[0:00]Do not adjust your set, as they used to say in the old world of television. You have not tuned into America. But today's newscast is going to be hosted by me, Justin Webb, and Mariana Spring because
[0:10]Laura and Patty are away on some kind of a winter weekend break or autumn weekend break. So, Mariana, it's an Americ. We should um make hay while the sun shines. And we've got lots of American things uh
[0:22]to chat about, including Friday night's uh Donald Trump and uh President Zalinski meeting uh which we'll get into. And then also this big news in the UK, Justin, about Prince Andrew.
[0:33]>> Yeah. All that and more to come on this edition of Newscast. >> Hello, it is Mariana. I'm in what we on Americwide headquarters, but I think when I'm on
[0:45]newscast, I'm supposed to just call it the studio. >> Yeah. And we should explain the annoying in joke and it does annoy people which is why we keep on making it which is that our American colleagues are upset and annoyed as you'd expect them to be.
[0:57]Imagine how Donald Trump would react when we say that the headquarters of Americ is actually in actually in London England but of course it isn't. Anyway, uh that's the point about American
[1:08]things during the course of this edition, but it is very much newscast that um Marin and I are bringing to you today and we are going to be talking about news that is not necessarily
[1:19]American, although all of it has some American link. Specifically, that Trump Zalinski uh meeting that took place. We're going to talk to the BBC's Ukraine correspondent James Waterhouse about
[1:30]what in Ukraine they make of it. But let's let's start with um Prince Andrew and this statement that came out last night. I'll read you a bit of it. In discussion with the king and my
[1:40]immediate and wider family, we have concluded the continued accusations about me distract from the work of his majesty in the royal family. I've decided, as I always have, to put my
[1:51]duty to my family and country first. I stand by my decision five years ago to stand back from public life. And then he says, we feel I must now go a step further. I will therefore no longer use
[2:02]my title or the honors which have been conferred on me. Uh and he also says as I've said previously I vigorously deny the accusations against me. And I suppose the first
[2:13]question Mariana arising from that is whether other than the optics whether anything's actually changed. I know it's quite interesting that now appears to be
[2:23]the tipping point at which uh Andrew along with the royal family have decided okay actually reputationally this is not doing us any favors. There have been
[2:33]this slew of headlines for for years now, if we're honest, that have focused on um Andrew's relationship, friendship with uh Jeffrey
[2:43]Epstein, who we chat about a lot on newscast. Um and you know, who uh is someone who lots of powerful people have been associated with, but I think Andrew
[2:54]in particular, his connection, not least because he is a member of the royal family, um is one that has been constantly scrutinized. people might remember he did that interview with News
[3:03]Night, with the BBC um back in 2019. And then um now most recently um there have been these kind of new this this I'd say this drip drip drip of information
[3:15]coming out because um not only has there been quite a lot of discussion about Jeffrey Epstein because people have been wanting Donald Trump to release more information about who was connected to Jeffrey Epstein which brings us back to
[3:25]America Jupy who is the woman who uh accused Prince Andrew of being involved in um uh you know trafficking and and other
[3:36]things uh with Jeffrey Epstein which he as you say Justin vigorously denies um her book she she died this year and the book that she wrote before she died is coming out and there are all these
[3:47]extracts again about Prince Andrew so you can imagine and I'm you know if if you're if you're the king you're sitting there thinking oh we've got another goodness knows how many months years of
[3:58]these kinds of stories coming out and and it's worth saying that these are really serious allegations and serious stories um and I I I imagine that's why they've reached this point. >> I mean, it's worth breaking down what
[4:10]the various things are that have brought them to this point, it seems to me. And one of them, you're absolutely right, is this book by Virginia Gifrey, which is coming out. Um, there are experts
[4:21]already people may have read, but the actual book itself coming out very soon, and it looks as if it is going to be even more layered detail about
[4:30]individual incidents that involve uh Prince Andrew. that's the allegation that she's making but also other people potentially as as well. So that's one
[4:41]side of it. Um there is another side to it though as as well and that is this that he was very clear in his news night interview this infamous interview that
[4:52]he gave back in 2019. He was very clear that when he was pictured with Epstein in 2010 that was the end of it. You remember there's this picture of the two
[5:03]of them together in New York walking near Central Park. Um, and he said in the interview, he said it very clearly, that was it. Uh, I didn't have contact
[5:12]with him again. Now it has emerged in emails released in the United States that actually not only did he have contact with him again. So what he said
[5:24]to Newsight was not true it seems but also that the contact that he had involved phrases in the email really damaging phrases like one day we'll play again.
[5:35]>> Yeah. Keep keep in close touch and we'll play some more soon. um which doesn't seem to be indicative of a of a non-existent friendship.
[5:46]>> No, exactly. And that and that and and I think the risk for the royal family and the suspicion in the royal family is that's not going to be the only moment where he's caught out. Actually, he's said something that that at the very
[5:57]least seems not to be true. Um and that there may be other things too. And the other thing I think um which I think then calls into question the judgment of
[6:09]the palace and this is what um those who are palace watchers who are a little more skeptical of the palace than perhaps some of those who are very close to it say which is that could they not
[6:19]have seen all this coming and should they have done all of this earlier not least because this goes to our American stuff which we've often talked about on Americacast. There is a real political
[6:30]head of steam now for stuff to be released that hasn't been released. And there's a ton of documentation about the whole Epstein episode that is still
[6:40]under wraps. And as you know, Mariana, one of the things we we often talk about is the way in which Donald Trump is under pressure from his own supporters to release this stuff because he kind of
[6:50]suggested during the election campaign that it would be easily done. And his attorney general said at one stage that it was on her desk, didn't she? and she was going to let it all out and it hasn't happened. And and I mean it just
[7:02]seems to me that as the Republican party fractures, which it will do over the next couple of years because uh Donald Trump will be on the Wayne, let's assume he doesn't run again for the sake of
[7:12]argument and and he's not allowed to, of course. So there are all sorts of ways in which this stuff, this Epstein stuff, it seems to me, is going to explode onto the public scene, and the the palace
[7:24]really ought to see that coming. And I suppose now in in acting now they kind of are seeing it coming. >> Yeah, it's interesting because exactly like you say Justin, there's there's all kinds of evidence that exists, you know,
[7:35]emails, correspondence, um the book we were talking about, >> flight manifests. >> Yeah, exactly. And so, and people pour over this stuff as we know because it kind of interests them because it shocks
[7:46]them. And and it's worth underlining that lots of this evidence shows relationships or connections between Jeffrey Epstein and say Andrew or whoever it might be. It doesn't in and
[7:57]of itself substantiate the allegations of wrongdoing which have been made by other people. And I think what's difficult here is that you have the people who, you know, pop up in these emails and books and whatever else
[8:08]saying, well, yeah, okay, fine. I kind of was friends with him, but I it doesn't mean I did anything bad. And then lots of members of the public and particularly people on social media, the world that I investigate most of the
[8:19]time, saying, "Well, hang on a second. Why were you still connected to this person? Why were you happy to frequent the same places or be in touch with them if you knew or had any inkling that they
[8:30]were doing bad stuff or you knew that they had, you know, these very very serious accusations have been leveled against them or they'd, you know, been charged, etc., etc." Um, and I think
[8:40]that that is what I mean, Donald Trump, as we've chatted about lots, has struggled with, you know, people resurfacing pictures of him um, with Jeffrey Epste. Again, he very, very, very strongly says, you know, we fell
[8:52]out. I had nothing to do with the bad stuff that he did, etc. But that doesn't stop the very rabbid online space saying, well, why are all these
[9:03]powerful people connected to other powerful people who do bad things? Because when when it comes to Jeffrey Epstein and the reason why people are so I don't know if obsessed is the right word but are so interested in this is
[9:15]because it's really really shocking and because it feels symptomatic of very rich and powerful people being allowed to do things kind of unaccountably
[9:26]>> and all kind of being connected to one another which very much fits into the conspiratorial way of looking at the world. And lots of the conspiracy theories go way beyond what the evidence tells us. But there are obviously
[9:37]examples of where power has been abused here. >> I think that's exactly the point. It's it it's one of those areas, probably not the only one, where there are people who make wild accusations and believe in
[9:47]things that just aren't true, conspiracy things, but there are also people who broadly agree with them, who are perfectly well aware of the difference between truth and fiction and just want to find it out. And the and and
[9:58]interestingly in America, it's now a cross party thing. So you've got kind of people, you've got real conspiracy theorists. I mean, Mar Marjorie um Taylor Green has been a conspiracy theorist. I think it is fair to say of
[10:10]her, the Republican congresswoman. I don't think anyone could really seriously argue with that, but is actually now very much on this stuff in the mainstream. Uh and there are people on the left. I was talking actually
[10:21]earlier today. I'm doing my day job on the Today program talking to Gloria Olred who is the attorney, the very famous attorney, women's rights campaigner um who works for some of the
[10:33]victims of Jeffrey Epstein. And you know there is this right across the board sense that there is more to this than meets the eye. And there obviously is too. I mean it's a simple fact that he
[10:44]got off from his initial charge when he actually went to jail for a little bit down in Florida. Uh the initial charge seemed to people to be oddly light. It
[10:54]was for soliciting for prosecute for prostitution of a of a minor. It was one count and he had a very lenient sentence. Um and there are questions about that that still swirl about. There
[11:05]are also questions uh about uh Gileain Maxwell and what's going on with her. She's now in a much easier prison to be in than the one she was in before. She's serving 20 years. She'd obviously dearly
[11:16]like to get out. Um, there has been talk as well, hasn't there Mariana, of of deals being done and of her spilling the beans perhaps or maybe not spilling the
[11:27]beans and in that way securing her own freedom. So, I mean, there's just a ton more to come. >> Yeah. And and when we ask this question of, well, hang on a second, why why have
[11:38]the royal family waited until now for this to happen? Why has it happened in this way? Because also, it's worth saying that they could have gone about this in a very different way, couldn't they, Justin? They could have had to kind of go through parliament and have a
[11:49]bit of this sort of show of saying actually we don't want Andrew to have his titles anymore. But they've allowed him to and as you read out in that statement, you know, him saying things
[11:59]like I have decided as I always have to put my duty and my uh to my family and country first. They've allowed him to have his say and to step back sort of of his own well certainly before before he
[12:09]was pushed. Um I think that I think there are two interesting things. One is that it is that point of would it have made a difference if you know after the
[12:19]Newsight interview or after um you know even two or three years ago when there were other bits of information appearing about Epstein and all kinds of other accusations being leveled at Andrew
[12:29]would it would it have been better to have made those decisions back then um and I think it's important to remember that he is a member of this family like we're talking about his brother like he's going and talking to his brother
[12:40]about it's not like you know your employee in in the traditional sense, although obviously it's a very different type of family. Um, and then also when we think about, well, will this actually make a difference going forward? Does it
[12:52]really separate the royal family from further accusations that come out? And if I'm really honest, I think, and maybe this is because I am very much tainted by how stuff unfolds on social media,
[13:03]but I don't think, you know, I I don't think a decision to sort of distance the royal family from Andrew in this way now will change that it makes
[13:14]people think that powerful people like royals are complicit in bad things. really if that's something that you're going to think in the first place. I guess people might I I guess it could have some kind of impact, but again you
[13:25]might point to well why didn't you do this ages ago? Um, so I I don't know whether almost the the horse has bolted really in terms of the reputational impact or at least it means that the royal family from their point of view I
[13:37]imagine if you were someone working within their kind of coms and PR team you think well at least we don't have to keep explaining how what Andrew does is kind of his own thing because we sort of can do that now
[13:49]>> and the other things this other book I mean we talked about Virginia Grey's book but there's there's another book isn't there too by Andrew Lowry and I confess I haven't looked at it, but it
[13:59]is it suggests and again Andrew Lowry was on the Today program this morning um saying that you know there there is I
[14:08]mean his point is that all of the the former duke all of the prince's financial affairs are strange. uh and he didn't quite use the word strange. He
[14:19]actually used another tougher word, but I won't because um again these things are deniable. But the fact is that there
[14:28]is something odd about the way in which uh Prince Andrew seems to be so wealthy and his family as well and that that also bears looking into and that's absolutely this is kind of nothing to do
[14:40]with Jeffrey Epstein. It's a completely new can of worms that the royal family again, Mariana, to an extent maybe saw it coming um and realize, goodness,
[14:51]there's an awful lot here that we just would prefer not to be attached to us. >> Yeah. And you mentioned, you know, accusations about Andrew's finances. There's also all this stuff about this alleged Chinese spy people might
[15:02]remember. So Andrew withdrew from this uh from the family events, the royal family events last Christmas because uh he was linked to this alleged Chinese spy. um who was named in a high court uh
[15:12]judgment um and his office came out to say look nothing sensitive had ever been discussed with this person Yang Tangbo also known as Chris Yang who was an adviser on Andrew's business ventures
[15:23]but anyway it it all of these things you can imagine if you're sitting inside Buckingham Palace or whatever you do if you're the royal family you're thinking oh another one it's like Brenda from Bristol different people remember that
[15:34]um and it is worth reiterating with all of these things whether it is the accusations around Jeffrey Epstein or um and Virginia Guprey or about this alleged Chinese spy or about the
[15:44]financial stuff that uh Andrew denies all wrongdoing on all of these counts. Okay, Justin, we're we're back on even more familiar territory perhaps,
[15:55]America's territory, um because we're going to talk about what happened last night um between Donald Trump and Zalinski and then also what has been happening this week between Donald Trump
[16:06]and Vladimir Putin. And there is no one better to talk to us about all of this than Ukraine correspondent James Waterhouse. Uh so this is like newscast American
[16:16]cast uh crossover fusion. Hi James. >> Hi Mariana. Hi. >> How are you? >> Yeah fine, thanks. Um as you say it's all been very familiar this week, hasn't
[16:26]it? When you look at um you know Mr. Zilinski in front of his American counterpart, forcing a smile, smothering him with compliments and leaving nothing.
[16:38]>> Yeah. Flashbacks to that uh that Oval Office showdown which was pretty extraordinary really earlier this year. >> Yeah. I mean it's a world away from that
[16:49]and I think just how things have improved is a reflection of Europe and Ukraine strategy. They have gone for full operation ringiss. They've gone
[17:00]there, bent the ring, bent the knee, kissed the ring, and and smothered Donald Trump with praise because, as reflected this week with Europe coming
[17:10]up with this so-called um defense road map where they've had to form a plan or the European Commission has um to increase defense spending, uh create
[17:22]land corridors, air bases, a so-called drone wall by 2030. They're trying to show, look, we can make our weapons, we can pay for them. Um, but it's going to take so much time and that's not yet
[17:34]with the complete approval of all European governments. And then you've got poor old Vadimir Zalinski in the middle still trying to keep the
[17:42]spotlight uh on his war. Um, and he is engaging with Donald Trump. They clearly have a closer relationship. be still using transactional language like, "Look, we'll give you some drones in
[17:53]exchange for some tomahawk missiles that would allow us to strike seriously deep inside Russia." But here we are again with the slightest bit of communication from Vladimir Putin. And he's back to
[18:03]that fence saying, "Well, I may do, I may not, it might escalate, it might not." Um, and here we are preparing for another potential US-Russia summit.
[18:13]>> So, just just James, just take us back a couple of steps then. What did the Ukrainians think was going to happen uh at the White House this time round? What
[18:24]what were they hoping for? What were they aiming for? Start of the week, Justin, they were hoping to go to meet Donald Trump directly, who seemingly instigated this meeting fresh off the
[18:34]back of securing a ceasefire in the Middle East. They were hoping he would give a sign off on the supply of these US tomahawk cruise missiles that can
[18:44]strike hundreds of kilometers, more than a thousand kilometers inside Russia. Um, and Ukraine at this point has successfully been striking Russian oil
[18:56]refineries. Um and they were hoping to sort of extend that to extend the pain to Russians who are in some parts of the country, not all, not in major cities,
[19:07]queuing for petrol, seeing prices increase. um they want to also strike military sites like air bases and in a sort of collective effort to put the
[19:17]pressure on the Kremlin to talk. They were hoping to to see that, you know, step change in American support for Ukraine off the back of the improvement
[19:26]we've seen. And yet on Thursday, Vladimir Putin calls Donald Trump, we're told, according to the US president, where he says, "Look, you know, it'll
[19:37]change little on the battlefield. Then all giving Ukraine Tomahawk missiles would do is damage our own relations." Uh, and you wouldn't want that, would you? I presume. I mean, that's that's what you would imagine the thrust of
[19:48]that 2-hour conversation was. And almost immediately, Donald Trump was he could see he was energized by that and he's gone back to this neutral stance. And I can guarantee you Ukrainians will be
[20:00]looking at this and thinking, right, okay, the US president's called it productive. For whom? You know, we're now having our infrastructure hit once more in autumn.
[20:10]We're having forced blackouts. This war we're still having to withstand at a huge cost. And for Russia, it buys it more time. I was talking to an a member
[20:20]of the Ukrainian Parliament, uh, James, who was saying that her frustration was actually not so much
[20:30]aimed at at Donald Trump, although she does think he's useless, basically. And she very much regrets that he's going to Budapest and meeting with uh Putin
[20:40]without a ceasefire in place. Same as as as that meeting, that last meeting they had in in Alaska where people were saying, "Well, hang on a second. trying to get the ceasefire before the meetings. So, all of that annoyed her. But the thing that annoyed her more,
[20:52]which was I I I found quite striking and you probably won't because you're aware of this, but I I just thought it was really interesting that the people she was really annoyed with were the Europeans because she said, "You're not taking all of this stuff seriously.
[21:03]You're not freeing up all the money, the Russian money that's that's in Europe and could be used to buy weapons. You're not properly having embargos. You're still buying oil, etc., etc." She felt
[21:15]this was a moment that the Europeans have have got to be a bit tougher and just, you know, put put the Trump business to one side. >> You know, you you both know better than I Donald Trump looks at things in a very
[21:26]transactional way. And he's pointing out to to the European block as a whole, why do you want me to help you as much as I can if you are still buying Russian oil
[21:38]and gas? And we're seeing, you know, the growth of the of the populist far right in in in some countries who certainly, you know, the likes of Slovakia and
[21:47]Hungary do not want to stop buying Russian oil uh and gas. Um and so that undoubtedly is is tempering America's support. And as far as Ukraine is
[21:58]concerned, you know, they they do feel, you know, this is a country that has been at war that has been attacked by Russia since 2014. Um and they have been part of Europe
[22:09]throughout that as they as Ukraine always has been. And they feel that there has not just been inaction but not not enough proaction ahead of what was widely seen
[22:20]as as an escalation with the full-scale invasion. And you know, I sat on this um this remote press conference this week where um Kaakalis, the EU's foreign
[22:31]policy chief, announced this uh security dome, this iron, this this drone wall where they would defend Europe's east and flank against drone incursions,
[22:41]airspace violations, where they would look to increase manufacturing. And you just think if you're if if you're a Ukrainian watching this, it all sounds very good and well. There are still huge question marks over where the money
[22:52]comes from, whether there's duplication with NATO, which is operationally responsible for European defense. Um, they claim there was no duplication. But
[23:01]yeah, there is a simmering resentment um frustration, I think I'm doing it down there slightly, uh, over Europe's, uh, inability still to plug the gap
[23:13]where Donald Trump has sort of laid down the government and said, "Look, Europe, step up." It's interesting, James, because I I mean, you probably spend well, you already spend too much of your
[23:22]time doing this, but when when we're trying to sort of like psychoanalyze Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin, um, Vladimir Zalinski, it's like it feels
[23:33]like there's been this kind of constant oscillation or I mean, flip-flop is maybe too strong, maybe not when it comes to their positions. Particularly, I would say Donald Trump's relationship
[23:44]with both men and, you know, how he feels about Putin and on on the one hand, he'll kind of say, "Oh, basically, he's kind of annoying me." And then he'll kind of be like, "Oh, actually, no, we spoke on the phone. He's not
[23:54]annoying me anymore." How much has much has that position changed since Donald Trump became president? Like, where are
[24:03]we in terms of the timeline of their falling out, not falling out? >> I know. I I I would agree. I think it's it's like a pendulum, right? At the in January
[24:14]>> that pendulum was extreme. You know, we saw Donald Trump coming. We saw Zalinski go meet him in New York where he was trying to impress his case. And before that, under the Biden administration for
[24:25]Ukraine, it had been very kind of it would have been like a gradual yield where Ukraine would ask for fighter jets, tanks. Um America would say no or the West would say no. We're worried
[24:36]about an escalation. Russia would play to that but then it would eventually give in provide Ukraine with these kind of weapons. Um but the simmering frustration was the speed and scale at
[24:48]which this western help arrived under Donald Trump. It is this pendulum where you had that bust up earlier this year. And watching that from Kev with
[24:57]Ukrainian colleagues, the gravity of it was deeply felt because we didn't really know what the Trump administration would bring. We knew it would be different to
[25:08]Biden, but seeing a deterioration in such a dramatic way in the White House was going to have farreaching consequences, not just for Ukraine's
[25:18]immediate fight, but also the course of these peace talks. How would they go? And that pendulum under a huge amount of diplomatic effort
[25:28]has become less extreme, but it is still swinging. And I was looking at Zilinsk's face in that, you know, that that White House gathering with all the with all
[25:37]the press opposite Donald Trump and he's, you know, he he is having to still adopt this tactic of flattery and he's thanking him. You know, he I have no
[25:49]idea how he is still doing it. um having to go there and and thank for his efforts so far, the wanting of peace
[25:59]because, you know, for reasons discussed, it is American intelligence, military expertise, um it's it's military might in terms of
[26:10]long-term long-distance weaponry and armored vehicles. It's all of these things together that make it a superpower. and why Europe while it's come a long way with Ukraine now leading
[26:22]the way um it's still there's still a chasm between the two and it's that chasm which is forcing Wadin Zilinski to just swallow his frustrations and try to
[26:33]keep Donald Trump on side and I think that is the best he can hope for at the moment what I don't want to do is dismiss the reasons why Russia might be coming to the table yes it's buy time it
[26:44]Putin has shown he wants to keep fighting but we are talking in autumn where the ground is soft, the frost will come in. His offensive for this year is
[26:53]over and we have seen yes towns reduced to rubble but no major towns or cities have been taken once more. And so when you look at the the human cost for both
[27:04]sides, but more so for Russia, you know, some analysis puts it as 5 to one, you know, there are other forces, not least with its economy, that could be uh taking Vladimir Putin back to the back
[27:16]to the landline. But, you know, I think the main reason I think Ukrainians are brighteyed about this is that he just wants to improve relations with the US whilst taking Ukrainian territory as
[27:25]what he sees as an acceptable cost. I I do wonder though whether Trump is in a stronger position because of what's happened in the Middle East. And you can, you know, let's not fall into the
[27:37]trap. I don't think um we are likely to do this of just assuming that Donald Trump has waved a magic wand in the Middle East and everything settled because it's obviously not. But he has achieved things in the Middle East. And
[27:48]you could argue, couldn't you, James, that he's achieved them by putting real pressure on people, uh, being willing to apply that pressure, specifically on
[27:57]Benjamin Netanyahu after the Israeli attack, uh, on a on a Hamas target in Doha in Qatar in a nation that Donald Trump is very close to in a business way
[28:08]and in other ways as well, but also more widely that he was willing to put pressure, it seems, behind the scenes on Turkey and potentially on Egypt as well. And there was a there's a sense that of
[28:19]of Donald Trump that he always chickens out of everything. But actually on this occasion maybe he didn't and maybe there
[28:28]could be some way in which Putin begins to think maybe with me too he won't chicken out eventually and he might supply the tomahawks and then do any number of other things that Russia would
[28:40]would be upset by. I think in principle, you know, he has every reason to to to feel like he holds the cards because you're right, it's that broad pressure
[28:50]that needs to be imposed on the leaders of the day to make a ceasefire and eventual and an eventual peace agreement hold. Uh I'm not going to try and draw parallels between the different natures
[29:01]of the the conflicts, but the same principle applies, right? He he's going to use his political and military leverage and say, "Look, enough is enough." I think with Russia's war in
[29:12]Ukraine, you've got two foes who are still believe they are in the fight and so yes, it will take pressure. Ukraine wants to see a whole lot more of it put
[29:24]on Russia with the supply of tomahawks and with a meaningful guarantee um that America along with the west would step in if Russia was to have
[29:34]another go. But there are that's where the the same principle that kind of parallel ends because there is a practical reality. If you listen to what
[29:43]Trump was saying yesterday, he was saying why can't you know why don't we finish why don't we freeze the contact the fighting on the current front lines
[29:54]and let men go home to their families and stop killing each other. It's up for Zilinsky and Putin to sort this out. But there's a lot of bad blood between the
[30:03]two. Those pose huge practical questions. It's not just a front line. It's it's sways of territory. It's an enormous land corridor held up by drones
[30:14]that swarm the sky that keep pockets of soldiers trapped underground where there is a huge uh death rate. Um you've got Russian forces on the outskirts of some
[30:25]Ukrainian towns. How do you suddenly click a finger and stop that without some kind of military blueprint? Um, and
[30:33]so Donald Trump is clearly moving things along in trying to get Ukraine and Russia to engage. But it won't just be enough, you would argue, on recent
[30:44]evidence, for him to just chair a face to face between Putin and Zalinski. It will take more to just both make
[30:53]Zalinski work to his vision for peace and to make Putin think twice before trying it again. Just quickly before um you go, James, but something that we've
[31:02]chatted about quite a lot on American in Maidston who suggests that we might
[31:22]be talking about the wrong Trump. Uh, so Ian asked, "Hi, Americancast. As Melania Trump appears to be making headway in her bid to return home
[31:32]kidnapped Ukrainian children, should she be nominated for next year's Nobel Peace Prize? What would that do to domestic arrangements in the White House?" Interesting though because she has
[31:40]actually been James pretty um vocal in like this is this is an issue that she's sort of taken taken upon herself and she doesn't tend to get as stuck in. She
[31:51]does occasionally on some issues. We've chatted about it before, Justin, like for example, she's spoken about abortion and abortion rights, but this is something where she's some written some quite kind of powerful letters about about how important it is that kids are
[32:02]are returned back home. >> I would love to know what conversations they have in private over the over the merits of supporting Ukraine and what she makes of that invasion. What I would
[32:12]say is yes, her role has been unusual and she has secured the release of I think eight Ukrainian children being returned to their their families and and
[32:22]one Russian child has gone the other way. But this is also a double-edged sword because that's eight out of an estimated 20,000 missing Ukrainian
[32:33]children. So yes, it could be the the the start of something more. We, you know, we've seen it with prisoner of war exchanges. There could be a deeper cooperation there through the US first lady. But if you went on, you know,
[32:45]Russian state TV, they were talking this up as well, the return of that Russian child. And Melania Trump may well be the figurehead that represents improving
[32:56]relations between Russia and the US. So yes, of course, the return of of abducted children is a welcome sight, but if you're Ukraine and you're looking
[33:07]at the first lady playing this role, it could lead to, you know, with such small numbers of children being returned so far, the worry is is that could just simply lead to a to a political bridge
[33:18]over their heads at the expense of their future security. >> Okay, that's it. This takeover episode of Newscast is over. Americast of course is the place where Mariana and I can be
[33:29]found often along with our US colleagues and um do give America try if you haven't beforehand but otherwise >> this was your taster. This was your flavor of Americas. >> Yes, exactly.
[33:40]>> And we hope we've convinced you. >> If you like the sound of us, do and if you don't like the sound of us, do anyway because it might be better with the other people as well. Uh I think that's probably it for now though, Mariana. >> It is. Bye
[33:51]>> bye.