Trump's views on the war in Ukraine posted on social media while Zelenskyy cancels visit to Saudi Arabia; Putin wants to restore trust

Trump's views on the war in Ukraine posted on social media while Zelenskyy cancels visit to Saudi Arabia; Putin wants to restore trust

    Wednesday, February 19, 2025   No comments

 Trump's views on the war in Ukraine posted on social media while Zelenskyy cancels visit to Saudi Arabia; here are some key points from Trump's statement:

• He stated that Zelensky, who “had modest success as a comedian,” could not have won the Ukrainian conflict, but the United States gave him money.
• Called Zelensky a “dictator without elections” and accused him of refusing to hold a vote.
• Stated that without the participation of the United States, Zelensky "will never be able" to negotiate peace with Russia.
• Stated that Zelensky dragged the US into a war that "could not be won."
• Zelensky "played Biden by the book" and now refuses to participate in the elections due to low ratings.
• Accuses Zelensky of wanting to continue the conflict with Russia for financial gain.
• At the same time, he emphasized that while Zelensky is hesitating, his administration is conducting “successful negotiations” with Russia on ending the conflict in Ukraine.

Zelenskyy's reaction shows that he is trying to find some grounding to push back, but is hesitating

We are not surprised when they say that 90% of aid is provided by the US. We understand that the truth is actually a little different. And I would like the Trump team to have more truth, because all this certainly does not have a positive effect on Ukraine.

They are bringing Putin out of isolation, and I think Putin, the Russians, want it very much. In the discussion with them yesterday, there were signals that they are being portrayed as victims. This is something new. I would not like to criticize official US representatives. But this is a war against you. Everyone admits this, even those who are loyal to the Russians. The Secretary of State says that this is a "conflict." This is official, they showed it to me. But this still needs to be verified. This is a softening of their policy.

Given the change of posture in Washington, Zelenskyy is still trying to figure out his next moves; and his first was to cancel his visit to Saudi Arabia, as per this news report:

– Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he has canceled his planned official visit to Saudi Arabia and indicated that a visit would happen in March instead after Kyiv was excluded from US-Russian talks in Riyadh on Tuesday.

Zelensky said on Monday that he was due to visit Saudi Arabia later this week.

“We were not invited to this Russian-American meeting in Saudi Arabia. It was a surprise for us. I think it was a surprise for many,” Zelensky told a news conference in the Turkish capital Ankara after the US-Russian talks in Riyadh.

“We are completely honest and open. I don’t want any coincidences. That’s why I won’t go to Saudi Arabia,” Zelensky said, adding that he would visit Riyadh on March 10.

Zelensky stressed that he wants the war to end “but we want it to be fair and for no one to decide anything behind our backs.”

He also stressed that “no decisions can be made without Ukraine on how to end the war in Ukraine, and on what terms.”

Meeting Erdogan in Turkiye, which became his destination after he canceled his visit to Saudi Arabia, he heard from the Turkish leader who told him that he supports Trump's proposal for peace because that intersects with Turkiye's plan which was proposed three years ago.

Erdogan: Trump's Ukraine initiative intersects with Türkiye's efforts

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that the diplomatic initiative launched by US President Donald Trump to quickly end the war in Ukraine through negotiations intersects with the policy pursued by Turkey for the past three years.

During a joint press conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Ankara on Tuesday, Erdogan recalled previous initiatives by NATO member Turkey, which hosted negotiations between Moscow and Kiev twice in 2022.

Zelensky said that the United States, Ukraine and Europe must participate in the talks on providing security guarantees to Kiev in order to ensure a just peace.

Putin: The goal of talks with Washington in Riyadh is to restore trust

Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that the goal of the talks held by Russia and the United States in Riyadh is to "restore trust between Moscow and Washington," explaining that "it is difficult to resolve many issues, including the Ukrainian crisis, without raising the level of trust."

In statements to reporters, made on Wednesday, a day after the talks in Saudi Arabia, Putin confirmed that the meeting of the two delegations in the Saudi capital "was friendly," as he expressed his "appreciation for the results of the talks between the Russian and American representatives."

Putin added that the Russian delegation confirmed to its American counterpart during the talks that it is "open to joint work," announcing that Russia "will inform its friends in the BRICS group of the results of the Russian-American negotiations."

In the same context, Putin said that Moscow and Washington "have taken the first step to resume work in a variety of areas of common interest," explaining that this "includes the Middle East, taking into account the continued Russian presence in Syria and the Palestinian issue."

He noted that there are "many issues to be resolved, in which both the United States and Russia are involved, despite the fact that we, of course, attach fundamental importance to the situation on the Ukrainian track."

Regarding other issues, "such as the economy, joint work in global energy markets and space," Putin confirmed that they were "a subject of study and discussion during the meeting in Riyadh."

The Russian president also expressed "readiness to return to the negotiating table," stressing that Moscow "has never refused to negotiate on Ukraine, and does not impose anything on anyone."

In this context, Putin revealed that his American counterpart, Donald Trump, told him during the phone conversation they had on February 12, that "the United States proceeds from the fact that the negotiation process will be conducted with the participation of both Russia and Ukraine, and that no one excludes Ukraine from it."

In light of this, Putin considered that what he described as "the hysteria that has afflicted Kiev," due to its absence from the talks between Moscow and Washington in Riyadh, "is out of place."

As for the meeting with Trump, Putin confirmed that "the desire to hold the meeting is mutual between the two presidents," adding: "But I repeat, once again... we must prepare for this meeting, so that there is a result."

Putin expressed his "surprise at the restraint the US president has shown towards his European allies, who are behaving in an inappropriate manner," he said.

Member of the Saudi Shura Council to Trump: The truth is clear and falsehood is confused"

Member of the Saudi Shura Council to Trump: The truth is clear and falsehood is confused"

    Sunday, February 09, 2025   No comments

Member of the Saudi Shura Council, Yousef bin Trad al-Saadoun, published an article in the Saudi newspaper, Okaz, in which he advised Trump, if he wants to be a champion of peace and achieve stability and prosperity for the Middle East, "to move his beloved Israelis to Alaska and then to Greenland after annexing it."

al-Saadoun added: "The Zionists and their supporters must realize well that they will not be able to lure the Saudi leadership and government into the traps of media maneuvers and false political pressures."

He also claimed that the "official foreign policy of the United States will seek the illegal occupation of sovereign land and the ethnic cleansing of its inhabitants, which are the Israeli approach and are considered crimes against humanity. Anyone who follows the path of the emergence and continuation of Israel clearly realizes that this plan was certainly formulated and approved by the Zionist entity, and was handed over to their ally to read from the White House podium."

al-Saadoun's article is just one reaction of many to Trump's statement and to Israeli leaders' suggestion that Saudi Arabia should be home to Palestinians.

On Thursday, Benjamin Netanyahu said during an interview with Israel's Channel 14: "The Saudis can create a Palestinian state in Saudi Arabia; they have a lot of land over there."

 These statements seem to unite Arab regimes against any plans for the forced removal of Palestinians from their land.

Palestinian and Egyptian officials have condemned Netanyahu’s suggestion to establish a Palestinian state in Saudi Arabia, calling it an attack on the Kingdom’s sovereignty.

The Palestinian Foreign Ministry denounced the proposal as “racist and anti-peace,” labelling it a blatant violation of Saudi Arabia’s sovereignty and stability. Hussein Al-Sheikh, secretary-general of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO), said Netanyahu’s remarks disregarded international law and conventions, stressing, “The State of Palestine will only be on the land of Palestine.”

Egypt also slammed the comments as “irresponsible and unacceptable,” with its Foreign Ministry stating that Netanyahu’s remarks infringe on Saudi sovereignty and violate both international law and the UN Charter.

Saudi Arabia praises Arab governments for their support

The Saudi Foreign Ministry praised, on Sunday, the positions of Arab and Islamic countries in condemnation, disapproval and complete rejection of what the Prime Minister of the Israeli occupation government, Benjamin Netanyahu, stated regarding the displacement of the Palestinian people from their land.

In a statement, it considered that "these positions confirm the centrality of the Palestinian cause to Arab and Islamic countries," stressing its categorical rejection of Netanyahu's statements that "aimed at diverting attention from the successive crimes committed by the Israeli occupation against the Palestinian brothers in Gaza, including what they are exposed to in terms of ethnic cleansing."

It pointed out that this "extremist occupying mentality does not understand what the Palestinian land means to the brotherly Palestinian people and their emotional, historical and legal connection to this land, and does not consider that the Palestinian people deserve life in the first place."

The Foreign Ministry statement also stressed that "the brotherly Palestinian people have a right to their land, and are not intruders or immigrants who can be expelled whenever the brutal Israeli occupation wants."

It pointed out that these ideas are what prevent "peace," through "rejecting peaceful coexistence and rejecting peace initiatives, and practicing systematic injustice against the Palestinian people for more than 75 years, without caring about the right, justice, law, and values ​​​​established in the United Nations Charter, including the right of man to live in dignity on his land."

The Saudi Foreign Ministry concluded its statement by emphasizing the right of the Palestinian people "which will remain steadfast, and no one will be able to take it away from them no matter how long it takes, and that lasting peace will not be achieved except by returning to the logic of reason, and accepting the principle of peaceful coexistence through the two-state solution."

Saudi Arabi's Statement:

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia appreciates the condemnation, disapproval and total rejection announced by the brotherly countries towards what Benjamin Netanyahu stated regarding the displacement of the Palestinian people from their land and the Kingdom values the positions that emphasize the centrality of the Palestinian issue to the Arab and Muslim countries.

Israeli Minister responds to Saudi Arabia's push for two-state solution: There will be no Palestine

Israeli Minister responds to Saudi Arabia's push for two-state solution: There will be no Palestine

    Monday, November 11, 2024   No comments

As if to respond to Saudi-Sponsored Summit of supporters of the two-state solition, Israeli minister Smotrich says: I have issued instructions to prepare for extending sovereignty over the West Bank. 

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said he had given instructions to prepare for the extension of Israeli sovereignty over the West Bank, explaining that he hopes to implement this plan next year.

Aljazeera reported that Reuters quoted Smotrich, who belongs to the far-right Israeli party, as saying that the time had come in the new era of US President Donald Trump to impose Israeli sovereignty over the West Bank, and he expressed his hope that Trump would support this move.

The finance minister, an ally of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, added that 2025 will be the year of sovereignty over the West Bank.

Smotrich has extremist positions on the Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza, which has prompted European calls for sanctions against him and Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, in addition to repeated criticism from Washington, Tel Aviv’s ally.

Saudi Arabia seeking political cover from Muslim states before pushing for the implementation of the two state solution

The extraordinary Arab-Islamic summit kicked off today, Monday, in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, with the attendance of heads of state and leaders.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman stressed in his speech that this summit is "an extension of the previous summit, which discussed the aggression on Gaza and Lebanon," stressing his country's rejection of the Israeli aggression on Iranian territory.

Bin Salman condemned "the military operations targeting Lebanese territory," expressing his rejection of the violation of its sovereignty, and renewing his rejection of the genocide committed by the Israeli occupation in the Gaza Strip.

While the Saudi Crown Prince said that the Kingdom "denounces the aggression and supports the Palestinian people obtaining their full rights," he condemned the occupation's prevention of the UNRWA from providing its services in the occupied Palestinian territories, and its obstruction of the work of humanitarian organizations.

  

After a call between Pezeshkian and Bin Salman, the armies of the two countries discuss increasing military cooperation

After a call between Pezeshkian and Bin Salman, the armies of the two countries discuss increasing military cooperation

    Sunday, November 10, 2024   No comments

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said in a phone call with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman that Iran "wants to deepen and expand relations between the two countries in all areas."

Pezeshkian believed that the Riyadh summit scheduled to be held tomorrow, Monday, to discuss ways to reach a ceasefire in Gaza and Lebanon, will have "effective and tangible results in stopping the crimes of the Zionist entity and the war and bloodshed in Gaza and Lebanon."

For his part, bin Salman confirmed to Pezeshkian that Iranian-Saudi relations "are going through a historic turning point," expressing his hope "to raise bilateral relations to the highest levels and in all areas."

The Saudi Crown Prince added, "I will seize the opportunity of your first deputy being in Riyadh and hold talks with him."

In a related context to enhancing cooperation between the two countries, the Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces, Mohammad Bagheri, announced that "cooperation between the Iranian and Saudi armed forces can be increased given the commonalities and many capabilities between the two countries."

He added during his reception of the Chief of the Saudi General Staff, Fayyadh bin Hamed Al-Ruwaili, today, Sunday, in Tehran, that "Iran is interested in the participation of the Saudi Navy in Iranian exercises and naval maneuvers next year with the presence of floating units or as an observer."

For his part, Al-Ruwaili stressed "the improvement in the level of cooperation in various fields between the armed forces of the two countries," noting that "the Beijing Agreement is a good basis for increasing bilateral cooperation between the two countries and we consider this agreement a strategic opportunity."

The Chief of Staff of the Saudi Armed Forces arrived in Tehran on Sunday afternoon at the head of a high-level delegation, and the two sides are scheduled to discuss bilateral relations and defense relations.

It is noteworthy that Bagheri had held telephone talks with Saudi Defense Minister Khalid bin Salman in December 2023, which addressed regional developments and raising the level of defense cooperation between the Iranian and Saudi armed forces.

KSA FM: Normalization with KSA is off the table... What is happening in northern Gaza ... can only be described as a form of genocide

KSA FM: Normalization with KSA is off the table... What is happening in northern Gaza ... can only be described as a form of genocide

    Thursday, October 31, 2024   No comments

Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan said on Thursday that normalization between Saudi Arabia and "Israel" is not on the table until the "two-state solution" is achieved and a Palestinian state is established.

He stressed, during a dialogue session within the activities of the "Future Investment Initiative" in Riyadh, that "the issue of normalization is not the only one at stake now, but the situation in the entire region as well, if we do not find a solution and a clear path to establish a Palestinian state."

Bin Farhan hoped "that the Israeli leadership will see that this is the right and just thing to do, and it also serves Israel's security and strategic interests."

The Saudi Foreign Minister said that establishing a Palestinian state is linked to the principles of international law, not to recognition by "Israel."

He pointed out that the ceasefire negotiations in Gaza have repeatedly collapsed due to new demands from "Israel". He said that "the Israeli occupation is committing genocide in Gaza".

He added: "We are working to ensure that the Palestinians obtain their legitimate rights, and that Palestine is a member of the international community".

In a related context, he stressed that the Kingdom supports international efforts to stop the escalation in Lebanon.

He believed that Saudi-Iranian relations are moving in the right direction, but are complicated by regional conditions.

He touched on "Vision 2030", noting that Saudi Arabia aims through it to stabilize neighboring countries.

Saudi Arabia UAE--two allies no longer able to solve their problems on their own

Saudi Arabia UAE--two allies no longer able to solve their problems on their own

    Tuesday, April 16, 2024   No comments

Disagreements in secret come to light with the Saudi complaint to the United Nations due to a border dispute.. “Al Yasat” is showing that the two allies and regional economic powers no longer able to solve their problems on their own.

In a letter addressed to the United Nations, Saudi Arabia accused Abu Dhabi of encroaching on the Kingdom’s borders, through the UAE authorities issuing an Emiri decree in 2019, declaring Al Yasat a “marine protected area.”

The complaint indicated that Saudi Arabia does not recognize any measures or practices taken, or their consequences, by the UAE government in the area off the Saudi coast, the “Al Yasat area,” including the Kingdom’s territorial sea and the area of joint sovereignty on the two islands of Makasib.

The UAE demanded the completion of implementation of Article Five of the agreement demarcating the land and sea borders dated between the two countries in 1974.

Riyadh considered the memorandum official, and also called on the United Nations to circulate it to the members of the United Nations, according to established procedures.

This step, according to Gulf affairs experts, means that both Saudi Arabia and the Emirates are no longer able to solve their problems on their own, or within Gulf frameworks such as the Gulf Cooperation Council or Arab ones such as the Arab League, and that the dispute has reached the United Nations, the highest international body for conflict resolution. The issue of the “Al Yasat” region is not the only controversial issue between the two countries, as there is something bigger than it, according to what experts point out. The dispute over the “Shaybah” oil field is considered one of the most prominent headlines at the core of the border disputes, and the silent struggle between the two countries over influence in Yemen. Both Abu Dhabi and Riyadh were unable to hide it, or solve it through understandings, and it remained like fire under the ashes. The UAE’s support for the Transitional Council in Yemen, its efforts to divide it north and south, and its fight against the Islah Party, are all actions that worry Riyadh, and push it to thwart Emirati projects and stand up to them. Although the conflict has so far been in its silent and hidden context, most odds say that the clash is not coming. A dispute between groups affiliated with both parties in Yemen.

These are some of the forces that are reshaping a critical region in the world, Southwest Asia and North Africa, the center of gravity of human civilizations for thousands of years,