FOREIGN POOL REPORT #6 - Quotes

Please, find some quotes from today's event. I checked against the recording, but please check yourself against the audio linked below.

President Trump sat in the center between Pashinyan and Alieyv. Trump called them "visionary" leaders. Alyiev mentioned that this is also a historic day in the bilateral relationship between Azerbaijan and the US, because in the next few months they will elaborate the text of a new strategic partnership between the two countries. Armenia signed a document with the Biden administration (just days before the Trump inauguration) that upgraded US-Armenian relations to “strategic partnership”.

Trump announced the TRIPP, along the lines of what I wrote this morning in the backgrounder. The US is also lifting restrictions on defense cooperation with Azerbaijan.

He mentioned the Abraham Accords: “I think a lot of people are going to be joining” them.

RUSSIA-UKRAINE

Trump said he will provide information “a little later” because he didn’t want to overshadow the announcement re: Armenia and Azerbaijan.

On a Russia-Ukraine deal, Trump said repeatedly: “I think we're getting close”.

Question: Who is holding up this Ukraine ceasefire Summit? Is it Putin or is it Zelensky?

Trump: “We've been working on a lot of these deals and closed every single one of them all throughout the world…. A lot of people are dying, and I think we're getting very close, and we're going to be announcing later we're going to have a meeting with Russia. And we'll announce the location. The location will be a very popular one, for a lot of reasons, but we'll be announcing that a little bit later”.

On Putin

“I'll be meeting very shortly with President Putin. It would have been sooner, but I guess there's security arrangements that unfortunately people have to make. Otherwise I'd do it much quicker. He will too be glad to meet as soon as possible.”

Question: is this Russia's last chance to achieve peace?

Trump: “I think we're getting close. I mean, this was not my war, this was Biden's war, but the European Union has been great. As you know, the purchasing equipment from us. They have a lot of money, and they are spending a lot of money in buying equipment… The European leaders want to see peace. President Putin, I believe, wants to see peace. And Zelenskyy wants to see peace now".

He added that “President Zelenskyy has to get everything he needs, because he's going to have to get ready to sign something, and I think he is working hard to get that done".

Will Zelensky have to give up territory? “You're looking at territory that's been fought over for three and a half years... a lot of Russians have died, a lot of Ukrainians have died. So we're looking at that, but we're actually looking to get some back and some swapping. Complicated. It's actually nothing easy. It's very complicated. But we're going to get some back. We're going to some switched. There'll be some swapping of territories to the betterment of both and but we'll be talking about that either later or tomorrow or whatever”.

Both Alyiev and Pashinyan said that they think President Trump deserves the Nobel Peace Prize, and they will promote that. Pashinyan said he hopes to be invited.

https://otter.ai/u/Vx9wvX4OY2LLwQByx5skFBvxgiM

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