In this episode, I talk about trust and how it's one of the most powerful words in the English language. It's a powerful message about how we should all be able to trust each other and the people around us.
Transcript
Transcripts from "America First - Nicholas J. Fuentes" are sourced from the Knowledge Fight Interactive Search Tool. You can also explore and interact with the transcripts here.
00:07:09.000This country is being ripped apart and raped and looted.
00:07:14.000We're being slowly poisoned and in some cases quickly murdered and assassinated.
00:07:20.000And we're killing ourselves every day inadvertently with the kinds of things that we eat and breathe and drink and see.
00:07:28.000People have got to start to radically begin to obey their conscience and tell the truth and do the right thing.
00:07:35.000People have got to start to get courageous.
00:07:38.000And this is the time for everybody to turn and look to God and to pray and to ask for strength and to ask for wisdom to get through this time and to transform and sanctify this country.
00:07:53.000And the alternative is that there will be no country.
00:07:56.000Is it really only as big as low gas prices?
00:08:00.000Is it really only so big as bringing inflation and gas prices and the corporate tax rate back down?
00:08:07.000It's not about waiting for someone to come in and change the policy and make it better.
00:08:11.000It's a personal decision that we all have to make to become soldiers of Christ.
00:10:36.000it's not right In the days after the September attacks, there were countless rumors about strange coincidences surrounding the events.
00:10:51.000One report about a group of Middle Eastern men spotted the morning of September 11th, parked just across the river from New York City, has not gone away.
00:12:50.000Well, watching and waiting for this to take place.
00:12:54.000But it looks like it'll begin momentarily.
00:12:56.000I'm going to put the audio on shortly for when they do arrive.
00:13:01.000But for those that are just joining us, for those that have just started watching, today was the highly anticipated meeting between President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska.
00:13:14.000They met at a U.S. base in Anchorage, Alaska.
00:13:18.000They had a bilateral meeting originally supposed to only include Trump and Putin themselves, but then expanded to include the respective special envoys, foreign ministers, and then they were joined at the last minute by the defense ministers from their respective countries.
00:14:17.000It'll be interesting to see what the result of the negotiations were.
00:14:21.000Going into the meeting, the White House and Trump downplayed the outcome.
00:14:26.000Both Trump and the White House, the press secretary, said that this would be a listening session, that the purpose of the meeting would be to gauge the willingness to negotiate on the Russian side.
00:14:38.000And what that means is that they were not anticipating a ceasefire, comprehensive peace, any kind of an agreement from this meeting alone.
00:14:47.000This was supposed to serve as the prelude to a second meeting, which would involve Vladimir Zelensky or a representative from Ukraine, which will happen down the line.
00:14:58.000So that's how we entered the meeting with very low expectations, as articulated again by the White House and by the president.
00:15:07.000This morning, however, they sort of changed their tune.
00:15:10.000And Trump said that if the meeting did not go well, he would leave.
00:15:14.000He said if Putin did not agree to a ceasefire, he would not be happy.
00:15:19.000And if the meeting was not successful, it would be short and there would not be another one.
00:15:25.000So we're getting kind of mixed messages here.
00:15:27.000Simultaneously, they're saying it's a listening session.
00:15:30.000The purpose of the meeting is to gauge the willingness on the Russian side to accept a ceasefire or a truce, maybe to hear their reasonable demands as opposed to their starting position.
00:15:43.000But then this morning kind of changed up that position and said, in reality, if it doesn't go well, there may not be another meeting.
00:15:50.000And obviously, that's a negotiating tactic.
00:15:53.000But so Trump and Putin touched down earlier today, 11.30 local time.
00:15:58.000That was 2.30 p.m. Central Time, where I'm located.
00:17:00.000Trump said this would be a prelude to a second meeting, which would be a three-way meeting in a third-party country, which would involve the United States, Ukraine, and Russia, maybe someplace in Europe.
00:17:24.000If there's any update, maybe we'll get a timetable on when this is supposed to start.
00:17:31.000I'm surrounded by hundreds of reporters, hundreds of cameras, the U.S. press, the White House delegation, the Russian press, everyone here now sitting at attention, waiting to learn what has happened.
00:17:45.000And as we said, the president indicated he would simply walk away if there was not something to announce.
00:17:51.000Clearly, there is now something to announce.
00:17:54.000It is not just this room that is waiting.
00:17:56.000It is the world, and it is certainly Ukraine who has the most on the line In this summit, waiting eagerly to learn what has been discussed, what progress has been made.
00:18:06.000And remember, the president did say that he was going to call President Zelensky as soon as he wrapped up his meeting.
00:18:12.000Another question that we will have for the president here, David.
00:18:14.000Mary, you've covered President Trump for many years.
00:18:16.000You covered him as a candidate as well.
00:18:18.000And we both know that he knows what 6:30 means back in the United States, that millions of Americans tune in for the evening.
00:18:25.000So they say apparently there's an announcement.
00:18:56.000We'll see if there's a temporary ceasefire declared or something like that.
00:19:00.000Of Russia, on U.S. soil in Anchorage, Alaska.
00:19:05.000They have been meeting for more than two hours.
00:19:09.000President Putin had said going into this meeting that he wanted to talk about more than just Ukraine.
00:19:15.000He was aware that President Trump wanted a ceasefire.
00:19:18.000He talked about the sincerity of that, the energy of that was complimentary to President Trump in the days leading up to this summit, but also said he wanted to talk about the economy, business relationships, and nuclear issues with President Trump as well.
00:19:34.000Obviously, we'll have to wait to hear what they tell reporters as to what was discussed.
00:19:38.000You heard Mary talk about the people of Ukraine also waiting to hear if there's been any movement in trying to end this war.
00:19:45.000I want to bring in Ian Panel, our chief foreign correspondent.
00:19:59.000I think everyone is fixed onto their TV screens, listening to their radios and waiting to see what the news is, not least, of course, the president of the country, Zelensky, who is promised that phone call from President Trump when this meeting finishes.
00:20:14.000I think many people were concerned that if it ended quickly, perhaps it was bad news.
00:20:18.000But if it ends quickly and there's a joint press conference, then perhaps hopes are raised that there could be a ceasefire.
00:20:24.000But people are going to be very cautious here.
00:20:28.000Ukraine has signed peace deals in the past involving America, involving Russia, that have been broken, promises that have not been kept.
00:20:36.000So people will want to see the details of this.
00:20:39.000Stage one, of course, would be a potential ceasefire.
00:20:42.000But then comes the tricky part of negotiations.
00:20:45.000Potentially a trilateral meeting involving Zelensky, Putin, and Trump.
00:20:50.000But then they've got to try and resolve some of the differences.
00:20:52.000Russia occupies 20% of Ukrainian land.
00:20:56.000One-fifth of the territory has Russian troops on it.
00:20:59.000They're going to have to negotiate what happens to that territory, who controls it.
00:21:04.000And as well, Russia also maintains its original aims of the war.
00:21:08.000Set out, we were standing here three and a half years ago talking to you as the war started.
00:21:13.000Vladimir Putin saying essentially he doesn't recognize Ukraine as a valid state, doesn't want it allied to the West, doesn't want it part of NATO, and doesn't want it militarily strong.
00:21:24.000So how are you going to bridge those important differences?
00:21:27.000Those are the details that will have to be worked out.
00:21:30.000But if, if, and it is a large if at this moment, they come onto that stage and they announce that there is a ceasefire, there will be enormous relief in this country.
00:21:39.000Finally, people will be able to rest at least for now and then worry about what comes tomorrow.
00:21:45.000Yeah, it's impossible to overstate the challenge that lies ahead, whether there is a ceasefire here or not.
00:21:51.000Ian, something that you just brought up, which I think is really important for our audience, is just to remind them of where this all stands.
00:21:57.000Of course, Americans have been deeply following the war in Ukraine since the invasion more than three and a half years ago.
00:22:03.000And Ian, as you point out, Russian gains, they are now overseeing, if you will, or in control of, at least for now, about 20% of the eastern part of Ukraine.
00:22:15.000Vladimir Putin has signaled that he doesn't want to give any of that up.
00:22:18.000In fact, there are a couple of areas where he wants more territory.
00:22:22.000And of course, President Zelensky has said that that territory is rightfully belongs to Ukraine and the people of Ukraine, that the Constitution wouldn't allow him to give that up, even though Russia made gains after the invasion.
00:22:37.000So, again, if, and it's a big if, they announce a ceasefire here today, it would seem there's going to be quite a challenge when they get President Zelensky, President Putin, President Trump to a table.
00:22:48.000That's what potentially is coming next here.
00:24:47.000We've brought the broadcast there many times during this war, interviewed President Zelensky in the middle of all of this.
00:24:53.000And again, as Mary pointed out earlier, President Trump did promise President Zelensky during conversations earlier this week that he would call him after this summit wraps up to give him a readout of what played out.
00:25:42.000Looks like we have some new statements here from the Russian ambassador.
00:25:48.000Russian Ambassador Darchiev said, without the return of Russia's confiscated diplomatic property in the USA, resolving other issues is difficult.
00:25:58.000Moscow has prepared documents to restore direct air communication with the USA.
00:26:08.000There are still several seats that are empty.
00:26:09.000Witkoff actually just left the room right now with sign that it's very unclear when exactly this potential press conference is going to be starting.
00:26:17.000This was a complete and total scramble, the timeline shifting up with the White House calling on officials and calling on us to quickly assemble and come in.
00:26:25.000So she said Steve Witkoff came and then left.
00:26:28.000President Trump and possibly that are here.
00:26:34.000Steve Witkoff played a very critical role, as you mentioned, David, in setting up today's summit and today's meeting.
00:26:40.000I traveled with the president on Air Force One here to Alaska, and it was notable just how aligned his message was with our European allies following a big call that they all had.
00:26:50.000The president telling me that today his goal is to get Ukraine and Russia to a table to negotiate a ceasefire at some point, but it would be up to Ukraine.
00:26:59.000It Would be ultimately their decision to decide if there were any territorial swaps.
00:27:04.000Of course, we have heard from Ukrainian President Zelensky.
00:27:07.000He has been adamant that that should not happen unless there are security guarantees, which the president says that he is open to.
00:27:14.000Well, Rachel, we have our normal viewers who are watching at 6:30 and those around the country who've tuned in a little earlier than normal because of our live coverage here tonight.
00:27:23.000And in reading the tea leaves, I don't want to get ahead of ourselves too quickly here, Rachel, but just reading the tea leaves, President Trump said going into this summit that if it didn't go well, he could potentially walk out, return to Washington.
00:27:34.000But that even if it didn't go well, he would address reporters at least on his own.
00:27:39.000And the fact that you point out that they tested both mics, that the media has been told to expect a press conference with both leaders would portend perhaps some movement here on trying to get some sort of resolution to get everyone to the table here.
00:27:56.000Yes, David, and I'll tell you that even 20 minutes into the flight on Air Force One, we did get a surprise visitor.
00:28:01.000It was the president of the United States.
00:28:02.000He suddenly came back, he spoke to reporters, and he was very clear that he would be willing to walk out of this meeting if he did not get what he needed or did not hear what he needed to from the Russian president.
00:28:14.000So the sign that the fact that this has now gone on, I was in that earlier.
00:28:19.000The Russian delegation has taken their seats.
00:28:21.000So it looks like it's going to start marking.
00:28:22.000The right side shouted several questions at President Putin about a ceasefire and if he would stop killing Ukrainian civilians.
00:28:30.000Putin did not respond, although he did appear to whisper something back to me.
00:28:35.000But just the sign that this has lasted this long is a sign that there could be potential progress at the very least.
00:28:41.000Either way, the president said that he was prepared to come out here and address the cameras, and now we're waiting to see if the president is going to join him, David.
00:28:48.000Rachel Scott, part of our president Mary Bruce also in the room.
00:28:54.000And Mary, I see people holding up their cameras right now.
00:28:56.000And of course, that there you go, some of the dignitaries now entering the room.
00:29:01.000Sergei Lavrov among them, right there in the front row, part of the Russian delegation.
00:29:07.000Steve Witkoff, we know, entered the room, then left the room.
00:29:10.000We were getting sort of a play-by-play.
00:29:11.000Susie Wiles, the chief of staff for the White House, entering the room now.
00:29:17.000Secretary Besson, Alexander, among others, there.
00:29:21.000Part of the U.S. delegation, of course, in Anchorage, Alaska, for this historic summit with Vladimir Putin, the Defense Secretary, as well.
00:29:30.000You heard Martha Raditz talk earlier about how President Trump had said going into this that he would know and fairly quickly if there was going to be progress with Vladimir Putin.
00:29:40.000Halfway through the week, they did lower expectations a bit, saying that this was going to be in some ways a listening exercise.
00:29:48.000But the president remaining optimistic all week long and even on Air Force One, as Rachel Scott just reported, she was on Air Force One traveling with the president.
00:29:58.000He believed, he said late this week, that Vladimir Putin was coming to this summit because he wanted to make a deal of some sort.
00:30:06.000President Trump was confident that, and there you have Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who was also in the room with President Trump and Vladimir Putin, along with Steve Witkoff.
00:30:17.000Of course, we'll learn more about what played out in that room.
00:30:20.000More than two and a half hours this summit in Anchorage, Alaska.
00:30:24.000We were told that there would be some sort of a working lunch, a working session of sorts with larger delegations from both countries that would follow the summit itself between these two leaders.
00:30:38.000And as we've been reporting here, reporters from the International Press Corps were scrambled, if you will, told to get into the press room more quickly than they thought this would come for this joint press conference.
00:30:52.000And again, we have been saying here that President Trump had leading into this summit said that at the very least I will address reporters on the backside, even if it's not about what I want it to be.
00:31:05.000I will take questions from reporters in that audience.
00:31:07.000But they have been testing both microphones.
00:31:10.000You can see the Russian delegation there in the front row.
00:31:12.000Every indication, obviously, is that we're going to hear from both of these leaders on the day when the timing of this was moved up.
00:31:20.000The working session that followed the summit was scrapped.
00:31:24.000It would appear, it would appear, and I don't want to get ahead of ourselves here, that there has been some sort of progress in this effort to try to get to a ceasefire.
00:31:32.000And again, President Trump has said repeatedly that the ceasefire was very important to him and a ceasefire today.
00:31:40.000But he also acknowledged that the warmer announcement and the President of the Russian Federation of the United States and Vladimir Putin taking the stage.
00:32:59.000It's also important that Alaska has to do with our common history between Russia and the U.S. And many positive events have to do with that territory.
00:33:08.000Still, there is tremendous cultural heritage back from Russian America.
00:33:13.000For example, Orthodox churches and a lot of more than 700 geographical names of Russian origin during the Second World War.
00:33:22.000It was here in Alaska that was the origin of the legendary air bridge for the supply of military aircraft and other equipment under the Landlease program.
00:33:31.000It was a dangerous and treacherous route over the vast emptiness of ice.
00:33:38.000However, the pilots of both countries did everything to bring folks to the victory.
00:33:42.000They risked their lives and they did it all for the common victory.
00:33:47.000I was just in the city of Magadan in Russia and there is a memorial there dedicated to the Russian and the U.S. pilots.
00:33:54.000And there are two flags, the U.S. flag and the Russian flag.
00:33:57.000And I know that here as well, there is such a memorial.
00:34:02.000There is a military burial place several kilometers away from Europe.
00:34:06.000Soviet pilots that buried their died during that dangerous mission.
00:34:10.000We're thankful to the citizens and the government of the U.S. for carefully taking care of their memory.
00:34:18.000We'll always remember other historical examples when our countries defeated common enemies together in the spirit of battle camaraderie and allieship that supported each other facilitated each other.
00:34:31.000I'm sure that this heritage will help us rebuild and far and equal time this new stage, even during the hardest country.
00:34:41.000We know that there have been summits between Russia and the U.S. for four years and a long time.
00:34:50.000This time was very hard for bilateral relations, and let's be frankly falling to the point since the Cold War.
00:34:58.000I think that's not benefiting our countries and the world as a whole.
00:35:06.000We had to amend the situation to move on from the confrontation dialogue.
00:35:11.000And in this case, a personal meeting between the heads of state naturally under the condition of serious and painstaking work is what has been done in general.
00:35:23.000Me and President Russia have good direct contact with you multiple times, we spoke frankly on the phone and special envoy of the President, Mr. Wood, has traveled now to Russia several times advisors and heads of foreign ministries kept in touch all the time.
00:35:45.000We know fully well that one of the central issues was the situation around Ukraine.
00:35:51.000We see the strive of the administration and President Trump personally to help facilitate the resolution of the Ukrainian conflict.
00:35:59.000And he strived to Get to the crux of the matter to understand the history of pressure.
00:36:05.000As I've said, the situation in Ukraine has to do with the frontal threats to our security.
00:36:10.000Moreover, we would always consider that the Ukrainian nation, and I've said it multiple times, a brotherly nation, however strange it may sound in these conditions.
00:36:19.000We have the same roots, and everything that's happening is a tragedy for us and terrible wound.
00:36:26.000Therefore, the country is sincerely interested in putting an end to it.
00:36:30.000At the same time, we're convinced settlement lasting in the long term.
00:36:39.000We need to eliminate all the primary roots, the primary causes of that conflict.
00:36:44.000We've said it multiple times, to consider all the concerns of Russia and to reinstate a just balance security in Europe and in the world on the whole.
00:36:53.000And I agree with President Trump, as he has said today, that naturally the security of Ukraine should be ensured as well.
00:37:01.000Naturally, we are prepared to work with the Protestants.
00:37:05.000I would like to hope that the agreement that we've reached together will help us bring closer that goal and will pave the path towards PC.
00:37:13.000We expect that Kiev and European capitals will perceive that constructively and that they won't go a ranch in work and will not make any attempts to use some backroom dealing to conduct provocations to torpedo the nascent progress.
00:37:33.000Incidentally, when the new administration came to power, bilateral trade started to grow.
00:37:44.000As I've said, we have a lot of dimensions for economic clear that the U.S. and Russia investment and business cooperation has tremendous potential.
00:37:56.000Russia and the U.S. can offer each other so much in trade, digital, high-tech, and in space.
00:38:02.000And our cooperation is also very possible in our international context, for example, between the forest of Russia and the west coast of the U.S. Overall, it's very important for our countries to turn the page to go back to cooperation because it's symbolic that not far away from here, the border between Russia and the US with the so-called international dateline.
00:38:30.000I think you can step over literally from yesterday into tomorrow.
00:38:35.000And I hope that we'll succeed in that in the political sphere.
00:38:40.000I would like to thank President Trump for our joint work for the well-wishing and trustworthy tone of our conversation.
00:38:48.000It's important that both sides are result-oriented, and we see that the President of the U.S. has a very clear idea of what he would like to achieve.
00:38:57.000He sincerely cares about the prosperity of his nation.
00:39:01.000Still, he understands that Russia has its own nationality.
00:39:05.000I expect that today's agreement will be the starting point not only for the solution of the Ukrainian issue, but also will help us bring back business-like and pragmatic relations between Russia and the U.S. And in the end, I would like to add one more thing.
00:39:20.000I'd like to remind you that in 2022, during the last contact with the previous administration, I tried to convince my previous American colleague that the situation should not be a point of no return when it would come to hostilities.
00:39:41.000And I said it quite correctly back then.
00:39:58.000I think that overall, me and President Trump have built a very good, business-like, and trustworthy contact and have every reason to believe that moving down this path, we can come the sooner the better to the end of the conflict in Ukraine.
00:40:56.000They're going to have to agree with what Marco and Steve and some of the great people from the Trump administration who've come here, Scott and John Radcliffe.
00:42:40.000But we have a very good chance of getting there.
00:42:42.000We didn't get there, but we have a very good chance of getting there.
00:42:45.000I would like to thank President Putin and his entire team whose faces, who I know in many cases, otherwise, other than that, whose faces I get to see you all the time in the newspapers.
00:42:57.000You're almost as famous as the boss, but especially this one right over here.
00:43:04.000But we had some good meetings over the years, right?
00:43:06.000Good productive meetings over the years.
00:46:10.000Going into the meeting, the victory condition for Putin was really just to be here.
00:46:17.000This entire thing, this photo op, the fanfare, the ceremony, it's all a major victory for Putin.
00:46:26.000And I know it's been said probably a thousand times already today, but all of this has to do with legitimacy.
00:46:35.000When Putin invaded Ukraine, the Biden administration sought to delegitimize the Russian regime and to delegitimize their war, not to recognize the territorial advances, not to recognize the Russian regime.
00:46:52.000And so, as I said last night, as I've said in the past couple of weeks, the first move that Biden made in the previous administration was to completely isolate Russia or attempt to isolate Russia diplomatically,
00:47:08.000to freeze all diplomatic economic relations, freeze their assets, suspend their access to the SWIFT system, U.S. financial and economic system, and even to suspend them from the Olympics and other diplomatic institutions.
00:47:26.000The charge is that Putin is a war criminal, and there is even talk of regime change in Russia.
00:47:32.000This is the level of diplomatic freezing that occurred in the last administration.
00:47:38.000When Trump took office again back in January, as we discussed, he's made many attempts to thaw those relations.
00:47:45.000He's had direct phone calls with Putin, as Putin himself alluded to in his statement.
00:47:50.000Steve Witkoff has made trips to Moscow.
00:47:53.000Mark Arubio met with Sergei Lavrov in Saudi Arabia at the beginning of the year.
00:49:22.000They do not have enough manpower, cannot mobilize any additional manpower.
00:49:27.000And the American and NATO alliance Are not able to keep up with equipment.
00:49:33.000Russia is producing millions of drones every year.
00:49:37.000And they're creating artillery shells and missiles, many times the rate that the United States and Europe is.
00:49:44.000So it turned into attritional warfare sometime around 2023 is when the tactics began to shift, about a year into the war.
00:49:53.000And the United States and Europe are just not prepared to fight an attritional war.
00:49:58.000We do not have the industrial base to fight an attritional war.
00:50:02.000Ukraine does not have the population for an attritional war.
00:50:07.000And so as the war has dragged on over the past couple of years, although the progress has been slow going, over time, Russia has gradually seized the initiative and gained the upper hand.
00:50:17.000That's why in these summer offensives last year and this year, they've been making a lot of progress and gaining a lot of territory far more quickly than at any other time since the beginning of the war.
00:50:29.000So the imperative on the side of Trump and Ukraine is they just want to stop Russia.
00:50:34.000They want to stop the Russian advance because the Ukraine front line is at risk of falling apart and it's a complete Russian breakthrough.
00:50:43.000So the Ukrainians, NATO, the United States, they just wanted to stop.
00:50:47.000And by the way, make no mistake about it.
00:50:50.000When Trump says, I just want to stop the killing, that's rhetoric.
00:51:07.000Because the easiest way to stop the war is surrender.
00:51:12.000You want to end the war, then cut off all the aid to Ukraine and the Ukrainian front line will collapse and Ukraine would lose the war or they would be forced to unconditionally surrender.
00:51:23.000So when they say, well, hey, man, we're just ready to, if we could all just put her there, let's just finish this war, that's rhetoric.
00:51:32.000And what it constitutes is a shift in what the West is willing to accept from Russia.
00:51:40.000Because under the Biden administration, there was this idea that Ukraine was going to retake all of the lost territory, that they were going to retake Luhans, Gdonetsk, Kherson, Zaporizhia.
00:51:54.000They were going to take all that back, maybe even Crimea.
00:51:56.000They were going to take all the territory back, that they would not accept any Russian occupation.
00:52:02.000They would not accept any Russian annexation.
00:52:05.000They were going to fight it through to the bitter end to victory.
00:52:08.000That was the rhetoric under the Biden administration.
00:52:27.000And I think the West realized that's not going to happen.
00:52:30.000I think in some ways, maybe that is why Trump was allowed to win.
00:52:35.000One of the benefits of a democracy is that it actually affords diplomatic latitude.
00:52:42.000Maybe this sounds like conspiracy stuff, but to have a more friendly face come into Washington, it lets Washington say face, actually.
00:52:53.000Because ordinarily, if you just had one regime from 2022 until today, it would be a very significant about-face to go from Putin is a war criminal.
00:53:07.000We are not going to accept any territorial losses.
00:53:11.000To now, what they're saying is, well, hey, let's just stop the fighting.
00:53:15.000Let's just freeze the battle lines where they are.
00:53:17.000You can keep what you've gotten so far.
00:53:20.000If it was one consistent regime, that would be a defeat.
00:53:26.000But if you have a regime change, if it goes from Biden to Trump and Donald Trump rides in on this opposition to the war from the public, then Trump can say, well, there's a new sheriff in town, new leadership.
00:54:31.000They get more equipment from NATO and from the United States.
00:54:35.000So Putin has said that the condition for a ceasefire, he said this in Turkey in June, Putin said, my condition for a 30-day temporary ceasefire is you have to demobilize.
00:54:49.000You have to leave the territories that we have occupied.
00:54:52.000The United States and NATO cannot send any more weapons shipments.
00:54:56.000And Ukraine cannot mobilize any additional personnel.
00:55:15.000You're going to lay more defensive fortifications, mobilize more manpowered equipment.
00:55:19.000Why would we call a timeout right now?
00:55:23.000On the flip side, with the Americans and the Ukrainians, the Ukrainians are seeking security guarantees.
00:55:29.000Because even if Putin agrees to a ceasefire or a comprehensive peace, the big concern is that on a long enough timeline, Russia will fortify.
00:55:44.000And so if Russia has come this far, if they already invaded, if Russia succeeds in taking NATO membership off the table for Ukraine and Ukraine is no longer able to access that defensive treaty and then have protection from the United States and Europe, Ukraine is concerned that what would stop Russia from starting the war all over again?
00:56:06.000If they were willing to do it the first time, absent a defensive alliance with the United States and Europe, Russia will once again try to test whatever ceasefire line is created.
00:56:21.000Eventually, they might re-invade and go for more territory, either to take the entire coast of the Black Sea or take the capital, cross the Dnieper River.
00:56:33.000So Ukraine wants America to be in Ukraine.
00:56:35.000Ukraine says we need security guarantees, defensive guarantees.
00:56:40.000But what's the architecture of the deal then?
00:56:43.000Because what Russia is asking for is that Ukraine can never join NATO.
00:56:47.000Because if Ukraine joins NATO, that means American missiles and troops and equipment on Russia's border.
00:56:54.000But for Ukraine to feel safe, they're going to need some guarantees.
00:56:59.000Maybe they can't join NATO, but they would feel more comfortable if they had an American or NATO presence inside their country.
00:57:07.000But at that point, it's a distinction without a difference.
00:57:10.000If they have a Western security guarantee, that's not much different than Ukraine being in NATO.
00:57:17.000And that is something that is non-negotiable.
00:57:19.000That's a non-starter for the Russian side.
00:57:22.000So this is where they bring in the minerals deal.
00:57:26.000And Trump said that there's a scenario where Russia and America mutually can exploit Ukraine's critical minerals and energy resources.
00:57:36.000And if there's some kind of commercial partnership, then they would be bound together by economic ties.
00:57:42.000And there would not be an interest in going to war.
00:57:46.000If they could de-escalate some of the tension between Washington and Moscow, then there would be less of a risk that either side would try to test the ceasefire line, try to test those boundaries.
00:58:00.000But of course, if the United States is involved in a mineral deal, then there's going to be an American presence.
00:58:06.000If Americans are in Ukraine extracting minerals and energy, there's going to be an American security footprint there as well.
00:58:13.000And if there's an American civilian and security footprint in Ukraine, then if Russia tries to test those ceasefire lines, they're going to wind up shooting Americans.
00:58:25.000And so once again, it effectively becomes a NATO outpost, But without calling it that.
00:58:34.000So the question of the deal is: how do you install a tripwire?
00:58:38.000How do you install a tripwire for the Russians where they will not test those boundaries such that Ukraine is satisfied, but also without creating another security risk for Russia?
00:58:51.000That's really the architecture of the deal.
00:58:55.000So I'm sure that's what was discussed on some level at the meeting is how do you kind of make it so that everybody's happy?
00:59:04.000How do you make it so that Ukraine feels safe, but Russia doesn't feel threatened?
00:59:09.000How do you create a tripwire in Ukraine without having Ukraine join NATO?
00:59:13.000And I think the solution looks something like, as Putin said, a comprehensive cooperation between the United States and Russia.
00:59:22.000And he mentioned some of those areas of cooperation like mineral extraction, like trade, also the Arctic.
00:59:30.000That's a major area of mutual cooperation, and Russia seeks to kick China out of the Arctic.
00:59:36.000That's actually where Russia and the United States can work together against China.
00:59:41.000So that was one thing that was suggested in Putin's remarks.
00:59:45.000But as of right now, we have no idea what that's going to look like.
00:59:48.000If it's anything like the mineral deal, what things that Putin said in Istanbul in June are going to be agreed upon, where he's compromised, we don't know, because we sort of know where Russia is at.
01:00:03.000Like I said last night, they articulated what they expect from a 30-day ceasefire.
01:00:08.000They articulated what they expect from a comprehensive peace.
01:00:11.000They've said that at least three times this year at different meetings.
01:00:15.000It's the United States position that has to be a little bit more flexible because we're also dealing with Ukraine and with the European Union.
01:00:23.000So I guess we'll have to wait and see.
01:00:26.000We're going to take a look at Riram Novar and we'll see if there's any additional details here on Twitter.
01:02:36.000You either need to fight the war and win the war or make it such that the cost of continuing is such that Putin will come to an agreement, which Trump seems unwilling to do because we're just out of options.
01:02:49.000Short of arming Ukraine with long-range weapon systems that can hit Moscow, short of secondary sanctions that are going to hurt the prospect of a trade deal with India and China, Short of putting restrictions on Russian energy that are going to hurt our economy.
01:03:05.000There's nothing else we can do to Russia.
01:03:09.000Every option is unattractive to escalate against Russia.
01:03:13.000We're unwilling to do any of these things.
01:03:16.000So Trump has been issuing these ultimatums saying if Putin does not come to the table, we're going to put the screws in.
01:03:26.000There are no options left on the table for us to escalate where we're okay with the cost or the risk.
01:03:35.000So this is where Trump, in order to say face a couple of weeks ago to back down from his ultimatum, said, okay, well, we don't need to impose secondary sanctions because we have this meeting with Putin, but that does nothing for us.
01:03:49.000Putin gets to come here and then go home and continue the war.
01:06:14.000And it's very likely, by the way, that the Russians came here with no intention of making a deal.
01:06:21.000That the Russians came here really in order to lead the Americans on and to make commitments and make promises.
01:06:31.000And even Putin said in his remarks, he said, we'll have to hope that the Europeans won't do anything provocative that might sabotage the agreement or the progress that has been made.
01:06:41.000Putin is still trying to split apart the Western alliance.
01:06:45.000He's still with that little barb that was thrown in there.
01:06:50.000And it's not to say that there aren't legitimate divisions within the Western Alliance, but for him to say that sort of interesting.
01:06:59.000And then even at the end, when he said, maybe we'll meet in Moscow, talk about a humiliation ritual.
01:07:27.000Throughout the entire year, The bottom line throughout the whole year is that Trump is always making these big threats and big ultimatums and big demands, and he does not follow through.
01:07:41.000He said to China, if you put reciprocal tariffs on us, you're going to regret it.
01:08:17.000Whatever you think about these various things, obviously, I don't believe we should have bombed Iran or bombed the Houthis or anything like that.
01:08:24.000Whatever you think about any of this stuff, as a leader, you cannot make commitments like this.
01:08:31.000You cannot draw red lines that you're not willing to enforce.
01:08:36.000Deterrence is the law of the jungle on the world stage.
01:08:42.000And what is inherent in deterrence is credibility.
01:08:46.000It's not just the capability to use force.
01:08:50.000It is the credibility that you're willing to use force.
01:08:57.000That is the bedrock of American hegemony.
01:09:02.000That is the bedrock of global security.
01:09:04.000It is deterrence, and it is founded on the capability to use force, but the credibility that you're willing to use it when you say you're going to.
01:09:13.000For Trump to constantly make these ultimatums and demands, you better make an agreement.
01:10:43.000So unless Trump is willing to give another major round of aid to Ukraine, which he certainly does not want to do, unless Trump is willing to give them another $50 billion package or give them long-range missiles, and they're going to need to escalate because Ukraine doesn't have the manpower.
01:11:01.000Unless Trump is willing to really escalate it economically or militarily, there's no options here.
01:11:10.000So I guess we'll have to wait and see next week if anything at all happened today.
01:11:19.000Because it seems like nothing happened.
01:11:20.000It seems like nothing happened, actually.
01:11:24.000And of course, Trump had to maybe drag it out and maybe go on a press conference afterward.