Jonathan Jollimore

BREAKING: Patrick Stewart, the beloved actor best known for his iconic roles as Jean-Luc Picard in ‘Star Trek’ and Professor X in ‘X-Men’, dies at 86. nbcnews.to/4swhqWR

🇷🇺🇨🇳🇺🇸 PUTIN MAY BE PREPARING TO TURN AGAINST CHINA AND MAKE A DEAL WITH TRUMP A potentially enormous geopolitical shift is being discussed inside the Kremlin: reducing Russia’s dependence on China and exploring a rapprochement with the United States. At the centre of the dispute are Russia’s vast natural resources. Xi Jinping is said to be demanding preferential access to mineral deposits across Siberia and the Russian Far East, discounted raw materials and long-term guarantees for Chinese companies. Beijing wants those arrangements secured before the war in Ukraine ends, preventing a future relaxation of Western sanctions from opening the door to American competitors. For Moscow, the concern is that China could turn Russia’s wartime economic dependence into decades of Chinese dominance over its resource sector. The alternative being explored is striking: allowing American energy and mining companies back into Russia in exchange for investment, technology and sanctions relief. Trump is described as open to discussing such arrangements after the war. But breaking with Beijing would carry enormous risks. China has become essential to Russian imports, financial transactions and energy exports. A sudden confrontation could inflict serious economic damage on Moscow. That leaves Putin facing an uncomfortable dilemma. Russia wants Chinese economic support without surrendering control of its resources, while potentially using American interest to strengthen its negotiating position. No formal rupture or agreement with Washington has been established, and the discussions remain claims about possible Kremlin planning. Still, the scenario raises a remarkable possibility: a war that pushed Russia closer to China could eventually leave Moscow trying to play Beijing and Washington against each other. And Ukraine’s future would be central to any such bargain.