All right, here we go. Watching the White House at this hour, moments from now, President Donald Trump will welcome French President Emmanuel Macron to talk all things Ukraine and all things Russia. So this meeting—and we know this—it comes after a bruising week last week that pitted Trump against Ukraine’s leader. In fact, at one point, Mr. Trump called Mr. Zelenskyky a dictator. So let’s go to CBS News National Security contributor Sam Vino grad. So before we talk about that meeting, Sam, I want to turn to some breaking news at the United Nations.
just got my hands on right here Just moments ago, the US presented a draft resolution. It’s very brief; it’s very short but what sticks out to me Sam, there is no mention of Russian aggression or a ceasefire in Ukraine so what should we take away from that language? Well, is it unusual that the United States language for a resolution really mirrors what you’d expect to come more out of the Kremlin? The United States has typically aligned itself with other countries at the United Nations who’ve condemned illegal invasions of
other countries instead. What we have today is a very vanilla resolution that really just says that the United States is mourning the tragic loss of life throughout the Russian Federation-Ukraine conflict and this UN resolution stands in stark contrast to efforts by other countries at the UN General Assembly to table and ultimately get past a much stronger resolution condemning Russian activity so the United States is currently an outlier with European countries on the public stage and now an outlier as well at the.
United Nations rejects shocking U.S. resolution on Ukraine-Russia war
United Nations based upon the very watered-down text of this resolution well and of course so many European nations watching this is a policy shift that raises concerns on so many levels but I want to get back to what’s going on at the White House. French President Emmanuel Macron, he seems to back Biden-era policies relative to Ukraine but this is a new day, as you and I have talked about. It’s a new administration not keen on Kyiv. What are you watching for today? What I’m watching for is whether.
Emanuel Macron has figured out how to convince Donald Trump that not abandoning Ukraine is in US interests. We have to remember that Macron and Trump have a long history. This is not 2016 or 2017. This is not their first rodeo. They know each other well, and that call knows what is top of mind for President Trump. He knows what ultimately will get President Trump not to walk away from key national security priorities, and that is likely why Macron is coming to this meeting armed not just with national security arguments but also with.
financial ones Maine is expected to table a European security assistance package as well as a promise of European peacekeeping forces to try to convince President Trump that the United States won’t keep shouldering the burden of Ukrainian security all by itself. Now, in reality, the Europeans have been stepping up to the plate in a significant way but the US has, based upon the size of our economy and other factors, shouldered the largest majority of security assistance to Ukraine. So I’m watching to see what.
US rejects UN resolution condemning Russia’s war
that security assistance package looks like, and I’m watching to see whether McConnell has figured out how to make a convincing argument to President Trump. Well, I’ve also got to ask you about something that seems to be a change from last week: the US wanting a play at Ukraine’s minerals to recoup costs. Uh, last week, Alinsky even weeks before that signal, no but this week we’re hearing there are some negotiations on that front. Alinsky and his cabinet are very aware of what it will take to keep the.
The United States is not just at the negotiating table but in the fight and it is very clear across the board, not just in Ukraine that President Trump does not view defense of other countries as a free tab; instead, he associates significant costs with that discussion so we should expect Zelenskyky to continue negotiating with Secretary of the Treasury on access to critical minerals and again, we should expect European countries to very vocally describe the financial assistance they’ll provide to Ukraine so.
that President Trump can walk away from these discussions saying that he got money back from America and that US expenditures on Ukraine will decline over the longer term. Trump is looking for a financial bottom line coming out of discussions with McCall with Prime Minister Kier Stammer on Thursday and, of course, discussions with Ukrainians themselves. So far, we have not heard of any financial deals that he’s doing with Russia but we should note that his delegation to RAD last week did discuss normalizing ties between the.
US joins Russia to vote against UN resolution condemning
United States and Russia, which would allow the lifting of sanctions against Russia that would pave the way for business to really resume between our two countries as well as more significant trade so many pieces on the game board in a big day in Washington, DC, with that meeting between the two presidents. Sam, we know you’ll be all over it covering it, Sterling, as always. Thank you so much; it’s good to talk to you on a Monday.
