Latest news with #now-Russian
Russia Today
17-03-2025
- Politics
- Russia Today
Ukraine peace ‘never closer'
A peace deal to end the Ukraine conflict has 'never been closer,' the White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Monday ahead of phone talks between US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Speaking during a regular media briefing, Leavitt invoked an American football comparison, describing the potential peace deal as a goal nearly met. 'We are on the 10th yard line of peace, and we've never been closer to a peace deal than we are in this moment. And the president, as you know, is determined to get one done,' she said. Trump is expected to reveal the details of the phone call shortly after the negotiations, scheduled for Tuesday, either in person or through one of his spokespeople, Leavitt added. The phone call was first announced by Trump on Sunday in a conversation with reporters aboard Air Force One. The US president said the negotiations will likely focus on the territorial realities in Ukraine and Kiev's claims to now-Russian territories, as well as power plants endangered by the hostilities. Moscow confirmed the negotiations set to take place yet abstained from detailing any of the topics to be discussed by the two presidents. 'We never do that; we never jump the gun. Preparations for the conversation are ongoing, but as we see it, discussions between two heads of state should not be preemptively disclosed,' Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said earlier on Tuesday. Earlier, US special envoy Steve Witkoff said the upcoming phone talks will likely revolve around the US-proposed truce in Ukraine. The official was hosted by Putin in Moscow last week and presented the Russian president with the details on the potential 30-day ceasefire. Kiev agreed to the idea during talks with the US in Saudi Arabia early last week. While neither Moscow nor Washington disclosed the details of the latest meeting, Witkoff described it as positive. Putin said that he welcomed the truce idea in principle but stressed that multiple outstanding issues had to be ironed out before he could endorse it.
Russia Today
17-03-2025
- Politics
- Russia Today
Moscow confirms Putin-Trump phone call date
Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart Donald Trump are scheduled to have a phone conversation on Tuesday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has announced. Peskov confirmed an earlier announcement made by Trump, who told reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday that he plans to speak with Putin on Tuesday, to discuss the prospects of a peace agreement in the Ukraine conflict. Commenting on the details of the upcoming phone call, Trump suggested that it will focus on the territorial realities in Ukraine and Kiev's claims to now-Russian territories, as well as power plants endangered by the conflict. Peskov neither confirmed nor denied Trump's words. 'We never do that; we never jump the gun. Preparations for the conversation are ongoing, but as we see it, discussions between two heads of state should not be preemptively disclosed,' the spokesman said. DETAILS TO FOLLOW
Russia Today
06-03-2025
- Politics
- Russia Today
Macron should apologize
French President Emmanuel Macron should apologize for making 'misleading' claims about the origins of the Ukraine conflict, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has told RT. In particular, Zakharova criticized Macron for alleging that Russia was to blame for the failure of the Minsk Accords. The agreements were brokered in 2014 and 2015 to halt fighting between Ukraine and the now-Russian Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics, with France and Germany as guarantors. They were ultimately not implemented, and Moscow later accused Kiev and the West of using them to strengthen Ukraine's military instead of securing peace. In a televised address on Wednesday, Macron, however, blamed Russia of violating the accords and cited them as proof that the West 'can no longer take Russia at its word' when it comes to resolving the conflict. 'We cannot forget that Russia began its invasion of Ukraine in 2014 and that we negotiated a ceasefire in Minsk at that time. And Russia did not respect this ceasefire,' the French president alleged, claiming that Moscow poses a direct threat to France and the entire EU. Zakharova condemned Macron's comments as 'aggressive and destructive' and pointed out that former French President François Hollande and former German Chancellor Angela Merkel have 'openly confessed, and not under torture or pressure' back in 2022 they never intended to enforce the accords. 'Macron should invite his predecessor… Hollande, to the Élysée Palace to have a heart-to-heart talk with him… Then he'll probably hear from Hollande... that he had no intention of implementing the Minsk agreements while representing France,' Zakharova stated, suggesting that after speaking to Hollande, Macron would 'have to apologize to his own population for misleading them.' Macron has been a vocal advocate of strengthening Europe's defenses against Russia and reiterated this position in his latest address. Moscow, however, has repeatedly denied having any plans to attack either the EU or NATO, with President Vladimir Putin dismissing such speculation as 'nonsense' on multiple occasions.
Yahoo
23-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
The Daily Beast Publishes, Then Deletes Story Alleging Trump Was Recruited by Soviet Spies
The Daily Beast published – then swiftly deleted – a story this weekend with allegations that Donald Trump has been recruited as a KGB asset since 1987 and was given the codename 'Krasnov,' citing a social media post by a former Soviet intelligence officer. The story, by TDB freelancer Isabel Van Brugen, was posted sometime Friday and deleted on Saturday, according to the Internet Wayback Machine and a person with inside knowledge of the publication who confirmed its authenticity to TheWrap. The deleted story's only source was a Thursday post on Facebook by Alnur Mussayev, a former Kazakh intelligence chief. Mussayev writes that he served in the KGB's Moscow-based 6th Directorate in 1987, when the agency was emphasizing 'the recruitment of businessmen from capitalist countries … It was that year that our administration recruited a 40-year-old businessman from the United States, Donald Trump under the pseudonym 'Krasnov.'' Mussayev did not specify that Trump actively or knowingly participated in any espionage activities or provide examples, only that he was recruited and, in The Daily Beast's own since-spiked flourish, 'brought into the fold.' Trump has long denied the ongoing rumor of close ties with the KGB and now-Russian president Vladimir Putin. The Daily Beast story did not cite any additional sources or reporting, though it said it had reached out to the White House and Russia's foreign ministry for comment. Representatives for The Daily Beast did not immediately respond to requests for comment Saturday. TDB did nod to a lack of material evidence in a closing paragraph that states: 'Mussayev's allegations, while unfounded, add to ongoing speculation about Trump's connections to Russia. Trump's first visit to Moscow as a real estate developer in 1987 drew intense scrutiny and speculation that the trip was arranged by the KGB for dubious reasons.' The post The Daily Beast Publishes, Then Deletes Story Alleging Trump Was Recruited by Soviet Spies appeared first on TheWrap.
Yahoo
31-01-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Gabbard battles senators over Snowden, Syria in fiery hearing: 5 takeaways
Tulsi Gabbard, President Trump's pick to be the next director of national intelligence, endured a difficult hearing before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Thursday as lawmakers pressed her on her views on Edward Snowden, spying, Syria and Russia. The former congresswoman and Army lieutenant colonel has been considered among the toughest lifts of Trump's nominees, and based on the public portion of Thursday's hearing, Gabbard remains in a tough spot. She likely needs to win a majority of the 17 committee votes — which could be difficult in its own right — to reach a floor vote. Her two and a half hour public meeting with lawmakers came before a second hearing behind closed doors where she and lawmakers were able to discuss sensitive topics. Here are five takeaways from her hearing. Over and over, members of the panel from both sides of the aisle asked Gabbard about Snowden. And over and over, she came back with a repeated, stock answer that did not appear sufficient for them. Senators had indicated for weeks that they were concerned about Gabbard's past remarks regarding the disgraced National Security Agency contractor who leaked myriad classified documents. Gabbard co-authored legislation supporting a pardon for him and supported a bill that would have given increased whistleblower protections for individuals accused of violating the Espionage Act — both of which were anathema to members on the Intelligence panel. While Snowden came up several times during the first hour, it wasn't until the second half of the hearing that the issue exploded, as Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.) asked her twice if Snowden was a traitor. She demurred both times. 'My heart is with my commitment to our Constitution and our nation's security,' Gabbard said, laying out four actions she would take to prevent another future Snowden-like leak. 'Senator, I'm focused on the future and how we can prevent something like this from happening again,' she said after Lankford asked a second time. Those answers prompted Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) to ask the question three additional times before letting loose on Gabbard for her inability to give a 'yes' or 'no' answer. 'This is when the rubber hits the road. This is not a moment for social media. This is not a moment to propagate conspiracy theories or attacks on journalism in the United States,' Bennet said. 'This is when you need to answer the questions of the people whose votes you are asking for to be confirmed as the chief intelligence officer of this nation.' In total, more than a half-dozen members asked her about the now-Russian citizen, with Gabbard repeatedly responding that Snowden 'broke the law' and that she disagreed with how he released the information. Her inability to answer whether Snowden was a traitor baffled even some of her supporters. 'I felt that was a pretty easy question, actually, to be able to come through and just say, 'This is universally accepted when you steal a million pages of top-secret documents and you hand them to the Russians, that's a traitorous act,'' Lankford told reporters after the open session. 'That did catch me off guard.' 'I was surprised, yeah. Because that doesn't seem like a hard question on that,' he continued. 'It wasn't intended to be a trick question by any means.' Atop Gabbard's to-do list on Thursday was winning over a pair of Senate Republicans who are believed to be on the fence about her nomination: Sens. Susan Collins (Maine) and Todd Young (Ind.). She cannot afford to lose even a single GOP vote on the committee. Young, a former Marine intelligence officer, pressed Gabbard hard about Snowden, seemingly unimpressed with her answers. He asked about a House Intelligence Committee report that found Snowden 'caused tremendous damage' including 'to military, defense and intelligence programs of great interest to America's adversaries.' Gabbard reiterated her oft-used line that Snowden 'broke the law' and that she would push to avoid a repeat instance in the future. The answer did not appear sufficient for Young. 'It's notable you didn't say, 'Yes, he clearly hurt, in various ways, our national security,'' Young responded. Young went on to ask about how she thinks rank-and-file members of the intelligence community will receive her given her past comments about Snowden and whether he 'betrayed the trust of the American people' — adding that marks the definition of a 'traitor.' Gabbard once again said Snowden broke the law and repeated similar lines she peppered members with on Snowden-related questions. Young finally retorted that Snowden was watching the hearing and declared it would do her a world of good 'if you would at least acknowledge that the greatest whistleblower … harmed national security by breaking the laws of the land around our intel authority.' Young is far from a carbon copy of most Trump-supporting senators who have come into office in recent years. He was one of the few who never endorsed Trump during his 2024 campaign and is a prominent defense hawk. One GOP source went so far as to say that Young was 'a problem' for Gabbard heading into the hearing. Collins, meanwhile, did not create many waves during her questioning as part of the open session, asking whether Gabbard has met with any Hezbollah leaders or members and other queries pertaining to the terror threats facing the U.S. and her proposal to protect whistleblowers from prosecution if they reveal classified information. Though Collins didn't ask about Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act on Thursday, the intelligence tool appears to be at the center of her apprehension about Gabbard. And it came up repeatedly throughout the hearing as Gabbard tried to convince panel members that she no longer was against what they roundly believe to be a critical tool to gather intelligence on foreign soil. Gabbard was an avid opponent of Section 702 — which allows for the warrantless surveillance of foreign targets — throughout her time in the House. She proposed legislation in 2020 to repeal the program and voted numerous times against reauthorizing it. This raised red flags for numerous members of the committee, prompting Gabbard to flip her position since being nominated. '[Section 702] provides a unique security tool and capability that is essential for our national security. There are a number of areas we would be blind from a national security perspective without this capability,' Gabbard said, adding that the tool 'must exist next to having safeguards' to back the civil liberties of Americans. However, her current stance has not been up to muster for some who will decide her fate. Collins told The Hill last week that she did not believe Gabbard actually changed her stance on this issue given the nominee's answers to written questions that were 'hedged' frequently. Gabbard, since she was nominated, has found herself on the back foot over her 2017 visit to Syria for a secret meeting with then-President Bashar Assad, and on Thursday she attempted to defend the visit to lawmakers. When asked by Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) whether the trip exhibited 'good judgment,' she said that it had. 'Yes, senator. And I believe that leaders, whether you be in Congress or the president of the United States, can benefit greatly by going and engaging,' she said. 'Boots on the ground, learning and listening and meeting directly with people, whether they be adversaries or friends.' Gabbard said she asked Assad 'tough questions' about his regime's actions, including the use of chemical weapons on Syrians. She added that she met with then-Democratic leaders Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) about the trip without any intelligence community or State Department officials present. She also admitted that the meeting did not produce any concessions from Assad. Assad was deposed as Syrian leader in December and was granted asylum in Russia. Gabbard tried to quell concerns about her stance on Russia and the ongoing war in Ukraine, brushing off accusations that she is a 'puppet' of Russian President Vladimir Putin. In the most surprising and jarring moment related to Russia, Gabbard told Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) that she was 'offended' by him asking if Russia would receive 'a pass' in 'either your mind or your heart' when making a policy recommendation. 'I am offended by the question because my sole focus, commitment and responsibility is about our own nation, our own security, and the interest of the American people,' Gabbard said. 'In carrying out the responsibilities of the director of national intelligence, if confirmed, no country, group or individual will get a pass.' Gabbard was known for echoing Putin's talking points on the Ukraine war to the point where Russian state television promoted her comments. At one point, Gabbard claimed that the Biden administration and NATO were partially responsible for the war, having argued that they should have 'simply acknowledged Russia's legitimate security concerns.' On Thursday, Heinrich followed up by asking who was responsible for the war. 'Putin started the war in Ukraine,' she responded. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
