New Narrative - old playbook - Russia did it.

UPDATE: A Federal Judge in DC issues ORDER in a case regarding the FBI raids.

The order and opinion was in response to a

@JudicialWatch

FOIA request for info regarding communications between the

@nytimes

and FBI.

Watch until the end. You can’t make this s*** up.

@TomFitton

https://twitter.com/JamesOKeefeIII/status/1732168088815092101

Moscow still ready for talks with Kiev – Kremlin

Negotiations were previously aborted by Kiev, Dmitry Peskov pointed out on Tuesday

Moscow is ready to resolve the ongoing conflict with Kiev through diplomatic means at any moment, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the news media outlet RTVI on Tuesday. Russia has never rejected such an option, and it was Kiev that withdrew from the talks in spring 2022, he noted.

“President [Vladimir Putin] has repeatedly stated that achieving our goals [in the conflict with Kiev] is our top priority. And we would prefer to do that through political and diplomatic means,” Peskov said on Tuesday, commenting on potential talks with Ukraine. “We are still ready for negotiations,” he added.

The Kremlin spokesman then said that Kiev itself had derailed the talks with Moscow that were held in spring 2022. “They [the Ukrainian officials] have themselves admitted that it was done on the orders of the UK… The situation is pretty obvious,” he told RTVI.

https://www.rt.com/russia/588539-moscow-ready-talks-kiev-kremlin/

Putin's Saudi Visit To Talk OPEC+ Cuts & Gaza War Highlights US Failure To Isolate Russia

Russian President Vladimir Putin hasn't embarked on a lot of international travel since the Hague-based ICC issued an arrest warrant for him back in March, related to the Ukraine war. His most significant trip came in October to Beijing, where he met with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Wednesday will see the Russian leader make his first visit to the Middle East in a long time, and since the ICC warrant was issued. By it, he'll seek to demonstrate that Western sanctions have not isolated him and that Russia can still assert its influence in the Middle East and elsewhere.

He's expected to meet with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MbS) and President of the United Arab Emirates Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan—with the Israel-Hamas war high on the agenda. Of course, neither Gulf leaders have signed the founding ICC treaty, and their meeting with Putin is sure to greatly annoy Washington and European leaders.

Oil market cooperation related to OPEC+ will also be a focus, coming on the heels of the group controversially announcing new voluntary supply cuts last week:

Oil output cuts agreed by OPEC+ will take time to kick in, the Kremlin said on Tuesday, as it confirmed that Putin would visit the UAE and Saudi Arabia on Wednesday.

A Kremlin statement said Putin and crown prince MbS will discuss "issues of bilateral cooperation in trade, economy and investments, as well as various aspects of cooperation in multilateral formats."

Putin's Mideast and Gaza-related diplomacy will continue when he returns home to Moscow, as on Thursday he'll host Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi. Iran is seen in the West as a big supporter of Hamas and terror groups throughout the region, and especially Lebanese Hezbollah. Both Hezbollah and Russia have for years cooperated inside Syria, in defense of the Assad government.

The Kremlin has of late presented the US as having fueled the Gaza crisis by its blank check support to Israel. Criticism has focused on Washington's failure to create a Palestinian state, instead opting to merely issue economic "handouts" to the Palestinians while allowing conflict to simmer for years.

Putin alongside China has led global criticism of the soaring civilian death toll on the Gaza Strip. But there's been increasing dissent within Biden's own administration…

https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/putins-saudi-visit-talk-opec-cuts-gaza-war-highlights-us-failure-isolate-russia

White House Sanctions Israeli Settlers For 1st Time Since Clinton Administration

The Biden administration is moving to impose sanctions on Israeli settlers involved in attacks on Palestinians, which will involve banning them from traveling to the United States.

Fresh Axios reporting on Tuesday has cited government officials who specify that multiple dozens of known Israeli settlers will be impacted by the visa ban, expected to be implemented by the State Department.

The US government has not sanctioned Israeli settlers going all the way back to the Clinton administration, but Washington has consistently condemned settler expansion in the West Bank, at least as far as public policy and rhetoric goes.

Gaza sources have said the death toll in the Strip has reportedly surpassed 15,200. Meanwhile the White House has come under increased international pressure to impose limits on Israel's military operations as well as usage of US-supplied bombs.

The conflict centered on Gaza has received by far most international media attention, but there's been a parallel war happening in the West Bank. Nablus, for example, last week was declared a closed military zone, and is under blockade by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) for 55 days.

Regional sources say that since Oct.7 more than 250 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank - mostly in army raids and clashes with Israeli security forces, but also as a result of settler violence.

Axios has noted that since the conflict's start there's been "a spike in the number of attacks by settlers against Palestinians."

Two weeks ago the Biden administration circulated a memo to top State Department and other officials asking them to prepare action "against individuals or entities who directly or indirectly engaged in actions that threaten security or stability in the West Bank or take actions that intimidate civilians in the West Bank or actions that significantly obstruct, disrupt or prevent efforts to achieve a two-state solution."

European countries like France are also said to be readying sanctions against settlers. European leaders have long been more vocal in highlighting the problem.

Since the Hamas terror raids which kicked off the Gaza war, individual Israeli citizens have sought to obtain assault rifles in droves. This has sparked concerns over US small arms being used by hardline Jewish settlers to attack Palestinians. Often it's for the sake of removing entire West Bank families from their land or olive groves.

https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/white-house-sanction-israeli-settlers-1st-time-clinton-administration