Free Republic

WASHINGTON — As U.S. and Ukrainian officials prepare to meet in Saudi Arabia this week, President Donald Trump has privately made clear to aides that a signed minerals deal between Washington and Kyiv won’t be enough to restart aid and intelligence sharing with the war-torn country, according an administration official and another U.S. official. Trump wants the deal, which would give the United States a stake in Ukraine’s mineral resources, signed. But he also wants to see a change in Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s attitude toward peace talks, the officials said, including a willingness to make concessions such as giving...

U.S. and Russian officials have reportedly agreed on a framework that could see the end of the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, but at a potentially steep price for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. According to U.S. State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce, the meeting culminated in an agreement to form “high-level teams,” led by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, to draft a peace agreement, as reported earlier by The Gateway Pundit. The U.S. delegation also includes National Security Advisor Mike Waltz and Special Envoy Ambassador Steve Witkoff. According to Sergey Lagodinsky, a German lawyer and...

Emboldened by the European outcry against the new peace negotiations between the US and Russia, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky turns his back on the US leader Donald J. Trump, insists that he will not recognize any US-Russia peace deal that he is not involved in, and is expecting European partners to step up in today’s conference and hand him a lifeline to continue the war. At this point, he can justly be accused of wanting to burn his country to rule over the ashes. Zelensky needs war and needs ‘martial law’ to avoid elections. With polls favoring General Valery Zaluzhny,...

America cannot be relied upon to guarantee the security of Europe from Russia because it has to focus on its own borders and the threat of China, President Trump’s defence secretary told Nato leaders on Wednesday. In remarks that experts said would “rock” Nato, Pete Hegseth used his first speech on the world stage to rule out using US troops to uphold a peace deal in Ukraine. Speaking at Nato headquarters in Brussels, Hegseth said the US would block any Nato involvement in the conflict or resolution. Pressure will instead fall on Britain and France to lead any peacekeeping force,...

While many of us were celebrating Christmas, Egypt popped up with an interesting new wrinkle in the Israeli-Hamas war. After having largely tried to keep themselves out of the toxic stew brewing in Gaza, the Egyptians came forth with what many described as a bold, overarching peace proposal. They suggested a complete cessation of military action by Israel in Gaza. In exchange, Hamas would agree to step aside from governmental control and allow the election of a new Palestinian parliament. Hostages and prisoners would be exchanged and the rebuilding of Gazan infrastructure and the flow of humanitarian aid could resume....

Foreign Minister Eli Cohen told Kan News Friday that he believes “at least” half a dozen Muslim countries will follow Saudi Arabia’s lead, should Riyadh and Jerusalem normalize ties. Cohen was interviewed at the United Nations after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke of how a “new Middle East” is being created as more Arab countries establish diplomatic relations with Israel. Cohen noted that during his General Assembly address, Netanyahu had said that “a peace deal between Israel and Saudi Arabia also means peace between the Jewish people and the greater Muslim world.” “There are another six or seven countries that...

MIAMI - The Biden administration’s plan to remove a Colombian rebel group from a list of foreign terrorist organizations barely caused a ripple outside Washington when the news broke this week. But in Florida, home to an estimated 150,000 Colombian American voters, it’s a different story. Biden’s policy is reverberating loudly among Democrats, leading some of the state’s top elected officials, strategists and activists to rail against the decision. “This is terrible. It’s bad policy. It’s bad politics,” said Florida state Sen. Annette Taddeo, a Democratic gubernatorial candidate who’s Colombian American. Calling the news “outrageous,” Taddeo criticized the Biden administration...

Tesla head Elon Musk created a furor among many on the left and some of those supportive of Ukraine when he posted a poll with a proposed peace deal between Ukraine and Russia in it.Ukraine-Russia Peace:– Redo elections of annexed regions under UN supervision. Russia leaves if that is will of the people.– Crimea formally part of Russia, as it has been since 1783 (until Khrushchev’s mistake).– Water supply to Crimea assured.– Ukraine remains neutral.— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 3, 2022Musk said he thought that this was likely to be the outcome in the end but that it was “just...

There's mounting evidence that the war in Ukraine could have been over by this point, but key Western backers of Kiev sought to sabotage the potential for peaceful settlement through negotiations. That's precisely what regional Ukrainian media reports concluded as early as May, soon after the UK's Boris Johnson showed up in the capital on a "surprise" visit to meet with President Volodymyr Zelensky for the first time the month priorThis is what a bombshell story in Ukrainska Pravda said at the time, but which was almost completely ignored in Western mainstream media: According Ukrainska Pravda sources close to Zelenskyy,...

In an interview with Reuters, Dmitry Peskov, Russian President Vladimir Putin's spokesman for decades, made a startling offer. Moscow could end the Ukraine war immediately, said Peskov, if four conditions were met.Ukraine should cease all military action, recognize Crimea as part of Russia, accept the independence of the Luhansk and Donetsk separatist enclaves, and enact a constitutional commitment to "neutrality," which would prevent Ukraine from ever joining NATO.Were this to be done, said Peskov, the war "will stop in a moment."As this would restore the situation in Ukraine to the "status quo ante" that existed before Putin ordered the invasion,...

Anonymous alleged “U.S. and congressional officials” told the Wall Street Journal this week President Joe Biden is planning to remove the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), a nearly 60-year-old terrorist organization responsible for hundreds of thousands of deaths, from America’s list of designated foreign terrorist groups. The FARC, a communist group, has been responsible for a wide variety of human rights atrocities in Colombia since its founding in 1964 that include mass killings, kidnappings, child rape, forced abortions, the use of child soldiers, and one of the world’s most lucrative drug trafficking operations. The government of then-President Juan Manuel...

At gala opening of Peace through Strength Center, former ambassador says Arab-Israeli conflict on cusp of ending; Pompeo swipes Biden over Afghanistan withdrawal Speaking at the gala opening of The Friedman Center for Peace through Strength at the Museum of Tolerance in Jerusalem on Monday night, former US ambassador David Friedman said that his fledgling organization will work to bring Muslims to Jerusalem, so that they see for themselves the way Israel protects holy sites, including the Al Aqsa Mosque. Muslim tourism to Israel was a central pillar of the Donald Trump administration’s approach to Middle East peace, Friedman added....

In what could be a landmark in the Middle East’s history, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu flew to Saudi Arabia on Sunday to meet the country’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Israeli media reported. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, currently on a tour of the region, was also reportedly present at the meeting in Neom, Saudi Arabia. Netanyahu was accompanied by the head of Israeli intelligence agency Mossad, Yossi Cohen, who is widely regarded to have played a key role in preparing the groundwork for the recent normalization of diplomatic relations between Israel and the Arab Gulf states, news...

President Donald Trump has laid the groundwork for yet another historic Middle East deal with Israel, a monumental deal that would cement his reputation as the president who brought peace and realignment to the notoriously unstable region. It seems that Saudi Arabia, the largest, richest, and most symbolically important Arab country in the Middle East, is on the verge of recognizing the Jewish State of Israel. Yet, according to the Jerusalem Post, the head of Israel’s intelligence agency Mossad has said that Saudi Arabia is waiting until the U.S. presidential election to normalize relations with Israel. Mossad Director Yossi Cohen...

Israel's minister of regional cooperation said Wednesday that he expects normalize relations with another Arab state before the U.S. elections. Reuters reported that Ofir Akunis, who is also a member of Israel's parliament, the Knesset, told Army Radio that the announcement would come before Nov. 3. "I have a reasonable basis to believe that the announcement will come before November 3 - that, if you'll permit me, is what I understand from my sources," he said, according to the news service. "I will be very happy if the announcement will happen - and before the elections in the United States,"...

When he dedicated the Temple he built on Mount Moriah, King Solomon prayed that God’s house would be a center of prayer for all the peoples of the world. Now, in the wake of the recent Abraham Accords – the normalization agreement entered into by Israel, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain – the possibility exists that Solomon’s aspiration could be recreated. Part of the avowed rationale for the accords was to create enhanced access for all Muslims to worship at al-Aqsa Mosque. This was lofty, with humanitarian intent, and a realpolitik gesture designed to discredit both the reflex accusation...

Several people have asked for my opinion on Israel’s recent peace treaties with the UAE and Bahrain, so this is my effort to put it into writing. At the Sept. 15, 2020, signing ceremony, Israel’s Prime Min. Netanyahu said, “This peace will eventually expand to include other Arab states, and ultimately, it can end the Arab-Israel conflict once and for all.” These treaties have been called historic, a profound geopolitical shift, stunning, a fundamental reordering of the Middle East, etc. These treaties are not the 7-year covenant with many that will be confirmed by the Antichrist (Dan. 9:27) and triggers...

One of the prime points of Bible prophecy, at least from the pre-Trib view, is that America isn’t mentioned in it by name or even in cursory reference. (That’s unless, of course, one sees the reference to the “young lions” in Ezekiel 38:13 as meaning the United States as offspring of “the Merchants of Tarshish,” referring to England.) This is made even more intriguing when we consider all that we believe is going on in setting the stage for the soon fulfillment of prophecy. We believe most, if not all, of Paul’s “perilous times” (2 Timothy 3) forewarning is now...

Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week; But in the middle of the week He shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate, Even until the consummation, which is determined, Is poured out on the desolate. Daniel 9:27 In 1993, a newly elected President Clinton hosted the Oslo Peace Accords in the White House Rose Garden. This was hailed to be the end of a six-year violent Palestinian uprising known as the First Intifada. However, seven years later, the Oslo Peace Accords were in...

One, the “Treaty of Peace” between Israel and the UAE is scheduled to be signed at the White House on Sept. 15, 2020. This is not the “covenant with many” that will begin the Tribulation Period (Dan. 9:27), but it is not hard to find good Bible prophecy teachers that believe it will trigger progress toward that end. This historic “Treaty of Peace” has happened much faster than many people thought, and the “covenant with many” could happen much faster than many people think, especially because the Rapture will have taken place and the world will be in more turmoil...