World News: Trump Fails to Move Russia and Ukraine Toward Peace

Even as United States President Donald Trump attempts to establish a ceasefire or a peace protocol between Russia and Ukraine the effort has failed, the reality is that only direct negotiations between Kiev and Moscow will bear fruit.

Should we really expect tangible results after the meeting between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin? Some, the most optimistic, will say yes. The others, more lucid, even pessimistic, sensed the failure of this telephone conversation announced on the sly. The reasons that explain it are both simple and obvious.


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The first of these is that it is clear that Vladimir Putin will not want peace dictated to him if it is not by him. Any attempt in this direction will be hailed as a success, any attempt to propose an external peace plan will be experienced as aggression, acceptance as a form of submission to the West.

The naivety and vanity of Donald Trump are also to be highlighted, he who thought he could settle the conflict in one day broke his teeth on the limitless tenacity, bathed in nationalism, of the president of Russia.


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Obstinacy

The second is that Vladimir Putin wants, at all costs, the departure of Volodymyr Zelensky from power, in order to eventually install a liege man who will generate a policy identical to that practiced in Belarus with Alexander Lukashenko, a loyal and servile friend of Vladimir Putin.

Finally, by his obstinacy, Vladimir Putin knows that he will end up tiring his North American counterpart, who is already starting to show signs of fatigue and annoyance in the face of the silence of the Russian President. Because it would not be surprising if Donald Trump ended up sending the Ukrainian affair back to what it has always been, namely, a purely European affair, not to say an east-European affair.


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The old resentments, the cooked and recooked hatreds that have been eating away at relations between Russia and Ukraine for decades, obviously go beyond the North American diplomatic logic of pragmatism and radicalism in the solution. It would be an exaggeration to say that Donald Trump is not capable of settling the conflict, whatever the method used, but anyone in his place would have stumbled in the face of a Russian Ukrainian reality that calls for a very detailed knowledge of the history of Eastern Europe.

In the end, that is to say that this conflict will not find a solution. Of course, there will be one, but it will not be stamped with the seal of the United States, nor of the European Union, but with that of Russia and Ukraine, both of which are free from any intermediary, even if they are aware of all the subtleties linking the two belligerents. This does not mean, however, that aid and co-negotiators are automatically excluded, but only that peace talks can only be articulated around a Kiev-Moscow axis.


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Bio: Olivier Longhi has extensive experience in European history. A seasoned journalist with fifteen years of experience, he is currently a professor of history and geography in the Toulouse region of France. He has held a variety of publishing positions, including Head of Agency and Chief of Publishing. A journalist and recognized blogger, editor, and editorial project manager, he has trained and managed editorial teams, worked as a journalist for various local radio stations, was a press and publishing consultant, and was a communications consultant. 

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    The Academy's Board of Governors has approved awards rules, inclusion standards and campaign promotional regulations for the 99th Academy Awards® including qualifying theatrical release dates, adopting submission rules which forbid AI generated screenplays, and AI performances.


    For Academy Awards consideration, a feature film must have a qualifying theatrical release between January 1, 2026, and December 31, 2026.


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    Substantive awards rules changes include: 

    • In the Acting category, actors may be nominated for multiple performances in the same category if those performances place in the top five votes, which aligns with achievements in other award categories.
    • Additionally, in the Acting category, only roles credited in the film's legal billing and demonstrably performed by humans with their consent will be considered eligible. 
    • In the Casting category, the number of statuettes awarded will increase from a maximum of two to a maximum of three statuettes. 
    • In the Cinematography category, the preliminary voting round will produce a shortlist of 20 films rather than 10-20.
    • In the International Feature Film category, there are now two ways to submit a film for consideration. In addition to a film being submitted as an official selection by a country or region via the Academy-approved Selection Committees, a non-English language film can now be submitted for consideration by winning a qualifying award at an international film festival as specified in the International Feature Film Award Qualifying Festival List. Qualifying festivals for the 99th Oscars® are the Berlin International Film Festival (Golden Bear for Best Film), Busan International Film Festival (Busan Award - Best Film Award), Cannes Film Festival (Palme d'Or), Sundance Film Festival (World Cinema Grand Jury Prize), Toronto International Film Festival (Platform Award) and Venice International Film Festival (Golden Lion). 
    • Additionally, in the International Feature Film category, the film will be credited as the nominee rather than the country or region, and the award will be accepted by the director on behalf of the film's creative team. The director's name will be listed on the statuette plaque after the film title and, if applicable, the country or region. 
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    Awards Rules are formulated by the Awards Committee based on recommendations by Branch Executive Committees, the International Feature Film Executive Committee, and the Scientific and Technical Awards Executive Committee, and are subject to final approval by the Board of Governors.

    All rules, regulations and dates for the 99th Academy Awards are subject to change. For the complete 99th Academy Awards rules, inclusion standards and campaign promotional regulations, visit oscars.org/rules


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    The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is the world's premier film organization and is home to a global membership of more than 11,000 of the most accomplished film industry artists and leaders. The Academy connects global audiences – its members, the film industry, and film fans – through their shared passion for making and watching films. The Academy does this by recognizing and celebrating the arts and sciences of moviemaking through renowned awards for cinematic achievement, including the Oscars®, the Governors Awards, and the Scientific and Technical Awards. The Academy's affiliated charitable organization, the Academy Foundation, serves a public benefit through its robust educational, preservation and cultural activities. This includes the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, the world's largest global film museum, the Academy Collection, the largest film-related collection in the world, and talent development programs for emerging artists. Year-round, the Academy creates opportunities for all communities to engage with the film world.


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