| Transcript submitted by a reader https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s_XGX2w0PU8 NewsX: 4:58 Andrew KP Leung is joining us live, a China strategist. He’s live, in fact, from Hong Kong with us. Welcome. Thank you for being with us today on News X World, Andrew. How do you view this latest turn that the conflict has taken? Obviously, escalation has been warned now by Israel. They say that this is an unprecedented attack on a hospital. They are now directly blaming Khamenei for it. Do you see further escalation in the next 24 hours, looking at these latest statements from both sides? Andrew K.P. Leung: 6:01 –Netanyahu, the prime minister of Israel, has been increasingly been emboldened to seek a greater, greater endgame. Originally, he started off with eradicating Hamas. He is already destroying the proxy forces supporting Iran, the Houthis, and also Hezbollah in Syria, and also controlling a lot of strategic assets in Syria. But now it seems to be seeking not only to eradicate Hamas, but also to eradicate Iran. Because Iran has always been the greatest existential threat to Israel. I mean, it’s not just recent years, it’s over decades. 7:03 And it is the confrontation of Iran that has been part and parcel of Israel’s militarization, including its possession of nuclear weapons. But this time around, it seeks that the, it sees that Iran has been sufficiently, gravely weakened, because all these proxy forces, the Houthis to a certain extent, but definitely Hezbollah and to a large extent Hamas, have been weakened. And Israel has also been assassinating the top military leaders in Iran and trying to foment social unrest in Iran with the hope of overthrowing its government. However, the existential threat for Israel is the possession of nuclear facilities, which are said to be on the verge of developing a nuclear weapon. 8:14 And hence Israel has been planning for this attack for a long, long time. And its military, of course, has been hugely advanced with the support of weaponry by the United States. And now he seems to be targeting Iran’s most secret and most precious nuclear facilities buried deep in the mountains. And they can be reached, according to their intelligence, only by employing the American special bombs, weighing 30,000 pounds, so-called “bunker-buster” bombs. However, Israel doesn’t have the aircraft or the bombers which are capable of carrying these bombs. And then the only bomber that can do so is the [B-2] by the United States. 9:18 And Trump recently has signaled that he has authorized the direct involvement of the US Air Force in the war, without giving the final go-ahead, and asking Iran openly to surrender unconditionally. And of course the Iran leadership refuses to buckle, refuses to [cower in the course] of American aggression. And then, of course, Iran has just displayed its 200 miles special mid-range missiles that can hit Israel’s capital and many other different assets. So the prospects for– NewsX: 10:15 We’re also seeing a phone call, Andrew, that has taken place between, of course, various international leaders. They’re all deliberating, of course, on this conflict and what is a way to de-escalate for both sides. Amidst all of this, we’ve also heard statements from Russia and China. How do you react to the positions that China and Russia have taken on this conflict, where they’re clearly, of course, calling out Israel’s actions as illegal? Leung: 10:50 Well, of course, I think that both for Russia and China, a destroyed Iran doesn’t, is doing a lot of damage to their coalition. Because according to the early warning to Americans, foreign policy doyan, the late Brzezinski, in his epic tome called “The Grand Chessboard”, published in 1997. On page 50 of that book, he already warned that the most lethal coalition against American hegemony is a coalition between Russia, China, and Iran. And now with Iran, if Iran is being weakened, this coalition is, it would be much more, is greatly affected. And hence, Russia and China do not want to see Iran which is destroyed, apart from the prospects for escalation. 12:04 Because if Iran retaliates with missiles and of course with even other attacks, this could spiral into a regional war, which does not auger well for stability in the region or for the world. And hence, both countries, Russia and China, are supporting negotiations as a means to resolve the crisis. And that call for negotiation rather than military coercion is supported by the international community, by European countries and by other countries in the world, who do not believe that ending– the world’s problems will be solved by unilateral action. And indeed, this is the principle underpinned by the UN Charter, that countries involved in conflict to seek negotiations. But unfortunately, this method has been cast aside in favor of military aggression, which has a great danger. NewsX: 13:22 Okay. We’re getting further breaking news now coming in this hour. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has called on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to adopt a moderate and controlled approach in Iran. In a phone call earlier today, Merz emphasized the need for restraint and careful decision making. A German government source confirmed the conversation, highlighting Berlin’s focus on stability and responsible leadership. Andrew Leung is live with us on this story. Andrew, how do you react to this phone call that has transpired between the German Chancellor and the Israeli Prime Minister? Leung: 13:56 Well, I think that the– you see, I was referring to these bunker-busting bombs to be carried by B2 bombers. But then, of course, Iran could also seek a way to obtain missiles that can threaten the B2 bombers. And of course, the B2 bombers is a valuable asset. And of course, if one is shot down, this would blow a hole in America’s military credibility. And that explains President Trump’s hesitancy in giving the final word, go ahead. But then, who knows? I mean, no one can tell what President Trump is going to do, because he may well believe that the missiles couldn’t reach the B2. And even before they do, the Iranian nuclear facilities would be totally destroyed, and that would eliminate the only challenger of Israeli hegemony in the Middle East. 15:16 And the Israeli hegemony in the Middle East is important for the serving of Americans’ interests, because the United States can thereby control the whole of the Middle East, regardless of, of course, having destroyed Iran and threatening other Middle East countries. But that, of course, would not be supported by the Arab world. NewsX: 15:43 Okay. Andrew Leung, thank you very much for joining us with your perspective on that story. Meanwhile, Ukraine has secured the release of a group of prisoners of war in its latest exchange with Russia, President Volodymyr Zelensky has confirmed today. While the number of those freed was not disclosed, Kiev’s Coordination Council for Prisoners of War stated that the group included injured and ill individuals, many of whom had been held since the early months of Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022. President Zelensky reiterated his commitment to bringing every Ukrainian home, thanking all those involved in facilitating the exchange. Meanwhile, tensions continue to escalate as Ukraine marks 100 days since Russia rejected a United States-backed proposal for a complete ceasefire. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrei Sibyah accused Moscow of intensifying hostilities, instead of seizing the opportunity to end the conflict. He called on Ukraine’s international partners to increase pressure through sanctions and continued military aid, insisting that the time to act is now. Despite proposals from the West and Ukraine’s stated readiness for peace, Russia set conditions and maintained a hardline stance, further complicating efforts to reach a resolution. 16:56 Gilbert Doctorow, Russian affairs expert, is joining us live from Brussels. Gilbert, thank you for being with us on News X World. You know, prisoner exchanges, of course, continue between the two sides, but have we reached any closer to any sort of peace deal, or is that still a while away? Gilbert Doctorow, PhD: The exchange of prisoners is a positive development which we all can praise. It shows that the discussions that were held in two sessions in Istanbul have produced some results at the technical level. I say technical level, that is what the negotiators consider this. At the human level, the families, the loved ones of those who have been returned, of course, can take great pleasure in seeing them once again. 17:48 Nonetheless, to answer your question, this development has no bearing on the conclusion of a truce, not to mention conclusion of a peace treaty. And Mr. Zelensky’s remarks criticizing Russia for spending 100 days resisting the conclusion of the peace or ceasefire is utter nonsense. He is repeating the same remarks everywhere that he goes. He is looking for financial and military aid wherever he goes. And as we just saw in the past week, when he was attending the G7 conference in Alberta, he’s getting nothing. NewsX: 18:40 Yes. Also, of course, now, do you believe that with different countries across the world’s attention being towards the Iran-Israel conflict, that is going to delay some sort of efforts to continue the talks between Russia and Ukraine, or do you believe those will happen simultaneously? Doctorow: 19:05 Well, as they broke off following the second meeting in Istanbul, there was no prospect of any progress, because both sides were demanding that the other side capitulate. Now, that is an impossible situation. It expresses the utter irrealism of Mr. Zelensky’s position, the utter rejection of the real situation on the ground, battlefield, by his European backers. It is not supported. His position is not supported by Donald Trump, which is the main reason why Trump left the G7 meeting early. And that is of decisive importance, because despite all the rhetoric coming out of the European institutions, leaders, mainly the foreign minister, one can call her, Kallas, and the chairman of the Commission, von der Leyen, there is no prospect of Europe saving Ukraine. They don’t have the materiel, they don’t have the money, and they don’t have the will. So Mr. Zelensky’s hopes for European salvation are completely misplaced. 20:22 As for the United States, so long as Mr. Trump is in control, and that is of course always open to question because he has many enemies. But so long as he is in control, Zelensky will get nothing. NewsX: 20:34 All right. More news that we’re tracking this hour, Gilbert. I’ll leave it at that. Thank you very much for joining us on the broadcast. |
Transcript of NewsX interview, 19 June
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Gilbert Doctorow 