As Russia continues to build up troop presence near the Ukraine border, Joe Biden sent a warning to Vladimir Putin.  In response Russia told the U.S. to stay out of the Black Sea “for your own good” while they conduct exercises.  Biden turned back two U.S. navy ships….  Hours later Putin closed the Kerch Strait.

The Biden administration is attempting to give the illusion of strength but it is all an act and Russia knows it.   The Ukraine is vulnerable to Russian absorption because a large portion of the Ukrainian people support Russia.   NATO is attempting to issue threats, but Russia knows the EU, and specifically Germany, will do nothing except grasp their pearls.  It is all false bravado on the part of the NATO alliance; they have no teeth and their electorate have no desire for another conflict.

A Background Note –  Additional leverage Putin holds goes back to the Nordstream 2 gas pipeline to supply the energy needs of Germany.  German Chancellor Angela Merkel was warned by President Trump not to go forward with the pipeline that creates a geopolitical leverage for Russia.  Merkel went ahead despite the warnings, and adding salt to the issue, Germany never upheld their NATO funding commitments (2% of GDP).  This was a major source of contention between Trump and Merkel.

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Yes, as you read the following report from OANN, you would not be mistaken to identify the JoeBama administration is now doing exactly the same thing President Trump was accused of, wrongfully, which led to the a ridiculous impeachment effort.

Meanwhile Russian President Vladimir Putin is laughing hysterically….

OANN – Joe Biden is withholding military aid from Ukraine that had already been approved by Congress in the face of Russian military maneuvers at its borders.

Biden will reportedly provide only $125 million to Ukraine this year, although Congress has already approved a $275 million package. White House officials said $150 million of that aid will be withheld until Ukraine conducts the reforms that Biden is asking for. (read more)

Russia will likely take military action against Ukraine.  NATO will once again clucth their proverbial pearls, and, quite frankly, no-one will care.  Biden’s woke foreign policy is Obama’s intentionally weak foreign policy.  The Obama people behind JoeBama will find a way to engage in some kind of war or military action as another purposeful distraction from the domestic agenda they are carrying out.

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Once again showcasing the strategic success of the Trump Doctrine: focusing on economic security as a tool for national security – President Vučić of Serbia and Prime Minister Hoti of Kosovo joined President Trump in the oval office today to sign a joint statement of economic cooperation between the two nations. Truly a remarkable accomplishment.

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[White House] – Statement by the President Regarding Economic Normalization between Serbia and Kosovo

Today, I am pleased to announce yet another historic commitment. Serbia and Kosovo have each committed to economic normalization. After a violent and tragic history and years of failed negotiations, my Administration proposed a new way of bridging the divide. By focusing on job creation and economic growth, the two countries were able to reach a real breakthrough on economic cooperation across a broad range of issues.

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An interesting new discovery amid revelations into the background motives of President Obama to weaponize the intelligence apparatus against his political opposition.

Today former Trump campaign foreign policy advisor Walid Phares identified himself as the fifth target in the August 2, 2017, Rosenstein scope memo.  [The redacted section above] With this admission/discovery a more interesting background makes sense.

(Via John Solomon) […] Phares is speaking out for the first time, suggesting that one of the motives of those who made the allegations and sustained the investigation was to hamper the early Trump presidency’s foreign policy goals, including the 45th president’s long-promised plan to cancel the Obama-era Iran nuclear deal.

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U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and U.K. Secretary of State for International Trade Elizabeth Truss announced today [joint statement] the beginning of a series of fast-tracked trade negotiations toward a new free trade agreement. [USTR Release]

In the foreground is a trade agreement between the U.S. and the United Kingdom. However, in the more strategic background context these negotiations create leverage for the U.K. in their post-Brexit negotiations with the European Union. First from today:

LIGHTHIZER – […] The US negotiating team will be led by Dan Mullaney, Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Europe and the Middle East; and the UK negotiating team will be led by Oliver Griffiths, Director for US Negotiations at the Department for International Trade. Over 200 staff from U.S. and UK government agencies and departments are expected to take part in the negotiations.

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Earlier today President Trump hosted a luncheon with international ambassadors representing permanent members of the United Nations Security Council.  The president delivered remarks on the NATO summit this week, and took a few questions from the media. [Video and Transcript Below]

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[Transcript] – THE PRESIDENT: Okay, thank you very much. I just returned from London, where we had a tremendous success with NATO. The relationship we have with other countries is very, very good. It has to be good; otherwise, they wouldn’t have done what they’ve done.
As you know, NATO was suffering very badly from depletion of funds, and it was going down like a rollercoaster goes down. Not up, but down. And I was able to, over the last couple of years, increase their contribution — not the United States, because we were paying far more than anybody else, to put it mildly. It was really getting ridiculous.
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President Trump and First Lady Melania awaiting entry to the diplomatic reception at No. 10 Downing Street. I title this picture “The Avengers” as it relates on many levels.

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Bilat #4 was a private meeting between President Trump and Denmark Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and closed to public.  [Greenland purchase?…]
Prior to Bilat #5 President Trump and Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte’ hold a media availability prior to their meeting. [Video and Transcript Below]

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[Transcript] – PRESIDENT TRUMP: Thank you very much. We just met with the Prime Minister of Denmark. Had a great meeting and discussed a lot of things, including trade.
And now we’re meeting with a friend of mine — a good friend of mine, the Prime Minister of Italy. And we have many things to discuss, including trade and military and all sorts of different things that we’re working on together. And he’s done a terrific job, become very popular in Italy. A very popular man, as — I’m not surprised to say that.
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Earlier today President Trump hosted a luncheon at the NATO summit for nine nations’ who are living up to their pledges of two-percent of GDP financial support for the NATO military alliance: United States, Bulgaria, Greece, United Kingdom, Estonia, Romania, Lithuania, Latvia and Poland. [Video and Transcript Below]

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[Transcript] – PRESIDENT TRUMP: Well, thank you very much. These are eight countries, plus us — plus the United States — that are fully paid. They met the goal of 2 percent. We call them the “2 percenters.” Someday, we’ll raise it to 3 percent and 4 percent, maybe. But, right now, we have it.
But these are countries that have not been delinquent. They’ve been, in some cases, even more than 2 percent, because they feel so strongly about what we’re doing. And that’s really a sign of respect for the United States.
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President Trump was asked Wednesday to remark on disparaging comments made about him by Justin from Canada during the diplomatic reception at No. 10 Downing Street on Tuesday evening.
President Trump responded:  “Well, he’s two-faced;… and honestly he’s a nice guy, I find him to be a very nice guy, but the truth is I called him out on the fact that he’s not paying two percent and I guess he was not very happy about it.”

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