Description:
Alexander Mercouris says there is no end to the war in Ukraine unless Russia wins outright or the United States and Europe accept a new European security architecture. He says Sergey Lavrov and Vladimir Medinsky made that point in Abu Dhabi, and that Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff then flew to Moscow to ask Vladimir Putin to step back.
From the Kremlin's preliminary remarks, he says Putin is refusing. The meeting looked icy, Medinsky was in the room, and Putin rejected gray zones and foreign troops in Ukraine. He also covers the Konstantinovka evacuation offer, Europe's lack of a chief negotiator, and strikes on Kiev and Zaporozhye.
From the Kremlin's preliminary remarks, he says Putin is refusing. The meeting looked icy, Medinsky was in the room, and Putin rejected gray zones and foreign troops in Ukraine. He also covers the Konstantinovka evacuation offer, Europe's lack of a chief negotiator, and strikes on Kiev and Zaporozhye.
Timeline:
00:00:00 Russia demands a new European security architecture
00:01:57 Kushner and Witkoff dash to Moscow
00:06:00 Ushakov screens the US envoys first
00:07:36 Kremlin photos: not a single smile
00:11:56 Medinsky joins Putin in the room
00:13:18 Medinsky: all Russian land must return
00:15:24 Medinsky shuts Europe out of the talks
00:19:44 Putin's Konstantinovka evacuation offer
00:25:43 Putin rejects gray zones, only the state border
00:31:58 Putin on Europe and an eternal peace
00:36:39 No foreign troops in Ukraine, ever
00:38:57 FT: Europe fears the security architecture trap
00:44:41 Witkoff and Kushner head to Dublin
00:48:34 Zelensky's maximalist demands and Starlink
00:54:07 Where is Europe's chief negotiator?
01:04:56 Russia rebuffs a UK military back channel
01:07:52 Missile strikes on Kiev and Zaporozhye
01:10:21 Russian offensive across the front line
01:13:51 All or nothing: the West risks ending with nothing