The talks between Ukraine and Russia on the neutral turf of Turkey turned into a geopolitical game of theatrics and narrative competition following the announcement that Vladimir Putin would not attend.

NATO Secretary Mark Rutte traveling to Turkey (a posturing participant) is yet another indication of the stupidity of it all.  Ukraine is not a NATO country and the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, while it may be grounded in the origin of NATO encroachment, does not involve NATO unless you inject the ancillary issues into the equation.   All of this extraneous party posturing shows the reason why Russian President Putin did not attend.

After a meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in Ankara, Zelenskyy chose to leave for home announcing he would send a delegation as the Russian group sat waiting for their peers to arrive.  The back-and-forth between the two nations played out all day without any substantive negotiations or discussions.   Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Steve Witkoff and Keith Kellogg sat around in a holding pattern waiting to see if the two sides would eventually have representatives in place to talk to each other.

Making a statement from Air Force One, President Trump seemed to encapsulate the dynamic saying he did not think any progress was likely until he personally met with Russian President Vladimir Putin. “Look, nothing is gonna happen until Putin and I get together,” Trump told reporters on board Air Force One en route to the United Arab Emirates. “And he wasn’t gonna go … He wasn’t going if I wasn’t there. And I don’t believe anything will happen, whether you like it or not, until he and I get together. But we are gonna have to get it solved because too many people are dying.”

Later this afternoon Secretary of State Marco Rubio seemed to confirm that a Putin/Trump meeting was going to be needed to break the stalemate.

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Departing Saudi Arabia, President Trump holds a press briefing aboard Air Force One while on route to Qatar the second stop in the trip.

President Trump was asked about his meeting with Syria’s President Ahmad al-Sharaa. Trump told reporters he found the country’s new leader to be “very good,” adding that he’s a “young, attractive guy.”  “He’s got a real shot at pulling it together. I spoke with President Erdogan, who I’m very friendly with. He feels he’s got a shot of doing a good job. It’s a torn-up country,” Trump added.

President Trump said that he thought that Syria would join the Abraham Accords after Syria “gets themselves straightened out,” but he added that the nation has “a lot of work to do.” When asked whether he’d consulted Israel before lifting the sanctions on Syria, President Trump said his administration simply told Israel they would do it. “The reason I did it is because I spoke with the President Erdogan and I spoke to Mohammed, as you know, and they thought it was very important to do, it gives … them a much better chance of survival as a country,” Trump said.  WATCH:

President Trump also said that Russia President Putin wanted Trump to attend the talks in Turkey, though Trump remained noncommittal on attending, citing his schedule and foreign trip obligations. “He would like me to be there, and that’s a possibility. If we could end the war, I’d be thinking about that,” Trump said.

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Yesterday, Sunday night, the U.S technical delegation met with representatives from Ukraine to get deeper into specifics of what Ukraine wants for a ceasefire.  The meetings are taking place in Saudi Arabia.

The Ukrainian delegation was led by Defense Minister Rustem Umerov.  Heorhii Tykhyi, foreign ministry spokesperson, said on Friday the Ukrainian and American sides were due “to clarify the modalities, the nuances of possible different ceasefire regimes, how to monitor them, how to control them, in general, what is included in their scope”.

Following the meeting with the Ukrainian delegation who, together with elements of the CIA/EU and NATO – visibly appear to hold a desire to continue the war (and funding therein), the U.S delegation is scheduled to meet with their Russian counterparts today (Monday).

SAUDI ARABIA – […] Trump said on Saturday that efforts to stop further escalation in the Ukraine-Russia conflict were “somewhat under control”. The U.S. hopes to reach a broad ceasefire within weeks, targeting a truce agreement by April 20, Bloomberg News reported on Sunday, citing people familiar with the planning.

Russian and U.S. experts meeting in Saudi Arabia on Monday are due to discuss ways to ensure the safety of shipping in the Black Sea, the Kremlin has said.

Despite all the diplomatic activity, Russia and Ukraine have both reported continued strikes, while Russian forces have also continued to advance slowly in eastern Ukraine, a region Moscow claims to have annexed.  (read more)

As soon as details can be worked out, hopefully sooner rather than later, President Trump can then schedule a face-to-face meeting with the unelected leader of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

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This is cool.  The U.S. Debt Clock tracking system is now also monitoring the savings generated through the Dept of Govt Efficiency (DOGE).

$68 Billion and growing.

[LINK HERE]

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The weapon they created to ensure his demise; became the same weapon that achieved his success. Remember, the bible says, “no weapon formed against you shall prosper,” and with faith we bear witness. God is in control.

Today there are multiple events happening throughout the Washington DC area in advance of tomorrow’s inauguration of President Donald J Trump the 47th President of the United States. Official events Sunday, January 19, 2025, include:

♦ Arlington National Cemetery Ceremony: A wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier to honor fallen service members.

♦ Make America Great Again Victory Rally: A rally at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C., featuring performances by Kid Rock and the Village People.  The rally is scheduled to begin at 3 p.m. EST [Livestream Links Below]

♦ Candlelight Dinner: An exclusive evening event with prominent figures from various sectors, celebrating the incoming administration.

RSBN YouTube Livestream Link – RSBN Rumble Livestream Link

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Today at 10:00am EST, CIA Director nominee John Ratcliffe will appear before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence to answer questions about his nomination.  Ratcliffe has numerous allies in the Intelligence Community including Chairman Tom Cotton and Vice-Chair Mark Warner. Resistance level, very low.

John Ratcliffe, a former Texas congressman who served as the director of national intelligence for President Trump in the first term, is now tasked with leading the second most prestigious and capable intelligence agencies in the world. As CIA Director Mr. Ratcliffe would have an influential position on matters of national intelligence and would likely not lie to President Trump unless it was necessary to retain the integrity of the silo he leads. Livestream Links Below:

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In the nation of Moldova, the left bank of the Dniester (Nistru) River is home to 360,000 citizens in the Russia-controlled region of Transnistria. To the right side of the dividing line made by the Dniester is the western/EU allied side of Moldova.

The Russian energy company, Gazprom, provides gas to Transnistria through Ukraine. The gas is subsidized by Russia, so the Russian-allied citizens of Transnistria do not pay market prices; in fact, the gas is provided free. However, the gas into Transnistria is also used to power the Moldavskaya GRES power plant, which generates electricity for both banks of the Dniester. In essence, the “free” Russian gas is provided to both the pro-Russia and anti-Russia elements in the region.

The contract for the transit of Russian gas into Transnistria through Ukraine’s territory expires on January 1, 2025. Despite the war between Russia and Ukraine, gas transit and the contract signed in 2019 have continued. However, Ukraine under Zelenskyy has repeatedly said they do not plan to extend the gas transit agreement with Gazprom. This is a way for Zelenskyy, technically NATO, to create anxiety and crisis in the region.

The western aligned government of Moldova have been demanding that Russia withdraw all military and influence from the Transnistria region, meanwhile the Transnistria local governing officials are requesting Moscow to keep the flow of Russian gas ongoing. Observers have noted, “It looks stupid to ask for the withdrawal of Russian troops from Transnistria and meanwhile request Russia to continue to give free gas to the region.”

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The House Ethics panel does not release investigative findings after a member leaves the House. However, leaning on past precedent, the panel’s report said it “determined that it was in the public interest to release its findings even after a Member’s resignation from Congress,” while noting it did “not do so lightly.”

The release of the ethics panel investigation [Report Here] is a political smear operation against Matt Gaetz.

[42-Page House Ethics Report HERE]

Read the report. Notice how it is worded to cast the worst light possible….  Decide for yourself.

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Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich discusses the House spending bill last week and the eventual outcome.  Much of Gingrich’s advice on the issues are very pragmatic and pertinent to the current status of the Republicans in the House.

Gingrich notes that President Trump’s legislative agenda is dependent on all of the Republicans getting on the same page and putting their differences aside when it comes time to vote.  WATCH:

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The House Subcommittee on the weaponization of government has issued a massive 17,000-page series of staff reports documenting the Obama/Biden weaponization of government.

While many of the findings are not going to be a surprise to CTH readers, the details and emails cited in the report are substantial.

EXAMPLE: A redacted Facebook executive spilled the beans in an email about a call with DHS, saying: “DHS cannot openly endorse the portal.”

EXAMPLE: • Alex Stamos of the Stanford Internet Observatory emailed NextDoor executives: “We already have partnerships with Facebook, Twitter, and Google, and we would love to chat with you and your team.”

The massive documentary report is broken down into four segments [Available Here].  It is going to take some time to go through all of the reports and extract the critical components.  If you would like to take a review, the four-segment links are below:

Read part two of the final staff report here.

Read part three of the final staff report here.

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