Free Republic

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Wednesday spoke to his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin by phone and asked him to attend this week's talks with Ukraine in Istanbul, Lula's office said in a statement. Lula "emphasized Brazil's commitment to peace and once again made himself available to collaborate in whatever way necessary in the search for understanding between Russia and Ukraine," the statement said.

U.S. and European diplomats went on a flurry of calls in the hours after U.S. President Donald Trump offered on Monday to join prospective Ukraine-Russia talks later this week, trying to find a path that would bring an end to the war in Ukraine. Trump's surprise offer to join the talks on Thursday in Istanbul came a day after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, in a fresh twist to the stop-start peace talks process, said he would travel Turkey and wait to meet President Vladimir Putin there. -snip- Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov held talks late on Monday with his Turkish...

Volodymyr Zelensky has confirmed he will personally attend landmark peace talks on Thursday with Russia in a direct ultimatum to Vladimir Putin. Writing on social media on Sunday afternoon, Ukraine's President said he "will be waiting" in Istanbul for his Russian counterpart to sit down and negotiate.

President Donald Trump suggested imminent progress in peace talks between Russia and Ukraine in a post to Truth Social early on Sunday, saying he would "continue to work with both sides" to end Moscow's 3-year-old invasion of its neighbor. "A potentially great day for Russia and Ukraine!," Trump wrote. "Think of the hundreds of thousands of lives that will be saved as this never ending 'bloodbath' hopefully comes to an end. It will be a whole new, and much better, WORLD." "I will continue to work with both sides to make sure that it happens." Trump continued. "The USA wants...

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Sunday welcomed Russia’s offer for direct peace talks, but insisted there must be a full, temporary ceasefire in place before negotiations can start. Zelenskyy, writing on X, called Russian President Vladimir Putin’s counter-offer to start talks without a ceasefire a “positive sign,” and said that “the entire world has been waiting for this for a very long time.”

Türkiye is ready to host negotiations for a cease-fire and permanent peace between Russia and Ukraine, President Tayyip Erdoğan said Sunday. Erdoğan held a key phone call wıth Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin amid Moscow's overtures for cease-fire negotiations with Ukraine. His comments came during a phone call with French counterpart Emmanuel Macron, the presidential office confirmed. Erdoğan told Macron that a "historic turning point" has been reached in efforts to end the Russia-Ukraine war. "A historic turning point has been reached in efforts to end the war between Ukraine and Russia, that this opportunity must be seized, and that Türkiye...

Prodded by the Euro-Globalists like UK’s Keir Starmer and France’s Emmanuel Macron, and cheered by the world’s USAID-media, Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky keeps undercutting the peace process with his grandstanding, making all kinds of demands that he will never get. Besides torpedoing today’s negotiations, the Kiev leader may have provoked the US Donald J. Trump’s administration one too many times, risking an American withdrawal from negotiations that would guarantee a much faster collapse of his combat capabilities on his losing war. Trump took to Truth Social to blast Zelensky’s behavior after another rug-pull from him.

Volodymyr Zelensky has sacked his wartime minister of defence and replaced him with a trusted political ally who took part in failed peace talks last year with Russia.The dismissal of Oleksii Reznikov, who has headed Ukraine’s defence ministry since Russia invaded in February 2022, needs to be approved by the Ukrainian parliament.“I believe that the Ministry needs new approaches and other formats of interaction with both the military and society at large,” Mr Zelensky said.The 57-year-old Mr Reznikov became one of the most high-profile Ukrainians of the war, representing Ukraine at Nato meetings and dozens of bilateral talks to secure...

Benny Johnson @bennyjohnson TRUMP: "Zelensky, by the way, I see he's trying to back out of the rare earth deal — and if he does that, he's got some problems." From Rapid Response 47 8:18 PM · Mar 30, 2025

NBC: "Just hours ago, President Trump called me to tell me he is 'pissed off' with Russia's President Putin and threatened to impose secondary tariffs on Russia's oil."

Peace talks between U.S. and Russian delegations aimed at ending the war in Ukraine are underway Monday in Saudi Arabia, according to media reports. The discussions come after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said a delegation from his country had "quite useful" meeting with an American team in Riyadh on Sunday. "Our team is working in a fully constructive manner, and the discussion is quite useful. The work of delegations continues. But no matter what we’re discussing with our partners right now, Putin must be pushed to issue a real order to stop the strikes – because the one who brought...

Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin have very different negotiating styles. Trump lines up his offer in advance, browbeating everyone on his side into compliance before slapping his bottom line on the table. Putin, by contrast, is a haggler. He loads his proposals with excess demands that he intends to discard during the negotiation process to get to a final deal. Put simply, what Putin says he wants and what he realistically expects to get are two different things. At first glance, Russia’s initial response to US proposals for a 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine includes several major deal-breakers that Ukraine could...

Democrat Senator Mark Kelly of Arizona visited Ukraine this weekend, trying to undermine President Donald Trump’s efforts to end the devastating war launched by Russia in 2022 during Joe Biden’s presidency. Kelly’s trip comes just days before Secretary of State Marco Rubio is set to meet with Ukrainian officials on Tuesday in Saudi Arabia. (Update: Conflicting reports on whether Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who is in Saudi Arabia on Monday, will stay for the meetings. National Security Advisor Michael Waltz and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff will also be in Saudi Arabia meetings.) Amazingly, in a statement on his visit to...

I would like to reiterate Ukraine’s commitment to peace. None of us wants an endless war. Ukraine is ready to come to the negotiating table as soon as possible to bring lasting peace closer. Nobody wants peace more than Ukrainians. My team and I stand ready to work under President Trump’s strong leadership to get a peace that lasts. We are ready to work fast to end the war, and the first stages could be the release of prisoners and truce in the sky — ban on missiles, long-ranged drones, bombs on energy and other civilian infrastructure — and truce...

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent revealed in an exclusive interview with Laura Ingraham on The Ingraham Angle that this is the third time Zelensky has refused to sign a mineral agreement, leaving U.S. officials stunned. Bessent, who has been instrumental in facilitating economic partnerships between the U.S. and Ukraine under President Trump’s administration, detailed how Zelensky’s erratic behavior has put critical negotiations in jeopardy. The agreement, which would have secured billions in U.S. aid in exchange for access to Ukraine’s rare earth minerals, was expected to cement a stronger economic and strategic alliance between the two nations. “This has to be...

Democrat Senator Chris Murphy (CT) and presumably others encouraged Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to reject the prospect of a peace deal without so-called "security guarantees" (a euphemism for American military commitments) just before the now-infamous Oval Office blow-out. As RedState reported, a 40-minute presser between Zelensky and President Donald Trump turned sour after the former, who had been antagonistic and dismissive of U.S. concerns throughout the meeting, interjected to interrogate JD Vance for the cameras. The vice president had mentioned working toward diplomacy, which didn't sit well with the Ukrainian president, and in a move that struck the administration as...

U.S. Vice President JD Vance put down President Volodymyr Zelensky after he dismissed the effectiveness of American diplomacy, forcefully telling the Ukrainian he was acting without respect. Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived at the White House on Friday for talks with President Donald Trump and, it is thought, to sign the much-discussed minerals deal. As is customary, Trump and his senior colleagues sat down with Zelensky in the oval office with press cameras present for a brief discussion before the real talks would begin in private, but a beligerent attitude from Zelensky derailed proceedings before they even began. Responding to...

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will give a live interview with Fox News anchor Bret Baier just hours after his disastrous meeting in the Oval Office Friday with President Donald Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance over ending Russia’s war on Ukraine. The interview is scheduled to air at 6 p.m. EST on the Fox News Channel. Trump ordered Zelensky out of the White House, canceling a lunch and press conference that was meant to mark the signing of a mineral deal between the U.S. and Ukraine, after Zelensky argued with Trump and Vance for several minutes over the war and...

When RSBN reporter Brian Glen asked Ukraine President Zelensky why he wouldn’t wear a suit to meet with President Trump, Zelensky appeared to scoff at him. Zelensky, appeared to be mocking the American reporter when asked,”Why don’t you wear a suit?” Glen continued, “Why don’t you wear a suit? You’re the highest level in this country’s office and you refuse to wear a suit. Do you own a suit?” Zelensky asked, “You have a problem?” The RSBN reporter responded, “A lot of Americans have problems with you not respecting this office. Zelensky arrogantly responded, “I will wear a costume when...

Jack Poso 🇺🇸 @JackPosobiec BREAKING: HERE IS THE FULL EXCHANGE BETWEEN TRUMP, ZELENSKY, AND JD VANCE 12:32 PM · Feb 28, 2025