The Duran Podcast - Putin and Trump to meet in Alaska (Live)

Episode Date: August 9, 2025

Putin and Trump to meet in Alaska (Live)

Okay, we are live with Alexander Mercuris in London. Alexander, how you doing? I'm doing very well. Good, good. And we will be going until for 40 minutes. Yes. Until 6 o'clock in my time, 4 o'clock, your time, London. Yes.

We have to do a hard stop. Yes. So whatever questions we don't get to, we will answer the questions in a dedicated video. So keep that in mind. but we wanted to get a live stream out to everybody because we have a big news. The Trump-Putin meeting, and we have the location, Alexander.

So your thoughts, Alexander. A big hello to everyone, by the way. Hello to everyone that's watching us. And hello to our moderators. Thank you for joining us, Alexander. A very big hello. Now, can I, should we go straight in? Yeah, let's just go straight into it.

Alaska, Trump, Putin. Putin. Yeah. All the media articles about what was told to Whitkoff, what Putin told to Whitkoff, what was agreed on. There's a new article, by the way,

Alexander Bild, which says that Whitkoff misunderstood, and he thought there was going to be an exchange of Zaporosia and Herzson for Donetska-Mugansk. That's been proven false. It looks like Istanbul Plus. Anyway, you can get that. Yes, I don't think there's been,

I don't think there's been many misunderstandings. I think we're seeing massive spitting operations, and I think this is a thing that people need to understand. You need a very, very, very, level head here. Now, we have a summit meeting, and the key thing to look at first is the time of the summit meeting. So Trump started to make all those ultimatums about a month ago. He gave Putin 50 days in which to come to a deal with Ukraine. He said if that doesn't happen, then I'm going to impose massive sanctions, massive tariffs. He said he was very disappointed with the Russians,

and he seemed to be stepping up military aid to Ukraine via NATO. What happened, and I think this is now absolutely clear, is that most of that was bluff. It was a poker game which Trump basically had to throw. I mean, Putin called his bluff. The military aid is not changing the military situation on the front lines. The United States doesn't have a huge inventory of weapons to send anymore. Trump's domestic base was becoming.

increasingly unhappy. And beyond that, the sanctions tariff bluff was absolutely called. The Indians refused to back down. I think Trump thought it would be the weakest party. They showed that they were not. They stood up to this threat of the tariffs. And pressing forward with them would have caused Trump major political problems and the United States major economic.

problems. So he's got a collapsing situation on the front lines in Ukraine. This is Trump's problems. He's got the fact that by making these ultimatums, he's raised expectations that some kind of decisive action against the Russians was coming. So he had to find a way out of it. And he did so by sending Wittgoff to Moscow, getting Wittgolf to persuade the Russians to agree to a summit meeting. And that was clearly a very, very difficult thing to do. It took two hours, three hours. Up to now Putin has been very reluctant to agree to a summit meeting with Trump. And I think there's no doubt at all that Wiggoff made proposals to Putin.

The media spin is that it's the other. way round, but it makes much more sense to understand the proposals coming from the Americans. And what Witgolf obviously said to Putin is we are prepared to understand your position, Istanbul Plus, we understand where you're coming from, we're starting to move towards it. We understand that the Ukrainians are going to have to retreat. where we understand that there has to be further negotiations, and importantly, that the negotiations must be between you, that is to say, Russia and us, the United States.

So there was an attempt by someone over the last couple of days to get Zelenskyy inserted into the process. Clearly this has not discussed between Putin and Wigdorf, and was probably not suggested by the Americans at all. The Russians said no. Trump, who is in a weak position, backed off. Zelensky is not going to be involved in this meeting, which is taking place in Alaska.

And the Ukrainians are out of the picture. The Europeans are out of the picture. we now have direct negotiations about Ukraine between the two real parties to the conflict. Russia and the United States, that's what the Russians have wanted all along, and that's what they've managed to get. And as for the fact that the summit meeting is happening in Alaska, this is convenient territory from both sides. For Trump, it's in the United States.

For Putin, it's very, very close to his own country. It's also a territory that was previously Russian, by the way. Fat people are overlooking where there is still a Russian cultural presence, where the Orthodox Church, the Russian Orthodox Church, also still has a presence. So it's a comfortable place for the Russians. It's out of the way. It makes it much more difficult for someone like Zelensky to gate crash the meeting, as he might have done if it had happened in the Middle East.

So overall, we have a negotiation now between the Americans and the Russians, and though maybe one shouldn't place too much weight on some of the detail that's appearing in the media, the clear indications are that the Americans are moving towards accepting Istanbul Plus. Maybe they're only talking about a Ukrainian retreat from the Dombas,

rather than Zaporogio-Herson. Maybe this hasn't been discussed in that kind of level of detail at all. Who knows? But the fact is that it looks as if the Americans are moving towards the Russians, not the other way around. Will we see Istanbul Plus or Minsk 3? Do you think Russia is going to make concessions? No, I don't think there's going to be Minsk 3.

I think this is, again, people are always worried about this, but just before... Rightly so. I mean, but there are... Ah, rightly so, because of the history. But of course, Putin himself has said, we're never going to agree to anything like that again. And just before all of these sets of announcements took place, a senior Russian diplomat also said that Russia is indeed interested in peace,

but he must be a lasting and conclusive peace. So it is not going to be mystery. I mean, the Russians are under no pressure to address, to agree to Minsk 3 and they've excluded it and i don't think i don't think that's a possibility that we should consider at all okay a lot of people talking about the the fact that this is going to be in the united states yes this was agreed on in february 12th 2025 during the first phone call can you explain that that's right that's right back on their very first telephone conversation putton and trump had a really good call that was in february each agreed to invite the other to his country

and the purpose of this, this time, the way it's going to work out is Trump is going, I'm sorry, Putin is going to America, where he will be hosted by Trump. Trump is then going to go to Russia, where he will be hosted by Putin. So this is the start of a process. It's always been envisaged by the two leaders, by Trump and Putin, that this would happen. But it looks as if this is going to be the start of a process in which Trump, and Putin are going to be negotiating with each other directly about Ukraine. The Russians and the Americans talking with each other about Ukraine.

In fact, I read, I think it was in the Financial Times, that the idea is that there will be phase one, which is to try to move towards this withdrawal of the Ukrainian, so Dombas and some kind of a ceasefire. And then phase two will be the negotiations between the Americans and the Russians to come up with a proposal for a lasting peace which they will present to Zelensky and the Ukrainians. So in other words, the Americans and the Russians deciding between the peace in Ukraine. And if the Ukrainians don't accept it, it's a take it or leave it.

Deal. And if the Ukrainians don't take it, the Americans will go. That's apparently what has been talked about at the moment. apparently do you fear any type of sabotage lots of prospects of sabotage i mean we had the person who was prowling around the television and newspaper studios telling everybody that zelensky would be coming to the meeting and that it was a deal breaker for the americans if he didn't go now that could have been sabotage as high quite likely it was zelensky has already published statements saying that he's not happy basically that's what he's saying that there's no question of territorial

swaps or territorial surrenders or anything of that kind. It's a very, very, it's exactly the kind of statement you would expect from Zelensky. The Europeans are up in arms about this and there's already been a very, very strong article, not an article, editorial comment in the Daily Telegraph in Britain, which is the voice of the London government on these matters. It says no territorial concessions to Russia. Better a continuation of the war than a what they call an unjust peace. And of course, in Washington itself, Lindsay Graham, Richard Blumenthal,

all of those people, they're still there. So are the people in the bureaucracy. Kellogg is, of course, also still there. They will pull every string they can in order to sabotage this process. And they may succeed. If I was a betting man, I would say they will. Yeah.

I was just about to ask you that question. What are the chances that the United States will be able to actually agree to Istanbul plus and honor Istanbul plus? I mean, the chances are pretty slim. I would say minimal. And I think that's the thing people need to understand. I think that there's going to be a lot of discussion, an awful lot of negotiation, maybe. But there's going to be criticism all along the way. Whenever Trump is criticized, he tends to be.

retreat in the face of that criticism, I suspect that he will gradually retreat from the position he seems to be taking now. Now, by the way, just to say, a couple of months ago, I remember reading that there was a meeting between Trump, Witkoff and Kellogg. Wittgoff told Trump then that the way to end the war was by agreeing to Istanbul Plus. Kellogg pushed back. He said the Ukrainians will never accept it. And Trump said nothing, but in fact, we know that in the end, he went with Kellogg. Now, he's now tilting to Wickhoff. There is no guarantee that he won't tilt back to Kellogg and to those people again. In fact, not only is there no guarantee, I would say that it's more likely than not, much more likely than not. Yeah, but now on the on the

front lines, the Ukraine military is losing very bad. And I think one of the main factors that has brought the United States to the negotiating table with Russia is the fact that the Ukraine military is collapsing across four or five different regions. From what I understand, Alexander, once Russia decides to really push hard in all of these various regions, they can all collapse very quickly. and all of them could collapse at the same time. I mean, that's how bad the situation is on the lines. And it starts with Pakrovs, and it goes all the way to Seversk and Herson and Kupyansk. It's a very bad situation for the Ukraine military. It reminds me of DeBalzbo in a way.

It is. It's exactly the same. You remember with DePalzvro? DeBalzbo was about the Ukrainian army was about to be completely defeated, and that forced Merkel to rush to Moscow, meet with Putin, try to get him to stop the battle at the Balzvah, to save the Ukrainians, and that ended in Minsk too. Now, the same process again, the Ukrainian army, Pachrovsk is about to fall.

Now, I mean, I say that, I've just been reading reports. These are all, every single report I've read over the last two hours has been for the Ukrainian media. They are all saying the situation. in Pakrovsky's disastrous. They are admitting that the garrison in Pakrovsk is surrounded. It's an absolute crisis. We've discussed what an important place, Bakrovsky is. The Institute for the Study of War says that this line of cities, they've actually vindicated our analysis, that this line of cities is the fortified line in Ukraine, the Dombas, which has held the Russians back. If Ukraine

loses it, then the war is lost. And that line of cities is about to fall. I mean, it may take a few months for the process to be completed, but it is about to fall. There's a crisis in Coupions, there's a crisis in Constantinocca. There's a very serious crisis in Pachrovsk. Ukraine has no answers to this. The United States has no answers to this. And that is why we're suddenly, see this enormous push for negotiations with the Russians now because the Americans know that the collapse is on its way. And that's why they're prepared to cede Donbass because they know that Ukraine is about to lose it anyway. Well, they're going to have to see Donbass and Zapparoje and Herson in its entirety. Ultimately. And no one's talking no to NATO. No one's talking no to the EU.

I mean, we haven't seen articles talking about this at all. They're just talking about territory. But we've got NATO. We've got the EU. You've got sanctions being lifted. We've got the Russian frozen assets. We've got no weapons to Ukraine. And we've got presidential elections in Ukraine.

These are all parts of Russia's Istanbul plus memorandum that they sent to the United States a couple of weeks ago as to how they see a conclusion to the conflict. I mean, the United States is going to have to agree, I would imagine, to all of these points. If they're going to agree to anything at all, more likely, more likely they won't be able to. Because these demands are such that they are not really such as the Europeans or the Ukrainian Zelensky will ever accept. And we come back to that Daily Telegraph editorial. They said better a continuation of the war than an unjust. peace, translate that into real English. What they're saying is better Ukraine be defeated on the battlefield than we make these compromises, which will put us in a weaker position because they

will compromise the whole position of NATO and the likelihood of us being able to persuade the United States to commit to NATO long term and to remain in Europe. Okay, so one more question. And I'm going to read through the superiors. chaps very quickly. Once again, we are going to end this live stream in about 20 minutes. Yes. So what does Trump do if when, not even if, when Zelensky and the Europeans and the UK say no way to Istanbul plus? Does he escalate and go with the neocon-Kellag policy of escalation and continuing the war? Or does he, as the Wall Street Journal reported, does he use this as an excuse to walk away from Ukraine?

I think he... That's a very, very tough one, because of course, that's a question of reading Donald Trump's mind, not now, but when this whole process reaches that point. Because Donald Trump probably hasn't even planned it out to that level. But my own guess is that he will walk away. I mean, what is in it for him by clinging on? He'll have met with Putin. He'll have had his meeting with Putin. We'll see what comes out of that meeting.

But as you correctly said, the Russians are not going to be making any fundamental concessions. Even the American media ultimately is accepting this. So the Russians will not make concessions. The Europeans and the Ukrainians will say no. and at that point, I think he will walk away. And I think he will walk away without imposing the sanctions on the tariffs that he talked about. He will tell, he will tell Lindsay Graham and Blumenthal, look, I tried it.

You've seen what happened with the Indians. You've seen what the Chinese are saying. You can do all the numbers yourself. You know how bad this will be for the United States. I don't think we should do this. It won't work. Yep, but you know what Lindsay Graham is going to say? I know exactly what

it's right because of the Trump we got 55 billion in the pipeline let's get this 55 billion let's get it to Ukraine let's not stop the grip I know I know I mean

this is where we come back to the mistake Trump made all the way back in April in my opinion when he let these people have the time of day I mean he should have told Lindsay Graham then what Lindsay what are you doing I'm not really interested in this

I'm talking to get us out of this war not to get us deeper And that's what he should have said then. And he called in the senators, the Republican senators and told them the same thing and told that this is really very unhelpful and cuts completely against my policies and my understanding of American national interest. That would have killed the whole thing then. But he didn't do it.

And now he's on the back foot with them. And that's, that's, I don't, I don't really see any good way out of it for him. I mean, he's a political Houdini. He manages to find. escapes. I can't really see how he's going to find a way out of this one. That's my own view. He can stay strong and push back on the neocons and truly walk away from this. But what are the chances of that? We'll see. Who knows? Anyway, Commander Crossfire says, now we see if Putin can break the cycle of Russian leaders kissing Western butt and actually standing up for Russian interests.

And Commander Crossfire says Alaska is historic Russian land brought under American ownership. by nearsighted Russian leaders. I wonder if anyone's going to point that out. Of course there. Of course there. A lot of people are pointing it. A lot of people in Russia pointing it out too. Tim Hedinger says a good morning from Raleigh, North Carolina.

Hello, Tim. P.D. ballerina says, considering that the Russian church in America is growing rapidly, I hope Putin gifts an icon. Thank you for that. She might very well do that. It's quite likely, by the way. Elza says when I heard about Alaska, I thought it was a joke, but people like

Alenski and Bolton don't like it, so it must be a good place to meet. It is a good place to meet. Partly, as I said, it keeps Zelensky further away. In the Middle East, he can easily visit. Alaska is more remote, to say it straight forwardly. But I think, can I just say something? I think for Putin, it actually, the optics of this are very good because he has been called all kinds of things over the last 10 years in the US, the man who meddled in the elections,

the man who kills his enemies, the man who's launched an unprovoked war, the person who's running a foreign policy that is a clear and present danger to the United States and all of that. And what's happening? He's coming to the United States as the guest of the president. So I think the optics for Putin are good, actually. And he's going to a part of the United States, which. has a very, very long connection and deep connection to Russia, and which is neighbors Russia too. Yeah. Moon Dragon says a lot of people are angry at Putin that he might betray the special

military operation. You discussed that. No, I don't. Alexander. Yeah. Russia is not giving any indication that they're going to back away from Istanbul. No. No. None. Yeah. And if they get Istanbul Plus and sanctions relief, that's a big win. Well, of course it is, yeah. Matthew says, how do you see this developing in the long term? Will there be a broader hot war in the future? Well, I think this is, I think I thought the most dangerous moment of that was last year, actually.

At the time of the Biden administration, authorized military missile strikes against Russia. I think since then, Trump clearly isn't keen on that at all. And I think also the military advantage has shifted so decisively in Russia's favor that I don't think anybody really entertains it anymore. Yeah, but you may see long-range missile strikes. You may see some stuff going down. Absolutely. The sabotage, I think, is already happening, by the way. I mean, I really do.

Yeah. Ardman Salkov says, I'm grateful to have the Duran in my life. Thank you both of you so very much. Thank you, Adler, for that great super chat. Vincent says Putin once said something like whoever controls AI will rule the world. However, I believe Russia is still far behind the Western Asia. Could this be a factor in making a deal to end the conflict? No.

I mean, we're nowhere close to that point yet. And don't underestimate the Russians when it comes to AI, by the way. I mean, they do a lot of what they do it. They're doing an awful lot with AI. They've incorporated it into their drones, which the Americans have happened so far. Just saying. Elza says, I think Merkel's and Hollande's comments made mince three impossible ever to happen. I agree with that. That's absolutely true.

Yeah, very true. Klaus Clemenson says, will it be a lasting peace or a frozen conflict like Korea? Now, I think the Russians have said clearly that they want a lasting peace. They want Zelensky out as well. They want elections in Ukraine and they want a government that they can work with in Kiev, not Zelensky anymore. I think most Ukrainians agree with them, but... point. Good point.

Nico says today Levan expressed his vitriol on Putin and his choices. He anchored me honestly, but that's another story. I wanted your view as adults on this, in my opinion, seeing Putin dictating terms on American soul with an ice warrant is a badass victory. I explained to Levin that although Putin has to play along in talks, the military continues with that said. A Russian commentator has said that Russia is willing to give Zaparozian-Herson. There are a lot of Russians like Levan who are furious for even talking to Wittkoff.

This is true. I am giving Putin the benefit of the doubt, but if Putin gives in, then he is done. Russia is done. And like Levin said, even the multipolar world is done. It's almost like he is asking for a coup. Please tell me that Putin and Russia aren't weak enough to give concessions because Levin is right about one thing Indian China have done jack shit for Russia and bricks. they haven't helped. People are complaining about Russia, about being restrained,

but honestly, China have been embarrassingly restrained towards Taiwan and the U.S. lately. That's why I hope that Putin hasn't given up. Your thoughts, Alexander. Well, I think the first thing to say is I think we've already answered your points about Putin and his concessions and those things. There's not a hint, just to repeat again, not a single hint from any Russian source that the Russians are conceding anything. And I don't think we should expect it or resume it in any conceivable way.

It doesn't mean it's 100%. No, it doesn't mean. He may make concessions. We don't know. Yes, we don't. Like you said, Alexander, up until this point, there is zero indication that he's going to make concessions. Exactly. Zero.

Absolutely zero. Now, as for the rest, as I said, I mean, if he were to make the kind of concessions that perhaps Levin is worried about, then I agree it would be. a crisis in Russia. That's another reason why he, I don't think he's going to make those kind of concessions. I don't agree with you about India and China. There is no sign that Russia has asked either India and China for the kind of aid that you're talking about. I don't think Russia needs that kind of military support from India or China. What they have wanted is to be able to trade with India in China. And the Indians of the Chinese who said to the Americans, that is non-negotiable. We're going

to trade with our friends, the Russians, and it's nothing to do with you. And I think that's all the Russians wanted, and it's exactly what they've got. I think that Trump put bricks to the test. Yeah. And this is a good thing. He really tested bricks. He went after bricks. Yes. And bricks Bricks unified. Exactly. I think this entire process that we've seen over the past week has actually been good for Bricks. I agree with that. Lula got everyone to unify. Modi got people to unify, China, Russia, they came together as they were being attacked. Exactly. So I think that was actually a good development.

Elza says, did Russia finally reach a strategic, important city? Yes. I could ask, Konstantinov, all of these are very important cities. Nico says, if a deal is reached with Istanbul Plus, will that be enough or just another Minsk stall? How will this define Russia? Will they move towards the West via bad leadership? can they find peace? Well, about the future of Russia and where it will go,

I mean, that is a huge question, and I do think we can answer to this program. Istanbul Plus would be a very good deal for Russia at this time. But we might not get Istanbul Plus, just to say, I still can't imagine any situation where the Ukrainians or the Europeans will agree to it. I mean, I really can't. Andrea says,

Is it possible that Trump is more keen to talk about Iran-Israel than Ukraine? Well, I don't think so, actually, because there are lots of things that they can talk about, arms control, certainly being one of them. But the imperative, the need to talk now is focused, or so it seems to me, on Ukraine. That's where the crisis is. That's where the urgency is. Because exactly as Alex said, the situation on the front lines is now bringing. us close to the point of collapse. And as I said, even the Institute of the Study of War is now admitting finally what we've always said, if Ukraine loses this line of cities, its entire strategic position is lost.

Stefan Gabriela, thank you for that super chat. Fuzzy Ball says, do you foresee a substantial border between Russia and Ukraine, not the Berlin Wall, but certainly there has to be discouragement for future incursions? very much on what kind of political developments there are in Kiev. I mean, if Zelensky falls, if a pro-Russian government comes to power in Kiev, which is not impossible, by the way, then the entire dynamic will change completely. If we have the same kind of regime that we have at the moment survive in Kiev, then I could say bluntly we will have another war eventually.

Though from at that point, if we have Istanbul plus in the meantime, Ukraine will be in a weaker position and Russia will be in a much stronger position than it was in February 2020. Arcane Eclectic says, I don't think people understand that Putin agreed to a meeting on U.S. soil just to piss off the EU and the neocons like Lindsay Graham and it's working. Well, he didn't only do it for that reason, but I agree that's going to be the effect. They're going to be furious about it. The Europeans are furious about it. Double Down says, can you describe how each party would benefit from a ceasefire? And furthermore, who needs a truce more than the current time, bricks or west? It depends what you mean by a ceasefire.

If you mean a ceasefire, like the one that Putin discussed in his speech to the foreign ministry on the 14th of June, 2024, a ceasefire where the Ukrainians pull out of Dombas, give up their great line of fortified positions and also pull out of Saperosje and Herson. That's not just a ceasefire, that's a Russian victory, to say it bluntly. I mean, that that ceasefire works completely to Russian advantage. If you have a ceasefire like the one that Zelensky has been demanding, and which Kellogg wants and which Trump up to now has backed,

a ceasefire where the conflict is frozen on the existing lines, and Ukraine is free to move towards NATO and build up its armed forces in an unrestricted way, then that is a defeat for Russia and a victory for Ukraine. So we're talking about completely different types of ceasefire. And at the moment, based on some of the media reports that we are seeing, it is a ceasefire on Russian terms that has been talked about. John Roberts says, what will be the European reaction to any possible U.S. Russia settlement on Ukraine? Will they eventually embrace it or try to sabotage it?

They will do everything they possibly can to sabotage it. I mean, no doubt about that. Vangelis Corleone. Thank you for the Duran. Superchat. Sastitschka says, what are the chances that Putin gets arrested? None. Not in the United States. First of all, the ICC, there has no jurisdiction in the United States. States. The United States not only is not a party to the Roman statute, it has sanctioned the ICC. It wants to close it down. So there is no chance of Putin being arrested in the United States. He's coming as a guest of the president. Trump wants to speak with him. It's very important that Trump speaks with him. You can see that. I mean, when Putin said, I'm not going to come. I'm not interested in speaking to Zelensky. And Trump immediately caved. That tells

you how urgent it is for Trump that this meeting happen. So there is no chance, none whatsoever, that Putin is going to be arrested in Alaska or over the course of this summit meeting. None at all. Andrea says Zelensky is useful for Russia while the war is going on. When Russia is calling for Zelensky to go, it means that they are trying to end the war. Yes. Yes. Hello there. says, hi, guys, when are you going to start the Russian history series again? Did Stalin kill a lot of Russians, or is it just Western propaganda? He did kill a lot of, an awful lot of Russians, and it is not just Western propaganda, that there's a lot to be said about it. We will come to it as soon as soon as soon as rather than later. We might be able to come back to it sooner.

We would love to come back to it. Niko says, also what happens if another Operation Spider-Web happens during the negotiations. I can't even imagine the collapse of the political system in Russia if Putin honestly doesn't use nuclear missiles, which the West wants to. Well, he's not going to, and it wouldn't be that bad. But I mean, absolutely. We may very well be seeing Operation Spiderswebts and bombing attacks and killing assassinations of Russian officials. They will pull every lever they can to prevent these negotiations succeeding. Claudia Peterson That's a certainty

Claudia Peterson Welcome to the Duran community Monty says It's a bit of an old topic But I've always associated to Lensky More with Moss Isley Not Naboo Thank you for that

Copa 3D If the West wanted peace They would force Alensky to back off and stop attacking Leaving Russia in a position of an overt aggressor If pushing on Well they don't

one piece. I mean, that's been the story. I mean, the reason we've had a war in the first place is because the West didn't want peace. If the West had wanted peace, they'd have backed implementation of the Minsk agreement. They didn't. They sabotaged it. So, I mean, they don't want peace. You see that Daily Telegraph editorial said as much. A continuation of the war is better than what the Telegraph calls, the British call an unjust peace. An unjust piece is any piece in which Russia doesn't lose. So they don't want peace. Trump perhaps wants peace for his own reasons. Nitan Chopra says, do you think the new policy shift of the USA of geo-economics and don't care about geo-strategy is the USA ready to lose India as a strategic partner?

Well, I don't know whether they thought this through. I think they probably overestimated the extent to which India wanted to be on good terms with the United States. And I think they'd probably imagine that if they put a bit of pressure on India, it would indeed scale down its purchases of Russian oil. And I think they have been extremely upset and surprised that the Indians have stood up to them. And by the way, don't believe the stories that UCP planted in the media all over the place in Bloomberg and all the rest about the Indians reducing their purchases of Russian oil. Indian oil industry officials are.

Whenever these stories come out are coming out and saying that they are not true, and they're explaining what is really happening in the Indian Orleans. Let's do five more minutes and we have to a hard stop, Alexander. Yes. And the live stream, Agu said, EU agreed to humiliating tariff deal with the US with understanding that Trump would be backing Project Ukraine. If Trump betrays them, what will Van der Leyen do? Will the deal be in tatters?

Yeah, the deal is already a terrible deal for the. the EU. You're absolutely right in everything that you would say, but I mean, they're not going to be in a position to go back on it. I mean, having conceded what they conceded, they are now locked in as well. That's my view. Michael Greco says, correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't the head of KGB during Glasnos administrations to around 42 million killed under Stalin? No, not 42. He didn't, by the way. The KGB gave their own figures for the number of people who were executed during the Starling, the entire Stalin era. Well, from 1920 to 1952, I think, and they put the number of people executed throughout that time at 700,000. Now, that's a very different, 42 million.

Elsa says no one will dare to crash the meeting on US soil. Ukrainians and Europeans might try it in another country, true? Oh, yes, absolutely. Klaus Clemenson says, Be careful not to blindly trust Trump's intentions. Less than a week ago, he was in the process of imposing tariffs on India to buy Russian oil. Putin said some time ago that he trusts no one.

Yeah. I'm sure he doesn't. Yeah, he doesn't. Yeah, absolutely. Prozap says, thanks for the work. Christina says if Putin and Trump come to an agreement, how will they convince Olenski to agree? They won't. They won't.

It's as simple as that. Commander Crossfire says the native population in Alaska lived well under Russia when Russia gave to the U.S. The native population was decimated, Ukraine should note that history. Well, there's a lot of literature about Russian Alaska, Russian America, as it was called. I can't pretend I'm familiar with it very much. Josh Wood says, upcoming negotiations aside, would there be any advantage for Russia to take the entire Ukraine, especially in order to fully denotify Ukraine and prevent any further NATO expansion? It might happen. I mean, if this negotiation is Ukraine's last chance, if they reject it, which they will, by the way, then this will play out as a Russian military victory.

At which point, the only reason why the Russians might not go to Western Ukraine is because they decide that it's not in their interests, too. So that's the situation then. Dr. Fumer says, don't you think the U.S. deep state will take the occasion to either kick? capture Putin, remember the mandate, or get rid of him? No, I don't think so. I really don't. I think people are... That would be crazy if they did it. It would be crazy. I mean, that would be madness. I mean, it would... I mean, it would compound their problems. I mean, for one thing, the man who would probably

take over eventually would be Medvedev. I mean, Michoudin is the Prime Minister's the next in line, but probably it would be Medvedev. Really want Medvedev in control? Just saying. That says, is the same private security force protecting Gaza going to protect the Azerbaijan-Armenian corridor? Putin needs to ask that question to the press. I'm going to say something very quickly about the Zanzigur corridor and all of that. My own personal view is that it's a trap for the United States. I mean, people always think about this as a problem. We'll do a proper program about this, but people are talking about it as a trade route.

A trade route between when and where and where. Exactly. You're going to have American troops perhaps patrolling in an area in the southern Caucasus where the Russians are overwhelmingly dominant. This isn't going to work out well. Just as a second. Two more. G.S.

Now says Alex and Alex. What is your opinion on Ereznik? Alexander flip-flopped a few times. Ted Postal analysis says some blown out windows. Andrei Martiano and Larry Johnson believe it turned Yush to dust. Putin has deployed them now. What do you think?

Well, they are being deployed and I think the more we know, the more likely it was that Larry Johnson and Martian of analysis is the more correct one. I say that because we have heard nothing more from Yushmash

since the Arashnik strike on it took place. Nothing. We've heard We've seen no pictures, no film that I'm aware of, no sign of any production there. It looks as if that factory, a colossal factory, has indeed been destroyed. Agreed. Supernova soon says, as you always say, neocons have no reverse gear. There have been assassination attempts lately on world leaders from Fidso to Maduro, some more successful in others. That speaks to the kind of thinking in place in some quarters that matter.

Wouldn't Putin's visit to Alaska be dangerous and not just for him? But for an all-out war between nuclear super states, let's keep that in mind, that neocons are not just crazy and radical. They are also stupid. If you're talking about the threat of assassination, that is a very real one. And, of course, the Russians will be bringing a massive security detail with them to make sure that Putin is protected about that. There's going to be huge discussions between the Americans and the Russians about every aspect of this. And those negotiations, those discussions are underway now. I am no to, I am not.

A nugget says, why can't Trump just bully euros in accepting the terms? He agrees to Russia like he did with his terrorists. What's the difference? It's not, it's not the Europeans or the Ukrainians. You're the problem. It's the neocons in Washington with the problem. That's the thing you must understand. That's the problem.

Yeah. Yeah, okay. Yeah, well, that's exactly right, Alexander. They're all together. They're all together, though. So, Lenski, the neocons, the Europeans. But it's the neocons that if they get, Trump to flip-flop or or they get this agreement to not go through.

Then that's that's the neocons doing. Yeah. All right. Exactly. We'll end it there. And we will see everybody on Monday. Thank you to everyone that joined us. And we have some videos coming up on our channels.

We certainly do. Take care. Take care.