Judging Freedom - Pepe Escobar : BRICS vs. the West.

Episode Date: August 28, 2025

Pepe Escobar : BRICS vs. the West.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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And what will you be observing? I know, because you've told me already, but I want the audience to hear in Russia and China. and who will you be observing in Russia and China? Wow, I wish we had half an hour, Judge, to go to the details. But for you and for our audience, on Sunday and Monday is the Shanghai Corporation Organization annual summit in Tianjin, close to Beijing. Just to give an idea to all of you, Tianjin is this enormous industrial high-tech hub. 120 kilometers away from Beijing, you take the high-speed rail, and you were there in less than half an hour. And you know how much it costs? $8. That's the introduction. So who's going to be in Tianjin at the table of the Shanghai Corporation organization? Everybody, everybody in Eurasia

that matters, including the top four, Putin, C, Modi, and Peschekin from Iran. All of them on the same table, Judge. How about Modi? Modi already confirmed his going, and that's even more, wow, totally groundbreaking. It's his first trip to China in seven years, and he's going to meet C face to face on a private meeting apart from the SCO summit.

Wow. You know, Donald Trump has ranted and raved against and condemned and blasted bricks. Hasn't he effectively united and strengthened bricks? There's no question about that. And the bricks of players are astonished at the turn of events. Nobody would expect actually Xi Jinping sent a letter to Maldi. That was the beginning of the detente, let's put it this way. Modi responded and then he confirmed, okay, I'm going to the SCO summit and we're going to talk face-to-face.

This is beyond immense. In terms of SCO unity and BRICS unity, we cannot forget, they are both our members of SCO and of BRICS. So we're talking about the major players of the Global South or what we can call also the global. majority. So until a few days ago, the spin, including the spin in China among academics, is that there was no trust between India and China. So C and Modding are breaking that. They are rebuilding the relationship. It's amazing. This is an India-China reset. And it's quite significant. It's going to take place at a summit. where the main preoccupations are security, counter-terrorism, and also economic integration.

The SCO these past few years, they are very much focused on economic integration, even more than a security environment across Eurasia. And, of course, the president of Iran, Peseschkin, will be there because, okay, diplomatically, the antagonism of the U.S. vis-à-vis. Iran, it's something that reflects on the bricks and the SEO as well. And the observers,

Judge, are fascinating and the partners. Among the observers are Afghanistan and Mongolia. Sooner or later, they will become full members. And among the partners, most of the Southeast Asians will be there. So there are a lot

of ASEAN countries who will be at the table as well, paying attention to all the discussions, and invite with the discussions. Do you expect to be in an audience that will be addressed by President Putin himself? That's complicated, because he will concentrate on Eurasia-wide security, terror, and economic integration matters. They will discuss Ukraine on the table, of course. We don't know what sort of leaks will be authorized. So we have to talk to our friend Peskov, the criminal spokesman. It depends on what Peskov decides to tell us.

Right, right, right. And if you see Maria, Labrov's a spokesperson, give her a big hug for me. He should be there because I'm not sure if Lavrov will be there, Judge, because this is a meeting of the heads of state. So not necessarily they bring their foreign ministers, but it's quite possible. Putin did bring his foreign minister to Alaska. We know that because he showed up with a sweatshirt saying CCCP on it, which raised everybody's eyebrows and he got a big chuckle out of it.

What did the United States gain by this meeting in Alaska? Okay. Okay, I could answer, let's say, 50% of your question by turning the attention to the Vladivostok Economic Forum, which is going to start next Wednesday. So from Tianjin, I'll come back to the airport in Beijing, fly to Vladivosto, because we have to be there one day before because the logistics are very complicated. We even have to do PCR tests. it's a very complicated matter but at the Vladivostok Forum which is basically concerned

about Russian development of the Arctic and the Far East including vast tracts of Siberia they will discuss business essentially and guess I would say the invisible guest of the invisible guest of honor this year

the US in fact I'm very curious to see which American business men will actually go to Vladivostok this year to start talking about the possibility of many American corporations coming back to the Russian market. And the number one, of course, it's something they already asked my friends in Moscow. And they say, look, it's going to be tight because they won't be able to talk. They don't want to talk to anybody. But I'll try to talk to Rosneft executives because the key project for Exxon was,

the Sakalin Gas Project, where they were partners with Gazprom, with Rosneft, sorry, an Indian company and a Japanese company. Because of sanctions, Exxon left. They lost over $4 billion and they want to come back. And they have been talking to Rosneft. Well, you know, they can talk to Rosneft's all they want, but if the U.S. government doesn't let them back, how are they going to go back? Exactly. But that brings us, Judge, to the pressure that the American energy companies will be applying on Trump to, look, we want to go back

to Russia and want to do business over there. And this is your interest, Trump, as well, because these are mega gas projects. These are also gas projects in the Arctic, not only in the Sackalin Islands, in the extreme far east, let's put it this way. And, of course, something that came out a few days ago. and I'm dying to see if there's any evidence about it. The possibility of the Americans buying Russian nuclear icebreakers. Oh, my goodness.

If that happens, it would be a major game changer. But I think this is too far-fetched at the moment. So you predicted before Anchorage that the true purpose of Anchorage would not be Ukraine, that it wouldn't solve Ukraine at all, that it wouldn't move the needle on Ukraine whatsoever, but there were other purposes, one of which was commercial, and the other of which is the Arctic.

Exactly. Now you're telling us that there may actually have been steps taken in that direction because of the private sector in the United States, which will try and put pressure on Trump. So let me modify my question. Did the peace, process in Ukraine, gain at all by the meeting in Anchorage? No, not at all.

Not at all, Judge, to be straight to the point. And it's crazy because the speed of events, as we all know, is completely breathtaking. I just finished another column, which probably is going to be published in Russia tonight, where I also addressed that. that at the forum next week in Vladivostov, maybe we're going to have Americans and Russians discussing business. But on the Ukrainian front, absolutely nothing seriously happened that changed the situation. This means the special military operation will continue.

This means that nothing can change the Russian perspective and conceptualization of winning the war in the battle. battlefield, whatever the Trump administration tries, whatever tricks, anything. And, of course, the Russians are pretty much aware that for Europe, this is a forever war. Right, right. Chris, can you put up President Trump's truth, a social, but going offensive? How does the Kremlin view this? I'm only going to read the first part, not his ripping into President Biden. It's very hard, from Donald J. Trump. It's very hard, if not. not impossible to win a war without attacking an invaders country. It's like a great team in

sports that has a fantastic defense but is not allowed to play offense. There's no chance of winning. That's what it is in Ukraine and Russia. That came out the same week the State Department and the Defense Department revealed the president had authorized the sale of 3,000, not yet constructed, according to Scott Ritter, but he authorized the sale. of 3,000 medium-range missiles to Ukraine. How does the Kremlin view that? Once again, Judge, there are no illusions in the Kremlin from the beginning and from the start of Trump 2.0.

Basically what they discussed in January, Musk is, okay, let's give it a try. We're going to, we're open to all sorts of contacts, you know, lateral, underground, direct, meetings, et cetera. And let's see what they propose. They were assuming that what the Americans were proposing before Alaska was serious. After Alaska, let's say for 48 hours, they say, okay, it was positive, it was excellent. And this was the opinion of the Russian members of the ultra-high-powered Russian delegation that actually went to Anchorage. But now they're back to,

let's say they are back to January again. Okay, is this all they have? Is this all they're offering? It's not enough. They still don't understand our red lines. So we'll continue to do what we're doing. And especially after Alaska, what happened in that absolutely appalling submission of the European chihuahuas in the Oval Office vis-à-vis Trump. the no illusion mindset in the Kremlin and in the Intel services, the security service, now it's total. How serious is foreign minister Lavrov

that President Putin will not meet with Zelensky because he's not the valid, legitimate president of Ukraine? And before you answer that, watch what President Trump said about this. comment on that as well. Chris, cut number 11. This past weekend, Sergei Lavrov was saying that Putin will not sign a peace deal with Zelensky because Russia views him as illegitimate. I'm just wondering if the Russians had been relaying this to your team, if they view Zelensky, you know, as a leader worth signing a peace deal with if they will go to the table. Doesn't matter what they say. Steve can answer,

but I can answer it to it doesn't matter what they say. Everybody's posturing. It's all bullshit, okay? Everybody's posturing. Steve, do you have a different? I agree with you, sir. Of course, he's going to agree with him on international television and at a cabinet meeting to his face. But when Trump calls a comment like that made by the most serious

and highly respected diplomat on the planet, how does the Kremlin view it? They cannot take him seriously, your judge. Because he's completely missing. He seems, he continues. He continues. to be completely missing form. He still doesn't know anything about the underlying causes of Maydan and then the

SMO three and a half years ago. And that brings us to the first big misunderstanding of the whole Alaska thing, which is Whitkoff's misunderstanding. I called him the real estate Bismarck. I know you do. And the more we hear from him, the more he sounds like. a real estate guy, and the less he manifests an understanding

of Russian history, culture, and the Russian mentality. Absolutely, Judge. And even worse, he didn't understand what Putin told him in Moscow that he would have to relay to Trump. He assumed, which is completely absurd,

that the ultimate red line, which is no NATO in Ukraine, Putin would agree to discuss it. And that's what he told Trump, Trump believed Whitkoff, and then Trump found out that that's not the case, and never was the case. So this goes way beyond a lost in translation moment. This encapsulates a man that is absolutely unprepared to deal with a dossier this serious.

And he's misleading the president of the United States on top of it. That's completely absurd, the whole thing. And of course, this brings us to the current. Kabuki judge, which is the peacekeepers kabuki. So what do we have now after the visit of the Europeans to the White House? The Europeans are like absolutely mad chihuahuas screaming everywhere that we need a peacekeeping force in Ukraine, whatever happens, even before a ceasefire, not after a ceasefire. So the previous kabuki was we need a ceasefire. Not going to happen. Trump himself said, No ceasefire.

So now the new Kabuki is we need a peacekeeping force, which means what? EU-NATO peacekeeping force of Europeans in Ukrainian soil. Once again, another absolute red line for Russia. Last question about Europe and Ukraine before I ask you some questions about Gaza. Does anyone take seriously the prospect of European military boots on the ground in Ukraine under any circumstances?

No, nobody. Nobody who's been following what's been happening. For the past, I would say, since 2014, since the beginning of the SMO, following the progress of Russia, okay, Russian style, slowly but surely on the ground, all along the front lines,

all the way, in fact. They cannot possibly understand that where do the Americas get this notion that the Russians will accept European peacekeepers in Ukraine. It's beyond Kafka, the whole thing. So this will be discussed this weekend in Tianjin, including the Iranians, including India and Pakistan, because this is something that involves the whole of Eurasia.

This is the key Eurasia crisis. There are others on other Russian fronts, fabricated by MI6, fabricated by NATO. But this remains the big, big crisis in the Eurasia space. And, of course, this will be also discussed, Judge, and this is, I have to talk about this. Do you know who's going to meet again face to face on Tuesday in Tiananmen Square for the victory parade of the China victory against Nazi fascism and Japanese aggression, Putin and she again? in. Wow. Wow. In a happier world, the president of the United States would be there with him. She would be there, exactly. The State Department just announced that Trump has authorized

the sale of $2 billion worth of F-35 fighter jets to Poland. I guess that wouldn't be that significant, except that it's accompanied by a statement saying this improves the security of NATO. It's always about it. So, you know, all this, in fact, this elaborate construction spun by Trump himself, especially, that he wants an exit or a way out from Ukraine, and then Europeans are going to take care of everything, their own war. No, it's going to be the U.S. leading from behind, which is the standard models of Irani, and giving NATO So everything they have and they don't have, they got, and they haven't got, of course, paid in euros by the European chihuahuas. So the Russians look at that, they said, okay, they're forever against us continues.

So we continue our own brand of war to demilitarize and denazify Ukraine. So essentially, after all the Alaska and Washington, Kabuki, nothing changed in practice. Last topic, my dear friend, why is there such minimal criticism from places like Tucker Carlson and Clayton Morris and here and similar alternative media venues, such minimal criticism of Trump for the normalization of genocide? I mean, yesterday he told the press he didn't even. know how he could not know this. He didn't even know the Israelis had bombed the Nassar hospital, killed patients, doctors, and journalists. And journalists, exactly. How misinformed can you be as president of the United States? Or is he just lying? What do you think, Judge, seriously? I really, I really don't know. I think he's probably lying. I can't believe that Rubio and

Hegseth and his chief of staff didn't run right into him. and say Netanyahu just murdered five journalists, we better be prepared to respond. I can't believe they didn't do that. If they didn't, they're not doing their jobs. They're not, and especially because this is even more serious, because it's two war crimes in one, judge, bombing a hospital, bombing health workers, and after that, killing journalists.

So why is Trump not severely criticized for normalizing genocide, for being indifferent to it, for pretending he doesn't know what's happening? Exactly. This is, we still don't have a smoking gun, but there are many possibilities, of course. The Epstein case, the grip of the Zionist access has on him, compromise from Russia. All so. Nobody knows for sure. But the fact is, he has normalized the genocide and the starvation campaign in Gaza. And by doing that, he makes. the collective West complicit with it. After all, in his own words, I can do anything I want. I am the President of the United States. So he is Jupiter up there. And all of those are just...

I want you to watch his body language when he said he didn't know about the murder of the journalists. Watch this. It's only about half a minute long. Chris, cut number 10. If we could get your reaction, sir, the Israelis bombed a hospital in Gaza that killed 20 people, including five journalists. When did this happen? This happened overnight today.

I didn't know that. Any reaction to this? I'm going to talk to about it. I don't want to see it. At the same time, we have to end that all nightmare. I'm the one that got the hostages out. I got them out. All of them.

You see how he instantly changes the subject, Judge. Yes. It doesn't answer the question. He talks about the hostages. Yes. The indifference, the indifference to human suffering and slaughter boggles my mind. And I think most people watching the show and many people around the world and the relative silence of criticism. The Republicans don't criticize, Thomas Massey does. The Democrats don't criticize. Bernie Sanders does. But it's minimal, minimal criticism. Let's say that the headline for history, I'm imagining digital historians in the early 21st century looking back at what Eric Hobsbun would have defined as the young 21st century. And they say, wow, the West, they buried their own six feet under establishment forever. They suicided themselves.

their credibility and their moral clarity is gone. It's over. And they did it to themselves, led by the President of the United States. This is what's going to happen. It's devastating and insightful comment, Pepe. Thank you very much. We have a holiday coming here in the U.S. Labor Day, so we'll all be off for a few days, but I'm glad I could spend some time with you.

Thank you, my dear friend. And can we reach you in Vladivostok and China in the next week? Yes. Let's try to talk from Vladivostok. I organized with Chris. My schedule is crazy. But if we do it at night in Russia, late night in Russia, it should be possible. You got it.

Thank you, my friend. God bless you. Safe travels. All the best. Let's bless you. Thank you. Coming up on all of this at 2 o'clock, Colonel Lawrence Wilkerson, at 3 o'clock, Professor John Mearsheimer. Judge Napolitano for judging freedom.

Thank you.