Trump's War
The stakes remain high for "enduring and sustainable" cognitive dissonance in Jeddah.
OK. Let me get this straight. Our prospective Nobel Peace Prize laureate Trump and his neocon peace negotiation team are touting successful peace talks in Saudi Arabia and are presenting its Jeddah US/Ukranian proposal in Moscow, seeking Putin’s approval.
"Today we made an offer that the Ukrainians have accepted, which is to enter into a ceasefire and into immediate negotiations," Rubio told reporters after the talks in Jeddah.
"We'll take this offer now to the Russians and we hope they'll say yes to peace. The ball is now in their court."
"If they say no then we'll unfortunately know what the impediment is to peace here," Rubio said of Russia, which launched a “full-scale” invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
At the same presser Secretary of State Marco Rubio and National Security Advisor Mike Waltz announced the resumption of military aid and intelligence sharing with Kyiv. What could possibly go wrong, and what part of Putin’s unwavering insistence of a long-term peace don’t we understand?
A 30-day pause to hostilities may be more of a pipe dream than our crack diplomats could ever understand. Notwithstanding this news cycle’s Russophobic narrative, Vladimir Putin does support an end to the hostilities in Ukraine. but insists a potential ceasefire will be a first step to enduring peace.
Speaking during a bilateral meeting with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko Putin noted “We agree with the proposals to cease hostilities. But… this cessation must be such that it would lead to long-term peace and eliminate the initial causes of this crisis.”
But why in hell would Putin trust American diplomatic overtures after three years of financial allocations, now pushing $300 billion; blatant logistical support of long-range ATACM missile strikes on the Russian homeland; and the thwarted Minsk 1 and Minsk 2 peace proposals, but most notably the 2022 Istanbul peace talks, where both Russia and Ukraine were set to make major concessions until Western leaders gave way to weakening Russia, even Russian balkanization, over high-level diplomacy, dialogue and peace.
Why a nuclear confrontation didn’t break out during the Biden years I will never know. Living on the brink became as routine as Strangelove.
So where does leave the rest of us, Americans sick as shit about endless war, and relying exclusively on feckless U.S. diplomats unable to find Kursk or Donbass on a map on a bet?
Putin was clear today about the nuances of any ceasefire to the carnage:
If we stop fighting for 30 days, what does it mean? That everyone who is there will leave without a fight? We should let them go after they committed mass crimes against civilians? Or will the Ukrainian leadership order them to lay down their arms. Simply surrender. How will this work? It is not clear.
How will other issues be resolved on all the lines of contact? This is almost 2,000 kilometers.
As you know, Russian troops are advancing almost along the entire front. And there are ongoing military operations to surround rather large groups of enemy forces.
These 30 days — how will they be used? To continue forced mobilization in Ukraine? To receive more arms supplies? To train newly mobilized units? Or will none of this happen?
Putin added these are all common sense, yet serious issues. Who will calling the shots during the pause in the hostilities in an area almost the size of Texas, and there will be violations.
Konstantin Kosachev, chairman of the international affairs committee of the Federation Council, the upper house of Russia's parliament, said this week:
Russian troops are advancing, and so, dealings with Russia will be different. Any agreements (and we recognize the need for compromises) will come on our terms, not America’s. This isn’t just bravado; it’s an acknowledgment that real agreements are still being forged on the front lines – a fact Washington should understand.
Also political analyst Sergey Markov noted on Tuesday, “The West cannot really be trusted. Russia is advancing. A ceasefire always benefits those who are retreating.”
Good money says the Russo/Ukranian ceasefire negotiations in Moscow are caving, and the Trump golden age of common sense train left the station long before Jeddah.
It’s his war now.
UPDATE
11:31 PM Mar 13, 2025
Ukraine strikes Moscow with drone attack after Putin rejects ceasefire
The Telegraph
Ukraine attacked Moscow with drones overnight the morning after Vladimir Putin rejected a temporary ceasefire mediated by the US.
Russian air defences repelled four drones which were flying towards the capital, according to Sergei Sobyanin, the city’s mayor. Mr Sobyanin said there was little damage and no casualties.
However, footage showed the moment a drone smashed into the side of a residential building in Moscow.
It was the second time Moscow had been targeted in a drone attack this week, with Ukrainian drones smashing into residential buildings on Tuesday morning, hours before peace talks with US officials in Saudi Arabia.
The attacks are thought to be a show of strength by Ukraine, which has offered a temporary truce on long-range strikes to lay the ground for talks on ending the war permanently.
On Thursday, Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia “needed war” to continue. The Russian president suggested he was open to the “idea” of a ceasefire but only if it were on his own terms.
Thank you, Gene! I also appreciate the link to the article detailing the facts around the actual dollar value of aid the US has given. Trump does himself a disservice when he is sloppy with data, because this gives his opposition the fuel to shout liar liar liar when even 127B , and not 350B aid as Trump has repeated, to UKR is 127B too much to fund a foolish proxy war to weaken Russia, who is not our enemy. I pray for the success of Russian diplomacy and negotiation.
Is the area "the size of Texas" Russia's most recent territorial gains or?