Great to chat with Lev after so long.

Watch, particularly around the 19.40 minute mark and you will see that, in all seriousness, he is fielding calls from Republicans and Ukrainians who say it would be smart for him to get back on Trump’s radar and for Trump to send him to conduct shadow diplomacy in Ukraine! Again! Despite his history with Trump, he’d like to do it and believes it would be beneficial.

Why?

A. Unlike the people currently around Trump he knows the players in Ukraine and he understands their culture and the language.

B. He believes there is a valuable minerals deal to be done, but not the one that is on the table right now which, Lev believes, is not beneficial to either the US or Ukraine, but beneficial to Russia (thanks to the input of Kirill Dmitriev and Jared Kushner, he says). The way to get at a truly beneficial deal is through the Ukrainian oligarchs, he believes.

C. All sides cannot save face in front of the cameras. In the shadows, he can.

D. He’d be happy to go all in for Trump, again.

(That’s Lev, for you!)

Watch the conversation at Vicky Ward Investigates