Great to chat with Lev after so long.
Watch, particularly around the 19.40 minute mark and you will see that, in all seriousness, he is fielding calls from Republicans and Ukrainians who say it would be smart for him to get back on Trump’s radar and for Trump to send him to conduct shadow diplomacy in Ukraine! Again! Despite his history with Trump, he’d like to do it and believes it would be beneficial.
Why?
A. Unlike the people currently around Trump he knows the players in Ukraine and he understands their culture and the language.
B. He believes there is a valuable minerals deal to be done, but not the one that is on the table right now which, Lev believes, is not beneficial to either the US or Ukraine, but beneficial to Russia (thanks to the input of Kirill Dmitriev and Jared Kushner, he says). The way to get at a truly beneficial deal is through the Ukrainian oligarchs, he believes.
C. All sides cannot save face in front of the cameras. In the shadows, he can.
D. He’d be happy to go all in for Trump, again.
(That’s Lev, for you!)
An overview of the topics discussed this morning and their timestamps:
0:08 - Trump pausing military aid to Ukraine. “Here we go again”.
0:38 - In 2019 Trump relied on a shadow diplomacy via Lev and Rudy Giuliani to get what he wanted with threats… now Trump is doing exactly the same thing - but in the open.
1:35 - Ukraine feels a little more secure this time because Europe has been pushed into its corner.
3.00 - Stakes are obviously higher now, than in 2019 and Zelensky is willing to do a deal but the people surrounding Trump don’t really understand Ukraine and Russia
4:30 - What does it mean to “Talk Ukrainian”…? How would Lev handle Zelensky?…We get to the shadow diplomacy…put Oligarchs from Russia and Ukraine in the middle to structure a proper mineral deal
5:27 - The current deal being structured is, in fact, a “trap” for the US - it was structured by Jared Kushner and Kirill Dmitriev.
7:35 - Why a ceasefire would not be a win for the Ukrainians
8.26 - Lev’s sources say the current deal has too much Russian influence in it.
9.30 - Background on Kirill Dmitriev and Jared Kushner and their meeting in Saudi Arabia leading to the Riyadh negotiations.
11:29 - “How is Rubio not just resigning?”
13.27- This Trump is very different from the one of 2019. This Trump would never have let Lev go to jail. This Trump isn’t trying to “fit in” to the Republican world. That Trump couldn’t get anyone to do anything he wanted; this one can.
16:00 - Putin is pleased by Friday’s turn of events but he’s also got real problems.
18:00 - Ukraine now has solid allies in Europe and Canada - but can Ukraine sustain another year? Ukraine also has problems…
19:40 - Should Lev get back in the mix? Should he become Trump’s shadow special envoy to Ukraine?
21:03 - Would Zelensky be OK with shadow diplomacy conducted by his oligarchs?
23:23 - The best thing Trump has been doing…speaking to Putin
25:07 - How secure is Zelensky’s position in Ukraine?
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And I will see you later at 5pm for a gear-switch: another live video chat interview, this time, with Roger Stone!
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