White House ‘Discussion Agreement’ Russia ‘Lifting First’ Ukraine ‘Manipulation’ Korean Media ‘Tripartite Agreement’ Mmanipulation
When the US White House disclosed its ‘promise to lift sanctions’ to Russia, Ukraine protested as ‘manipulation’ and foreign media reported that ‘sanction lifting is within Europe’s authority’ and ‘the agreement failed’, but Korean media manipulated it as a ‘tripartite agreement’.
The New York Times reported on the 25th as ‘White House Discussion Agreement Announcement’ that “the White House said on the 25th that Ukraine and Russia agreed to discuss details for stopping fighting in the Black Sea and stopping attacks on energy facilities.”
The NYT article said, “Some of it seemed like the US had agreed to it, but they got little in return,” and “Trump administration officials have expressed interest in broadly improving US-Russian relations.” Reuters reported on the 26th that <the US-Russia deal goes beyond the Ukraine deal, with the US promising to help lift international sanctions on Russian agricultural and fertilizer exports, a long-standing Russian demand> and <immediately after the US announcement, the Kremlin said the Black Sea deal would not come into effect unless some Russian banks and the international financial system were restored> and <Ukrainian President Zelensky said he understood that the ceasefire agreement did not require sanctions relief to come into effect and that it would come into effect immediately, calling the Kremlin's statement an attempt to "manipulate" the agreement>.
In an interview with 'Newsmax' on the 25th, President Trump said, "Russia seems to want to see this situation end, but maybe they're stalling. I've been doing that for years."
In response, Reuters reported that "President Trump acknowledged that Russia may be trying to delay the end of the war."
The AP reported in the headline, “US says it brokered deal to end fighting in Black Sea during talks with Ukraine and Russia,” that “Details of the expected deal have not been released, but it appears to be another attempt to ensure safe Black Sea shipping following a 2022 agreement brokered by the United Nations and Turkey that was abandoned by Russia the following year,” adding, “‘We’re making a lot of progress, so that’s all I can report,’” at the White House on Tuesday.
The AP continued, “In a statement, the Kremlin warned that the Black Sea agreement could only be implemented after sanctions against the Russian Agricultural Bank and other financial institutions involved in food and fertilizer trade were lifted and access to the international payment system SWIFT was guaranteed.
The agreement was conditioned on lifting sanctions on Russian food and fertilizer exporters and ships carrying Russian food exports, and lifting restrictions on exports of farm equipment to Russia,” adding, “The agreement emphasized that inspections of merchant ships are required to ensure that they are not being used for military purposes.”
The AP reported the opposite, saying, “President Zelensky was offended by Russia’s demand to lift sanctions, saying that doing so would ‘weaken our position. ’”
The AP directly quoted a senior Ukrainian government official, saying, “The Kiev delegation does not agree to lift sanctions as a condition of the maritime ceasefire, and Russia has done nothing to lift sanctions,” and “European countries are not participating in the sanctions discussions, even though sanctions are within the scope of the EU’s responsibility,” reporting that the EU holds the key to sanctions relief and that the EU’s involvement in the sanctions lifting discussions makes it ineffective.
The New York Times reported in an article announcing the meeting that “the White House’s willingness to give in to Russia’s demands despite Ukraine’s objections amid uncertainty was the latest sign that Trump is increasingly cooperating with Putin,” adding that “Trump has long complained, without evidence, that both men have been politically persecuted during the Justice Department’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2017 U.S. election, and in recent weeks has refused to say that “Russia started the war in Ukraine.” It added that “Trump administration officials have expressed interest in broadly improving U.S.-Russian relations.”
In response to a summary of last week’s phone call between Trump and Putin, U.S. and administration officials said the two leaders agreed that improving relations had “tremendous positive aspects,” including “a tremendous economic deal and geopolitical stability if peace is achieved.”
In contrast, the New York Times said, intelligence agencies had a different story. The New York Times reported that “while the Trump administration has dramatically changed the way it talks about Russia, the U.S. intelligence community’s annual global threat review, released on the 25th, still considers Russia a “continuing potential threat to U.S. power, presence, and global interests.” “The intelligence report found that Russia had the upper hand in the invasion and had greater leverage to pressure Ukraine and its supporters to negotiate an end to the war that would allow Russia the concessions it wants.”
Yomiuri reported in an article released by the White House that “the partial ceasefire in the Black Sea can be seen as a definite step forward. However, both Russia and Ukraine are restraining each other,” and “the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense emphasized on the 25th via SNS that any action by Russian warships in waters other than the eastern Black Sea ‘violates the spirit of the agreement. In this case, Ukraine has the full right to exercise its right to self-defense.’” Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in a state-run TV interview on the 25th that ‘clear guarantees’ are needed that the Ukrainian side will comply with the ceasefire in the Black Sea, urging a guarantee of effectiveness,” and reported on the 26th that “initially, the U.S. and Russian media reported that a joint statement would be released on the 25th,” but “prior to the U.S. government’s announcement, the Russian side denied the joint statement. According to TASS, Russian Presidential Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters that the meeting was ‘technical in nature and the results would not be announced,’” and that the ‘failure of an agreement’ had been announced in advance in Russia. The Yomiuri reported the meeting as “a heated debate over territory is likely to have taken place at the meeting,” and “President Trump told reporters at the White House on the 26th, ‘We are talking about territory and borders,’ acknowledging that discussions are also underway on the armistice line and the handling of Ukrainian territory occupied by Russian forces,” and reported it as “difficulties in territorial negotiations.”
Yonhap News reported on the 26th in <Russia and Ukraine Agree to ‘Black Sea Ceasefire’ Through U.S. Mediation… Key to Lifting Sanctions (Comprehensive 2nd Report)> that “Russia and Ukraine, which have been at war for three years, have agreed to stop using force in the Black Sea through U.S. mediation.”
Yonhap reported in the article that <The White House announced that the two countries have agreed to prepare measures to implement the recent agreement between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin to suspend mutual attacks on Russian and Ukrainian energy facilities for 30 days.> and <The Kremlin and the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense have also expressed the same position>.
Yonhap News Agency added “in principle” in <Russia and Ukraine agree in principle to ‘Black Sea ceasefire’ through US mediation… Key to lifting sanctions (Comprehensive 3rd Report)> as “Russia and Ukraine, which have been at war for over three years, agreed in principle to stop using force in the Black Sea through US mediation for a ‘30-day partial ceasefire’.”
MBC reported under the title <Russia and Ukraine agree in principle to stop using force in the Black Sea through US mediation… Key to lifting sanctions on Russia> that “Russia and Ukraine have reached a surprise agreement to a ceasefire in the Black Sea.”
KBS reported under the title <Russia and Ukraine agree in principle to a ‘Black Sea ceasefire’ through US mediation… “Exclusion of force”> that “Russia and Ukraine, which have been at war for over three years, agreed in principle to stop using force in the Black Sea through US mediation.”
The Chosun Ilbo reported with the title <US, Ukraine: “Agreement on Safe Navigation in the Black Sea and Stopping Attacks on Energy Facilities”> and the subtitle <Russia Also Agrees on Safe Navigation in the Black Sea…Sanctions Must Be Lifted First> that “The US, Ukraine, and the US and Russia agreed to seek ways to implement the ban on attacks on energy facilities and ensure safe navigation of commercial ships in the Black Sea through high-level representative talks held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, for three days starting on the 23rd.”
The New York Times reported that <The White House statement said that Russia and Ukraine had agreed to “eliminate the use of force in the Black Sea,” but it was not immediately clear whether the agreement included a halt to strikes on port infrastructure> and <Ukrainian officials said such a clause came up during the talks and also expressed interest in resuming commercial operations in frontline Ukrainian port cities such as Mykolaiv and Kherson, which had been forced to close due to nearby fighting>.
“I am very skeptical that both sides will be able to fulfill the maritime agreement,” Andrii Klymenko, director of the Black Sea Strategic Institute, said on Facebook. “Kiev wants to fend off Russian attacks on its port infrastructure, while Russia wants to restore the 2022 grain agreement that gave Moscow control over commercial shipping in the Black Sea.”
The Dong-A Ilbo reported under the title <US-Russia-Ukraine “Black Sea ceasefire agreement in principle”; easing of sanctions against Russia is a stumbling block> that <Russia and Ukraine have agreed in principle to a ceasefire in the Black Sea. This is another ceasefire measure following the 30-day halt in attacks on ‘energy facilities.’ It seems that the ceasefire is expanding under US mediation> and <Russia and Ukraine agreed in principle to cease the use of force in the Black Sea on the 25th, 3 years and 1 month after the outbreak of the war, under US mediation>.
The Hankyoreh reported under the title <Russia-Ukraine, ‘Black Sea ceasefire’ agreement… Timing unclear for Russia’s demand for ‘sanctions relief’> that <After discussing the ceasefire plan, they agreed to a ceasefire in the Black Sea> and <The Ukrainian president also stated at a press conference that day that he agreed to the agreement, saying, “We have no faith in Russia,” but “We will do our part to implement the results of the talks between the US and Ukraine.”>
The Hankyoreh then reported that <In addition to the fact that the US and Russia will “continue to work toward achieving lasting and permanent peace,” they also agreed to establish offices in third countries to support implementation of energy and Black Sea agreements.>
The Financial Times reported under the title <Ukraine and Russia agree to cease fighting in the Black Sea… sanctions relief as new variable> that <Ukraine and Russia have reached a tentative agreement to cease fighting in the Black Sea>.
The Kyunghyang Shinmun reported in the morning under the title <First step toward ‘Black Sea ceasefire’ but… Russia, ‘grain export sanctions relief’ and other differences of opinion> that Russia and Ukraine have agreed to cease use of force in the Black Sea, including in the energy and infrastructure sectors, through US mediation> <The White House reported that the US and Russia have also agreed to devise a plan to implement the recent agreement between President Trump and Russian President Putin to suspend attacks on energy facilities for 30 days. The Kremlin and the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense have also expressed the same position>.
‘Kyunghyang’ revised the title to <Russia and Ukraine agree on ‘Black Sea ceasefire’ but…still ‘disagree’ on conditions and timing> and added <The White House also reported that the US and Russia agreed to devise a plan to implement the recent agreement between President Trump and Russian President Putin to suspend attacks on both sides’ energy facilities for 30 days> and <They also added that they welcome third-party mediation to help implement such agreements in the energy and marine sectors> and revised the report to <The Kremlin and the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense also expressed the same position>.
The Korean media strengthened the manipulation by defining the ‘White House unilateral announcement’ as an absolute entity in the ‘US mediator’ fact and by relying on the White House to dramatize the contents of each separate meeting as a ‘three-party meeting’.