Hi All,
So my chat with Russian journalist and author Mikhail Zygar was as fascinating and as on point as I’d hoped given the quickening narrative around US/Russia/Ukraine relations. And a reminder, that in Trump foreign policy: all roads always lead to Jared Kushner.
I cannot believe that Mikhail’s scoop of yesterday has gone so under-reported: namely that it was Kushner and his Russian counterpart Kirill Dmetriev who put the talks in Riyadh together.
For those who missed my earlier post about who Mikhail is, and that backstory, here’s a refresher.
An overview of the topics discussed this afternoon and their timestamps:
0:00 - Trump’s recent post about Zelensky being a “dictator” and the notion that he started the war is clearly a repetition of what Putin has told him.
2:40 - Zelensky and Trump’s back story. Why their relationship has always been troubled ever since Zelensky rebuffed Trump’s attempt to get compromising intel on Hunter Biden.
5:00 - Zelensky and Trump’s tense meeting at Notre-Dame + Zelensky vs. Putin
7:55 - How firm is Zelensky’s grasp on the leadership of Ukraine? (50/50 in the polls on a normal day but likely now skyrocketed to 94 per cent after Trump’s bashing of Zelensky)
11:06 - The talks in Riyadh. Practical or problematic?
14:40 - Putin’s ultimate goal: he wants a Yalta 2.0 to include the US and China.
15:50 - Kirill Dmitriev, Russia’s Jared Kushner - how Jared Kushner, and Dmitriev wereresponsible for the Riyadh meeting. And for connecting Putin to Trump.
22:15 - Potential dark money in the Balkans?
23:07 - How will this play out between Putin and Trump? Who has the upper hand?
24:16 - Putin’s effective communication style: how he passed on soundbites to Trump
26:32 - Putin learning from Trump in terms of political philosophy
29:25 - What’s Zelensky’s play at this point?
Join me for my next live video in the app.
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