It’s Easter for Christians, and President Donald Trump’s message is a religious one.

He aims to be one of the angels of deliverance whom the gospels report to have showed themselves at the tomb of Jesus Christ after the crucifixion. Rolling the stone from the entrance to the tomb, and in place of his corpse, the appearance of the angels confirmed the resurrection.

“Through the pain and sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross,” Trump has tweeted, “we saw God’s boundless Love and Devotion to all Humanity and, in that moment of His Resurrection, History was forever changed with the Promise of Everlasting Life.” He went on: “America is a Nation of Believers. We need God, we want God and, with His help, we will make our Nation Stronger, Safer, Greater, more Prosperous, and more United than ever before.”

Trump had announced his own personal divine deliverance last July, when he was grazed in an assassination attempt. “It was God alone who prevented the unthinkable from happening. We will FEAR NOT, but instead remain resilient in our Faith and Defiant in the face of Wickedness.” He repeated his divine deliverance in his inaugural address of January 20: “I was saved by God to make America great again.” In Congress on March 4, Trump repeated the divine mission. “I believe I was saved by God to make American great again. I believe that.”

On Palm Sunday he added that he was “in prayer with Christians celebrating the crucifixion and resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ—the living Son of God who conquered death, freed us from sin, and unlocked the gates of Heaven for all of humanity.” The White House log identified Trump’s only event of the day was to play golf from mid-morning until mid-afternoon.

In this new podcast, Nima Alkhorshid leads the discussion of what Trump is expecting to be believed in the negotiations he is holding with Russia and with Iran; and of what he and his officials are actually doing.

Three main documents were referred to in the discussion.

The first is the published version of Trump’s medical examination last week.

Source: https://static01.nyt.com

A specialist geriatrician who was consulted for a review of this report has commented that the 99% oxygenation level reported appears to be abnormally high; if accurate, the number may reflect prior stimulation in a hyperbaric chamber. The source also expresses scepticism that at Trump’s height (191cm), body weight (102kg) and body mass index (28, overweight range), the reported blood pressure score of 128 over 74 is too low unless he is taking undisclosed hypertension medication. The source adds that the neurological test reported of the Montreal Cognitive Assessment is inappropriate. This is used to measure dementia presentations in patients with Parkinson’s Disease or suspected Alzheimer’s Disease. It is not a measure of cognitive function. For that, tests of oral and written language use, conceptual complexity, and memory are appropriate. The evidence of these shows abnormally low cognitive function for Trump: click here and here.

For the Russian reaction to Trump’s statements and the negotiations he has directed Steven Witkoff and other officials to hold in Riyadh, Istanbul, Washington, and most recently in Moscow, here are excerpts of Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov’s interview with Kommersant, published on April 14.

Source: https://mid.ru/en/foreign_policy/news/2009093/?lang=en

“Question: There were several rounds of talks with the United States since the new administration came to power there. What would be your assessment of how these contacts panned out? Have they resulted in outlining the key parameters for the future comprehensive agreement on Ukraine? On which of its elements have Washington and Moscow already reached common ground?

Sergey Lavrov: Let me answer your last question right away. The answer is no. Agreeing on the key aspects of the settlement is easy. We are discussing them…

Question: From what you have said, it sounds like Moscow still believes the US can be a negotiator in the Ukraine conflict. There have already been two US-mediated agreements: one on safe navigation in the Black Sea and another on a moratorium on strikes against energy infrastructure. But neither seems to be fully functioning. What’s your take on that?

Sergey Lavrov: There are no such agreements.”

In the interview, Lavrov downplayed the role of Kirill Dmitriev, whom he referred to, not by his new presidential emissary title, but by his older job function. “The economy and trade constitute the third track. Americans mentioned it at the first stage when President of the United States Donald Trump and President Vladimir Putin had their first telephone conversation, as well as when Presidential Envoy Steve Witkoff came here, and when Kirill Dmitriev, who heads the Russian Direct Investment Fund, was in the United States. They are businesspeople. Generating tangible returns is something that matters for them, and Donald Trump has made no secret out of it. This is his mindset and his policy. This is what the people of America voted for. It is obvious that they seek to generate benefits.”

Read more: https://johnhelmer.net/the-three-steps-which-way-is-forward-which-way-is-backward-in-russias-war-fighting-peace-negotiating-strategy/

On the Russian terms for the relief of sanctions and economic warfare, Lavrov said: “If you have been following the debates in Russia, you will know that we are not begging anyone to cancel these sanctions. We have a solid group of opinion leaders who believe that cancelling sanctions would be a disaster, since liberally minded officials would instantly seek to cut short and reverse everything we achieved in terms of import substitution, promoting economic sovereignty, developing manufacturing and ensuring security in sectors which are vital for the state, including defence, food security and technological sovereignty. There is a growing fear that these cunning Americans will lift sanctions all of a sudden in order to flood our market with services and technologies which had already caused so many challenges for us before.”

“We have yet to address the situation we have with civilian aircraft. They must undergo dual registration, and there are challenges with obtaining parts and engine maintenance. They have been telling us that they would not give us anything, saying that our aviation sector must die. I do not think that a reasonable person would want this to happen.”

“Let me reiterate that I am totally convinced that President Vladimir Putin was spot on in his multiple statements when he said that we cannot allow ourselves to depend on someone else in sectors which are vital for the survival of our state. During his recent appearance at the congress of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, he said that if anyone who ceased their business operations in Russia after being told to do so by their governments would want to return to Russia, we will have to see on a case-by-case basis whether there is a niche for them. They have created these openings when they withdrew from the Russian market, so these niches do not belong to them. In many cases, Russian businesses and companies from countries which decided to stay here have filled these niches by continuing to honour their obligations in terms of offering jobs to our people and fulfilling plans to supply their goods. Markets have already factored these projections into their plans, but it all fell apart.”

“I believe that if I had to pick sides in the dispute between those saying that by all means sanctions should not be lifted and that this would make things worse, and those arguing that otherwise Russia would become isolated from the global economy, I would side with the first point of view. Arguing that we would face autarky, or isolation, would be too much.”

Read more: https://johnhelmer.net/strike-for-strike-in-trumps-sanctions-war-how-australias-attack-on-rusals-alumina-in-queensland-has-triggered-russias-attack-on-rio-tintos-copper/

In the final segment of the podcast, the discussion focuses on the US-Israeli pressure to extract concessions from Iran, and the Iranian response, with support from Russia and China.

In this report by Antonio Giustozzi of his direct interviews with Iranian, Russian and Syrian military sources, there are reminders of the reciprocal suspicions between the three allies as the Damascus rule of Bashar al-Assad collapsed last year. This is not the last word.

Source: https://therussiaprogram.org/russia_and_syria

Read more from the Russian side, starting here.