Description:
Alexander explains why Marco Rubio's statement that Ukraine can only receive security guarantees Russia agrees to amounts to a historic Russian veto, as Lavrov pushes the Abu Dhabi talks toward a new Eurasian security architecture while the Europeans wait outside in the hotel. Alexander also breaks down Zelensky's warning that Russia aims to cut Ukraine in half along the Dnieper bridges, Russia's new Starlink jamming system, Merz threatening the EU budget, and the collapse of Operation Vivaldi at Lyman. Is the collective West finally admitting that the security order in Europe has to be renegotiated?
Alexander Mercouris, episode 2074.
Alexander Mercouris, episode 2074.
Timeline:
00:00:00 Abu Dhabi first round: five hours of talks
00:01:52 Inside the Russian delegation: Ryabkov and Galuzin
00:04:30 FSB counterintelligence joins the talks
00:07:16 The dirty war on the table and the Arkhangelsk bridge blast
00:09:29 Streeting calls for a UK back channel to Moscow
00:14:10 Nebenzia and Lavrov rule out a ceasefire
00:15:44 Lavrov and Zakharova mock the Europeans in the hotel
00:22:36 From the Kellogg plan to Anchorage
00:25:45 Why European security architecture is now the agenda
00:29:34 Lavrov's Eurasian security plan: CSTO and SCO
00:33:15 Axios: talks are about security guarantees, not a ceasefire
00:34:45 Rubio concedes a Russian veto on Ukraine's security
00:39:36 Politico: US asks Russia about Article 5 for Ukraine
00:43:24 Stoltenberg's no veto doctrine reversed
00:47:21 Zelensky's maximalist demands and new oblast boundaries
00:52:58 FT: Zelensky warns Russia will cut Ukraine in half
00:59:42 Pontoon bridges, Kyiv traffic jams and Kremenchuk
01:04:02 Rassvet satellites and Russia's Starlink jammer
01:12:59 Merz threatens to veto the EU budget
01:21:47 Operation Vivaldi fails and the battle for Lyman