than Ukraine, making it a global leader in the field.

https://www.rt.com/news/613259-putin-interview-trump-zelensky/

 

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YOURDEMOCRACY.NET RECORDS HISTORY AS IT SHOULD BE — NOT AS THE WESTERN MEDIA WRONGLY REPORTS IT.

 

         Gus Leonisky

         POLITICAL CARTOONIST SINCE 1951.

 

US President Donald Trump and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron have been holding talks at the White House. Speaking with reporters, Trump said progress had been made with regard to ending the war in Ukraine. Macron pledged Europe was ready to be a "stronger partner" to the US.

Macron receives warm welcome at White House

https://www.dw.com/en/macron-receives-warm-welcome-at-white-house/video-71736271

 

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YOURDEMOCRACY.NET RECORDS HISTORY AS IT SHOULD BE — NOT AS THE WESTERN MEDIA WRONGLY REPORTS IT.

 

         Gus Leonisky

         POLITICAL CARTOONIST SINCE 1951.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_TqNLz7Cpw

Macron's US Trip Was An Exercise In FUTILITY

 

 

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YOURDEMOCRACY.NET RECORDS HISTORY AS IT SHOULD BE — NOT AS THE WESTERN MEDIA WRONGLY REPORTS IT.

 

         Gus Leonisky

         POLITICAL CARTOONIST SINCE 1951.

 

Two French researchers admit carrying out attack on Russian consulate in Marseille

Two French nationals who threw explosive devices at the Russian consulate in Marseille are employed by the National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS), the public prosecutor’s office told AFP late Tuesday. One is an engineer and the other a chemist. They have admitted carrying out the attack.

Two French nationals who work at France's main state research ageny have admitted responsibility for Monday's arson attack at the Russian consulate in Marseille, prosecutors said on Wednesday. 

Three plastic bottles were lobbed into the consulate’s gardens and two exploded on the third anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on Monday.

The bottles contained a cocktail of nitrogen and other chemical substances.

No one was injured and no damage was reported.

The two suspects are employed by the National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS), the public prosecutor’s office told AFP late Tuesday. One is an engineer and the other a chemist.

The CNRS conducts research in fields including biology, mathematics, and chemistry. The organisation employs researchers from the former Soviet Union, among other nationalities.

Moscow called the incident a “terrorist attack”, while the French government condemned “any infringement of the security of diplomatic compounds”.

Regional newspaper La Provence reported that the two men, in their forties and fifties, were identified during a pro-Ukraine protest in front of the Marseille town hall on Monday.

The Russian embassy in Paris said it had asked French authorities before the incident to tighten security around Russian diplomatic missions in France “in view of possible provocations”.

“Nevertheless, such attacks occurred,” the embassy said in a statement posted on its Telegram account this week.

Russia’s Investigative Committee, which looks into major crimes, said on Tuesday it had launched an inquiry into the incident. “An international request for legal assistance is being prepared,” Russian investigators said in a statement.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP)

 

https://www.france24.com/en/europe/20250226-two-french-researchers-admit-carrying-out-attack-on-russian-consulate-in-marseille

 

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YOURDEMOCRACY.NET RECORDS HISTORY AS IT SHOULD BE — NOT AS THE WESTERN MEDIA WRONGLY REPORTS IT.

 

         Gus Leonisky

         POLITICAL CARTOONIST SINCE 1951.

 

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The Russian armed forces have control over the settlements of Orlovka and Pogrebki in the Kursk Region, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Wednesday.

"Units of Battlegroup Sever have liberated the settlements of Orlovka and Pogrebki during offensive operations," the ministry said in a statement.

The Ukrainian armed forces have lost more than 270 soldiers in the Kursk direction in the past day, the Russian Defense Ministry said.

"Over the past day, the Ukrainian armed forces have lost more than 270 servicepeople, two armored personnel carriers, 13 armored combat vehicles, 26 vehicles, eight artillery pieces, a mortar, a radar reconnaissance station, as well as 12 UAV control points and two ammunition depots were destroyed," the ministry said in a statement.

In total, Ukraine has lost over 63,595 servicepeople and 381 tanks during offensive in Kursk area, the ministry added.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20250226/russian-forces-take-control-over-orlovka-pogrebki-settlements-in-kursk-region-1121601467.html

 

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YOURDEMOCRACY.NET RECORDS HISTORY AS IT SHOULD BE — NOT AS THE WESTERN MEDIA WRONGLY REPORTS IT.

 

         Gus Leonisky

         POLITICAL CARTOONIST SINCE 1951.

 

Trump’s Incomprehension — "Thank You, Dear Donald"    JOHN HELMER

 

Compos mentis was missing in the Oval Office on Monday morning. French President Emmanuel Macron recognized it, and was so pleased, he repeatedly said: “Thank you, dear Donald”.

The answers to press questions given by President Donald Trump, sitting beside Macron, revealed that Trump doesn’t understand what end-of-war terms President Vladimir Putin has announced, nor the substance of the conversations, back channel and front in Riyadh, which have been going on between the Russians and Trump’s representatives. 

In the 28-minute morning presser, Trump spoke in repeated slogans except for a handful of new briefing points he was given by his staff: the President stressed he has no points of difference with the French, the other Europeans, or NATO on how to negotiate an end to the Ukraine war. “There was great unity in that room”, Trump claimed of the first round of meetings with the Macron delegation, which included a videolink to other G7 leaders.

“Take back some of the land”, Trump then claimed after being asked what end-of-war terms in the Ukraine he has discussed with Macron. “We’ll see if we get some land back”, Trump repeated.

Asked if he planned to go to Moscow on May 9, Trump revealed he does not know the significance of the May 9 celebration in Russia. “If this all gets settled out, sure I would go, and he could come here, too. I don’t know Ninth of May, no – I, err, that’s pretty soon. At the appropriate time I would go to Moscow…Within weeks. I think we could end it within weeks if we’re smart. If we’re not smart, it’ll keep going…” Trump revealed, however, that he has given up his effort to hold a summit meeting with Putin without preparatory agreement of terms for an end of the Ukraine war.

In the Oval Office, and in a simultaneous social media post, Trump repeated his interest in getting “payback” for US war spending in the Ukraine by negotiating a “rare earths” agreement. “I emphasized”, the media post said, “the importance of the vital ‘Critical Minerals and Rare-Earths Deal’ between the United States and Ukraine, which we hope will be signed very soon! This deal, which is an ‘Economic Partnership’, will ensure the American people recoup the Tens of Billions of Dollars and Military Equipment sent to Ukraine, while also helping Ukraine’s economy grow as this Brutal and Savage War comes to an end. At the same time, I am in serious discussions with President Vladimir Putin of Russia concerning the ending of the War, and also major Economic Development transactions which will take place between the United States and Russia. Talks are proceeding very well!”

In repeating to Macron his preoccupation with “rare earths”, Trump revealed in the Oval Office that he has no idea of the geography of the minerals he is negotiating to take over, so that “we get our money back over a period of time. But it is also beneficial to their economy, to them as a country.” Trump does not comprehend that the minerals — “rare earths and other things”, he called them — are mostly located, no longer in Ukraine but in the four new provinces of Russia and on the seabed off Russian Crimea.

Trump also revealed he has no idea of how his proposed US investment in the minerals would be protected and by whom.

Reporters pressed to see if the minerals agreement is subterfuge for a US security pledge to the Kiev regime, substituting for NATO membership. Asked explicitly if the minerals deal will engage a US security guarantee for the Ukraine, Trump answered: “Well, uhh, it’ll be — Europe is going to make sure nothing happens. I don’t think it’s going to be much of a problem. I think once we settle, ahhh, there’s going to be no more war in Ukraine. You’re not go – uhhh, it’s not going to be a very big problem. That’s going to be the least of it.”

Several hours later, when the French president was asked at the second press conference after the talks had concluded, Macron hinted at a division and combination of military “deterrence capacity” between European and US forces which, he said, is a “turning point in my view, and one of the great areas of progress we have made during this trip.” Trump was uncomprehending; he did not remember what Macron had been saying over lunch.

From evidence in Moscow of talks on Trump’s priority “major Economic Development transactions”, Putin has promoted his negotiator, Kirill Dmitriev, to ministerial rank with the title “Special Representative of the President of Russia for Investment and Economic Cooperation with Foreign Countries.” The text of the decree was signed on Sunday evening.

The Kremlin was asked if Dmitriev has been promoted to ministerial rank, and if in future negotiations with the Americans he will be equal in precedence with Foreign Minister Lavrov and Presidential Assistant Yury Ushakov, the Kremlin spokesman said: “I don’t know.”

Dmitriev was talkative in Riyadh on February 18 on the prospects for the return to Russia of US businesses, product brand-names, and investors. But on the US agreement with Kiev for takeover of coal, iron ore, oil, gas and other resources in Novorossiya and the Crimean, Dmitriev has been silent.Late on Monday evening at his country residence, Putin called in a reporter to respond to the Oval Office record. “We would be ready to offer [cooperation] and our American partners, when I say partners, I mean not only administrative and government structures, but also companies – if they showed interest in working together… We would be happy to work with any foreign partners, including those of American ones. Yes, by the way, as for the new territories, the same thing: we are ready to attract foreign partners, and the so-called new our historical territories, who have returned to the Russian Federation, there are also reserves certain. We are ready with our foreign partners, including with American ones, work there too.”

The display of Trump’s incomprehension was emphasized by Macron who prompted him at several points.

Click to follow the 28-minute Oval Office press conference: https://twitter.com/
Note the presence at right of Vice President J.D. Vance. Sitting next to him was Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Behind them was Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. Bessent made a single remark; Vance and Rubio remained silent. 

Replying to a question of whether he is preparing to abandon the Ukraine, Trump insisted: “No, we’re going to help Ukraine like nobody’s ever helped Ukraine before.”

He then became confused when asked what form this US help would take. “European troops may go into Ukraine as peacemakers [sic]…I don’t think that’s going to be a problem.” Asked if such a European force would have US backing, he said: “Well, we’re going to have a backing of some sort. Obviously, the European countries are going to be involved. And, errr, I don’t think you are going to need much backing. It’s not going to be a problem. Once an agreement is signed, Russia is going to get back to its business, and Ukraine and Europe are going to get back to their business. I don’t think it’s going to be a problem.”

“We’re trying to do some economic development deals with Russia. They have a lot of things we want, and we’ll see – I mean, I don’t know if that will come to fruition. But we’d love to be able to do that. We could — you know, they have massive rare earth – it’s actually the largest, in terms of land, it’s by far the largest country. And they have very valuable things we could use, and we have things they could use, and it would be very good if we could do that.”

As Trump stumbled over what he could remember and was trying to say, his staff published a tweet on the Truth Social platform, repeating Trump’s idée fixe on rare earth minerals, and insulting Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau once again.

It is apparent that if Trump’s staff and advisers have drawn his attention to the US Geological Survey (USGS) tabulation of rare earth mineral reserves by country, Trump cannot remember. The table published in January 2025 shows that China leads in both production and reserves; that Russia trails in fifth place; and that the Ukraine’s rare earth reserves are minuscule by comparison.

 

Source: https://pubs.usgs.gov/

In Putin’s response to the Trump tweet, the Russian president corrected Trump’s geography: “we have an order of magnitude – I want to emphasize this – an order of magnitude more resources of this kind than in Ukraine. Russia is one of the undisputed leaders in the reserves of these rare earth metals. We have them in the North – in Murmansk, in the Caucasus – in the Kabardino-Balkaria, in the Far East, in the Irkutsk region, and in Yakutia, in Tuva. These are quite capital-intensive investments, projects capital-intensive. We would be happy to work with any foreign partners, including those of American ones… Pavel Zarubin: In the new regions too? Vladimir Putin: Yes, of course.”

Following further talks with Macron over lunch at the White House, a second press conference was held. This ran for 43 minutes. Trump began by reading from a script which repeated the slogans of his Oval Office presentation. Click to follow here.

The White House House has released the videotape, but after almost 24 hours, it has issued no transcript. There is also no official White House listing of the US officials who participated in the talks. 

Trump continued to repeat himself. Then Macron made the only detailed disclosure of what agreements he and Trump had reached during the day. “Can you confirm there is an agreement,” a French reporter asked, “to send European peacekeeping troops? Will France participate in that? How many troops? What will they be doing?”

“Well,” Trump began, “I guess, this is a little strange question”. He then avoided answering, speaking instead for the third time in the day on the restoration of the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. “I was there. I saw the work. I’m very good at construction. I know good construction and I know bad construction. They did a beautiful job, and this man has to be given a lot of credit for that.”

Macron responded directly to the question of the end-of-war settlement. He said there had been three areas of discussion on which Trump and the US delegation had agreed during the day at the White House. The first, Macron said, was the terms Vladimir Zelensky will sign in a few days’ time on US takeover of Ukrainian minerals. The second was the sequence of truce, ceasefire, and peace settlement which Trump agreed his negotiators will pursue with the Russians. The third agreement with Trump, according to Macron, was “a clear American message that the US as an ally is ready to provide that solidarity for that approach. That is a turning point in my view. And that is one of the great areas of progress we have made during this trip. And during this discussion.”

What Macron meant is an idea he said he has already worked out with British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer for preserving the Ukraine politically and territorially with a combination of the NATO forces currently on the Ukrainian battlefield, in a change of deployment and engagement conditions.

“When it comes to troops,” Macron said, “in the past, a year ago specifically, we saw a reason to talk about sending troops for strategic reasons. Today, when we talk about troops, we are talking about sending them in after we have negotiated a lasting peace…. Then at that point … not to go to the front lines, not to go into occupied territory, but as a show of support for — to show we have a negotiated peace, signed by both sides, and that is a peace we will preserve. So these will be peaceful deployments of troops, not for combat. These will be deployments of an assurance force.”

Macron implied that Trump had agreed to provide US military backing for this “assurance force” in the Ukraine. During the talks the US Secretary of Defense, Peter Hegseth, was absent; he was hosting the Saudi Defense Minister at the Pentagon instead.

In his finale at the White House, Macron concluded: “The real change now, compared to 2014, is that we have this deterrence capacity on the American side. We have the capacity for engagement on the European side. And that’s something we are going to continue working on together.”

Trump was unable to respond to the details, nor to the strategic point Macron was claiming Trump has now agreed for a NATO-type military guarantee including US “deterrence capacity” inside the Ukraine. “Emmanuel,” Trump stopped the press conference, ” thank you very much. Great job. And it’s been wonderful being with you. Say hello to your beautiful wife, and we will see you again soon. 

NOTE: In his new interview, Putin made a pitch for US investment in low-cost Russian aluminium production as a counter to Trump’s raised tariffs on the imported metal from Canada and to the European Union’s new sanctions on exports of Russian aluminium. 

Russian aluminium is controlled by the oligarch, Oleg Deripaska. For the archive on the metal,  click. For the history of Deripaska, read the book.

“If it is decided to open the American market for our [aluminium] producers,” Putin said, “then we could sell about two million tonnes in the US market. This would not significantly affect the formation of the price, but, in my opinion, it would still have a restraining effect for the stabilization of prices. In addition, and most importantly in my opinion, is that we could, together with American companies, think about a joint work in this area. For example, in the Krasnoyarsk Territory in the Soviet time there were plans to build a new hydroelectric power plant and create additional production of aluminium production. Aluminium is before everything, energy, and preferably cheap energy. Hydropower is cheap, and among other things, it is also environmentally friendly.” Putin implied that Deripaska’s Rusal is already negotiating with US counterparts. “Yes, some of our companies are in contact with each other and such projects are discussed.” 

Republished from John Helmer https://www.unz.com/article/trumps-incomprehension-thank-you-dear-donald/  

 

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YOURDEMOCRACY.NET RECORDS HISTORY AS IT SHOULD BE — NOT AS THE WESTERN MEDIA WRONGLY REPORTS IT.

 

         Gus Leonisky

         POLITICAL CARTOONIST SINCE 1951.

 

 

France, unable to cope with the shock of Donald Trump
by Thierry Meyssan

It was not Donald Trump who turned against the Kiev regime, as we are led to believe, but Volodymyr Zelensky who had US interests bombed, causing heavy damage to Chevron and ExxonMobil. It is therefore completely futile to believe that a visit to Washington will be enough for Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron to reverse the situation.
It may seem absurd to attack one’s allies, but that is what the Nazis did against Poland and what the Ukrainian integral nationalists did against the United States.

French President Emmanuel Macron immediately reacted to the announcement of the US-Russia talks in Riyadh. He convened a meeting of his seven main allies on the European continent at the Élysée Palace on February 12: the foreign ministers of Germany (Annalena Baerbock), Spain (José Manuel Albares Bueno), the United Kingdom (David Lammy), Italy (Antonio Tajani), Poland (Radosław Sikorski) and the High Representative of the European Commission for Foreign Policy (Estonian Kaja Kallas), as well as the European Commissioner for Defense and Space (Lithuanian Andrius Kubilius).

This meeting was to determine a common response. Of course, that was not the case. Only France and the United Kingdom are ready to send troops to Ukraine to enforce the implementation of a possible peace. Germany, Spain and Italy are firmly opposed to it. The EU and especially the Baltic states would like the others to do so.

At the same time, the US Secretary of the Treasury, Scott Bessent, was in Kiev. Not to give billions more and more to the Ukrainians, but on the contrary, to demand… 500! With Trumpian aplomb, he presented the exorbitant bill for three years of war. The unelected Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, replied that he would not give in to this racket.

At least, that is the official version. The truth is quite different: last June, Zelensky received Senator Lindsey Graham, an old friend of the “integral nationalists”. He had explained to him that by invading his country, Russia only wanted to seize its rare earths, the value of which he had estimated at between 10,000 and 12,000 billion dollars. Graham had repeated this during his interview on "Face the Nation" (CBSNews, June 9, 2024). This idea had taken hold in the United States, exempting the ruling class from listening to the Russian version. However, the Bloomberg agency revealed on February 19, 2025, that this story was just a hoax, since Ukraine did not have these minerals.

According to Vladimir Sergienko (Vesti FM), the Europeans have already divided up Ukraine, as they did in advance with Iraq, Libya and Syria. The British have privileged access to the ports that they must rebuild and modernize, the Germans to the mines, etc. The United States Congress had adopted, in April 2022, a law authorizing the supply of weapons to Ukraine on the model of the lend-lease of the Second World War (Ukraine Democracy Defense Lend-Lease Act of 2022), but this text was never implemented by the Biden administration and expired in September 2023. Everything that Washington provided, whether in money or equipment, was therefore lost.

The Trump administration is therefore now demanding reimbursement of what it and other Western allies gave without compensation. It estimates the total bill at 500 billion dollars, which is only a small part of the supposed 10,000 billion dollars that Ukraine claims to hold.

FEBRUARY 17

In this context, a second meeting was held at the Élysée Palace on February 17, with the same people, plus Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, and Mark Rutte, Secretary General of NATO.

The EU and NATO are two organizations founded by the Anglo-Saxons to monitor Western Europe. Both Ursula von der Leyen and Mark Rutte owe their appointments to London and Washington, even though they were elected by all the representatives of the Member States. But both owe their positions to the Biden administration, not to Donald Trump. They therefore advocate for the continuation of war, especially not peace.

The second meeting at the Élysée Palace was no more useful than the first.

All the more so since the movement has accelerated: while the European lights were deploring the Trumpist revolution in Paris, the National Defense and Security Council of Ukraine gave the order, on February 17, to bomb the pipeline linking Kazakhstan to the Russian port of Novorossiysk. It is one of the largest in the world. It allows the export of enormous quantities of Kazakh and Russian oil.

Since the establishment of martial law, this Council has been the real executive authority of Ukraine. It meets in the presidential palace so that foreigners do not know that it exercises, de facto, all the executive functions of the country in place of its president and his administration. This president, now unelected, Volodymyr Zelensky (his mandate expired eight months ago), sits there, but has no say in the matter. All decisions are made under the authority of the former head of the foreign secret service (SZRU), Oleksandr Lytvynenko.

This Council, which has banned all opposition political parties, burned three million books and banned the majority Orthodox Church in the country, is the stronghold of the "integral nationalists", that is to say the disciples of Dmytro Dontsov and his future man, Stepan Bandera, the collaborators of the Nazis. By bombing the main pumping station of the pipeline in Russia, he knew what he was doing: he was attacking US interests in Russia.

The Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) is owned • 2% by the Italian ENI, • 7.5% by the Caspian Pipeline Co., a subsidiary of the US Mobil • and 15% by Caspian Pipeline Consortium Co., a subsidiary of the US Chevron.

In addition, this pipeline supplies the majority of the oil consumed in Israel.
The National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine thus declared war on Italy and the United States.

FEBRUARY 18

The US and Russian delegations met at the Diriyah Palace in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. As I analyzed last week [1], Sergei Lavrov, the Russian Foreign Minister, insisted that the discussion not only focus on the war and territorial issues, but also on substantive issues, including relations between the two sides. Marco Rubio, the Secretary of State, assured that he would stop the harassment of Russian diplomats accredited to his country that the Biden administration was engaging in. Similarly, there will be no more question of canceling artistic events because they celebrate Russian authors. He pledged to honor Washington’s signature and thus to gradually withdraw NATO troops from all countries that joined after German reunification.

From the perspective of Western warmongers, this first contact was uneven: only Washington made concessions, not Moscow. But from the pacifists’ point of view, it could not be otherwise, since in this case all the blame lay with the neoconservatives of the Republican Bush Jr. and Democrat Obama and Biden administrations. Russia accepted that the United States acknowledged its mistakes and demanded nothing in return for the harm it had done.

FEBRUARY 19

The President of the United States, Donald Trump, commented on the Ukrainian bombings and the negotiations with Russia: “I am really disappointed by what happened. I have been watching this for three years… I hear that, you know, they [the Ukrainians] are upset that they were not invited [to the negotiations with Russia] to Riyadh. Well, they had a place for three years and a long time before that. »

More harshly, he posted this message shortly after on TruthSocial: “Think about it, a modestly successful comedian, Volodymyr Zelensky, convinced the United States of America to spend $350 billion to enter a war that could not be won, that should never have started, that he will never be able to solve without the United States and “TRUMP”. The United States spent $200 billion more than Europe, Europe’s money is guaranteed, while the United States will receive nothing in return. Why didn’t Joe Biden demand equalization, since this war is much more important to Europe than it is to us – we have a big beautiful ocean as a divider. On top of that, Zelensky admits that half the money we sent him has “DISAPPEARED”. He refuses to hold elections, he is very low in the Ukrainian polls, and the only thing he was good at was playing Biden “like a violin”. A dictator without elections, Zelensky had better act fast, otherwise he will no longer be able to have a country. In the meantime, we are successfully negotiating an end to the war with Russia, which everyone admits: only “TRUMP” and the Trump administration can do that. Biden never tried, Europe has failed to bring peace, and Zelensky probably wants to keep the machine running. I love Ukraine, but Zelensky has done a terrible job, his country is broken and MILLIONS of people have died needlessly – and so on…”

Horrified, pro-Biden Western elites then accused Donald Trump of repeating the propaganda of the “dictator Putin.” According to them, it is reversing the charges to accuse Ukraine of having started the war, when it is the sole fact of the “dictator” who invaded it to conquer it.

We explained here, at the outbreak of the conflict, that it had been opened by the Ukrainian army’s bombardments against the population of its territories in Donbass from February 19, 2022. This fact is indisputable and was recorded by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, which was responsible for observing the internal border of Donbass. Swiss Colonel Jacques Baud, a recognized expert on intelligence services around the world, has pointed out in several in-depth works [2] that the OSCE had noted the Ukrainian bombings in the days preceding Russia’s recognition of the independence of the two Donbass republics, Donetsk and Lugansk, followed a few hours later by the signing of two treaties of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance, and two days later, the launch of the special military operation against the Ukrainian “integral nationalists” (and not against Ukraine). NATO’s expression, repeated in all official communiqués of all Western documents, that Russia had engaged in an “illegal and unprovoked invasion” is therefore pure war propaganda.

In this affair, as always, the governments that pour mendacious war propaganda on their peoples are the first victims. Emmanuel Macron, Keir Starmer, Ursula von der Leyen and Mark Rutte have not escaped the rule. They now believe in good faith the absurdities that they have been repeating for three years. [3].

FEBRUARY 23

Volodymyr Zelensky, the “unelected dictator,” announced at a press conference in Kiev that he was ready to resign if it would allow Ukraine to join NATO, which is never going to happen, given the US position. He reiterated that Kiev will not accept anything that it has not negotiated with the US and Russia. Again, it is clear that this will not happen: the US and Russia will decide together, the EU and Ukraine will, whatever they say, comply with their wishes.

FEBRUARY 24

Russian President Vladimir Putin gave an interview to Russian Channel One. He said that Russia has many more rare earths than Ukraine and that Moscow is “ready to work with our foreign partners, including the US,” to develop these deposits. In other words, if peace were to come, Washington would not be able to exploit rare earths in Ukraine, since there are none, but could do so in Russia itself.

Vladimir Putin had already said that he would only agree to sign a peace agreement with Ukraine when it has a legitimate leader. Regarding the elections, which were not called because the National Defense and Security Council refused to lift martial law in order to impose its dictatorship, Mr. Putin was in favor of General Valery Zaluzhny, former commander-in-chief of the armed forces and current ambassador to London. According to him, this man is twice as popular in his country as Zelensky is.

French President Emmanuel Macron visited Washington. According to French television, he was welcomed at the White House by his counterpart, Donald Trump. But according to US television, it was only done by his counterpart’s chief of staff, in violation of basic rules of protocol.

From the White House, he participated by video in the G7 meeting held in Kiev around unelected President Volodymyr Zelensky and Justin Trudeau (Canadian Prime Minister), Ursula von der Leyen (President of the European Commission) and Antonio Costa (President of the European Council). Olaf Scholz (German Chancellor), Keir Starmer (British Prime Minister), Giorgia Meloni (Italian Prime Minister), Shigeru Ishiba (Japanese Prime Minister) joined by video. Pedro Sánchez, Spanish Prime Minister, who was also in Kiev, participated in the meeting. All participants, including Emmanuel Macron, pledged allegiance to US President Donald Trump and accepted his decisions.

After this exchange, and not before, Emmanuel Macron was allowed to meet President Donald Trump one-on-one in the Oval Office. It is not known what the two men said to each other, but during the press briefing that followed, they congratulated each other on their unity. In other words, President Macron has abandoned his grievances to unreservedly rally, like his G7 colleagues, to President Trump’s decisions.

Keir Starmer, the British Prime Minister, will travel to Washington on February 27. He will propose to deploy a British peacekeeping force to guarantee the ceasefire, which will be refused by Presidents Putin and Trump, since a protagonist cannot become an arbiter.

The sequence of events is already known: in the next few years, NATO and the EU will be dissolved as the Warsaw Pact and the USSR were. This is the only solution to keep the United States united. Otherwise, it will be the United States that disappears.

European elites will have to assume the security of their homelands alone. They will therefore have to rebuild their armies. This process will take about ten years for countries that, like Denmark, will start tomorrow. The others will expose themselves to the vagaries of History.

France and the United Kingdom, like the others, no longer have armies capable of defending their territory, just "projection forces" that they use to maintain the confetti of their former empires. To pay for real armies, each of these countries will have to cut their spending. In France, this will obviously be in social spending. We will then have to ask ourselves the question of the waste in the Health and Education services. The French are wrongly convinced that their Social Security, their Family Allowances and their pay-as-you-go pensions are inseparable from their Republic, when in fact these are systems inherited from the fascist regime of Philippe Pétain. Of course, the National Council of the Resistance validated them at the Liberation, but they have nothing republican about them.

We must therefore prepare ourselves for difficult days. We must, not in several years, but in the weeks to come, find a way to move from our current social model to another, more modern and freer one, without harming the most deprived. It is unlikely that our current political class is capable of this. Its main leaders have just gathered at the Élysée (again) with President Macron to confirm that they share his vision of the Ukrainian conflict and the “madness” of the President of the United States.

There are trains that we can miss to catch the next one. But this one is the last one.

 

Thierry Meyssan
Translation
Roger Lagassé

 

https://www.voltairenet.org/article221863.html

 

 

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YOURDEMOCRACY.NET RECORDS HISTORY AS IT SHOULD BE — NOT AS THE WESTERN MEDIA WRONGLY REPORTS IT.

 

         Gus Leonisky

         POLITICAL CARTOONIST SINCE 1951.