NBC News and Fox News have very different opinions about the meetings in Saudi Arabia. The purpose is to end the war in Ukraine and reestablish negotiations with Russia. There is a lot of criticism since the US is meeting with Russia without the EU or Ukraine President Zelensky. However, who thinks any movement would be possible if they were involved?
During the peace talks, they agreed on four principles. They will soon appoint teams to reestablish their respective missions. They will work for an enduring peace that all parties will accept. Third, consider the geopolitical and economic cooperation that could successfully end the Ukraine war. Lastly, those present at the meeting today will continue to meet to ensure the process continues.
NBC NEWS THINKS PUTIN WANTS ALL OF UKRAINE
NBC News reported that allegedly, US intelligence and close allies show Russian President Putin wants to control all of Ukraine.
“We have zero intelligence that Putin is interested in a real peace deal right now,” one of the congressional officials said.
“He thinks he’s winning,” one of the Western intelligence officials said.
All of the officials spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the intelligence.
Brian Hughes, a spokesman for the National Security Council, said President Trump’s leadership has created the first opening for talks in years. The Trump Administration will continue to pursue a deal that advances American interests and brings this conflict to a permanent resolution.”
Trump thinks Putin wants to end the war.
President Donald Trump said that Putin told him in a phone conversation that he wants to end the war in Ukraine.
“I think he wants to stop the fighting,” Trump said. Asked if he thinks Putin wants all of Ukraine, Trump said, “No, I think he wants to stop.”
A million people are dead over this unnecessary war.
In an exclusive interview with NBC News’ “Meet the Press” broadcast Sunday, Zelenskyy told Kristen Welker, “I will never accept any decisions between the United States and Russia about Ukraine, never.”
“This is the war in Ukraine against us, and it’s our human losses.”
FOX NEWS HAS A DIFFERENT TAKE
Fox News reports that State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce confirmed that Rubio’s team agreed to “lay the groundwork for cooperation” with Russia on various issues in addition to Ukraine. They also agreed to appoint “high-level teams” to begin working on a path to ending the conflict in Ukraine.
A Russian puppet would win the election?
Reports from multiple foreign diplomatic sources say forcing Ukraine to hold new elections could be a key part of a peace deal. The sources say both the U.S. and Russia believe Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has a low chance of winning re-election.
“Putin assesses the probability of electing a puppet president as quite high and is also convinced that any candidate other than the current President of Ukraine will be more flexible and ready for negotiations and concessions,” the diplomatic sources said in a readout of the meeting.
Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Penn., who chairs the House Ukraine caucus, rejected the idea of forced elections in Ukraine on social media.
Putin is now asking for a new election in Ukraine, conducted in a specific manner that he can influence, so that he can install his puppet and accomplish that which he couldn’t militarily. Nice try, Vladimir. Try holding a free and fair election in your own country first…
— Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (@RepBrianFitz) February 18, 2025
Speaking to reporters following the 4.5-hour meeting in Saudi Arabia between Rubio and his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, the secretary of state said the first move would be to reestablish the “functionality of our respective missions in Washington and in Moscow.”
“For us to be able to continue to move down this road, we need to have diplomatic facilities that are operating and functioning normally,” Rubio said.
The Trump administration will also seek to expand geopolitical and economic relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Kremlin.
Rubio did not elaborate on how or when the U.S. would agree to lift the heavy sanctions imposed on Russia. He said, “The European Union (EU) is going to have to be at the table” because it, too, has strict sanctions in place.
Concerns over ignoring the EU.
Concerns over EU involvement in negotiating a peace deal between Ukraine and Russia have been mounting. People don’t want Trump and Putin talking.
Despite direct concerns over European security, they did not say if the EU representative would be involved in negotiations.
It will be America First.
Reporters said people feel sidelined in Ukraine and the EU. “No one is being sidelined here,” Rubio said.
“But President Trump is in a position – that he campaigned on – to initiate a process that could bring about an end to this conflict, and from that could emerge some very positive things for the United States, for Europe, for Ukraine, for the world,” the secretary said.
Rubio confirmed the final agreement from the lengthy meeting on Tuesday was that the five men involved in the meeting—which included Rubio and Lavrov, Trump’s national security advisor Michael Waltz, special Mideast envoy Steven Witkoff, and Putin’s foreign affairs advisor Yuri Ushakov—would remain “engaged” to ensure negotiations continue to progress in a “productive way.”
Gen. Keane has a bleak outlook.
Retired U.S. Army Gen. Jack Keane said he suspects Russian President Vladimir Putin will wait for President Trump to leave office. Then, he will try to topple the government in Ukraine.
Keane told Fox News that he does not think Putin will ever give up on taking over Ukraine. He thinks Putin will go along with a peace agreement. Then, when Trump leaves office, he will take over Ukraine.
A lot of people are invested in continuing the war. We face a potential World War, and 1 million have died. We need to end the war.
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