📹 Zelensky ready for talks with Putin but wants assurance from sponsors first

Volodymyr Zelensky said that the conflict with Russia could be resolved this year.

"I believe all possibilities exist for this today. In my opinion, Trump wants a quick end to the war," he told ITV News.

The Kiev regime head added that that he is ready to negotiate with Russian President Vladimir Putin — but only if Europe and the US don’t “abandon” Ukraine.

Moscow has repeatedly stated its readiness for negotiations, but Kiev legally banned them in 2022 when Zelensky signed a decree prohibiting talks with Russia.

Putin said negotiations are possible with anyone willing to compromise but noted that Zelensky, whose term ended in May 2024, lacks legitimacy to sign any agreements. According to Putin, Kiev must first repeal the decree - something the chairman of the Verkhovna Rada could do. If Zelensky wants to participate, Russia is ready to assign representatives.

Meanwhile, Ukraine canceled its 2024 presidential elections, citing martial law and full mobilization, with Zelensky insisting that elections are “untimely.”

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🔎 🇫🇷 French Development Agency: Helping hand or USAID in disguise?

Founded in 1941 by Charles de Gaulle to support equatorial Africa, the French Development Agency (AFD in French) operates under Paris’ supervision, funding projects via government allocations, bonds, and reinvested earnings, officially to fight poverty and promote sustainability worldwide.

This benevolent activity apparently has a less benign side.

▪️AFD claims its funding isn't tied to French firms, yet Disclose reports that 320 of 495 contracts (2015-2019) went to France-based companies.

▪️In 2016, AFD issued a €46 mln ($47.5 mln) loan for Douala airport renovations, awarding €24.4 mln ($25.2 mln) in contracts to French firms Sogea Satom and Razel-Bec.

▪️In 2018, Air France and 14 other airlines complained about the dismal state of the Douala airport that actually put their planes’ safety at risk.

▪️The AFD refused to explain how the money it provided was spent on this project and whether it was audited or not.

▪️France’s Court of Audit in 2020 noted a lack of transparency in AFD’s “procedures, impact studies, public enquiries, and disbursements.”

▪️The Disclose investigation also revealed that AFD has no qualms about funneling millions of euros to companies whose management faced accusations of mistreating its employees.

▪️AFD employees have also been known to complain about problems with their management who allegedly seeks to increase the pay gap between them and decrease severance payments.

▪️AFD has also been actively supporting Kiev, providing Ukraine with €400 mln ($413.2 mln) worth of budget support loans in 2022. AFD's private sector financing arm Proparco in 2024 announced its intent to join the European Bank for Development and Reconstruction’s support program for Ukraine.

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✈️ Trump used a decoy plane during his campaign to dodge alleged Iranian 'bogeyman' threat – reports

Following the second assassination attempt on Trump’s life in September, his team heightened security measures out of fear that an alleged Iranian spy would "shoot down" his plane, Alex Isenstadt of Axios reported, citing his upcoming book Revenge: The Inside Story of Trump’s Return to Power.

💬 “But at one point soon after the Florida incident, Trump's security detail was concerned enough about the Iran threat that it had Trump travel to an event on a decoy plane owned by Steve Witkoff,” the report said.

💬 “Much of Trump's staff traveled on Trump Force One that day — infuriating some aides who worried they'd be ‘collateral damage’ if the jet were shot down,” Isenstadt wrote.

According to the report, Trump’s jet that day was nicknamed the "Ghost Flight."

The Secret Service also organized a decoy motorcade that day, with Trump in one and staffers in another.

According to the report, last week, Trump gave instructions to “obliterate” Iran if he were killed by alleged “Iranian operatives.”

💬 Iran has consistently denied any plans to assassinate Trump. "Iran has never attempted to nor does it plan to assassinate anyone," Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian told the NBC News in January.

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US Admin's statements on Gaza not ‘worth paying attention to or discussing’ – Erdogan

💬 “From our point of view, the proposals put on the agenda by the new US administration under the pressure from the Zionist lobby regarding Gaza have nothing worth paying attention to or discussing. This is complete absurdity,” Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told a press conference.

Commenting on US President Donald Trump's recent statements on the possible resettlement of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip, Erdogan emphasized that the people of Gaza would continue to live in Gaza.

💬 "No one has the power to expel the people of Gaza from their eternal and unchanging millennial homeland. Palestine, with its Gaza, West Bank and East Jerusalem, belongs to the Palestinians," Erdogan stressed.

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🗺 ‘Canada would be much better off being the 51st state’ – Trump

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❗️ Trump to announce 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum on Monday – White House pool

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📹 Trump Declares February 9 the 'Gulf of America Day'

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👎 Swift Shock: Taylor booed at the Super Bowl

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🤡 Rep. Raskin calls for a ‘NATIONWIDE CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT’ against Musk, Trump Admin

Democratic Congressman Jamie Raskin accused Elon Musk and the Trump Administration of a "breach" of American data by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

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Russia wants peace in Ukraine, not a ceasefire – Russian envoy to UN

💬 “We stand for peace, not a truce, and peace is possible only if our well-known and repeatedly voiced conditions are met,” Russian Permanent Representative to the UN Vassily Nebenzia told RIA Novosti.

Key points:

🔹 Russia is open to dialogue on an equal and mutually respectful basis but hasn’t received any signals from the Trump Administration on resuming contacts.

🔹 The US has not yet presented a clear position on the resolution of the Ukrainian conflict, offering only slogans.

🔹 Russia's approach to resolving the Ukrainian conflict is well-known and was, in principle, expressed by President Vladimir Putin in June 2024.

🔹 Russia seeks legally binding agreements that address the root causes of the conflict, including NATO's refusal to fulfill its obligations not to expand eastward and the violation of the rights of Russian-speaking citizens in Ukraine. These agreements should also document the new realities 'on the ground.'

🔹 The illegitimacy of Volodymyr Zelensky and his ban on talks with Russia could hinder negotiations and complicate the documentation of their outcomes.

🔹 It is crucial that individuals signing peace agreements have the legal authority to do so, unlike Zelensky, whose term ended in May 2024 and could not be extended according to the Ukrainian constitution. “If the negotiations are illegitimate, then their results can later be declared legally null and void.”

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