Good morning!

The staff had barely finished washing the dishes from Donald Trump’s two-day visit. Yesterday, just four days after Trump left Beijing, Vladimir Putin arrived. The welcome he received was surreal: same red carpet, same honor guard, same crowd of cheering children and, of course, same host—Chinese General Secretary Xi Jinping.

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• One of Trump’s long-standing goals has been to drive a wedge between China and Russia. He has urged China to stop supporting Russia’s war in Ukraine, publicly asking Xi to “help us out with Russia,” floating sanctions or incentives to limit China’s dual-use exports and energy imports.

By all appearances, it isn’t working. The timing and nature of Putin’s trip make this painfully plain. Russia and China’s relationship keeps strengthening, exactly as Bible prophecy foretells.

• Putin’s visit marked the 25th anniversary of the China-Russia Treaty of Good-Neighborliness and Friendly Cooperation. Putin described Xi as a “dear friend.” Both leaders said their nations’ cooperation has reached an “unprecedentedly high level.”
• The two signed agreements advancing strategic coordination and energy projects. They issued a joint declaration warning of a dangerous return to the “law of the jungle” in international affairs, an implicit swipe at Trump’s muscular, mercurial foreign policy.
• On Ukraine, they called for a “lasting peace” that addresses “root causes”; Russia praised China’s “objective” stance.
• Economic ties remain robust. China is Russia’s top trading partner and customer for oil and gas, helping Putin weather Western sanctions.

The Russia-China relationship is proving highly resilient. Mutual benefits in energy, trade and countering U.S. dominance outweigh shorter-term incentives and threats from Washington.

• This clear trend points directly to the Bible’s picture of Russia and China in prophecy. These former enemies have improbably become the closest of allies, and global shocks and crises continue to drive them into a closer embrace.

An interesting dynamic to watch for, however, is who will be the alpha in this relationship.

• Right now, it’s Xi. Hosting the leaders of America and Russia highlighted his power position in geopolitics. Deutsch Welle asked, “Is Xi Jinping the most powerful leader in the world?”
• But prophecy says Russia—and Vladimir Putin specifically—will end up being the senior partner.

Exactly how that scenario comes about remains to be seen—and is important to watch for.

Iran War Update

• President Donald Trump met with advisers late on Monday to receive briefings on potential further attacks on Iran and remarked that Iran has “two, three days, maybe Friday or Saturday, early next week” to make a deal.
• A nato diplomat told Bloomberg the alliance is contemplating a mission to force open the Strait of Hormuz in early July if Iran continues to block traffic there. A previously suggested Anglo-French mission would only form once the war had completely ended.

Russia Threatens to Attack NATO Member Latvia

It could become nato’s greatest test to date.

Yesterday, Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service accused Latvia of allowing Ukrainian drone unit troops to be deployed to five Latvian military bases.

• The intelligence service said that the locations of Latvia’s “decision-making centers are well-known” to Russia and that its nato membership “will not protect the accomplices of terrorists from just retribution.”

Latvia rejects the allegations.

Even if Russia did fabricate the story, that wouldn’t diminish the possibility of a potential attack on Latvia. In fact, it could make it more likely.

• One of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s main goals is to destroy trust in nato. If he can find an excuse to test nato’s resolve, he will take it.

Russia need do very little to sow distrust in nato these days. Just a veiled threat like this will do it.

• Leaders from nato nations will come out and say that nato territory will be defended, but deep down they know that this all depends on how United States President Donald Trump responds. He could easily say, as he has already, You weren’t there for me in Iran, saying this is not your war. Well, Ukraine is your war.

Signs indicate that a false-flag operation may be underway.

• Yesterday, an F-16 fighter jet deployed with nato air-policing forces in the Baltics shot down a drone believed to be Ukrainian over southern Estonia. Heorhii Tykhyi, spokesperson for Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry, claimed that Russia had deliberately redirected Ukrainian drones into the Baltic states using electronic warfare techniques.
• On May 7, two Ukrainian drones crashed into a fuel depot in eastern Latvia. This triggered the resignation of Latvia’s defense minister on May 10 and a larger political crisis that resulted in Latvian Prime Minister Evika Silina announcing her resignation on May 14.

Russia’s attempts to undermine nato, Trumpet editor in chief Gerald Flurry has long warned, will be successful. He also wrote that a passage in Ezekiel 38 indicates that Putin “will probably conquer more nations of the former Soviet Union.”

Latvia used to be part of the Soviet Union. Whether or not it will fall under Russian dominance again depends less on nato and more on what Germany and Russia agree to behind the scenes.

For now, Putin will probably be content to sow distrust with empty threats, but we cannot rule out the possibility that he will test nato’s resolve by launching a drone or missile attack, or even an invasion, in the future.

Is the ICC Going After the Entire Israeli Government?

The International Criminal Court has submitted a request for a warrant for Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich’s arrest, Smotrich claimed Tuesday.

• The icc can only apply for warrants on behalf of member states of the Rome Statute. Smotrich claimed that the Palestinian Authority, which signed the Rome Statute as the “State of Palestine,” was behind the request.
• Israel is not a member of the icc. But the icc claims jurisdiction over individuals who commit alleged crimes on member states’ territory and, in this case, considers the West Bank member-state territory.

Why is this happening? As Israel’s finance minister, Smotrich is in charge of both Israel’s payments to the Palestinian Authority and financial sponsorship of Israeli settlements in the West Bank. Smotrich, who is a settler himself, is an anti-Palestinian hard-liner on both issues.

It’s not just Smotrich being targeted. Israel’s Channel 12 News reported Monday that the icc is also considering secret arrest warrants against Defense Minister Israel Katz and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.

• The icc is also investigating Israel Defense Force Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir and his predecessor Herzi Halevi, Channel 12 claimed.

In 2024, the icc indicted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes as Israel fought Hamas terrorists in Gaza, a ludicrous charge.

• These two men cannot travel to any icc member state without risking arrest and deportation to the Hague to face trial.

The icc indicted those two men specifically because of wartime actions in Gaza. Politicians like Smotrich had minimal involvement in that war effort. It seems the icc is expanding its scope to target any member of the Israeli government who has anything to do with pushing back against Palestinians, never mind the Palestinian Authority’s own links to terrorism.

• By this rationale, since the Palestinian issue touches almost every aspect of Israeli society, the icc could go after the entire Israeli government if it wanted.

Institutions like the icc were formed to stop atrocities like the Holocaust from happening. The latest news shows how these courts have instead become instruments for evil actors to target those in the right.

IN OTHER NEWS

EU normalizes relationships with Syria: The European Union lifted sanctions on Syria’s defense and interior ministries, as well as three of its intelligence agencies, on Monday, just days after resuming formal trade ties with the formerly isolated nation. The European Council called the reopening of trade a “clear political signal of the EU’s commitment to reengage with Syria and support its economic recovery.” In August 2024, before the regime of Bashar Assad fell, Trumpet editor in chief Gerald Flurry wrote: “Bible prophecy indicates that through Syria, Germany is about to get control of the Middle East.”

Germany considers buying long-range missiles from Turkey: Germany is considering purchasing Turkey’s long-range Yildirimhan ballistic missiles and Tayfun Block-4 hypersonic missiles, according to German news outlet Die Welt on May 11. This purchase would replace the American Tomahawk long-range missiles that will no longer be stationed in Germany. This would represent another major step toward Germany building Europe’s most powerful conventional military independent from the U.S., as prophesied in the Bible.

Germany is building civilian infrastructure for war: Germany plans to spend $12 billion through 2029 on civilian defense infrastructure, Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt said on Monday. Reuters said these funds could be used for hospitals, shelters, special vehicles and alert networks. Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said the same day, “We cannot talk about defense ‌capabilities and invest in them without also giving civil defense the support it needs.” This shows that the German government is orienting even the civilian mindset toward war.

German Army to implement new promotion system: The German military is implementing a more merit-based promotion system, suspending its practice of automatically promoting servicemen to the equivalent rank of staff sergeant after 16 years of service from July forward. Defense Minister Boris Pistorius’s plan will include more aptitude tests and fewer promotions, which is unpopular in the military but is designed to create a more effective and deadly German fighting machine.