Once again it was Ryabkov who laid down the line on what Moscow expects from Trump 2.0:

“The first step towards normalizing bilateral relations, meaning negotiations based on the principles of mutual respect and equality, should be taken by the United States. We are open to dialogue, ready to negotiate in a tough bargaining mode, taking into account the realities ‘on the ground’ and our national interests, predetermined by history and geography. So the decisions and choice are up to Trump and his team.”

The problem is the Empire of Chaos does not do “mutual respect and equality”; it is exceptionalist by definition. The Empire of Chaos does not do “dialog”: it’s always “my way or the highway”. And the memory-impaired Empire of Chaos dismisses both “history and geography”.

After detailing how “relations between Moscow and Washington are balancing on the verge of rupture”; how Russia “sees no practical changes” in the U.S.’s Ukrainian policy; how Moscow and Washington “have not yet agreed on high-level contacts”; and how Moscow “does not expect its relations with Washington to get much better” under Trump 2.0, Ryabkov, as a clincher, in fact already painted the Big Picture ahead:

“Washington’s attempts to give Moscow ultimatums or to demonstrate the alleged ‘big favor’ in exchange for unacceptable U.S. demands are doomed to failure in the dialogue with Russia.”

Neither Trump nor Kellogg seem to have gotten the message.

Not to mention that the CIA is feeding them a comet of stupidities when it comes to the state of the Russian economy.

Russia’s economy grew by 4.1% in 2024. Energy and raw materials continue to be sold across the Global Majority and bring in a lot of revenue which now stays in Russia, because transferring capital out is nearly impossible. So now all profits are invested across Russia, which was not the case before the start of the SMO nearly 3 years ago.

The war may be far away from Moscow – over 1,000 km. But the Russian economy as a whole can now be characterized largely as a war economy. The revival of the arms industry generated a lot of jobs in several provinces and in fact redistributed the flow of money within Russia.

All the bombast coming from Trump, the inanities coming from Kellogg and the massive P.R. to come out of the Munich Security Conference won’t alter facts on the battlefield. There will be no two-bit “ceasefire”. Either Ukraine surrenders unconditionally – or the [war] show must go on. Meanwhile, let’s Keep on Trumpin’.