The high temperatures of Saudi Arabia melted the large block of ice created by the 3 years of frost between America and Russia. The two chess players of geopolitics, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, were placed face to face, bringing their respective battle pieces to the table.
For four hours and a working lunch, they agreed on a normalization of relations between Washington and Moscow, the creation of groups that will work on the final negotiations of the war in Ukraine, the involvement or not of Europe, the red lines of the parties and possible concessions.
Russia emerged from these talks very pleased with the fact that their position is being heard. Not only that, but US President Donald Trump signaled that he is embracing Russia's narrative, attacking the Ukrainian leader for starting the war and for having no legitimacy as president, as only 4 percent of the population supports him.
Donald Trump's reign continues to send major shockwaves through global geopolitics. The US president's desire to get even closer to Russia became a reality in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
The delegations of the parties met and agreed on many issues, the most important of which were: the normalization of Washington-Moscow relations, the creation of working groups that will negotiate peace in Ukraine, the restoration of economic exchanges and red lines. US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, assessed that only Donald Trump can bring peace to the world.
“I would say to you that to end any conflict, concessions have to be made by all sides. We are not going to predetermine what those are. We are certainly not going to negotiate this today or in a press conference. The European Union will have to be at the table at some point, because they have also imposed sanctions on Russia. But I think the point here is that the goal that we agreed on: to end this conflict in a way that is just, long-term, sustainable and acceptable to all parties involved. What that looks like, we will learn in what will be an ongoing engagement.”
“We explained that the deployment of armed forces from the same NATO countries, but under a false flag, under the flag of the European Union or under national flags, does not change anything in this regard. Of course, this is unacceptable for us. We explained to our interlocutors that we have noticed very carefully that President Trump on several occasions has been the first of all Western leaders to say that Ukraine’s withdrawal from NATO was one of the main reasons for what is happening, was one of the biggest mistakes of Biden and his administration. We explained to our colleagues what President (Vladimir) Putin has repeatedly emphasized: that NATO enlargement, Ukraine’s rapprochement towards NATO, is a direct threat to the interests of the Russian Federation, a direct threat to our sovereignty,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated.
US President Donald Trump continued to navigate the waters of the Russia narrative, attacking Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky.
“I hear that Ukrainians are upset that they didn’t have a seat at the table. Well, they had a seat for three years and a long time before that. This could have been resolved very easily, just a half-baked negotiator could have resolved this years ago, without losing much land, but a little territory, without losing any human lives and without losing cities. We have a situation where Ukraine has not held elections. There is martial law in effect. I hate to say it, but the leader in Ukraine has dropped to 4% of the support of the people. Today I heard ‘yes, we were not invited.’ But you have been there for 3 years. You should have ended the war 3 years ago. You should not have even started it. You could have made a deal.”
“Trump said a few weeks ago that he would not throw Ukraine to the wolves. That doesn’t mean he won’t. But I think we’ve seen a pretty clear indication, since he set his sights on the Ukraine aid package in April of last year, that that’s not Trump’s intention. Now he’s unpredictable and he could change his mind. But I think the people around him don’t understand how important it is to American interests that Putin not win this war in Ukraine and not take control of that country, which is what will happen if we stop the aid to Ukraine. Trump understands that it would be a defeat for the United States and for him personally if he supports a deal that allows Putin to take control of Ukraine.”
"The great betrayal of kneeling before Putin." This is how President Volodymyr Zelensky described the peace talks between America and Russia without Ukraine in Saudi Arabia.
The Kiev leader has warned that he will not accept any outcome of the negotiations or any agreement that may be reached for his country without a seat at the big table. In fact, the alarm in Ukraine does not stem only from what is articulated by the White House, but from the plan that has been drawn up in black and white.
"In addition to Ukraine being expected to lose 30 percent of the territory occupied by the Russians, it may also be left with access to the subsoil rich in Lithium, Uranium, Graphite Crystals and Titanium. All this concession just to gain protection from another possible invasion."
Important media outlets such as The Telegraph and the Financial Times have seen the confidential White House document: in exchange for protection, the demands do not only concern the exploitation of mineral resources, but also ports, infrastructure, oil and gas, thus reflecting an end that many experts consider worse than the one imposed on Germany at Versailles.
“I am defending Ukraine, I cannot put it up for sale. I cannot sell my country. The American demand for the return of $500 billion as part of a deal on rare earth minerals is not a serious conversation and will not help our relations. We need to work on a serious document that contains security guarantees, and NATO is the strongest guarantee. As for financial assistance, we have completely different numbers, unfortunately. Everything is very clear to us. The war cost us $320 billion. We, the people of Ukraine, the taxpayers, gave $120 billion. 200 billion is from the US and the EU.”
The Ukrainian president sealed his split with US leader Donald Trump in his reaction to what he considered an attempt at economic colonization of the country.
“If someone wants to replace me now, I will tell them that it will not happen. While we are talking about 4%, we know that it is disinformation coming from Russia. We understand and have evidence that these figures are being discussed between America and Russia. Unfortunately, President Trump, whom we respect very much as the leader of a nation dear to us, America, which has supported us all along, lives in the sphere of Russian disinformation. I believe that the United States helped Putin get out of the years of isolation. I would prefer that the Trump team learn more about the truth and that all this will not have a positive impact on Ukraine. I think that Putin and the Russians are very happy because they are involved in the discussions and in Riyadh there were signals as if they were victims. Russia remains the guilty party and you cannot clean them up like money and erase their responsibility for the war with a drop of a pencil. We want peace more than anyone else. But we need guarantees for security.”
As if to confirm the final separation, Donald Trump would make this reaction against Zelensky.
“Think about it: a somewhat successful comedian, Volodymyr Zelensky, convinced the United States to spend $350 billion on a war that could not be won, that should never have been started, but a war that, without the US and “Trump”, could never have been resolved. The US has spent $200 billion more than Europe, while Europe’s money is guaranteed, while the US will get nothing. Why didn’t “Sleeper” Joe Biden ask for a draw, given that this war is much more important to Europe than to us - we have a big, beautiful ocean as a divider? Beyond that, Zelensky admits that half of the money we sent him is “MISSING”. He refuses to hold elections, he is very low in the polls in Ukraine, and the only thing he was good at was “playing” Biden “like a violin”. A dictator without elections, Zelensky needs to move quickly, or he will have nothing left. Meanwhile, we are successfully negotiating an end to the war with Russia, something everyone agrees only “Trump” and the Trump administration can do. Biden never tried, Europe failed to bring peace, and Zelensky probably wants to keep the “golden faucet” from which the money flows. I love Ukraine, but Zelensky has done a terrible job, his country has been destroyed, and MILLIONS of people have died needlessly — and all this continues.”
Don Bacon | Republican Congressman
“The president needs to start over. He took a bad turn. I think what he said is wrong, and it’s a shame. Many Republicans, probably all of them, know what the president said was wrong. Putin started this invasion. He’s the dictator. He’s killed all his opponents. Zelensky was elected rightfully. He’s under martial law, and they can’t hold elections under their constitution. Ukraine is the victim, and I would ask our president to stand on the side of freedom, on the side of democracy, on the side of the victim, not the occupier. You have to push back the aggressor. Zelensky is the victim. The occupier is Putin. The bombing of cities was done by Putin. The Russians are destroying the cities they’ve taken, and they’ve killed prisoners of war. They’ve raped and looted. Russia is on the wrong side here, and we need a president who has moral clarity when it comes to this war.”
"We can already say: Russia is emerging victorious from this whole situation. Vladimir Putin is seeing almost all his wishes fulfilled: the projection emerging from the peace plan that is being woven almost in secret by Ukraine gives Russia not only Crimea, but also the four annexed regions in the east. The conditions set for reducing weapons are the same ones that started this war: the disarmament of Ukraine, military neutrality, thus closing the door to NATO membership, while the small concession that is being made is allowing Ukraine to join the European Union."
Vladimir Putin | President of Russia
“The goal and subject of our negotiations was the restoration of Russia-US relations. Should someone be a mediator between Russia and the US? This is an excessive demand. The main thing in resolving the most important issues, including the peace treaty in Ukraine, is that without increasing the level of trust between Russia and the United States it is impossible to resolve many problems, including the crisis in Ukraine. As for the negotiation process, President Trump told me during our phone call, and I can confirm this, that the US appreciates that Russia and Ukraine will participate in the talks. No one is excluding Ukraine from this process. Therefore, there is no reason to react like this to the Russia-US meeting. It will be a pleasure to meet Donald. We have not seen each other for a long time. We do not have a close relationship, but during the four years when he was president, we met and had open discussions.”
Jeffrey Engel | Historian
"Ukraine is a small stone in the field, but the 'elephant in the room' is the exclusion of European allies or the fact that they are starting to make plans without the United States. We are now seeing a complete reversal of the Republican Party, which historically has been the one that has opposed dictatorial regimes like the Soviet Union or Russia, and is now fully embracing it. It is truly astonishing. The truth of the matter is that what we are doing now, what Trump is doing, is exactly what the Kremlin wants. It is exactly what Putin wants to give him more credibility in Europe. It is exactly what the Kremlin wants in terms of destroying the NATO structure and sowing mistrust and increasing the likelihood that there will be an independent European operation or an independent European army in the future. So, essentially Donald Trump is doing exactly what for 80 years, the United States has been trying to prevent its enemy from doing."
“An important part of this political mosaic are the European Union and the United Kingdom. Concerned that they are being excluded from the peace plans, European leaders were urgently convened in Paris by French President Emmanuel Macron. The discussions were intense and ranged from filling the huge gap left by American withdrawals for Ukraine aid, to increasing defense spending and creating a new European security bloc. But the 11 leaders did not agree on any agreement or pact in the end, which once again showed the great divisions in attitudes among the greats. The question that naturally arises in this scenario is, why are the Europeans finding it so difficult to become a major geopolitical player and what role can they play in establishing peace on the old continent?
“As the clouds over Ukraine darken in the self-proclaimed golden age of Donald Trump’s America, the chances of a good compromise are fading. Politics in Kiev seeks agreements with the preservation of territorial integrity and sovereignty, but this is now reflected as a ship that has long left its port. More and more painful pacts for Ukraine with the loss of territory and subsoil resources appear on the horizon.
It is even going so far as to lose its main aspiration, NATO membership. Russia is winning everything, at least on this point.
The question everyone is asking is what the peace agreement will look like and how much of Ukraine will be left behind after the no-deal deal being negotiated in Washington and Moscow?
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