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00:00One of the things we've seen since President Trump returned to the White House is a flurry of
00:04diplomatic activity. And I'm wondering if you think there is anything to show for that
00:11nearly 100 days of diplomatic action. Any progress in your view, sir?
00:16Well, I think one has to be honest and say that I don't think there is much realistic progress.
00:20If anything, there are some rather worrying developments of a negative nature as far as
00:25Ukraine is concerned. Donald Trump has talked about the need, in his view, for the Americans
00:32to switch their focus away from Europe, much more to focus on the Indo-Pacific and their
00:38challenge from China. So that is a significant factor. I think in the early exchanges by Donald
00:46Trump and his spokesman, quite a lot was given away. Quite a lot was given away in the context of
00:53any ceasefire would be along the lines of the current status quo on the ground. In other words,
01:01Russian troops occupying some 20% of Ukrainian sovereign territory would be allowed to stay
01:07there and also giving up for a very long time the notion of Ukraine joining NATO. So these are
01:14rather negative issues as far as Ukraine is concerned.