Charles Maines
speaker
571 appearances
56 recordings
3 series
first heard Nov 2024
last heard 4d ago
Charles Maines’s voice in public audio — every appearance, attributed to the second.
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recordings per month · last 12 monthsRecordings per month over the last 12 months — 44 in all, peaking in Jul 2026 with 10.
Appearances
Well, some Kremlin officials have called Trump misinformed, arguing Trump wasn't aware of Ukrainian drone attacks on Russia over the week. More, they also point to a deal Ukraine signed yesterday with Germany to produce long-range weapons capable of striking inside Russia in the future. But overall, the Kremlin's strategy appears to be not antagonizing Trump. President Putin has said nothing.
Meanwhile, his spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, has repeatedly complimented Trump's effort to end the conflict, while reminding these are complex negotiations full of nuances. Now, critics will say, of course, that it's just more foot-dragging by Moscow as fighting continues.
And yet Russia's foreign minister announced last night he was now ready to pick up talks where they left off, calling for a meeting with Ukraine and Istanbul, Turkey next Monday, when each side can present documents outlining their vision for an eventual peace deal.
Well, the presumption is they will, because Kiev needs to show Trump that Ukraine's not the obstacle to peace here. Certainly that was the case in the first round of talks in Istanbul, negotiations that were proposed by Putin amid earlier sanctions threatened by Trump, although Putin then undermined those very talks by sending a relatively low-level delegation.
Well, I'd say never say never, not least because Trump has suggested he may be willing to meet with Putin and Zelensky to hammer out a deal. But Ukraine is already accusing Russia of massing troops along its border for a new summer offensive. And Russia's lead negotiator has publicly drawn comparisons between Ukraine and a war Russia had with Sweden back in the 1700s that went on for 21 years.
The clear message there that no matter how long it takes, we'll get what's ours. So Trump may face this vaccine question that's really been there ever since he waded into the Ukraine conflict at the beginning. What to do if or when he decides Russia isn't serious about wanting to end the war.
Thank you.
You know, both sides were really complimentary about the tone of the conversation itself, which Trump called excellent and Putin said was constructive and useful. But the two leaders seemed at odds about what had actually been achieved. Trump took to social media to say Russia had agreed to immediately start ceasefire talks and, more importantly, in Trump's words, seek an end to the war.
But in a brief statement to journalists, Putin suggested he was in no hurry. So here Putin says he agreed with Trump to work with Ukraine on a memorandum about a possible future peace deal, but made clear all sorts of details needed to be worked out before they could possibly lead to a ceasefire of some defined length.
Moreover, Putin again emphasized that any peace deal would still have to address what he called the root causes of the conflict. That's always been Kremlin speak for Russia's fundamental desire to control Ukraine, and Ukraine knows it.
Well, I think it's first important to point out that Trump held talks with Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky before the Putin conversation and after. So Trump is certainly giving Zelensky time and attention. But Zelensky has to be sensitive to offending Trump's desire to show progress here or at least not appear to be seen as an obstacle to peace.
All the more so because Trump is also suggesting new business opportunities for both Russia and Ukraine once the fighting ends. So speaking after the calls, Zelensky repeated Ukraine's support for a full and immediate ceasefire, even as he really made clear he does not trust Putin's motives in these negotiations or Putin's blurring of the language of peace. Let's listen.
You know, Putin's refusal to sign to this ceasefire deal puts Europe in an odd position. You know, do you let Trump's peace efforts play out or risk undermining them with pressure on Moscow now? That said, even if Europe does choose to impose additional sanctions, Russian analysts say the Kremlin fundamentally doesn't see it as a threat.
Here's Ivan Timofeev with the Russian International Affairs Council in Moscow.
So the result, says Timofeev, is that Russia remains convinced it can simply afford to continue the conflict if or when these peace negotiations break down. So Moscow really sees little incentive to compromise here.
Yeah, sure. You know, to a degree, I think you can credit efforts by the Trump administration to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine, even if at times those efforts skewed heavily in Russia's favor. Because this meeting, it comes amid wrangling between Moscow and Kiev to show President Trump they're the more serious party for peace, or at least the other is an obstacle to it.
You know, it does seem that way. This latest maneuvering began after Russian President Vladimir Putin unilaterally called for a three-day ceasefire around events marking the Soviet victory in World War II. That was last week. Ukraine never agreed, but only because it said, why just three days? We could have a longer ceasefire.
That idea got backing from Europe and the U.S., who, to give it some teeth, threatened new sanctions if Putin didn't commit to an immediate 30-day ceasefire. But instead, Putin made a counteroffer. He called for direct talks with Ukraine starting Thursday in Istanbul. Let's listen.
So here Putin says military operations are ongoing, a war is happening, and we are offering to return to negotiations, adding what could be bad about that.
Well, it certainly appears strategic. President Trump endorsed the idea and demanded Ukraine participate. And that's forced Europe to hold off on new sanctions against Russia for now. So it's bought Moscow some time.
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