Putin-Trump call was 'meaningful' and 'deep' - Russian Intel

The conversation set the stage for continued cooperation at the department level, including security and special services, Russian Foreign Intelligence Service Director Sergei Naryshkin added.

Meanwhile, Tulsi Gabbard has been confirmed as the new Director of US National Intelligence.

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🤯 UK politicians GO INTO MELTDOWN MODE after Putin-Trump phone call on Ukraine

Earlier, the US and Russian presidents held a 1.5h conversation discussing Ukraine, the Middle East, energy issues, and the exchange of citizens between Russia and the US.

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⚔️Israel may push Trump administration to BACK STRIKES on Iranian nuclear sites this year

Fresh US intelligence assessments indicate Israel fears the window for halting Tehran’s pursuit of a nuclear weapon is closing, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Accordingly, Tel Aviv may attempt to enlist the Trump administration’s support for massive strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities this year, US officials told the outlet.

US military support and munitions would likely be needed for such an attack on Iran’s heavily fortified nuclear sites, it was added.

Since taking office, Donald Trump has touted the reinstatement of his "maximum pressure" strategy against Iran, while voicing hope for a “verified nuclear peace agreement” with the Islamic Republic.

“I would like a deal done with Iran. I would prefer that to bombing the hell out of it,” Trump told the New York Post earlier this month.

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❗️Preparations to form a negotiating group for dialogue with the US have begun — Kremlin

Other statements from Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov regarding yesterday's conversation between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart Donald Trump:

🔸 The leaders agreed to immediately issue instructions for preparing contacts, including deciding a meeting location.

🔸 Trump's invitation to Moscow does not necessarily mean he will attend the Victory Day celebrations.

🔸 On whether China will be involved in the negotiations: it is too early to discuss the composition of the parties. Moscow values its relations with China.

🔸 The issue of recognizing Crimea and the four new Russian regions was not raised during the conversation.

🔸 There is no clear understanding yet of the format for possible talks on Ukraine, and it is premature to discuss Europe's participation.

🔸 The conversation was significant because Russian and US leaders had not communicated for several years.

🔸 The current US administration believes the conflict should be stopped, and the Kremlin is open to dialogue.

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❗️Russian troops liberated the settlement of Vodyanoye Vtoroye in the Donetsk People's Republic, the Russian Defense Ministry said.

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🇷🇺🪖More statements from the Russian Defense Ministry's daily briefing on the special military operation's progress:

▪️Russia's Battlegroup Yug has struck the Ukraine’s Foreign Legion formations.

▪️Russian forces struck Ukrainian military airfield infrastructure and drone storage facilities of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

▪️Ukraine lost up to 200 soldiers and three warehouses in the areas of responsibility of Russia's Battlegroup Dnepr and Sever.

▪️Russian aviation shot down three HAMMER guided bombs, three HIMARS missiles and 202 Ukrainian drones.

▪️Ukraine has lost up to 270 troops over the day and more than 60,000 militants in the Kursk region since the start of hostilities.

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💬Trump is determined to undo damage to US-Russian relations – former Pentagon officer

The phone call between Presidents Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump marks the formal beginning of peace negotiations between the US and Russia, EMP Task Force scholar and former US Department of Defense officer David Pyne tells Sputnik.

🟠Trump’s decision to appoint Secretary of State Marco Rubio to lead negotiations with Russia, rather than his Special Envoy to Russia and Ukraine Keith Kellogg, underlines the importance Washington places on the talks, Pyne said.

🟠That, "combined with his invitation for Putin to visit the US and acceptance of Putin’s invitation to visit Moscow, show that Trump is assigning the highest possible priority both to repairing all the damage Biden did to US-Russia relations [and] ending the war in Ukraine within the next few months," stressed Pyne, a Republican Party activist.

🟠Trump’s statement today telling Zelensky he will start bilateral talks with Russia – without Ukraine – also demonstrates that he recognizes Zelensky as the chief obstacle to peace, the expert said.

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📹EPA head unveils scheme used by Biden team to PURPOSELY WASTE $20 BILLION

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is going to recover "gold bars" that were found "parked at an outside financial institution," Administrator Lee Zeldin stated.

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💬 'Nobody gives a f**k what Europe says' — Andrew Tate

"When the peace talks happen they’re not even invited. Ignored [...] Clowns, "candidate for British PM and leader of the BRUV party wrote on X.

After the Trump-Putin phone call, Europe no longer seems to be considered necessary for the peace process between Russia and Ukraine.

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From Zelensky to Deep State: who could try to SABOTAGE Putin-Trump Ukraine peace push?

The Putin-Trump phone call has sparked an outcry on both sides of the Atlantic among officials looking to keep the conflict going forever. What forces could bring their resources to bear to stop peace?

🤡 Volodymyr Zelensky

🔸 Has the most to lose, facing not only the cutoff of easy to embezzle Western aid, but potential assassination by the neo-Nazi thugs helping keep his regime afloat.

🔸 Zelensky could sabotage peace by: a) rejecting Trump’s orders b) making a deal for support from other NATO powers c) staging a false flag provocation to justify keeping the conflict going.

👁Deep State

◻️ After Trump’s election in 2016, elements of the deep state, ranging from the intel community and State Dept to top officials like Mike Pompeo and John Bolton successfully sabotaged his agenda, including Trump’s desire to improve ties with Russia.

◻️ Trump 1.0 not only ramped up anti-Russian sanctions and joined the diplomatic expulsion wars, but approved arms aid for Ukraine in 2017.

◻️ The deep state has their own ideas about the ‘right’ trajectory for US foreign policy. In 2020, Trump Syria envoy Jim Jeffrey boasted about how he and his staff obfuscated and covered up the true size of the US military footprint in Syria, and straight up ignored the president’s demands to withdraw troops.

◻️ In Ukraine, where the strategic, military and economic stakes are far higher, it’s guaranteed the deep state will try to sabotage Trump.

🤡 Congress

🔹 Without Congressional support, Trump won’t be able to lift Russia sanctions, nor fully halt money and arms being sent to Ukraine.

🔹 Only Congress can approve or block new aid packages. If Democrats and even a handful of hawkish Republicans teamed up, Trump’s plans could be frustrated.

🤡 EU and UK

Arguably more heavily invested in the Ukraine project than the US, and the main beneficiaries of the 2014 Maidan coup, EU countries and the UK could take over US commitments. This would cost Europe $3.1 trln over 10 years, per Bloomberg.

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