Max Seddon

Thanks for having me.

Thanks for having me.

Thanks for having me.

Well, the Russians have tried to play this down and express cautious optimism. But I think looking at what Trump's team have said and Trump himself, this has really gone about as well for them as it possibly could have. And the Russians didn't really have to do anything to make it happen. They haven't budged an inch.

Well, the Russians have tried to play this down and express cautious optimism. But I think looking at what Trump's team have said and Trump himself, this has really gone about as well for them as it possibly could have. And the Russians didn't really have to do anything to make it happen. They haven't budged an inch.

Well, the Russians have tried to play this down and express cautious optimism. But I think looking at what Trump's team have said and Trump himself, this has really gone about as well for them as it possibly could have. And the Russians didn't really have to do anything to make it happen. They haven't budged an inch.

any of Putin's pretty maximalist demands that are more or less unchanged since the start of the war. And the United States has just in a matter of about a week completely fallen into their lap. It's made some major concessions already on U.S. policy, and it appears to be ready to accept a large swathe at the very least of Russian demand.

any of Putin's pretty maximalist demands that are more or less unchanged since the start of the war. And the United States has just in a matter of about a week completely fallen into their lap. It's made some major concessions already on U.S. policy, and it appears to be ready to accept a large swathe at the very least of Russian demand.

any of Putin's pretty maximalist demands that are more or less unchanged since the start of the war. And the United States has just in a matter of about a week completely fallen into their lap. It's made some major concessions already on U.S. policy, and it appears to be ready to accept a large swathe at the very least of Russian demand.

So I think if you're Russia, you really have got to be pretty thrilled about the way this is going. It's like where we were a month ago and compare it even two weeks ago and compare it to now. It's like two different worlds. The idea that you could have the palace where this is taking place in Riyadh today, you had the US and Russian flags side by side. That was completely inconceivable.

So I think if you're Russia, you really have got to be pretty thrilled about the way this is going. It's like where we were a month ago and compare it even two weeks ago and compare it to now. It's like two different worlds. The idea that you could have the palace where this is taking place in Riyadh today, you had the US and Russian flags side by side. That was completely inconceivable.

So I think if you're Russia, you really have got to be pretty thrilled about the way this is going. It's like where we were a month ago and compare it even two weeks ago and compare it to now. It's like two different worlds. The idea that you could have the palace where this is taking place in Riyadh today, you had the US and Russian flags side by side. That was completely inconceivable.

And now it's just the reality we live in.

And now it's just the reality we live in.

And now it's just the reality we live in.

I think it's very much a message that Russia's way of the world is winning out and that the US seems to share it, which basically means that Ukraine is going to have the worst possible option for Ukraine, foisted on them, and the Europeans are also going to have to deal with it.

I think it's very much a message that Russia's way of the world is winning out and that the US seems to share it, which basically means that Ukraine is going to have the worst possible option for Ukraine, foisted on them, and the Europeans are also going to have to deal with it.

I think it's very much a message that Russia's way of the world is winning out and that the US seems to share it, which basically means that Ukraine is going to have the worst possible option for Ukraine, foisted on them, and the Europeans are also going to have to deal with it.

What this is really about, if you're Russia, and Putin has been pretty clear on this, is that for all his obsessions with Ukraine, Ukraine has been, in his mind, the pretext to this war, which in mind is really about broader geopolitical confrontation with the West, chiefly the United States. And what he's wanted is some sort of new Yalta conference

What this is really about, if you're Russia, and Putin has been pretty clear on this, is that for all his obsessions with Ukraine, Ukraine has been, in his mind, the pretext to this war, which in mind is really about broader geopolitical confrontation with the West, chiefly the United States. And what he's wanted is some sort of new Yalta conference