Kremlin aide - US offer to end war is acceptable
- Thread starter nottyboi
- Start date
Your mother still does when I tick
The Ukes picked Gazprom and Lukoil Secret Secret Santa tickets!Those were gifts.
For a recap of the last month!
Boomer tears are the only medicine I need, gin also helps but is only good in small doses. This time of the year I spend all the free time I have out on the water fishing anyways
Vance says US working to 'schedule' Trump-Putin-Zelensky meeting
10 August, 2025
The United States is working to "schedule" a meeting between Donald Trump and his Russian and Ukrainian counterparts, Vice President JD Vance said Sunday, as Ukraine's European allies push for Kyiv's presence at the US-Russia summit in Alaska this week.
"One of the most important logjams is that Vladimir Putin said that he would never sit down with (Volodymyr) Zelensky, the head of Ukraine, and the president has now got that to change," Vance said during an interview on Fox News program "Sunday Morning Futures."
"We're at a point now where we're trying to figure out, frankly, scheduling and things like that around when these three leaders could sit down and discuss an end to this conflict," Vance said when asked about his expectations for the Alaska summit on August 15.
The vice president said the United States was going to "try to find some negotiated settlement that the Ukrainians and Russians can live with."
Vance added: "It's not going to make anybody super happy, both the Russians and the Ukrainians probably at the end of the day are going to be unhappy with it."
The planned US-Russia summit in Alaska without Zelensky had raised concerns that a deal would require Kyiv to cede swaths of territory, which the European Union has rejected.
US Ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker suggested on CNN that Zelensky could attend the summit.
He was asked whether Zelensky might join Trump and Putin on Friday.
"Yes, I certainly think it's possible," he said. "Certainly, there can't be a deal that everybody that's involved in it doesn't agree to. And, I mean, obviously, it's a high priority to get this war to end."
In a flurry of diplomacy, Zelensky held calls with 13 counterparts over three days including Kyiv's main backers Germany, Britain and France.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Sunday he hoped and assumed that Zelensky would attend the summit.
Whitaker said the decision would ultimately be Trump's to make.
"If he thinks that that is the best scenario to invite Zelensky, then he will do that," he said, adding that "no decision has been made to this point."
Tens of thousands of people have been killed since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, with millions forced to flee their homes.
economictimes.indiatimes.com
10 August, 2025
The United States is working to "schedule" a meeting between Donald Trump and his Russian and Ukrainian counterparts, Vice President JD Vance said Sunday, as Ukraine's European allies push for Kyiv's presence at the US-Russia summit in Alaska this week.
"One of the most important logjams is that Vladimir Putin said that he would never sit down with (Volodymyr) Zelensky, the head of Ukraine, and the president has now got that to change," Vance said during an interview on Fox News program "Sunday Morning Futures."
"We're at a point now where we're trying to figure out, frankly, scheduling and things like that around when these three leaders could sit down and discuss an end to this conflict," Vance said when asked about his expectations for the Alaska summit on August 15.
The vice president said the United States was going to "try to find some negotiated settlement that the Ukrainians and Russians can live with."
Vance added: "It's not going to make anybody super happy, both the Russians and the Ukrainians probably at the end of the day are going to be unhappy with it."
The planned US-Russia summit in Alaska without Zelensky had raised concerns that a deal would require Kyiv to cede swaths of territory, which the European Union has rejected.
US Ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker suggested on CNN that Zelensky could attend the summit.
He was asked whether Zelensky might join Trump and Putin on Friday.
"Yes, I certainly think it's possible," he said. "Certainly, there can't be a deal that everybody that's involved in it doesn't agree to. And, I mean, obviously, it's a high priority to get this war to end."
In a flurry of diplomacy, Zelensky held calls with 13 counterparts over three days including Kyiv's main backers Germany, Britain and France.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Sunday he hoped and assumed that Zelensky would attend the summit.
Whitaker said the decision would ultimately be Trump's to make.
"If he thinks that that is the best scenario to invite Zelensky, then he will do that," he said, adding that "no decision has been made to this point."
Tens of thousands of people have been killed since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, with millions forced to flee their homes.
Vance says US working to 'schedule' Trump-Putin-Zelensky meeting
The United States aims to organize a meeting. This meeting involves Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin, and Volodymyr Zelensky. JD Vance mentioned this initiative. The goal is to find a negotiated settlement. This settlement should be acceptable to both Ukraine and Russia. The Alaska summit on August...
Germany invites Trump, Zelensky, NATO, EU leaders to a virtual meeting before Trump-Putin summit
Lorne Cook
Aug. 11, 2025
BRUSSELS — German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Monday invited President Trump, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, NATO’s chief and several European leaders to virtual meetings on Wednesday ahead of a U.S.-Russia summit as Europe and Kyiv worry a deal could be made without them.
Neither Zelensky nor European leaders have been invited to Friday’s summit between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska.
The German chancellery said in a statement that the virtual talks will focus on “further options for action to put pressure on Russia” as well as “preparations for possible peace negotiations and related issues of territorial claims and security.”
The European Commission confirmed that President Ursula von der Leyen will take part “in the calls organized by Chancellor Merz” ahead of the summit.
The leaders of Britain, Finland, France, Italy and Poland are also set to join the “various discussion groups.” the chancellery in Berlin said.
Ukraine and its backers in Europe insist that Trump and Putin cannot decide on land swaps behind their backs at the summit, but the Europeans concede that Moscow is unlikely to give up control of Ukrainian land it holds.
Trump has suggested that a peace deal could include “some swapping of territories,” but the Europeans see no sign that Russia will offer anything to exchange.
European Union foreign ministers met on Monday following talks on Ukraine among U.S. and European security advisers over the weekend. They are concerned that Putin will try to claim a political victory by portraying Ukraine as inflexible.
Concerns have mounted in Europe and Ukraine that Kyiv may be pressed to give up land or accept other curbs on its sovereignty. Ukraine and its European allies reject the notion that Putin should lay claim to any territory even before agreeing to a ceasefire.
“As we work towards a sustainable and just peace, international law is clear: All temporarily occupied territories belong to Ukraine,” EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said ahead of the ministerial meeting.
“A sustainable peace also means that aggression cannot be rewarded,” Kallas said.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said “it must be obvious to Poland and our European partners — and I hope to all of NATO — that state borders cannot be changed by force.” Any land swaps or peace terms “must be agreed upon with Ukraine’s participation,” he said, according to Polish news agency PAP.
Still, it’s hard to ignore the reality on the ground.
Russia in 2022 illegally annexed the Donetsk and Luhansk regions in Ukraine’s east, and Kherson and Zaporizhzhia in the south, even though it doesn’t fully control them. It also occupies the Crimean Peninsula, which it seized in 2014.
On the 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) front line, Russia’s bigger army has made slow but costly progress with its summer offensive. The relentless pounding of urban areas has killed more than 12,000 Ukrainian civilians, according to U.N. estimates.
“In the end, the issue of the fact that the Russians are controlling at this moment, factually, a part of Ukraine has to be on the table” in any peace talks after the Alaska summit, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said on CBS on Sunday.
Rutte said Ukraine’s Western backers “can never accept that in a legal sense,” but he suggested that they might tacitly acknowledge Russian control.
He compared it to the way that the U.S. hosted the diplomatic missions of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania from 1940 to 1991, “acknowledging that the Soviet Union was controlling those territories, but never accepting (it) in a legal sense.”
Giving up any territory, especially without a ceasefire agreement first, would be almost impossible for Zelensky to sell at home after thousands of troops have died defending their land.
Ultimately, Putin is seen by some analysts as being not so much interested in land itself, but rather in a more “Russia-friendly” Ukraine with a malleable government unlikely to try to join NATO, just as pro-Russian breakaway regions in Georgia have complicated that country’s quest to become a member.
Zelensky insists that a halt to fighting on the front line should be the starting point for negotiations, and the Europeans back him. They say that any future land swaps should be for Ukraine to decide and not be a precondition for a ceasefire.
Claims on land could also be part of negotiations on the kind of security guarantees that Ukraine might receive to ensure another war does not break out.
The Europeans believe Kyiv’s best defense is strong armed forces to deter Russia from striking again. They insist there should be no restrictions on the size of Ukraine’s army and the equipment, arms and ammunition it can possess or sell.
Beyond that, they say Ukraine should not be constrained in its choice of joining the EU or being forced to become a neutral country.
The Trump administration has already taken Ukraine’s membership of NATO off the table for the foreseeable future.
www.latimes.com
Lorne Cook
Aug. 11, 2025
BRUSSELS — German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Monday invited President Trump, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, NATO’s chief and several European leaders to virtual meetings on Wednesday ahead of a U.S.-Russia summit as Europe and Kyiv worry a deal could be made without them.
Neither Zelensky nor European leaders have been invited to Friday’s summit between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska.
The German chancellery said in a statement that the virtual talks will focus on “further options for action to put pressure on Russia” as well as “preparations for possible peace negotiations and related issues of territorial claims and security.”
The European Commission confirmed that President Ursula von der Leyen will take part “in the calls organized by Chancellor Merz” ahead of the summit.
The leaders of Britain, Finland, France, Italy and Poland are also set to join the “various discussion groups.” the chancellery in Berlin said.
Ukraine and its backers in Europe insist that Trump and Putin cannot decide on land swaps behind their backs at the summit, but the Europeans concede that Moscow is unlikely to give up control of Ukrainian land it holds.
Trump has suggested that a peace deal could include “some swapping of territories,” but the Europeans see no sign that Russia will offer anything to exchange.
European Union foreign ministers met on Monday following talks on Ukraine among U.S. and European security advisers over the weekend. They are concerned that Putin will try to claim a political victory by portraying Ukraine as inflexible.
Concerns have mounted in Europe and Ukraine that Kyiv may be pressed to give up land or accept other curbs on its sovereignty. Ukraine and its European allies reject the notion that Putin should lay claim to any territory even before agreeing to a ceasefire.
“As we work towards a sustainable and just peace, international law is clear: All temporarily occupied territories belong to Ukraine,” EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said ahead of the ministerial meeting.
“A sustainable peace also means that aggression cannot be rewarded,” Kallas said.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said “it must be obvious to Poland and our European partners — and I hope to all of NATO — that state borders cannot be changed by force.” Any land swaps or peace terms “must be agreed upon with Ukraine’s participation,” he said, according to Polish news agency PAP.
Still, it’s hard to ignore the reality on the ground.
Russia in 2022 illegally annexed the Donetsk and Luhansk regions in Ukraine’s east, and Kherson and Zaporizhzhia in the south, even though it doesn’t fully control them. It also occupies the Crimean Peninsula, which it seized in 2014.
On the 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) front line, Russia’s bigger army has made slow but costly progress with its summer offensive. The relentless pounding of urban areas has killed more than 12,000 Ukrainian civilians, according to U.N. estimates.
“In the end, the issue of the fact that the Russians are controlling at this moment, factually, a part of Ukraine has to be on the table” in any peace talks after the Alaska summit, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said on CBS on Sunday.
Rutte said Ukraine’s Western backers “can never accept that in a legal sense,” but he suggested that they might tacitly acknowledge Russian control.
He compared it to the way that the U.S. hosted the diplomatic missions of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania from 1940 to 1991, “acknowledging that the Soviet Union was controlling those territories, but never accepting (it) in a legal sense.”
Giving up any territory, especially without a ceasefire agreement first, would be almost impossible for Zelensky to sell at home after thousands of troops have died defending their land.
Ultimately, Putin is seen by some analysts as being not so much interested in land itself, but rather in a more “Russia-friendly” Ukraine with a malleable government unlikely to try to join NATO, just as pro-Russian breakaway regions in Georgia have complicated that country’s quest to become a member.
Zelensky insists that a halt to fighting on the front line should be the starting point for negotiations, and the Europeans back him. They say that any future land swaps should be for Ukraine to decide and not be a precondition for a ceasefire.
Claims on land could also be part of negotiations on the kind of security guarantees that Ukraine might receive to ensure another war does not break out.
The Europeans believe Kyiv’s best defense is strong armed forces to deter Russia from striking again. They insist there should be no restrictions on the size of Ukraine’s army and the equipment, arms and ammunition it can possess or sell.
Beyond that, they say Ukraine should not be constrained in its choice of joining the EU or being forced to become a neutral country.
The Trump administration has already taken Ukraine’s membership of NATO off the table for the foreseeable future.
Germany invites Trump, Zelensky, NATO, EU leaders to a virtual meeting before Trump-Putin summit
Ahead of the summit in Alaska on Friday, President Trump suggested that a peace deal could include “some swapping of territories,” but the Europeans see no sign that Russia will offer anything to swap.
www.latimes.com
I kind of doubt this. I think Vance the sneaky guy is just
bullshitting to make Z feel good. I will be delighted though if
I turn out to be wrong.
bullshitting to make Z feel good. I will be delighted though if
I turn out to be wrong.
Wonder if the decree signed by Green-T-shirt in October 2022
is still in effect.
Green T-shirt will have to denounce the decree first before attending
the peace talk in Alaska. He can negotiate with Russian leaders other
than Putin though.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Zelenskiy decree rules out Ukraine talks with Putin as 'impossible'
Zelensky signs law that rules out Ukraine peace talks with Putin as ‘impossible’
nypost.com
is still in effect.
Green T-shirt will have to denounce the decree first before attending
the peace talk in Alaska. He can negotiate with Russian leaders other
than Putin though.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Zelenskiy decree rules out Ukraine talks with Putin as 'impossible'
Zelensky signs law that rules out Ukraine peace talks with Putin as ‘impossible’
Zelensky signs law that rules out Ukraine peace talks with Putin as ‘impossible’
Volodymyr Zelensky signed a decree on Tuesday formally declaring the prospect of negotiations with Vladimir Putin to be “impossible,” but leaving the door open for peace talks with Russ…
nypost.com
Zelenskyy warns of Russian deception as Putin-Trump talks loom
“The only thing they are looking for is a way to kill Ukraine,” says Kyiv’s leader.
Veronika Melkozerova
Aug 11, 2025
Vladimir Putin will try to trick Donald Trump during a meeting between the Russian and American leaders in Alaska this Friday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Sunday.
“We understand the Russians’ intention to try to deceive America — we will not allow this. I greatly appreciate the determination of President Trump to stop the deaths in war. Many people give their lives every day,” Zelenskyy said.
“But the only root cause of these killings is Putin’s desire to fight and manipulate everyone he comes into contact with. We in Ukraine know Russia well, and that is why Ukrainians have already withstood more than three years of full-scale war,” Zelenskyy added.
The hotly anticipated Alaska summit comes as Trump tries to press Putin to end his all-out war on Ukraine. After talks between Putin and Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff in Moscow last week, a territorial swap is reported to be on the table — where Russia would keep regions it has captured and also some land it has not yet fully occupied.
Zelenskyy has rejected that idea and is calling for strong U.S. sanctions against Russia. Ukraine’s European allies are pushing for Kyiv’s position to be taken into account during the negotiations in Alaska.
Russian forces continue to attack along the front line, while bombing civilian infrastructure. More than 20 people were wounded in Zaporizhzhia after the Russian army dropped several glide bombs on the local bus station Saturday.
“No deadlines, no expectations from them, work — they do not want to stop the killings. The only thing they are looking for is a way to kill Ukraine,” Zelenskyy said Sunday.
“That is why sanctions are needed, pressure is needed. Power is needed — the power of the United States, first of all, the power of Europe, the power of all the nations of the world that want peace and tranquility in international relations. If Russia does not want to stop the war, then its economy must be stopped,” Zelenskyy added.
www.politico.eu
“The only thing they are looking for is a way to kill Ukraine,” says Kyiv’s leader.
Veronika Melkozerova
Aug 11, 2025
Vladimir Putin will try to trick Donald Trump during a meeting between the Russian and American leaders in Alaska this Friday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Sunday.
“We understand the Russians’ intention to try to deceive America — we will not allow this. I greatly appreciate the determination of President Trump to stop the deaths in war. Many people give their lives every day,” Zelenskyy said.
“But the only root cause of these killings is Putin’s desire to fight and manipulate everyone he comes into contact with. We in Ukraine know Russia well, and that is why Ukrainians have already withstood more than three years of full-scale war,” Zelenskyy added.
The hotly anticipated Alaska summit comes as Trump tries to press Putin to end his all-out war on Ukraine. After talks between Putin and Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff in Moscow last week, a territorial swap is reported to be on the table — where Russia would keep regions it has captured and also some land it has not yet fully occupied.
Zelenskyy has rejected that idea and is calling for strong U.S. sanctions against Russia. Ukraine’s European allies are pushing for Kyiv’s position to be taken into account during the negotiations in Alaska.
Russian forces continue to attack along the front line, while bombing civilian infrastructure. More than 20 people were wounded in Zaporizhzhia after the Russian army dropped several glide bombs on the local bus station Saturday.
“No deadlines, no expectations from them, work — they do not want to stop the killings. The only thing they are looking for is a way to kill Ukraine,” Zelenskyy said Sunday.
“That is why sanctions are needed, pressure is needed. Power is needed — the power of the United States, first of all, the power of Europe, the power of all the nations of the world that want peace and tranquility in international relations. If Russia does not want to stop the war, then its economy must be stopped,” Zelenskyy added.
Zelenskyy warns of Russian deception as Putin-Trump talks loom
“The only thing they are looking for is a way to kill Ukraine,” says Kyiv’s leader.
www.politico.eu
Can the Alaska Summit Bring About a Peace Deal in Ukraine?
Aug 11, 2025
Washington appeared to be preparing Kyiv and Moscow for major compromises to end the long, bloody war ahead of a face-to-face meeting of the US and Russian presidents, with US Vice President JD Vance warning that any peace deal will likely leave both sides "unhappy."
"It's not going to make anybody super happy. Both the Russians and the Ukrainians, probably, at the end of the day, are going to be unhappy with it," Vance said in a Fox News interview broadcast on August 10.
The remarks came ahead of a scheduled August 15 meeting in Alaska between US President Donald Trump and Russia’s Vladimir Putin, a session that will mark a pause in the long international isolation of the Kremlin leader since he launched his full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
The talks come at a pivotal moment, with Trump increasingly frustrated with Putin and the Russian president showing no signs of bending on the Kremlin's maximalist demands.
In recent days, Trump has suggested that any resolution to the war could include "swapping of territories."
“We’re going to get some back, and we’re going to get some switched,” Trump said at the White House on August 8. “There’ll be some swapping of territories to the betterment of both, but we’ll be talking about that either later, or tomorrow.”
Those remarks elicited vocal pushbacks from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Kyiv's European allies, who have expressed strong backing for Ukraine's security and territorial integrity.
"The end of the war must be fair, and I am grateful to everyone who stands with Ukraine and our people today for the sake of peace in Ukraine, which is defending the vital security interests of our European nations," Zelenskyy said in a social media post on August 10.
He added that Kyiv “values and fully supports” the statement of backing from its Western allies.
Zelenskyy, in a video address released earlier, warned that any peace deal excluding Kyiv or forcing the ceding of territory would not be acceptable.
"Ukrainians will not give their land to the occupier," he said.
“Any decisions that are without Ukraine are at the same time decisions against peace. They will not bring anything. These are dead decisions. They will never work," Zelenskyy said.
In his nightly address on August 10, Zelenskyy said, "We understand Russia's intention to try to deceive America -- we will not allow this."
European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas also expressed demands that any deal between Washington and Moscow to end the war must include Kyiv and the EU.
"The US has the power to force Russia to negotiate seriously. Any deal between the US and Russia must have Ukraine and the EU included, for it is a matter of Ukraine’s and the whole of Europe’s security," Kallas said.
“International law is clear: All temporarily occupied territories belong to Ukraine,” Kallas said.
Kallas warned that “a deal must not provide a springboard for further Russian aggression against Ukraine, the transatlantic alliance and Europe.”
Kallas said she will convene a meeting of European foreign ministers on August 11 to discuss next steps. Ukraine said that Foreign Minister Andriy will attend the session.
European leaders welcomed Trump's efforts to try to resolve the 41-month-old military conflict but emphasized the need to pressure Moscow and provide security guarantees for Kyiv.
A statement on August 9 by the British, French, Italian, German, Polish, Finnish, and European Commission leaders stressed that “only an approach that combines active diplomacy, support to Ukraine, and pressure on the Russian Federation to end their illegal war can succeed.”
The European leaders also vowed to uphold their “substantive military and financial support to Ukraine," adding that “Ukraine has the freedom of choice over its own destiny.”
In another statement released by Kyiv's Western allies on August 10, the Nordic-Baltic 8 group voiced its support for Ukraine and said peace could only be brought about through increased pressure on Russia to stop its "unlawful" war.
The leaders of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, and Sweden stated they "reaffirm the principle that international borders must not be changed by force."
The Wall Street Journal, citing unnamed negotiators, on August 9 reported that European officials had presented a counterproposal to the unspecified US plan, including a requirement that a cease-fire take place before any other steps are made and that any swaps of territory be reciprocal and include security guarantees.
European officials presented their proposals to Vance during a meeting with Ukrainian and European officials at a country mansion outside of London on August 9, the report said.
The WSJ report could not immediately be confirmed. Reuters quoted a European official as saying an alternative plan had been presented to Vance but did not provide details.
Russia's invasion has turned into the largest land war in Europe since World War II, devastating Ukraine, and transforming Russia, turning its economy into a war machine and establishing a police-state government criminalizing dissent.
Moscow's casualties, dead and wounded, stand at more than 1 million, according to Western estimates. Ukraine's war dead are believed to exceed 100,000, with overall casualties around 400,000.
Despite the toll, and international pressure, Putin has pressed his advantage on and off the battlefield.
Forced To Cede Territory?
It was unclear what Trump meant by "swapping" territory; Ukraine doesn't currently hold any Russian territory.
Russia seized control of the Crimean Peninsula and parts of eastern Ukraine in 2014 and now occupies about one-fifth of the country, including almost all of the Luhansk region and substantial parts of the Donetsk, Zaporizhzhya, and Kherson regions, the entirety of which Moscow now baselessly claims belong to Russia.
A senior EU official told RFE/RL on August 10 that “regarding territorial issues, the Russian position is framed as a territorial swap, but it appears as a rather one-sided swap."
"President Trump does not consider it to be a concession to President Putin to have this meeting in Alaska. Rather, President Trump wants to test the ground himself with President Putin."
"Security guarantees are of the utmost importance for Ukraine. The most robust security guarantee would be that there are no limitations on Ukraine's armed forces and [allied]support for Ukraine," the official added.
Zelenskyy has not been invited to the Alaska summit, although he has said he is ready to meet Putin face-to-face. Putin has regularly rejected meeting Zelenskyy.
US media reports suggested that Trump was considering inviting Zelenskyy to Alaska, although some White House sources have played down the reports and there is no indication how Putin would react to such a move.Vance, in his Fox News interview, said Trump has persuaded Putin to meet with Zelenskyy and that a future meeting is being planned, although no specifics were given.NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte told ABC News that "when it comes to full-scale negotiations...It will be about territory.""It will be, of course, about security guarantees, but also about the absolute need to acknowledge that Ukraine decides on its own future, that Ukraine has to be a sovereign nation, deciding on its own geopolitical future -- of course having no limitations to its own military troop levels," Rutte said.Ceding national territory to Russia would be a perilous political decision for Zelenskyy. At the same time, much of the Ukrainian population is "tired" of war, according to Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko.
"Everyone in our state, in our country, is tired of this war," the influential figure said."Unfortunately, we have paid a huge price for this war: The lives of our patriots, our soldiers, our citizens. Hundreds of cities have been destroyed. A large part of Ukraine is occupied by Russia," he added.
https://oilprice.com/Geopolitics/Eu...mmit-Bring-About-a-Peace-Deal-in-Ukraine.html
Aug 11, 2025
- U.S. Vice President JD Vance says any peace deal to end the Ukraine war will likely leave both Kyiv and Moscow dissatisfied, hinting at potential territorial compromises.
- European leaders and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reject any agreement excluding Kyiv or forcing territorial cessions, stressing the need for security guarantees.
- The August 15 Alaska summit between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin comes amid mounting war fatigue and pressure for a diplomatic breakthrough after more than three years of conflict.
Washington appeared to be preparing Kyiv and Moscow for major compromises to end the long, bloody war ahead of a face-to-face meeting of the US and Russian presidents, with US Vice President JD Vance warning that any peace deal will likely leave both sides "unhappy."
"It's not going to make anybody super happy. Both the Russians and the Ukrainians, probably, at the end of the day, are going to be unhappy with it," Vance said in a Fox News interview broadcast on August 10.
The remarks came ahead of a scheduled August 15 meeting in Alaska between US President Donald Trump and Russia’s Vladimir Putin, a session that will mark a pause in the long international isolation of the Kremlin leader since he launched his full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
The talks come at a pivotal moment, with Trump increasingly frustrated with Putin and the Russian president showing no signs of bending on the Kremlin's maximalist demands.
In recent days, Trump has suggested that any resolution to the war could include "swapping of territories."
“We’re going to get some back, and we’re going to get some switched,” Trump said at the White House on August 8. “There’ll be some swapping of territories to the betterment of both, but we’ll be talking about that either later, or tomorrow.”
Those remarks elicited vocal pushbacks from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Kyiv's European allies, who have expressed strong backing for Ukraine's security and territorial integrity.
"The end of the war must be fair, and I am grateful to everyone who stands with Ukraine and our people today for the sake of peace in Ukraine, which is defending the vital security interests of our European nations," Zelenskyy said in a social media post on August 10.
He added that Kyiv “values and fully supports” the statement of backing from its Western allies.
Zelenskyy, in a video address released earlier, warned that any peace deal excluding Kyiv or forcing the ceding of territory would not be acceptable.
"Ukrainians will not give their land to the occupier," he said.
“Any decisions that are without Ukraine are at the same time decisions against peace. They will not bring anything. These are dead decisions. They will never work," Zelenskyy said.
In his nightly address on August 10, Zelenskyy said, "We understand Russia's intention to try to deceive America -- we will not allow this."
European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas also expressed demands that any deal between Washington and Moscow to end the war must include Kyiv and the EU.
"The US has the power to force Russia to negotiate seriously. Any deal between the US and Russia must have Ukraine and the EU included, for it is a matter of Ukraine’s and the whole of Europe’s security," Kallas said.
“International law is clear: All temporarily occupied territories belong to Ukraine,” Kallas said.
Kallas warned that “a deal must not provide a springboard for further Russian aggression against Ukraine, the transatlantic alliance and Europe.”
Kallas said she will convene a meeting of European foreign ministers on August 11 to discuss next steps. Ukraine said that Foreign Minister Andriy will attend the session.
European leaders welcomed Trump's efforts to try to resolve the 41-month-old military conflict but emphasized the need to pressure Moscow and provide security guarantees for Kyiv.
A statement on August 9 by the British, French, Italian, German, Polish, Finnish, and European Commission leaders stressed that “only an approach that combines active diplomacy, support to Ukraine, and pressure on the Russian Federation to end their illegal war can succeed.”
The European leaders also vowed to uphold their “substantive military and financial support to Ukraine," adding that “Ukraine has the freedom of choice over its own destiny.”
In another statement released by Kyiv's Western allies on August 10, the Nordic-Baltic 8 group voiced its support for Ukraine and said peace could only be brought about through increased pressure on Russia to stop its "unlawful" war.
The leaders of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, and Sweden stated they "reaffirm the principle that international borders must not be changed by force."
The Wall Street Journal, citing unnamed negotiators, on August 9 reported that European officials had presented a counterproposal to the unspecified US plan, including a requirement that a cease-fire take place before any other steps are made and that any swaps of territory be reciprocal and include security guarantees.
European officials presented their proposals to Vance during a meeting with Ukrainian and European officials at a country mansion outside of London on August 9, the report said.
The WSJ report could not immediately be confirmed. Reuters quoted a European official as saying an alternative plan had been presented to Vance but did not provide details.
Russia's invasion has turned into the largest land war in Europe since World War II, devastating Ukraine, and transforming Russia, turning its economy into a war machine and establishing a police-state government criminalizing dissent.
Moscow's casualties, dead and wounded, stand at more than 1 million, according to Western estimates. Ukraine's war dead are believed to exceed 100,000, with overall casualties around 400,000.
Despite the toll, and international pressure, Putin has pressed his advantage on and off the battlefield.
Forced To Cede Territory?
It was unclear what Trump meant by "swapping" territory; Ukraine doesn't currently hold any Russian territory.
Russia seized control of the Crimean Peninsula and parts of eastern Ukraine in 2014 and now occupies about one-fifth of the country, including almost all of the Luhansk region and substantial parts of the Donetsk, Zaporizhzhya, and Kherson regions, the entirety of which Moscow now baselessly claims belong to Russia.
A senior EU official told RFE/RL on August 10 that “regarding territorial issues, the Russian position is framed as a territorial swap, but it appears as a rather one-sided swap."
"President Trump does not consider it to be a concession to President Putin to have this meeting in Alaska. Rather, President Trump wants to test the ground himself with President Putin."
"Security guarantees are of the utmost importance for Ukraine. The most robust security guarantee would be that there are no limitations on Ukraine's armed forces and [allied]support for Ukraine," the official added.
Zelenskyy has not been invited to the Alaska summit, although he has said he is ready to meet Putin face-to-face. Putin has regularly rejected meeting Zelenskyy.
US media reports suggested that Trump was considering inviting Zelenskyy to Alaska, although some White House sources have played down the reports and there is no indication how Putin would react to such a move.Vance, in his Fox News interview, said Trump has persuaded Putin to meet with Zelenskyy and that a future meeting is being planned, although no specifics were given.NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte told ABC News that "when it comes to full-scale negotiations...It will be about territory.""It will be, of course, about security guarantees, but also about the absolute need to acknowledge that Ukraine decides on its own future, that Ukraine has to be a sovereign nation, deciding on its own geopolitical future -- of course having no limitations to its own military troop levels," Rutte said.Ceding national territory to Russia would be a perilous political decision for Zelenskyy. At the same time, much of the Ukrainian population is "tired" of war, according to Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko.
"Everyone in our state, in our country, is tired of this war," the influential figure said."Unfortunately, we have paid a huge price for this war: The lives of our patriots, our soldiers, our citizens. Hundreds of cities have been destroyed. A large part of Ukraine is occupied by Russia," he added.
https://oilprice.com/Geopolitics/Eu...mmit-Bring-About-a-Peace-Deal-in-Ukraine.html
The Mooch says the same obvious thing... Putin has something on Trump that scares the life out of him...
Donald Trump's Lame Duck Clock is Ticking I Anthony Scaramucci
Anthony Scaramucci is the founder and managing partner of SkyBridge, a global alternative investment firm, and founder and chairman of SALT, a global thought...
youtube.com
I dunno, sounds like trump is more afraid of what Epstein and Mossad have on him then the piss tapes.The Mooch says the same obvious thing... Putin has something on Trump that scares the life out of him...
Donald Trump's Lame Duck Clock is Ticking I Anthony Scaramucci
Anthony Scaramucci is the founder and managing partner of SkyBridge, a global alternative investment firm, and founder and chairman of SALT, a global thought...
Though it could be the dementia that he can't remember who has what.
Hope he has an eventful trip to Russia.
Clearly trump is in total control of the Russia/Ukraine file as he heads to talks.
Whatever Putin has on Trump is far more substantial than piss tapes. Same with anything about Epstein/Mossad.
And fwiw, I don't think there are any piss tapes. I know more than a few people who know Trump and Trump is a germophobe. I can't see him being a golden or brown showers kinda guy.
As to Trump's Israel/Palestine actions. Aside from him really not giving a shit about what happens to anybody that doesn't directly affect him or his interests, I am of the opinion that Trump is betrothen to the influence/blowback of the white, jewish lobby. And we all know how he feels about pigmented people.
Piss tapes wouldn't bother Trump supporters as he is already recognized and accepted by his base as a sexual predator, pussy grabbing, good ole boy just doing and saying what boys will do, and boys will say in the locker room. His denials are feeble and he wears the crown of being a pussy grabber who finds his daughter sexually attractive proudly.
Trump may admire, and aspire to being the strongman Putin is, but he knows he is being played. It seems only his wife's opinion matters when it comes to it being pointed out he is pussy whipped by Putin.
Trump has demonstrated that he will not tolerate any sort of disrespect and will lash back without reservation at the merest suggestion by anyone he is being played. Look at how fast he turned on Kim Jung Il, another strongman he admires.
Yet, he is so deferential to Putin directly farting in his face on the world stage
He has the world's strongest economy, military, diplomatic influence, his own Toot Social platform, and HAD the Xitter under his influence... and KNOWS what Russia is doing is illegal, immoral, brutal and everything. else... yet HE has used NONE of those powers in any more than a perfunctory theatrical manner.
Why not?
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Same as always, keep the USA in Europe, keep Germany down and keep Russia and Germany apart.
I'm sure you're right. There were so many stories about Russian investments sustaining the Trump Towers and other buildings. How buying into his buildings were used for money laundering. There was the Trump Moscow build that didn't happen and the stories about mysterious loans and banking.
I do wonder if any of that will ever come out.
Who knows if it will ever come out.
1. The threat of it coming out is where Putin derives his power over Trump.
2. If Putin does let the information out, then he has no influence over Trump.
3. And if it is that powerful, then Trump is powerless and of no further use to Putin.
4. And if Trump is then impeached or imprisoned etc as a result of Putin's blackmail/extortion, THEN he may very well incur the full wrath of the next government of the United States against Russia for daring to, and fucking with the United States of America.
So Putin is very reluctant to actually pull the pin on the grenade that may blow himself up too.
Trump doesn't give a shit about anything except his own personal interests so the threat against Putin bringing him down is VERY powerful. Trump doesn't care about the potential domestic or global fallout from such a scandal. Nor does he care about the potential domestic or global fallout of his inaction or support of Russia, just himself.
Having said all that, I do sincerely believe that Trump does not like war and may genuinely, but naiively, think he is such a good dealmaker that he can somehow convince Putin to cease hostilities as a personal favour to his sycophant buddy Trump.
You know... "Hopey Changey" and all that Obama liberal bullshit
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