Obama:

It is possible for me to be a great admirer of George Washington and also acknowledge he was a slaveholder. And that does not negate his greatness.

That simply acknowledges that there is a profound, deep flaw in these Founding Fathers, who were also geniuses and gave us these tools.

Which is true of all of us, right? It's true of every president. We're this mixed bag.

We've got contradictions and embody the country's contradictions.

Source: MS NOW

Lukashenko visits China and meets with Xi Jinping.

Syria condemned Israeli incursions and shelling in the southern governorates of Quneitra and Daraa, calling them violations of its sovereignty, international law, the UN Charter, and the 1974 Disengagement Agreement.

The Foreign Ministry said the attacks terrorized civilians, undermined regional stability, and risked further escalation, urging the UN and international community to stop repeated violations and uphold Syria's territorial integrity.

The statement followed Israel's announcement that its forces killed two people in southern Syria after they allegedly entered a self-declared "security zone."

Azerbaijan has urged Israel to reconsider its decision to recognize the 1915 events as "genocide," arguing that the move distorts historical facts and politicizes a complex historical issue.

The Foreign Ministry said the decision undermines reconciliation, deepens regional divisions, and hampers efforts to achieve lasting peace in the South Caucasus, reaffirming Baku's commitment to historical truth, international law, and regional stability.

Putin:

None of the Ukrainian terrorist attacks have any impact whatsoever on the situation at the front. That's the key point.

No matter where they strike our infrastructure, those attacks have absolutely no effect on the battlefield or along the line of contact.

Source: Zarubin

Putin:

If Ukraine is really capturing and liberating more and more territory—if it is truly winning—then Western leaders should simply wait.

If all of that is true, Russia's strategic defeat would supposedly happen on its own.

Source: Zarubin

Putin:

European leaders say they welcome the innovative use of drones.

My immediate question was: does that also include the strike on the student dormitory in Starobilsk?

Do Western leaders welcome that as well? I haven't heard a single word about it.

Source: Zarubin

Putin:

Western leaders talk about the successes of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in liberating territory.

That raises a question: where exactly, and which territories?

I'm not aware of any such cases.

Source: Zarubin

Putin:

There are new proposals. For example, to stop strikes deep inside each other's territory.

It's obvious why that proposal is being made: our retaliatory strikes deep inside Ukraine are far more powerful, more painful, and, frankly, more destructive, causing serious consequences for the "Kyiv regime."

Source: Zarubin

Putin:

Overall, I want to say that these attacks on our civilian infrastructure are not carried out solely to inflict damage on us, although I believe that is also important to the enemy.

They are also intended to fuel an information campaign—or, more accurately, an information operation as part of the broader confrontation with Russia.

Their objective is to create uncertainty among us, undermine confidence in our own strength, and, ideally, divide Russian society.

They also seek to force Russia to suspend the offensive of our troops, even if only temporarily, in order to create conditions for starting negotiations on terms favorable to our opponent.

We will not give them that chance.

Source: Zarubin

WATCH: Israel buries soldier killed in Lebanon.

Senator Jon Ossoff:

I am not running for president in 2028, I have no interest in running for president in 2028.

Poland’s PM Donald Tusk:

All of us here, but also everyone in Poland, everyone in Ukraine and in Europe, believe that Ukraine will withstand Russian aggression and that our plans for rebuilding Ukraine are not a mirage.

When we say 'together we will rebuild the destroyed Ukrainian cities after the war,' we say it because we believe it will be after the war — that it will happen, and soon, and that it is possible thanks to our solidarity.

Ukraine — and rightly so — wants to be part of a united Europe.

Turkish President Erdogan says the account of Gaza genocide will be demanded from Israel:

In Gaza, they deliberately killed our child Hind Rajab — who was waiting for an ambulance trapped in a car among the bodies of her relatives, reading the Qur'an and praying with the medic.

They deliberately killed the baby being nursed by its mother — taking aim. They deliberately killed innocent children in parks, schools, hospitals, and on shores.

Before they could even know the world, before they could understand what was happening, they martyred thousands of babies, thousands of infants whose mouths still smelled of milk.

A genocide took place there in Gaza.

The attacks are still continuing. There is no doubt that the account of this genocide will be demanded. It will be demanded. It will be demanded. We cannot neglect this.

With Allah's permission, it is this cadre that will demand the account of this genocide.

Turkish President Erdogan:

Rest assured — you are Gaza's sole hope. You are the hope of Damascus, which is rising to its feet. You are the hope of Aleppo, reborn from its ashes.

Mogadishu, Khartoum, Beirut, Tripoli of Sham, Tripoli of the West — you are their hope.

Do not forget: Nicosia is watching you. Baku is watching you. Sarajevo, Skopje, Prizren, Baghdad, Basra are watching you.

China on Japan and the rare-earth export controls:

It is fully justified, legitimate, and lawful for China to take these measures, which aim at containing Japan's reckless moves of neo-militarism.

We hope Japan will turn back from the wrong path, correct its erroneous words and deeds, do serious soul-searching, and go back to the right track of peaceful development.

Former U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry to BBC on Netanyahu & Iran War:

When the prime minister of Israel sitting in the situation room went through what would be gained and what would happen, there were members of the president's own cabinet who thought that was BS and said so.

But the president said, 'Sounds good to me.'

And that 'sound good to me' is what set us on this path to war.

Obama:

America has always had two contrasting stories. One begins with the ideal that we're all created equal.

The other is based on caste, privilege, excluding people, and dominating people.

Right now we've got a president in the White House who seems to have embraced and embodied this other story.

Source: MS NOW

Former U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on the JCPOA's actual technical achievements:

We destroyed a plutonium reactor that they were about two weeks from bringing online.

We filled the calandria of that weapon with cement. Could never be used again.

We had cradle-to-grave restrictions on uranium… 130 additional inspectors put on the ground in Iran looking every single day, inspecting at will.

Obama:

When you understand the complexities of America and the contradictions of America, I don't think it makes you love it less. I think it makes you love it more.

And I think it also makes you more resilient because then, during periods like we're in right now, where for a lot of folks it's crazy and you feel despair and anger, that perspective allows you to then say, "Okay, we've gone through crazy periods like this before. We've gone through mean periods before."

It fortifies you to say that: "Yes, this has been part of the journey that we're on. There's no reason to suggest that we can't get through this one either."

Source: MS NOW

Former U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry:

$300 billion is what he is talking about using to rebuild Iran. Evidently we're going to have a Marshall Plan for Iran instead of for a lot of other countries that need it.

The money that was in our agreement was about 1.78 billion. What he's talking about giving Iranians is 300 billion.

And the money that we gave them was their money, not ours.

It came from a deal for weapons back in the 1970s when the Shah was still there.

Ayatollah actually went out on the limb supporting the negotiations…

The people who opposed getting an agreement told the Ayatollah, 'If you negotiate with the Great Satan, you will regret it.'

He took political flak for that internally.