All Episodes
Previous Next
Aug. 11, 2025 - Judging Freedom - Judge Andrew Napolitano
24:46
LIVE FROM MOSCOW: Scott Ritter in conversation with Russian Officials!
| Copy link to current segment

Time Text
Hi everyone, Judge Andrew Napolitano here for Judging Freedom.
Today is Monday, August 11th, 2025.
We are coming to you live from downtown Moscow where you see a familiar face right there next to the fireplace.
That's Scott Ritter, who is of course a regular on the show.
Next to Scott is our translator, Natalia Godfrey.
And on the other side of Scott are two very significant people in the Russian government and Russian culture and politics, Andrei Klinkevich.
who is the head of the analytics center of the Russian Federation, and Mamuka Papiya, who is the international secretary of the Solidarity for Peace Party.
So I'm going to go a little slower than usual, Natalia, so that you can translate for them.
But my first question to both Andrei and Mamuka is, what do the Russian people expect from the meeting in Alaska between President Putin and President Putin?
president trump We would like to break the bubble of the lies.
that was created around Russia.
We see that fake news or whatever Trump calls them constantly trying to blame us in all possible scenes of the world.
Simple Russians, just like simple regular Americans, they have the same objectives.
They are very simple.
Wealth of the family, good, right, correct food, ability to have a rest vacation and live in a safe country.
The possibility of the growth, economical growth of Russia and the United States, practically unlimited.
And from this meeting, we desire to see a lot of economical projects.
We like to see about the conversation dialogue about strategic safety.
Because for all the people, all the humans, all the people of the earth, it's one of the main biggest questions that they faced.
Papilla, do you agree with that?
Is this meeting in the minds of the Russian people between President Trump and President Putin about more than just Ukraine?
The judge just asked a new question.
Yes, have you asked a new question?
Yes.
I'll ask it again.
Mr. Papilla, do you agree with Mr. Klincevich?
In the minds of the Russian people, is the meeting between President Trump and President Putin about more than just the special military operation in Ukraine.
Do you think that the meeting between Mr. Trump and Putin will be limited to just questions on the topic of Ukraine and that's all?
Yes, greetings to everyone.
The Russian people, first of all, they expect peace.
We all are looking forward to peace.
We want peace for our region.
In Georgia, we expect that the question is not just of Ukraine would be discussed at the meeting, but also questions about the North and South Caucasus.
Of course, in Georgia we're concerned that our Western partners are finding time and money to finance our radical opposition with objective to take off the power.
Of course, we depend, we can say so, our region.
We depend on how Mr. Putin.
Mr. Trump would have an agreement about.
We want to finish up with what takes place over 30 years in our region as a whole region.
And as you know, our region is very concerned, has a lot of troubles.
At the moment, we came to a edge of a certain hole.
We desire that this meeting would take place in a friendship manner and finish up with the positive results.
Again, I repeat, we had seven trials to have a revolution in our country.
And I want to tell you that such called Mabiryakti is not helping of the friendship between our nations.
Scotty, have you in your couple of days in Moscow, partners would forget about this law that they called somehow as Megabiryati.
There's no friendship in that law that's all directed against the statehood of Georgia.
Okay.
Okay, translator, I'm going to stop.
I want to ask God Ritter a question.
We hope that today at the meeting, that question about Georgia will be number two.
Okay.
In your time in Russia, this trip, not in your prior trips, but this trip, do you sense any feeling amongst the Russian people about what they expect to happen in Alaska.
I mean, one argument is, why doesn't Putin just finish off the Ukrainians?
The other argument is, what cards does Trump have to play?
Scotty.
Well, first of all, I'm loath to speak on behalf of the Russian people or the Russian government.
I came to Russia to listen, not lecture.
But what I listened to today and what I heard is that Let's just remember this, Judge.
This time last year, nobody was talking to the Russians.
Right.
You and I know that last fall, there was over 50%.% chance of a nuclear war between Russia and the United States.
Today, President Trump is talking about meeting with President Putin in Alaska.
I want to remind your audience that the International Criminal Court charged President Putin with crimes.
And under Joe Biden, had President Putin arrived on the soil of the United States, he would have been arrested.
Now we have a president inviting the Russian president to Alaska.
This process could not happen without Donald Trump.
So no matter what we think about Trump, his policies, et cetera, we must recognize that the mere fact that the United States is talking with Russia is a huge step forward.
Now, as for the Russian people, again, who am I to speak on behalf of the Russian people?
But I will tell you what I've heard.
Great.
They want peace.
They want peace with the United States, but they do not want peace at any price.
Russia has sacrificed too much over the course of the past three and a half years.
And Russia must have safety, security.
They must achieve their objectives.
They would prefer that the objectives are achieved with no more lives lost.
Hopefully through the dialogue with President Trump, they can come up with a resolution.
But you touched on something.
The Russians believe that this conversation is about more than Ukraine.
Ukraine will be discussed, but the Russians expect to be a larger framework.
Mamuka talked about Georgia, the Republic of Georgia.
I mean, think of the inconsistencies of an American policy that says we want peace with Russia, but we want to provoke Georgia to commit acts of aggression against Russia.
Right.
Where we are today, Joe Wilson's ridiculous Megobari Act is an act of war against Russia.
And so this talk, when we speak of security, It has to be in a larger framework than just Ukraine.
We have to talk about strategic nuclear disarmament.
We have a new star treaty that expires on February 4th of next year.
When that expires, there's no arms control in place between Russia and the United States.
This is in a time when Russia is deploying the Erechnik missile, and Russia has every reason, they believe, to deploy the Erechnik missile.
But how do we live in a world where new missiles are being deployed and we have no arms control?
What the Russians have told me today in my conversations is that anything is possible if you have the political will to do it, that there is no problem.
off the table that the Russians are ready to talk about every problem they believe there is a solution but it requires political will on the part of the United States and Russia.
And that, I think, is the framework that the Russians are looking for in this meeting.
And I hope that's the same framework that the United States is looking for.
I will say this.
The Russians are a heck of a lot more confident in the ability of their president to achieve something out of this meeting than apparently the American media and the Western media is.
Everything I'm reading from the Western media, people are doubting President Trump, doubting this meeting, doubting going forward.
So we're going to need leadership from President Trump like we've never had it before if this meeting is going to be successful.
All right.
Well, Trump just with his personality has lowered expectations, which is good for him.
With expectations low, anything above that low bar will be perceived as a victory.
But Mr. Klincevich, let me ask you, President Putin is not going to agree to a ceasefire without the Russian demands.
for the oblasts and for no NATO in Ukraine being met, correct?
Yes.
That's true.
Europe together with Ukraine.
They put in our understanding a track in front of the horse.
They want to stop the military activity and then discuss the terms.
This was with the Istanbul Minsk agreements.
And we were cheated many times, few times.
We see now we are victorious at the fields.
Each month 500, 600 kilometers are taken by us.
We see that Ukrainian military are holding on to the last breath.
And in this situation, they really desperately need a stop of the military activity to fill up with some newcomers, soldiers and weapons.
At the same time, Russia will not reach the target.
First of all, the safety target that Russia wants to have.
That the state that we have now, and we call it a terroristic state, because they are not embarrassed of being brave about their terroristic actions.
They will strike our country continuously.
So our president in three years of this conflict has never changed our objectives.
We have the same objectives from the beginning.
We don't know exactly what Mr. Trump and Mr. Putin will discuss.
But for us, it's highly important that first we have negotiations and only then afterwards that we will stop the military action.
But it's another addition that I would like to add.
We are ready to stop military activity right now in a humanitarian objectives.
Separately parts of the front line for collecting the bodies.
because there in the region is very hot.
The line is very wide because of the drones.
Drones are flying far.
And in this gray zone, you know, there are fields of dead bodies.
And the number two that Russia offered, and I think it would be discussed, the pause of the strikes into the depth of the territory.
For us, it would be a certain problem because we see how the opponent is growing the logistics supplies from Europe of all the weaponry, guns, and definitely we want to defeat it there before they will be able to strike our territory on the front line but certainly we are ready for that too but for russia and
united states the main problem that you and great britain are greatly afraid that russia and america would be would be having a meeting face to face and we will be discussing dozens of different projects one of them is ukraine and then europe will be aside and now they will do anything possible and
conditions whether europe plus ukraine or the there will be no communications at all.
We see that even now there is a preparedness of the terroristic acts and this week would be a heavy one looking from this point of view.
Judge?
So Mr. Papilla, what I'm hearing from Mr. Klinkovic is that there might be a ceasefire.
for the purpose of recovering bodies and other humanitarian purposes before Russia achieves all of its military objectives.
Do you agree with that?
You know, it was spoken many times about from the Russian side and even done a lot.
My colleague was speaking about under Kiev.
That's what happened, that we backed out.
And it was done.
It was a goodwill offer with a humanitarian objective not to stop the communications that took place in Istanbul.
In Istanbul, certain offers were made.
Very serious.
But our enemies, they couldn't get along with that.
You know, if somebody would offer to me, to my people, to my motherland the same Minsk agreement that was offered that was necessary for Ukrainian side to fulfill you know,
there would be a monument of Mr. Vladimir Putin would be in every city of Georgia if the same offer was given to Georgia, Abkhazia and Ossetia, what was offered at Minsk to Ukrainians.
The problem is that people didn't read it, what was written there in that agreement.
A lot of my people didn't read what was in that agreement.
And again, this was a very good offer, not to shed the blood but our enemies they decided to do it differently they decided to in the middle of a day just dump rush okay scotty it sounds as though to me has a nuclear you know they don't
want russian russians don't want to be dumped it's a great country and russian doesn't like to be cheated it has a great history and with its own traditions.
I just want to emphasize now we are at the point of being close to the solution of all these serious problems that we are facing.
And since that time that Mr. Biden came to power, even earlier, even earlier, it all was like a snowball rolling.
And my colleague said it correctly.
The question is not going to be just about Ukraine at the meeting.
There'll be all questions raised and discussed.
Discussing positively.
But in any case, everything depends on God.
We trust God.
God?
Scotty, let me go to you.
Mr. Trump's life, not just for a simple case.
Okay, Scott, let me go to you as we sort of wind this up.
Here's the impression I'm getting, and you correct me or expand on this as you see fit.
From your two colleagues there, if they represent the feeling of the Russian people, There's far more optimism on the part of the Russian people than on the part of the American people toward a big picture.
solution coming out of Alaska far greater than Ukraine.
You're talking about cultural and economic normalization, something that hasn't existed since Joe Biden, the presidency of Joe Biden.
Notwithstanding the fact that as we speak, The CIA is fomenting war in Georgia.
The CIA is directing Ukrainian attacks on Russian troops and American military are helping them and the attacks are being made with American weaponry.
Take it from there, Scotty.
Well, first of all, let me inform your audience where I'm at.
It's not just a lovely hotel.
By the way, Mamuka is the owner and he's a gracious host.
But it's being hosted by what's known as the National Unity Club.
The National Unity Club isn't like a club that many Americans would associate with the term club.
It's a gathering of officials who carry out important work to resolve conflicts.
Their work is known by and known of by the president of Russia, his administration.
This isn't some obscure group of people.
These are people who when they speak, when they do things, it gets the attention of the Russian leadership.
And so when I talk about the feeling here, it's.
it's not a group of say you know a rotary club meeting or somebody it's the feeling of the russian people these are the representatives of the russian people these are military people economic people political people, culture people, they are optimistic, but they're optimistic because they have faith in their leadership.
I think this is something the Americans need to really focus on.
You know, we've created a cult of personality in the United States about Vladimir Putin, but it's a cult of personality based upon inaccuracies, simplifications, et cetera.
The Russian people have lived for 25 years under the leadership of Vladimir Putin.
They know who this man is.
The results of the election last year prove that he has won their trust.
They have confidence in this man, confidence in a time of war.
And so if the Russiansan government says we are ready to meet with the United States that we have proposals.
The Russian people have confidence in this decision, not because they're hearing it for the first time, but because they're plugged into the Russian government through organizations like the National Unity Club.
This is an issue that's been debated and discussed over and over and over inside Russia.
Everything that we're talking about today is not new to the Russian people.
It's not new to the National Unity Club because they've been doing this work.
So there's a degree of confidence, a high degree of confidence, not because it's based on hope or wishful thinking, but it's based upon the fact that the Russian nation has been working collectively to achieve the result and the Russian president is the leader of this nation.
In the United States, we don't operate this way.
The president of the United States is under constant attack.
I'm one of the people who've attacked him in the past.
I'm very critical of his policies.
I've been very critical of his Russian policies.
But today, we have to acknowledge that this president alone among American leaders is willing to meet with a Russian president who is more prepared now than ever to pursue a realistic path towards peace.
I wish the American people could have the same faith in Donald Trump that the Russian people have in Vladimir Putin.
If they did, great things would happen in Alaska.
Wow.
Well, Scott, thank you very much.
Thank you for joining us.
Thank you for bringing your friends and colleagues.
Mr. Kalincevich, thank you very much.
Mr. Papilla, thank you very much.
Translator, Ms. Godfrey, thank you very much.
It was very helpful, very informative.
We have an enormous audience watching us now.
And you have given us an understanding of things which we didn't have beforehand.
So we're deeply grateful.
So thank you very much, Scotty.
We'll like to see you again maybe later on in the week, but certainly after whatever happens and Alaska is announced, we'll come to you first.
Absolutely.
Okay.
All the best.
Thank you.
Coming up at 145 this afternoon, somewhat on Russia, but mainly on God.
▲
Export Selection