As expected the meeting between the US and Moscow went no where.
When asked if peace was closer or further away after the meeting, Ushakov replied, “Not further, that’s for sure,” adding that “there’s still a lot of work to be done, both in Washington and in Moscow,” the Associated Press reported.
Nothing has changed.
I've serious doubts these meetings are anything other than appearance making for all parties- And why is Jared Kushner there at all? Nepotism reigns supreme in the Trump admin as it did in the Biden administration. Not a shocker, really.
Being brutally honest here, I still see no reason to believe the US really wants peace with Russia or truly wants to end the conflict. They’d have it done it already! It would be a simple as cutting off weapons, intelligence and other supports.
BRUSSELS — The European Union on Wednesday revealed details of its plan to use billions of euros in frozen Russian assets to fund Ukraine’s needs over the next two years, but Belgium rejected the scheme and insisted that it poses major financial and legal risks.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that the EU would cover two-thirds of Ukraine’s financial and military needs for 2026 and 2027, which the International Monetary Fund puts at 137 billion euros ($160 billion), by providing 90 billion euros ($105 billion).
She said that other international partners would be called on to cover the remaining third.
Von der Leyen said that using the frozen assets would strengthen the Ukrainian position at peace negotiations with Russia and the U.S. but it would also send a message to Moscow that “the prolongation of the war on their side comes with a high cost for them.”
She said that she had informed the Trump administration about the proposal.(Of course, she did!)EU leaders have committed to fund Ukraine over the next two years, whatever the method. The EU has already poured in over 170 billion euros ($197 billion) since the war started in 2022.
EUInsanity
Von der Leyen said that if the loan plan didn’t pass muster, the bloc could borrow the money on international markets in a scheme underpinned by its long-term budget. The problem here, though, is that it would require the approval of all 27 member countries, and Hungary has consistently blocked aid to Ukraine.
The biggest pot of ready funds available is through frozen Russian assets. Most of the money is held in Belgium – around 194 billion euros as of June – and outside the EU in Japan, with around $50 billion, and the U.S., U.K. and Canada with lesser amounts. A total of 210 billion euros worth ($245 billion) are held in Europe.
Canada holding a smaller amount of these stolen funds has been mentioned here previously
To address Belgian concerns, the commission’s complex proposal includes safeguards to protect EU nations from “possible retaliation from Russia,” a prohibition of any release of the frozen assets, and a way to borrow money as the EU to “underpin a loan to Ukraine.”
But Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prévot said that his country considers “the option of the reparations loan the worst of all, as it is risky. It has never been done before.” Russia has described the scheme as “theft.”
Haltingly reading prepared remarks to reporters at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Prévot urged the EU to borrow the money for Ukraine on international markets. “It is a well-known, a robust and a well-established option with predictable parameters,” he said.
“The reparation loans scheme entails consequential economic, financial and legal risks,” he said, adding that the commission’s proposals do not address Belgium’s concerns. “It is not acceptable to use the money and leave us alone facing the risks.”
Belgium fears that the Brussels-based financial clearing house holding the frozen assets, Euroclear, could take legal action if Russia challenges any use of the funds or if the move harms its image and business interests.
Meanwhile Russia continues on making trade deals..