Mike Baker

While the White House has not yet publicly commented, the demand issued by Iran's parliament speaker could torpedo the talks before they even have a chance to begin.

As an aside, be sure to tune into our much-loved weekend show that would be the PDB Situation Report.

This weekend, the most excellent David Daud from the Foundation for Defense of Democracies joins us and provides an excellent analysis of the current Hezbollah-Israel conflict, including the role that Lebanon is currently playing in this fragile ceasefire, or whatever we call an agreement, where the firing hasn't yet ceased.

Vice President J.D.

Vance, who is expected to lead the U.S.

delegation, struck a cautiously optimistic tone on Friday as he departed for the region, saying he expects the negotiations to be positive.

But he also issued a clear warning, saying that if Iran is not negotiating in good faith, and what are the odds of that, or is seen to be trying to, quote, play us, the U.S.

team will not be receptive.

Now, normally, I would be very pessimistic about the chances for any progress in these talks, but domestic politics are at play here, meaning the White House is very keen to resolve this conflict as quickly as possible in order to move on, with an eye on how it all could impact the midterm elections.

All right, coming up next, Russia has announced a short Easter truce in Ukraine, and Kiev says it will comply.

But both sides are already casting doubt on what comes next.

I'll be right back.

Welcome back to the PDB Afternoon Bulletin.

Turning now to the war in Ukraine, where a short symbolic ceasefire over the Orthodox Easter holiday is offering a brief pause in fighting, but little clarity on whether it signals any real progress toward peace.

On Thursday, Russian President Putin announced a 32-hour ceasefire in Ukraine set to begin Saturday afternoon and run through Orthodox Easter Sunday, framing it, of course, as a humanitarian gesture.

Well, yes, I know that when I think of Putin, many times the first word that comes to mind is humanitarian.

Ukrainian President Zelensky quickly said Kyiv would abide by the pause, despite their skepticism, given Moscow's past history of using similar ceasefires for strategic or political gain.

Ukrainian officials quickly urged Russia on Friday to extend the truce beyond the holiday period and to restart broader peace talks, warning that a short-term pause will mean little if fighting simply resumes afterward.

Ukraine's foreign minister said Kyiv sees a ceasefire as a way to advance diplomacy, not just pause the battlefield.

He told reporters, quote, We believe that a ceasefire is the right strategy to advance diplomatic efforts, whether we are talking about the Middle East or Russian aggression against Ukraine, end quote.