Saturday 15th of March 2025

when a cold shower is more like a hot boiling bath....

Europe and the United States should gradually normalize relations with Russia once the Ukraine conflict is over, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has said.

The statement comes a day after the head of the US-led military bloc met President Donald Trump at the White House and amid ongoing efforts by Washington to establish a ceasefire between Moscow and Kiev.

 

NATO countries should restore ties with Russia – bloc chief     It would be “normal” for relations to be resumed once the Ukraine conflict is over, Mark Rutte has suggested

 

Trump has also expressed interest in restoring economic ties with Russia, an idea that was supported by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Speaking to Bloomberg TV on Friday, Rutte recalled that he had “many dealings” and “many negotiations” with Putin while prime minister of the Netherlands.

“Long-term, Russia is there, Russia will not go away,” he said. “It’s normal if the war would have stopped for Europe somehow, step by step, and also for the US, step by step, to restore normal relations with Russia,” he argued.

Ukraine’s possible membership of the bloc is off the table in the current peace process, Rutte confirmed, a point Moscow has insisted upon.

Most EU leaders, with the notable exceptions of Hungary’s Viktor Orban and Slovakia’s Robert Fico, have advocated for continued confrontation with Russia, despite the ongoing peace process.

European NATO countries have been supplying weapons to Kiev since the escalation of the conflict in 2022. Some bloc members, such as France, have floated the idea of deploying troops in Ukraine to monitor a truce. Russia has denounced the idea and insisted that any NATO contingent in Ukraine deployed without a UN mandate will be considered a legitimate target.

Moscow has accused the EU of militarizing against Russia, after the bloc’s leaders backed €800 billion ($860 bn) in debt and tax-breaks for its military industrial complex.

As NATO’s biggest financial contributor, Trump has consistently criticized the bloc’s European members for not meeting the defense expenditure targets.

NATO has maintained a hostile position towards Moscow since Crimea joined the Russian Federation in 2014 and the subsequent escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2022. The developments led to the suspension of practical cooperation and a significant military buildup in NATO countries on Russia’s borders.

https://www.rt.com/news/614242-nato-russia-relations-rutte/

 

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

 

         Gus Leonisky

         POLITICAL CARTOONIST SINCE 1951.

 

SEE ALSO: 

when the good cops and the bad cops are equally mad.....

zelensky wants war...

 

BY Ilya Tsukanov

 

 

 

30-Day Ceasefire Push: Putin Seeks Long-Term Peace, Zelensky Wants War and Trump Stuck in the Middle

 

 

 

Russia's president has expressed interest in Trump’s 30-day ceasefire idea, but cited important “nuances” that must be accounted for first, since Volodymyr Zelensky has opposed peace at every turn. Here’s the evidence of their divergent approaches.

 

 

 

1. Fate of Kursk Cauldron

 

Putin: “What will we do about the incursion zone in Kursk region? If we stopped military operations for 30 days, what would this mean? That all [enemy forces] would just walk out without a fight?”

 

Zelensky: “Our troops in Kursk region continue to carry out their tasks.”

 

 

 

2. Respite for Ukraine’s Mobilization Campaign?

 

Putin: “How will these 30 days be used? To ensure the continued forced mobilization in Ukraine?”

 

 

 

Zelensky aide Podolyak and Rada Defense Committee chairman Kostenko: Ceasefire WON’T stop mobilization, WON’T end martial law, and WON’T trigger elections.

 

 

 

3. Handling of Potential Violations (Armed Attacks, Incursions, Missile Strikes)

 

Putin: “Who will be able to determine where and who has violated a possible agreement on a ceasefire across a 2,000 km front?”

 

 

 

Zelensky: Complained to Trump last month, claiming Russia violated ceasefires 25 times since 2014.

 

4. Verification of measures related to mobilization, supply of weapons

 

Putin: “How will issues of control and verification be handled – how will they guarantee that nothing like this will happen?”

 

 

 

Zelensky: Even if a ceasefire turns into something more, Ukraine will not recognize the loss of territory to Russia. “This is the biggest red line.”

 

 

 

5. Fundamentally diverging attitudes toward peace

 

Putin: “The very idea is great, I think is correct, and we of course support it.” “We agree with the proposals to cease hostilities, but proceed from the assumption that this cessation should lead to long-term peace and eliminate the root causes of this crisis.”

 

 

 

Zelensky: “Now we have all heard from Russia very predictable, very manipulative words from Putin in response to the idea of quiet on the front – he is actually preparing a refusal.”

 

 

 

https://sputnikglobe.com/20250314/30-day-ceasefire-push-putin-seeks-long-term-peace-zelensky-wants-war-and-trump-stuck-in-the-middle-1121639177.html

 

 

 

RUSSIA HAS NO CHOICE BUT TO REFUSE THE CEASEFIRE WHICH IS A SHAM TO RE-ARM THE KIEV REGIME...

 

 

 

REMEMBER ZELENSKY IS AN MI6 ASSET...

 

 

 

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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.