Trump and Putin Are Likely to Meet in Person

A top adviser to Trump denied Russia broke an agreement not to attack Ukrainian energy infrastructure, and hailed the pact as a breakthrough that could end Moscow’s global isolation and revive energy projects such as the Nord Stream 2 pipeline.

US special envoy Witkoff indicated Wednesday a series of Russian drone strikes on energy and transportation targets that occurred shortly after Trump’s call with Putin.

“President Putin issued an order within 10 minutes of his call with the president directing Russian forces not to be attacking any Ukrainian energy infrastructure. And any attacks that happened last night would have happened before that order was given,” Witkoff said.

“I tend to believe that President Putin is operating in good faith.”

Witkoff said Russian officials told him Wednesday morning that seven of their drones were en route when Putin issued his order and were shot down by Russian forces.

The envoy’s account matched events described in statements from the Kremlin and the Russian Defense Ministry.

He said it is his “understanding” that energy facilities and infrastructure were off limits as of Wednesday and added that there could be an agreement to halt the fighting completely “in a couple of weeks.”

Witkoff nonetheless described Tuesday’s call between Trump and Putin as an “epic” and “transformational” moment that could pave the way for greater cooperation between the US and Russia, longstanding adversaries.

One casualty of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine was its energy exports to Europe. The Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from Russia to Germany, a major new project, was suspended in 2022.

“I can certainly see that world,”

Witkoff said when asked if he could envision Russian energy coming back online through that pipeline and others.

Trump and Putin are “likely” to meet in person, Witkoff said, without providing a date.

#Trump #Poutine #meet

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Putin in China: A Harsh Turn in the War-Peace Politics 🌍⚔️

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Putin will travel to China this weekend for what the Kremlin has called a “truly unprecedented" visit to his most important ally, which comes at a critical moment in the Ukraine talks. ✈️🇨🇳

During this trip, which is expected to last almost a week – unusually long for the Russian leader – he will attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit, hold talks with Xi Jinping, and attend the Victory Day military parade in Beijing marking the 80th anniversary of Japan's defeat in World War II, where Putin is expected to be the star guest alongside Kim Jong-un of North Korea and the leaders of Iran and Cuba. 🎖🇰🇵🇮🇷🇨🇺

According to analysts, the key to the agenda will be for Putin and Xi to align their positions on the war in Ukraine. 🤝🇺🇦

“This is an important moment for them to talk about the direction of the war and the likelihood that it will be stopped in the near future,” said Jeffrey Sachs, eminent American economist. 🗣

Sachs said Moscow wanted to know if it could expect additional help from China and how Beijing would react if the United States asked it to put pressure on Russia to end the fighting. 🇺🇸❓

“The two leaders must compare their notes and make sure that they are on the same page. This is important because the war has become one of the main pillars of their relationship,” he said. 📝

China has emerged as an economic lifeline for Russia during the war in Ukraine, and Kiev has been increasingly outspoken about what it says is China's direct aid to Moscow's war effort. 💰🇺🇦

Bilateral trade soared to more than $240 billion last year, two-thirds more than before the invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Beijing is now the largest buyer of Russian oil and coal and will soon overtake Europe as Moscow's main market for natural gas. 🛢📈

While trade reached a record high in 2024, it has since plunged amid a decline in Russian oil exports to China, a trend that Putin will be eager to reverse in Beijing. 📉

Specifically, the two sides are expected to discuss the long-suggested power of the Siberia-2 gas pipeline and plans to expand the existing oil link to China. 🛠⛽️

The talks are also likely to address deepening military cooperation between Beijing and Moscow, a development that has alarmed Western governments. ⚔️🌍

China claims to be a neutral mediator in the war in Ukraine, but the two countries have grown closer since the invasion began. 🇨🇳🤔

Russia recently raised the idea that Beijing should be among the guarantors of Ukraine's security, reviving a proposal put forward for the first time by Russian negotiators during the talks in Turkey in the spring of 2022. Kiev is likely to view the idea with skepticism. 🇺🇦😒

#poutine #xijinping #china #ukraine #war #politics

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At a Summit in China, Xi Unambiguously Takes Putin's Side 🇨🇳🇷🇺

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Xi Jinping has criticised the “bullying behaviour” of other countries 😡 while Vladimir Putin has blamed the west for his war on Ukraine, on the second day of a major summit in China which seeks to challenge western-led multilateral blocs 🌐.

The Shanghai Cooperation Summit (SCO) began in the city of Tianjin on Sunday, with Xi welcoming dozens of leaders from Eurasian member states and other partner and observer countries, including Putin, and Indian prime minister Narendra Modi 🤝.

Russia’s three-and-a-half year war has killed tens of thousands of people and devastated much of eastern Ukraine 😞.

However, the meeting on Sunday, five days after Washington imposed punishing 50% tariffs on Indian goods due to Delhi’s purchases of Russian oil 🛢, showed the relationship was thawing.

Xi said China-India ties could be “stable and far-reaching” if both sides focused on viewing each other as partners instead of rivals, state media reported 📺.

Xi, Putin, and Modi were seen chatting on live footage, the three leaders flanked by their official translators 🗣. In his remarks on Monday, Putin also praised the efforts of China and India “aimed at facilitating the resolution of the Ukrainian crisis” 🕊.

Many of the assembled dignitaries will be in Beijing on Wednesday to witness a military parade marking 80 years since the end of the second world war 🎖. The event will also be attended by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

#xi #chine #poutine #coldwar #west #kim

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Analysts will be closely watching for any formal meeting between Putin, Xi, and Kim 👀. North Korea’s assistance to Russia’s war is believed to have rankled Xi, who is trying to balance its Russian alliance 🤝 with avoiding any further punitive responses from the US over the war in Ukraine 🇺🇦.

“It is publicly known that North Korean soldiers are already present on the Ukrainian battlefield, and Russia and North Korea have close military cooperation ⚔️. If all three were to meet, it would be very striking to the United States, highlighting a potential new cold war dynamic ❄️,” said Lim Chuan-Tiong, a researcher with the Institute for Advanced Studies on Asia at the University of Tokyo 🎓.

“If such a meeting does not take place, it is likely because China does not want to overly provoke the US while maintaining a certain degree of triangular ambiguity 🤔.”

“Si une telle rencontre n'a pas lieu, c'est probablement parce que la Chine ne veut pas provoquer excessivement les États-Unis tout en maintenant un certain degré d'ambiguïté triangulaire.”

#xi #chine #poutine #coldwar #west #kim

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#HillaryClinton #Trump #Poutine #Geopolitcs

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