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Home » Alastair Crooke: Why Trump Abandoned His Ceasefire Demands (Transcript)

Alastair Crooke: Why Trump Abandoned His Ceasefire Demands (Transcript)

Read the full transcript of former British diplomat Alastair Crooke’s interview on Judging Freedom Podcast with Judge Napolitano on “Why Trump Abandoned His Ceasefire Demands”, August 18, 2025.

Introduction

JUDGE NAPOLITANO: Hi, everyone. Judge Andrew Napolitano here for Judging Freedom. Today is Monday, August 18th, 2025. Alastair Crooke will be here with us in just a moment with his analysis of what happened in Alaska on Friday.

Alastair Crooke, welcome here, my dear friend. Was there a clear winner and clear loser to whatever happened in Alaska on Friday?

The Breakthrough: Mutual Recognition of Narratives

ALASTAIR CROOKE: Oh, very clearly, yes, because always in terms, and I made this point to Senator George Mitchell when he was in Ireland and afterwards in the Middle East. I said, you know, there’s no politics can begin until each side says that it can understand and accept the narrative of the other. Now that’s what’s happened. This is so important that for the first time, Russia’s narrative was being listened to and treated with respect.

But first of all, I mean, this is something we discovered long ago. You can say to the other side, look, I don’t agree with your version of history. I don’t agree with your vision of the future. But now, finally, I accept that what you have is a legitimate perspective of your community, of your people. Only at that point does politics become possible.

When you refuse, when you deny that there is another point of view, when you deny there is another perspective which has validity at least for their people, and that they respect your perspective or accept that you have one – even if neither side agree on a common position – this is the breakthrough. This was the breakthrough in Ireland and elsewhere.

Only then can politics become possible when both sides agree that the other side does have a point of view, and it is one that is valid within its own circumstances.