Americans Have Real Attention of Their Mule Zelensky by Hitting the Nsoe of the Mule: U.S. to Restore Military Aid After Ukraine Agrees to Truce

"JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia -- The Trump administration said it would immediately lift a pause on intelligence sharing and military support to Ukraine following high-level talks with U.S. officials that led Kyiv to agree to a 30-day cease-fire.

The cease-fire plan, which is contingent on Russian acceptance, envisions opening negotiations between Kyiv and Moscow on halting the conflict, according to a U.S.-Ukraine joint statement issued Tuesday. There was no immediate comment from Russia.

"Today we made an offer that the Ukrainians have accepted, which is to enter into a cease-fire and into immediate negotiations to end this conflict in a way that's enduring and sustainable and accounts for their interests, their security, their ability to prosper as a nation," U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said.

He added: "We will take this offer now to the Russians and we hope that they'll say 'yes,' that they'll say 'yes' to peace. The ball is now in their court."

President Trump reinforced that message at the White House, saying the next step was to secure the support of President Vladimir Putin of Russia for stopping the fighting.

"Now we have to go to Russia and hopefully President Putin will agree to that also and we can get this show on the road," said Trump, a Republican, shortly after the Jeddah talks concluded. "We want to get that conflict over with."

The Tuesday meeting was the first high-level discussions between U.S. and Ukrainian officials since a combative Oval Office encounter last month in which Trump accused President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine of being unwilling to negotiate a peace settlement with Moscow.

Following that White House session, Trump cut off arms shipments and reduced the flow of intelligence to Kyiv. That move was followed by an accelerated Russian and North Korean campaign to roll back Ukrainian gains in Kursk, a portion of Russian territory seized by Ukrainian forces last year.

Zelensky's top adviser, Andriy Yermak, who led the talks for Ukraine, said in a post on X following the Jeddah talks: "A just peace is key for us. We want a lasting peace." He called the meeting with the U.S. "constructive."

Ukraine had proposed a partial cease-fire that would have halted long-range air and drone strikes and military attacks in the Black Sea. But Kyiv agreed to the U.S. proposal for a comprehensive truce "not only regarding missiles, drones and bombs, not only in the Black Sea, but also along the entire front line," Zelensky said in a video address. He thanked Trump for the "constructive nature of the dialogue."

"We are ready to take such a step," Zelensky said. "The United States of America must convince Russia to do this."

During the 30 days of the truce, the U.S. and Ukraine should work toward a framework for security guarantees, he said. A key Ukrainian goal in further negotiations is the release of prisoners as well as Ukrainian civilians being held by Russia.

Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha of Ukraine described the agreement as an attempt to begin the process of ending the conflict on fair terms, and demonstrate "who is genuinely interested in peace."

Hours before the Jeddah meeting, Ukraine launched the largest drone attack of the conflict, targeting the Russian capital and other regions. Moscow regional authorities said the strikes led to at least three deaths and injured 18 people.

National security adviser Mike Waltz said Ukraine and Russia had each picked delegations and that the U.S. was moving quickly to try to advance the potential talks.

Russia has recently doubled down on some of its core demands. Last week, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov rejected a British and French proposal to deploy peacekeeping troops in Ukraine to ensure that a future agreement halting the fighting isn't violated by Russia -- a European proposal that Trump has welcomed.

The Trump administration and Kyiv have been discussing an agreement for Ukraine to share its mineral wealth with the U.S., but that deal wasn't the main subject of the Saudi Arabia talks. Rubio said that Trump and Zelensky had agreed to finalize the mineral accord soon.

Rubio and Waltz represented the U.S. in the daylong meeting in Jeddah. The Ukrainian side included Yermak, Sybiha, Defense Minister Rustem Umerov and Pavlo Palisa, a Ukrainian military officer who works for the presidential administration.

A number of thorny issues are likely to confront the two sides, as well as the White House, in the event Russia accepts the cease-fire and negotiations begin in earnest.

Ukraine has sought Western security assurances, which Trump has been reluctant to provide, to deter Russia from violating an agreement. Waltz said his talks with the Ukrainians involved detailed discussions "on how this conflict is going to permanently end, what type of guarantees they're going to have for their long-term security and prosperity."

Waltz didn't provide examples of guarantees that had been discussed, but he said that U.S. officials along with the Ukrainians were "really looking at what it's going to take to finally end this, the horrific fighting."

A related question is whether the White House is prepared to provide some sort of military support as a "backstop" for British and French peacekeepers in the event they are deployed to Ukraine, as the Europeans have requested.

It remains unclear whether the U.S. administration is prepared to take steps to pressure Russia. Trump has periodically threatened to impose tariffs or use other forms of economic pressure on the Kremlin if it balks at agreeing to a peace deal. But Trump has taken no concrete steps to pressure Moscow since his inauguration.

Before the start of the meeting the Ukrainian and U.S. officials expressed cautious optimism. Yermak said Ukraine wanted to achieve a lasting peace while stressing that some form of security guarantees would ultimately be necessary. Rubio made a thumbs-up gesture during a break in the talks.

The U.S. will have an opportunity in the coming days to engage Western allies who have supported Ukraine. Rubio plans to fly to Canada on Wednesday for a meeting of foreign ministers from the Group of Seven nations.

On Thursday, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte is scheduled to visit the White House. Meanwhile, Waltz said he would talk with his Russian counterpart.” [1]

U.S. to Restore Military Aid After Ukraine Agrees to Truce. Gordon, Michael R; Coles, Isabel.  Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y.. 12 Mar 2025: A1.   

Lithuania should not provoke aggression every day

 

"2025-03-12 09:56

 

Vita M.

 

Reading about the published threat report in the press, one still gets the impression that the Lithuanian State Security Department (VSD), this truly honorable organization, is still "managed" by Conservatives.

 

Aggression should be avoided at all costs

 

People have been saying for a long time that during all terms, whether left-wing or right-wing forces were in power, the VSD was always controlled by the Homeland Union. This was supposedly its political condition at all times.

 

It is difficult to say whether this is true, but those annual reports always show that there is no smoke without fire.

 

For example, let's say that in this report, in addition to the biggest threat, Russia, China also appeared.

 

The question arises, is this not an indirect attempt to justify the nonsense committed by the former conservative foreign minister with Taiwan?

 

Another eye-catching piece of news – that the transit of fertilizers through Lithuania poses a threat to the state.

 

It is difficult to understand what kind of threat the transportation of goods may pose. Could soldiers be hiding in bulk freight cars rolling through our country? I have also never heard of this happening, but the transportation of fertilizers is still called a threat. Strange.

 

This is inevitably connected with the decision of the former conservative government to terminate the transit of fertilizers by a Belarusian company through Lithuania. The contract with that Lukashenko company was terminated unilaterally, so now we have a $12 billion lawsuit against our country.

 

In this situation, isn’t the new threat report also an attempt to justify the conservative government’s ill-considered decision? Especially since it may cost the state almost 70 percent of its annual budget revenues, and then the question of resposibility will arise one way or another.

 

It is very unpleasant that this threat report was immediately picked up by the representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova. She not only called our President with nasty words, but also threatened that Russia would take not diplomatic, but “practical” actions against Lithuania. Apparently, she had in mind a possible or even future occupation of our country.

 

So after announcing those threats, even more of them appeared. It’s scary. We wanted the best, but it turned out as always. All this reminds us of the uncontrollable desire of Conservatives to constantly anger Russia.

 

Only such a position is hardly useful for us. As journalist Saulius Pocius once wrote, even before the conflict in Ukraine began, we, the voters, hire the government not to lead us into war, but to avoid it, at any cost possible."

 

Agresijos reikėtų, žūtbūt, išvengti

 

"2025-03-12 09:56

Vita M.

 

Skaitant spaudoje apie paskelbtą grėsmių ataskaitą, vis neapleidžia įspūdis, kad Valstybės saugumo departamentą, šią tikrai garbingą organizaciją, „tebekuruoja“ konservatoriai.

Agresijos reikėtų žūtbūt išvengti

 

Žmonės seniai kalba, kad visų kadencijų metu, ar būtų kairiosios, ar dešiniosios jėgos valdžioje, VSD visada kontroliavo Tėvynės Sąjunga. Tai esą visais laikais būdavo jos politinė sąlyga.

 

Sunku pasakyti, ar tai yra tiesa, bet tos kasmetinės ataskaitos vis išduoda, kad nėra dūmų be ugnies.

 

Pavyzdžiui, sakykime, šioje ataskaitoje šalia didžiausios grėsmės, Rusijos, atsirado ir Kinija.

 

Kyla klausimas, ar tai nėra netiesioginis mėginimas pateisinti buvusio konservatorių užsienio reikalų ministro padarytą nesąmonę su Taivanu?

 

Dar viena į akis krentanti naujiena – kad trąšų tranzitas per Lietuvą kelia grėsmę valstybei.

 

Čia išvis sunku suprasti, kokią grėsmę gali kelti prekių vežiojimas. Gal birių krovinių vagonuose, riedančiuose per mūsų šalį, gali slėptis kareiviai? Kad taip būtų buvę, taip pat neteko girdėti, bet trąšų gabenimas vis tiek vadinamas grėsme. Keista.

 

Tai nori nenori susišaukia su buvusios konservatorių vyriausybės sprendimu nutraukti Baltarusijos įmonės trąšų tranzitą per Lietuvą. Sutartis su ta lukašenkine įmone buvo nutraukta vienašališkai, todėl dabar turime 12 mlrd. dolerių ieškinį mūsų šaliai.

 

Ar šioje situacijoje naujoji grėsmių ataskaita irgi nėra siekis pateisinti nelabai apgalvotą konservatorių vyriausybės sprendimą? Juolab kad jis valstybei gali kainuoti beveik 70 proc. metinio biudžeto pajamų ir tada vienaip ar kitaip iškils atsakomybės klausimas.

 

Labai nemalonu, kad šitą grėsmių ataskaitą iškart pasigavo Rusijos užsienio reikalų ministerijos atstovė Marija Zacharova. Ji ne tik bjauriais žodžiais išvadino mūsų Prezidentą, bet ir pagrasino, kad prieš Lietuvą imsis ne diplomatinių, o „praktinių“ veiksmų. Matyt, ji turėjo galvoje galimą arba net būsimą mūsų šalies okupaciją.

 

Taigi paskelbus apie tas grėsmes, jų atsirado dar daugiau. Baisu. Norėjome kaip geriau, o išėjo kaip visada. Visa tai primena nevaldomą konservatorių norą vis siutinti Rusiją.

 

Tik tokia pozicija kažin ar yra mums naudinga. Kaip kažkada, dar prieš prasidedant konfliktui Ukrainoje, yra rašęs žurnalistas Saulius Pocius, mes, rinkėjai, valdžią samdome ne tam, kad ji vestų mus į karą, o tam, kad jo, žūtbūt, išvengtume."