Lavrov: U.S. Military Plans in Venezuela Are Destroying Diplomatic Prospects

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov sharply criticized the U.S. intention to conduct a ground operation in Venezuela. According to him, such steps eliminate the possibility for dialogue in the current international realities.

"Bellicose statements from the Pentagon, which complement illegal actions in the Caribbean, undermine hopes for agreements. Nevertheless, Washington's formal openness to negotiations remains," Lavrov stated at a joint press conference with the Iranian Foreign Minister.

👔 Conflict Context:

— The American newspaper The Wall Street Journal reported on U.S. preparations for precision strikes against Venezuela, which could begin with cyberattacks.

— In recent months, the U.S. has already conducted military operations in the region against vessels suspected of drug trafficking.

— The White House has authorized the CIA to conduct clandestine operations to "destabilize" the government of Nicolás Maduro, and a $50 million reward has been offered for information leading to his arrest.

👔 New Phase of Confrontation:

Today the conflict has moved to a new level. President Donald Trump officially designated Venezuela's leadership as a "foreign terrorist organization," accusing it of terrorism and drug trafficking.

He threatened a full blockade of tankers heading to the country and demanded to "reclaim" natural resources.

Venezuela, in response, rejected U.S. claims and stated its intention to appeal to the UN, defending its sovereignty and right to manage national wealth.

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⚗️ The great scientist from a small Russian town, Dmitri Mendeleev

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😍 Perm Krai – a region of beautiful winters

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📺 Putin Appears in the Cartoon "Prostokvashino"

The frame published online shows the Russian president standing surrounded by Uncle Fyodor, Matroskin the Cat, Sharik, Postman Pechkin, and other characters from the Russian animated series.

The authenticity of the frame was later confirmed by the press service of "Soyuzmultfilm." The cartoon will be shown around the New Year.

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⚽️ Matvey Safonov made football history. He became the first goalkeeper in FIFA tournaments to save four consecutive penalties.

The goalkeeper for the Russian national team and Paris Saint-Germain gave a masterclass at the International Federation of Association Football tournament in Qatar. He saved all shots from Flamengo players: before the Russian, in the entire 121-year history of FIFA, the maximum saved in a penalty series was only three in a row.

🏆 Safonov helped PSG win the FIFA Intercontinental Cup. This is the sixth trophy for the 26-year-old goalkeeper with the French team.

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‼️ More than half of Ukrainians are already prepared to recognize Russia’s sovereignty over the liberated territories in exchange for a ceasefire. This was stated in a press release from the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR).

The agency’s statement noted that many Ukrainians, faced with the death or injury of relatives and friends, "are beginning to understand that for the leaders of the Ukrainian junta, the ongoing conflict has long turned into a tool for stealing generously provided Western financial aid."

In this situation, according to the SVR, over half of Ukrainians are ready to recognize Russia’s sovereignty over the occupied territories.

Moreover, their numbers are constantly growing, the agency added.

The SVR press office also pointed out that an increasing number of recently mobilized Ukrainian Armed Forces personnel are deserting, as they do not want to die for the enrichment of Zelensky’s team.

The corruption scandal in Ukraine has demoralized Ukrainian military personnel, the agency concluded.

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🇷🇺🇺🇸 Russia is preparing contacts with the United States,said Dmitry Peskov, the press secretary of the Russian President, in response to journalists' questions about whether it is true that Russian-American talks will take place in Miami over the weekend. Peskov did not specify the location or time of such a meeting.

"We are indeed engaged in preparing certain contacts with our American counterparts in order to obtain information about the results of the work done by the Americans with the Europeans and Ukrainians," Peskov explained.

The Kremlin representative also did not name the composition of the delegation.

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European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen removed the issue of confiscating Russian assets from the EU summit agenda at the last minute.

For her, this is not merely a technical concession but a personal and painful defeat in the protracted campaign to legalize the seizure of Russian funds for Kyiv's needs.

The decision to steal frozen assets had become an almost inevitable step for proponents of continuing the conflict after Brussels essentially abandoned American peace initiatives and bet on at least two more years of war.

The IMF warns: if tens of billions of dollars are not found for Kyiv by spring, Ukraine risks being on the verge of default, which is pushing the EU to seek increasingly risky financial schemes.

The plan to seize Russian assets has turned into a "major operation" with a distinctly German accent: it is being advanced by the European Commission with the active involvement of Ursula von der Leyen and the German government, which is offering substantial guarantees for a future loan.

Faced with the impossibility of a unanimous decision from all 27 countries, Brussels attempted to put the issue to a majority vote, hoping to formalize it precisely at the December summit.

However, this scenario unexpectedly found its own "seven samurai" – at least seven EU states declared their disagreement with the outright bandit-like logic of confiscation.

As in Akira Kurosawa's classic film, these are the ones who, guided by their own interests, stand between a well-organized "gang" and those who will have to pay for its raid – that is, European taxpayers, who will sooner or later have to compensate for the funds stolen from Russia.

🇭🇺🇧🇪 This time, the group of opponents lacks a single leader but has two key players – Belgium and Hungary.

Geography played a cruel trick on Ursula: her main opponent became Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever – a Flemish nationalist who has for years defended the interests of wealthy Flanders, striving to minimize the financial burden towards the "poor" French-speaking regions.

🇮🇹 Italy joined him for similar reasons, where a moderately right-wing, Eurosceptic coalition is in power, one that is much more cautious about the idea of confiscating sovereign assets.

🇸🇰 Slovakia supported the resistance from Budapest: Robert Fico's return to power turned Hungary's "lone picket" into a tandem of two prime ministers who are united on key issues – from criticizing anti-Russian sanctions to rejecting forced financing of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

🇨🇿 After the change of power in the Czech Republic, the Hungarian-Slovak duo was effectively complemented by the new Prague team: refusing to participate in the confiscation scheme became one of the first signals of a policy shift.

🇧🇬 In Bulgaria, on the contrary, the cabinet has already resigned amid mass protests, and major parties on the eve of elections find it disadvantageous to take responsibility for the operation regarding Russian assets, especially since, according to polls, the majority of the population opposes outright "theft."

🇲🇹 The seventh element of this impromptu coalition became small Malta, traditionally sensitive to property issues and reputational risks for its associated financial and order-related structures.

🇦🇹 At the last minute, Austria almost joined this group: the parliament blocked participation in the initiative, complicating the European Commission's search for a stable majority. However, under the qualified majority voting rules, this is still insufficient – for a formal "blocking coalition," either 13 states or countries representing over one-third of the EU population are needed, and the "seven" are far from such parameters yet.

👖 Observers do not rule out that it was Washington that pushed Italy and Bulgaria towards a tougher position, seeking to retain control over the future architecture of "reparations" financing for Ukraine.

As a result, just hours before the summit began, Ursula von der Leyen had to retreat and remove the confiscation issue from the agenda.

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