Friday, February 28, 2025

Sedat Ergin Öcalan’ın çağrısı ve barışa şans tanıma ihtiyacı Mart 01, 2025 06:295dk okuma

 

Sedat Ergin

Öcalan’ın çağrısı ve barışa şans tanıma ihtiyacı

Mart 01, 2025 06:295dk okuma


MHP Genel Başkanı Devlet Bahçeli’nin geçen 1 Ekim’de TBMM Genel Kurulu’nda yeni yasama yılının açılışında DEM Partisi sıralarına gidip, bu partinin yöneticileri ve milletvekillerinin ellerini sıkması herkesi şaşırtmıştı.


Bu jestle başlayan hareketlilikte, işlerin PKK lideri Abdullah Öcalan’ın önceki gün örgüte kendisini feshetmesi çağrısında bulunduğu bir noktaya kadar evrileceğini o an kimse tahmin edebilir miydi?


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Kuşkusuz, dünyanın en tehlikeli ve kanlı terör örgütlerinden birinin kurucu liderinin, artık terörden vazgeçilmesi gerektiğini söyleyip örgüte kendisini tasfiye etmesi çağrısında bulunmasının anlamını, önemini vurgulamaya gerek olmamalıdır.


En acımasız şiddet yöntemlerine başvurmaktan çekinmemiş, on binlerce insanın ölümüne, yaralanıp sakatlanmasına, toplumda büyük acıların yaşanmasına yol açmış, Türkiye’nin kaynaklarını tüketmiş bir örgütten söz ediyoruz.


PKK’nın ilk terör eylemi olan 1984 yılındaki Eruh baskınını başlangıç olarak alırsak, Öcalan, geçen 40 yılı aşkın sürenin azımsanmayacak bir kesitinde Türkiye’nin terör tehdidi altında yaşamasının baş sorumlusudur.


Önceki günkü çağrısı ile birlikte başlayacak süreç gerçekten terörün tümüyle bitmesiyle sonuçlanacaksa, bu gelişme tarihsel bir kırılma olarak kayda geçecektir.


Öcalan, açıklamasında yaptığı özeleştiride, teröre başvurmasının gerekliliği konusunda kendine göre bir dizi gerekçe ileri sürüyor. Bu gerekçeleri anlatırken, kullandığı yöntemin neden olduğu büyük maliyetin insani boyutu ile ilgili herhangi bir ifadenin yer almaması, yaptığı çağrının temel bir eksikliği olarak görülebilir.


Ancak böyle de olsa, gelinen noktada meseleye yine de olumlu yönünden bakmak durumundayız. Barışa şans tanımak, her zaman en başta gelen önceliğimiz olmalıdır.


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Öcalan’ın çağrısıyla, PKK terörü ve aynı zamanda bununla bağlantılı olarak Kürt sorunu açısından çok önemli bir eşik geride bırakılmış bulunuyor. Bu noktada klasik bir ifade kalıbını tekrarlayalım: Artık hiçbir şey eskisi gibi olmayacaktır...


Karşımızdaki birinci soru, Öcalan’ın bu çıkışının yöneldiği muhatapları nezdinde ne ölçüde karşılık bulacağını konu alıyor. Burada Öcalan açısından dört hedef grup söz konusudur.


Birinci sırada, Kuzey Irak’ta üslenip silahlı mücadele seçeneğine sarılan ve PKK içinde kuvvetli bir iktidar merkezi olarak yerleşmiş olan Kandil’deki askeri kadrolar geliyor. Öcalan’ın çağrısı, Kandil’in 35 yıla yakın süredir alışmış olduğu düzenin altüst olması anlamını taşıyacaktır. Galiba denklemin en kritik sorularından biri Kandil’in vereceği yanıttır.


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İkinci aktör, PKK’nın Suriye’deki uzantısı olan örgütlerdir; yani siyasi kanatta PYD ve askeri kanatta ise YPG...


YPG, aynı zamanda ABD’nin DEAŞ’a karşı örgütlediği ve himaye ettiği Suriye Demokratik Güçleri’nin (SDG) ana omurgasını oluşturuyor. SDG’nin komutanı Mazlum Abdi, geçmişte Türkiye’deki birçok terör eylemini organize ettiği için İçişleri Bakanlığı’nın arananlar listesindeki isimlerden biridir.


Ertuğrul Özkök’ün geçenlerde “10 Haber”de kaleme aldığı bir yazıda, yakın bir zamanda ‘çok üst düzey bir devlet yetkilisi’nin yaşanan süreç çerçevesinde İmralı’da Öcalan’la yaptığı baş başa görüşmenin içeriği aktarılmaktaydı.


Buna göre Öcalan, bu görüşmede karşısındaki devlet yetkilisine Suriye’deki kesimi ikna edebileceğini belirttikten sonra Mazlum Abdi konusunda “Benim oğlum gibidir” diyerek, kendisinden olumlu yanıt beklediğini hissettirmiştir.


YPG’nin alacağı tavır şu bakımdan da önemlidir. Esad rejimin çökmesi sonrasında Suriye’ye nasıl bir siyasi düzen getirileceği, kısmen bu ülkedeki YPG sorununa nasıl bir çözüm bulunacağı sorusuyla da yakından ilgilidir. YPG, Şam’daki yeni merkezi otoritenin kendisini lağvetmesi yolundaki kuvvetli talebiyle karşı karşıyadır.


Bu yönüyle Öcalan’ın PKK’ya yaptığı “silahları bırakın” çağrısı, aynı zamanda Suriye’ye dönük potansiyel sonuçlar taşıyor. Türkiye’de yaşanan Öcalan merkezli hareketlilik ile Suriye’deki siyasi çözüm meselesinin iç içe geçtiğini teslim etmeliyiz.


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Üçüncü aktör, Avrupa’daki muhtelif ülkelere dağılmış olan PKK kadrolarıdır. Avrupa kanadı, özellikle örgütün finansman kaynakları bakımından önem taşıyor.


Ve nihayet Türkiye’de Öcalan’ın mesajını önemseyen Kürt kesimler geliyor. DEM Partisi, Öcalan’ın mesajının aktarılmasında oynadığı rolle zemin kazanarak, Türkiye cephesinde çözümün kilit aktörü olduğunu tescil ettirmiş bulunuyor.


Önümüzdeki günlerde, haftalarda Öcalan’ın yaptığı çağrının bu kesimlerde nasıl karşılanacağı, bundan sonraki aşamada sürecin seyrini okumak bakımından belirleyici olacaktır. Bütün bu denklem içindeki en sıkıntılı faktörü Kandil’in oluşturduğunu söylemek hata olmaz.


Alınacak sonuç, Öcalan’ın söz  konusu kesimler üzerindeki etki gücünü sınamak bakımından da bir mihenk taşı işlevi görecektir.


Çağrının özellikle Kandil cephesinde olumlu karşılık bulmaması halinde, bu durumun PKK içinde bir ayrışmaya, bölünmeye yol açması kaçınılmazdır. Öcalan’dan kopmuş ve küçülmüş bir PKK’nın kendisini marjinalize etmesi ihtimal dahilindedir.


Her halükârda, önümüzdeki dönemde Öcalan’ın çekim merkezi içindeki Kürt hareketlerinin bünyelerinde bir takım dalgalanmaların yaşanması şaşırtıcı olmayacaktır.


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Şimdi Öcalan’ın yaptığı konuşmaya gelelim. Bu konuşmada en kuvvetli vurgulardan birinin demokrasi teması olması dikkat çekicidir. İfadelerinden, geldiği noktada kendisinin “ayrı ulus-devlet, federasyon, idari özerklik ve kültüralist çözümlere” uzak durduğu anlaşılıyor.


Öcalan, çıkış yolu olarak “Kimliklere saygı, kendilerini özgürce ifade edip, demokratik anlamda örgütlenmeleri, her kesimin kendilerine esas aldıkları sosyo-ekonomik ve siyasal yapılanmaları ancak demokratik toplum ve siyasal alanın mevcudiyetiyle mümkündür” diye konuşuyor.


Burada “her kesimin kendilerine esas aldıkları sosyo-ekonomik siyasal yapılanmalar”la neyi kastettiği hususunda bir açıklık yoktur. Böyle olmakla birlikte, “sistem arayışları için demokrasi dışı bir yol olmadığını vurguluyor” Öcalan. “Demokratik uzlaşma”yı “temel yöntem” olarak gösteriyor.


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Bu arada, İmralı heyetinde yer alan DEM Milletvekili Sırrı Süreyya Önder’in önceki gün çağrının okunmasından sonra yaptığı bir açıklamaya dikkat çekelim. Önder, Öcalan’ın kendileri İmralı’dan ayrılırken “belirttiği bir notu” da paylaşmak istemiştir. Öcalan’ın bu notunda çağrı metninde yer almayan bir ifadenin altı özellikle çizilmelidir.


Önder’in okuduğu bu notta Öcalan, “Şüphesiz pratikte silahların bırakılması, PKK’nın kendisini feshi, demokratik siyaset ve hukuki boyutun tanınmasını gerektirir” diyor.


Bu ifade, Öcalan’ın PKK’nın feshi karşılığında “siyaset ve hukuki boyutun tanınması” gibi bir beklenti taşıdığını gösteriyor. Bu beklenti de net olmayıp genel bir şekilde ifade edilmiştir.


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Açıklık gereken bütün bu sorulara karşılık, yine de girilen süreç, terörün sona ermesine kapıyı aralaması bakımından olumlu bir yönelişi gösteriyor. Ancak Kürt meselesine dönük gelişmeler yaşanırken, özellikle DEM Parti’nin yönetimindeki belediyelere dönük kayyum uygulamalarının akıbeti de merak konusudur.


Keza, PKK’nın kendisini feshi halinde silahlı kadroların tasfiyesi, bunların terör sisteminden çıkartılmaları ve yeni bir hayata dahil edilmeleri gibi başlıklarda birçok formülün bulunmasını gerekli kılacaktır.


Tabii, bu gelişmeler yaşanırken gündemde belirmekte olan bir soru daha var. Kürt meselesi ekseninde bir takım olumlu gelişmelerin sağlanması halinde, Türkiye genelinde bir demokratikleşme, örneğin ifade özgürlüğü ve son zamanlarda gözlenen seri tutuklamalar gibi alanlarda bir yumuşama ihtiyacı da ortaya çıkmayacak mıdır?


abc NEWS Democrats decry, Republicans applaud Trump's confrontation with Zelenskyy "What I saw in the Oval Office was disrespectful," said GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham. ByJohn Parkinson, Lauren Peller, Allison Pecorin, and Arthur Jones II February 28, 2025, 11:42 PM

 abc NEWS 

Democrats decry, Republicans applaud Trump's confrontation with Zelenskyy

"What I saw in the Oval Office was disrespectful," said GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham.

ByJohn Parkinson, Lauren Peller, Allison Pecorin, and Arthur Jones II

February 28, 2025, 11:42 PM


2:33

Trump, Vance blast Zelenskyy, call him 'disrespectful' at White House

Trump, Vance blast Zelenskyy, call him 'disrespectful' at White HousePresident Donald Trump told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy “you don’t have the cards.”

Congressional Republicans on Friday were nearly unanimous in their praise of President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance after they and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had a fiery exchange before live cameras in the Oval Office.


Speaking to reporters in the White House driveway right afterward, South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham predicted that the shouting match could end U.S. support for Ukraine, calling the meeting a "complete, utter disaster."


“Somebody asked me, am I embarrassed about Trump. I have never been more proud of the president. I was very proud of JD Vance standing up for our country. We want to be helpful. What I saw in the Oval Office was disrespectful, and I don't know if we can ever do business with Zelenskyy again," Graham, the Senate Budget Committee Chairman, said. "The way he handled the meeting, the way he confronted the president, was just over the top."


President Donald Trump meets with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House in Washington, D.C., Feb. 28, 2025.

Brian Snyder/Reuters

He suggested Zelenskyy might need to consider resigning.


"He either needs to resign and send somebody over that we can do business with, or he needs to change," Graham said.


Sen. Lindsey Graham, speaks to reporters outside the West Wing of the White House, Feb. 28, 2025, in Washington.

Evan Vucci/AP

MORE: Trump and Zelenskyy key takeaways: Oval Office meeting explodes into shouting match

"Zelenskyy could have left the White House today with a peace deal for his country, ending this conflict. Instead, he chose to disrespect our President and nation," Rep. Diane Harshbarger, R-Tenn., posted on X. "Thank you, President Trump and Vice President Vance, for standing up for our country!"


Rep. Victoria Spartz, an Indiana Republican who is Ukrainian-born, said Zelenskyy is doing the Ukrainian people a "serious disservice" by insulting the American president.


"This is not a theater act but a real war!" she posted on X. "Zelensky is doing a serious disservice to the Ukrainian people insulting the American President and the American people - just to appease Europeans and increase his low polling in Ukraine after he failed miserably to defend his country."


"No funding to Ukraine. This gross disrespect will not stand," GOP Rep. Anna Paulina Luna of Florida posted on X. "Time for everyone in Congress to drop their Ukraine pins."


"America First in action," freshman Texas Republican Brandon Gill posted on X. "Thank you, @realDonaldTrump and @JDVance for prioritizing our people first and for promoting peace!"


President Donald Trump meets with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy as U.S. Vice President JD Vance reacts at the White House in Washington, Feb. 28, 2025.

Brian Snyder/Reuters

MORE: Trump 2nd term live updates: Trump blasts Zelenskyy as 'not ready for peace' after explosive meeting

Democrats, on the other hand, were dismayed by the jarring if not unprecedented diplomatic performance.


"Trump and Vance are doing Putin's dirty work," Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said. "Senate Democrats will never stop fighting for freedom and democracy."


"A hero and a coward are meeting in the Oval Office today. And when the meeting is over, the hero will return home to Ukraine," Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., posted on X.


MORE: Photos: Trump, Vance have tense blow up with Zelenskyy in Oval Office


"What we saw in the Oval Office today was beyond disgraceful," Rep. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., posted on X. "Trump and Vance berating Zelenskyy — putting on a show of lies and misinformation that would make Putin blush — is an embarrassment for America and a betrayal of our allies.They're popping champagne in the Kremlin."


Sen. Chris Coons, a Delaware Democrat, said, "Every time I've met with President Zelenskyy, he's thanked the American people for our strong support. We owe him our thanks for leading a nation fighting on the front lines of democracy – not the public berating he received at the White House."


Sen. Tina Smith of Minnesota said, "That press conference was choreographed for an audience of one and he sits in Moscow. Once, we fought tyrants. Today Trump and Vance are bending America's knee. And that weakens us."


Vice President JD Vance speaks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as President Donald Trump listens in the Oval Office at the White House, Feb. 28, 2025, in Washington.

Mystyslav Chernov/AP

One moderate House Republican, Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska, a major Ukraine ally on Capitol Hill, joined Democrats in defending Ukraine -- though he stopped short of criticizing the president or vice president.


"Some want to whitewash the truth, but we cannot ignore the truth. Russia is at fault for this war," Bacon posted on X.


Later, in an updated statement, he said, "A bad day for America's foreign policy. Ukraine wants independence, free markets and rule of law. It wants to be part of the West. Russia hates us and our Western values. We should be clear that we stand for freedom."


Democratic Rep. Mike Quigley, co-chair of the Congressional Ukraine Caucus and member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, said Trump "chose the side of dictators."


"What just happened in the Oval Office was one of the most embarrassing moments in American history," Quigley, from Illinois, exclaimed. "The world order that was established after the Second World War is dead."


Pennsylvania Republican Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick said, "It was heartbreaking to witness the turn of events that transpired in today’s meeting regarding Ukraine’s future. It is time to put understandable emotions aside and come back to the negotiation table. This can and will be fixed. A strong, sovereign Ukraine is essential for global stability in the face of Putin’s ongoing aggression."


ABC News' Oren Oppenheim contributed to this report.







The White House President Trump, VP Vance Are Standing Up for Americans February 28, 2025

 The White House 

President Trump, VP Vance Are Standing Up for Americans

President Donald J. Trump and Vice President JD Vance will always stand up for the interests of the American people and those who respect the United States’ position in the world — and will never allow the American people to be taken advantage of.


President Trump: “Let me tell you, you don’t have the cards. With us, you have the cards — but without us, you don’t have any cards.”


  • More than half (52%) of Ukrainians want a quick end to the war and believe Ukraine “should be open to ceding some territory in exchange for peace,” according to a November Gallup poll.
  • Since martial law was declared in Ukraine, 1,000,050 Ukrainians have been drafted into military service. In October 2024, Ukraine announced it would be drafting another 160,000 — bringing the total number of conscripted Ukrainians to 1,160,050.

    • The average age of Ukrainian troops is 43 years old.
    • “Even if the West did come through with all the weapons they have pledged, ‘we don’t have the men to use them,’ one of Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky’s close aides told Time’s Simon Shuster, revealing that the average age of a Ukrainian soldier has already reached 43.”
  • One of Zelenskyy’s closest aides told TIME in 2023 that he is “[deluding] himself … We’re out of options. We’re not winning. But try telling him that.”
  • The Ukrainian army is facing rising desertions as “ill-trained and exhausted soldiers [go] AWOL,” with the military further strained by struggles in recruiting and the “arrests of respected and popular combat officers.”

President Trump: “You’re gambling with World War III.”


  • Zelesnkyy himself has acknowledged that the situation in Ukraine could lead to WWIII, and that without U.S. aid, they would lose: “A third world war could start in Ukraine, continue in Israel, and move on from there to Asia, and then explode somewhere else.”

President Trump: “I gave you the javelins to take out all those tanks. Obama gave you sheets.”


  • President Trump gave anti-tank javelin missiles to Ukraine, while Obama gave non-lethal aid only, including blankets.

    • EURACTIVPoroshenko asks Obama for weapons, obtains blankets”
    • President Trump approved lethal weapons sales to Ukraine in 2017: “The new arms include American-made Javelin anti-tank missiles, U.S. officials said.”
    • President Trump approved a $39 million sale of defensive lethal weapons to Ukraine in 2019: “The new package will include Javelin anti-tank weapons, with one U.S. official saying it includes 150 missiles and two launchers.”

Vice President Vance: “You went to Pennsylvania and campaigned for the opposition in October.”


  • Zelenskyy was called out for campaigning against President Trump in Pennsylvania.

    • “Zelenskyy was flown to Pennsylvania in an Air Force C-17 plane.”

BBC Trump could meet King in Scotland to plan state visit 7 hours ago James Delaney BBC Scotland News

 BBC 

Trump could meet King in Scotland to plan state visit

7 hours ago

James Delaney

BBC Scotland News


Reuters Donald Trump holding a letter from King Charles   -  Reuters

Donald Trump said it would be an "honour" to visit the UK again after accepting an invite from King Charles

US president Donald Trump has been invited to meet King Charles in Scotland to discuss an unprecedented second state visit to the UK.


Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer used a trip to the White House on Thursday to present the president with an official letter from the monarch offering a meeting at either Dumfries House or Balmoral Castle to discuss the logistics.


A meeting in Scotland would be Trump's first return to the country, where he has family and business connections, since 2023.


The Scottish government said First Minister John Swinney, who endorsed rival Kamala Harris in last year's election, would work to "strengthen" ties between the two countries.


Trump was hosted by the late Queen Elizabeth for a three-day state visit during his first presidential term in 2019.


Second-term US presidents are traditionally not offered state visits and have instead been invited for tea or lunch with the monarch, usually at Windsor Castle.


But King Charles' letter proposed a meeting in Scotland, where Trump owns two golf courses, to discuss arrangements for a second state visit.


The letter suggested meeting at either Dumfries House in Ayrshire, which the King has owned since 2007, or Balmoral Castle in Aberdeenshire.


Trump appeared taken aback by the letter, but after taking a minute to read it he said he accepted the invite and that it would be an "honour" to visit the "fantastic" country.


King invites Trump for 'unprecedented' second state visit

Donald Trump's mother: From a Scottish island to New York's elite

Donald Trump's links with Scotland


John Swinney has previously said he would use Trump's affinity for Scotland in a bid to avoid tariffs being applied on imports to the US, particularly on Scotch whisky.


Swinney had publicly backed Harris, the Democratic nominee, in the run up to the 2024 presidential election.


But he had a phone conversation with the new president in December and said afterwards Trump had been keen to "express his enthusiasm for Scotland".


A Scottish government spokesperson: said: "The first minister will continue to ensure Scotland has a constructive relationship with the United States and will do all he can to strengthen the social, cultural, and economic ties between the two countries."


The prime minister said it was a "privilege and an honour" to deliver the King's letter to Trump, adding he "looked forward to welcoming" the president to the UK.


Meanwhile the Scottish Greens have said Donald Trump is not welcome in Scotland, with co-leader Patrick Harvie forecasting "protests and a great deal of anger" around the visit.


Harvie said Trump was a "dangerous, misogynistic, racist climate-change denier".


He told BBC Scotland's Lunchtime Live programme: "Rolling out the red carpet in this way and showing this cringe-worthy deference is just sickening.


"It's just a few days since John Swinney said to all political parties and to civil society leaders in Scotland that he wanted to bring us together for a summit to unite against the far right. I don't think he can do that on one day and shake Donald Trump's hand the next."


Donald Trump and Scotland

Few US presidents have travelled to Scotland during their presidency.


Joe Biden was the last to visit in 2021 for the COP26 climate summit while George W Bush went to Gleneagles in 2005 for the annual G8 summit.


Dwight D Eisenhower spent time at Balmoral a number of times though only once as president in 1959.


He also spent a few days resting at Culzean Castle before returning home - which he described as his "Scottish White House".


Getty Images President Eisenhower (centre) with the British Royal family (L-R) Prince Philip, Princess Anne, HM Queen Elizabeth, Prince Charles and Captain John Eisenhower, at Balmoral Castle, Scotland, September 1959Getty Images


President Eisenhower (third from left) meets with the Royal family at Balmoral in September 1959 including Prince Philip, Princess Anne, Queen Elizabeth and Prince Charles


Balmoral is only about 58 miles (93km) from the Trump International golf resort in Menie, where the president is due to open a new course named after his mother this summer.


Mary Anne MacLeod was born and brought up on the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides but emigrated to New York in 1930, where she met and married Trump's father, Frederick.


Trump opened his first golf resort in Aberdeenshire in 2012 amid a wave of controversy and opposition due to potential environmental damage.


He had bought the site at Menie in 2006 with promises of thousands of jobs and £1bn worth of investment in the area.


Getty Images Donald Trump playing golf on a visit to Trump TurnberryGetty Images

Trump played at his Turnberry course during a visit to Scotland in 2018

Scottish ministers controversially granted planning permission for the course, overriding local councillors who denied the application.


But it ran into considerable opposition, not least from those who live nearby after Trump repeatedly demanded they move so the project could be completed.


Trump accused local farmer and salmon fisherman Michael Forbes of living in a "pig like atmosphere".


The countryside agency NatureScot said after construction that sand dunes in the area no longer merited being retained as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).


Questions have also been raised over the promised investment after it emerged the course had racked up £13.3m in losses since it opened, as of March 2024.


The original proposal included approval for a 450-room hotel, 950 holiday apartments, 36 golf villas and 500 houses.


None of those have materialised, and the course had an employee roll of just 81 as of March last year.


Michael Forbes refused to sell his property to Trump when he was building the Menie course

In 2014, Trump bought the Turnberry estate in Ayrshire from a Dubai-based leisure group, renaming it Trump Turnberry.


He later handed over the reins of his golf business to his son Eric, shortly before his first term as president in 2017.


That came a year after one of Trump's most infamous visits to Scotland, when he was met by comedian Janey Godley holding a placard bearing an offensive word in protest at his arrival.


In 2018, a paraglider flew over the course while the president was visiting, displaying a banner which read: "Trump; well below par".


On his last visit in 2023, Trump said it was "great to be home".


Phil Sim corr box

We had broadly expected to see Donald Trump pop up in Scotland at some point. The president owns two golf courses here, and his mother famously hails from the Isle of Lewis.


But his trip has taken on a whole different level of pomp now, with the prime minister hand-delivering an invitation from the King to visit a royal estate.


It was part of a charm offensive - which included the gift of a golf cap in Trump's family tartan - which seems to have paid off for Sir Keir Starmer, at least in the form of warm words.


The invite was calculated to play to the president's ego - Mr Trump always loves the idea of being the first in history to get something, and Sir Keir repeatedly underlined that this is the first time a president has been offered a second state visit rather than a lunch at Windsor Castle.


The prime minister has to break bread with the US president regardless of how well their views and values might mesh, and that attitude is mirrored by First Minister John Swinney.


He may have backed Mr Trump's rival Kamala Harris during the election, but he took a call from the president-elect following his win.


And he's hinted that he could try to use Mr Trump's roots to try to avoid the prospect of tariffs being imposed on Scottish goods being imported to the US - which after all is a big market for things like whisky.


















CNBC - Zelenskyy leaves White House after Ukraine talks collapse - Published Fri, Feb 28 2025 1:44 PM EST Updated 6 Min Ago thumbnail Dan Mangan

 CNBC

Zelenskyy leaves White House after Ukraine talks collapse

Published Fri, Feb 28 20251:44 PM ESTUpdated 6 Min Ago

thumbnail

Dan Mangan

@_DanMangan


Key Points

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky left the White House following the collapse of peace talks with President Donald Trump after a clash in the Oval Office.

Zelensky did not respond to shouted questions from reporters asking him if a peace deal was now dead.


Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy departs after a press conference with U.S. President Donald Trump was canceled following their Oval Office meeting at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., February 28, 2025. 

Nathan Howard | Reuters

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky left the White House on Friday afternoon following the collapse of talks with President Donald Trump after a clash in the Oval Office.


Zelensky did not respond to shouted questions from reporters asking him if a peace deal that would resolve his nation’s war with Russia was now dead.


The White House cancelled a joint press conference for Trump and Zelensky that was originally scheduled for Friday afternoon.


Zelensky was in Washington, D.C., for discussions about a potential deal to give the United States access to Ukraine’s rare earth minerals as part of a broader effort to end the three-year-old conflict between Ukraine and Russia that began with Russia invading its neighbor.


Zelensky left the White House without signing the minerals deal, a White House official told the Reuters news service. Trump has not ruled out reaching that deal, but has left it up to the Ukrainians to be ready to have a constructive conversation, Reuters reported.


The stage is set for US President Donald Trump and Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky to hold a scheduled press conference in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC, February 28, 2025. 

Saul Loeb | Afp | Getty Images


Trump in a statement, said, “We had a very meaningful meeting in the White House today.”


“Much was learned that could never be understood without conversation under such fire and pressure,” Trump said.


“It’s amazing what comes out through emotion, and I have determined that President Zelenskyy is not ready for Peace if America is involved, because he feels our involvement gives him a big advantage in negotiations. I don’t want advantage, I want PEACE.”


Trump also said Zelensky “disrespected the United States of America in its cherished Oval Office.”


“He can come back when he is ready for Peace,” Trump said.


This is breaking news. Please refresh for updates.















The Washington Post - Trump-Zelensky meeting cut short after contentious Oval Office exchange - The Ukrainian leader came to Washington to prevent Trump from abandoning Kyiv in favor of Moscow three years into Russia’s war on his country, but was met with vocal anger from the American president. February 28, 2025 at 12:58 p.m. ESTToday at 12:58 p.m. EST

 The Washington Post

Trump-Zelensky meeting cut short after contentious Oval Office exchange

The Ukrainian leader came to Washington to prevent Trump from abandoning Kyiv in favor of Moscow three years into Russia’s war on his country, but was met with vocal anger from the American president.

February 28, 2025 at 12:58 p.m. ESTToday at 12:58 p.m. EST

7 min

Watch Trump, Vance and Zelensky's Oval Office argument

10:25



President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky engaged in an argument about the Russia- Ukraine war on Feb. 28. (Video: The Washington Post, Photo: Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post)

By Michael Birnbaum and Matt Viser


President Donald Trump ripped into Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office on Friday, in a remarkable encounter that could determine a generation of war and peace in Europe but that at times felt more like a barroom brawl with furious demands from Trump and Vice President JD Vance for respect and gratitude from the wartime Ukrainian leader.


The heated back and forth — with Trump, Zelensky and Vance at times shouting over each other — was a striking breach of Oval Office comity, where even tough encounters have typically happened with calm voices and diplomatic language.


Not Friday, when Trump told Zelensky that he had no cards, was in no position to make requests of the United States, and suggested talks could derail unless attitudes changed.


Zelensky pushed back against Trump, urging him to offer security guarantees, emphasizing Putin’s aggression, and, as things grew heated, chided Vance for speaking about Ukraine without having visited the country.


Zelensky left shortly after 1:40 p.m., with a planned press conference canceled and Trump writing on social media: “He disrespected the United States of America in its cherished Oval Office. He can come back when he’s ready for Peace.”


Also cut short were plans for Trump and Zelensky to finalize an agreement granting the U.S. limited access to Ukraine’s mineral rights.


The meeting began cordially. But Trump has been skeptical of his Ukrainian counterpart, calling him a “dictator” last week and blaming Ukraine for the war even though it began with an unprovoked invasion by Moscow.


President Donald Trump meets with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House on Feb. 28. (Marvin Joseph/The Washington Post)


The most headed dispute came after Vance had pointed to the need for diplomacy and criticized the Biden administration. Zelensky then recounted Putin’s actions in 2014 and said the world has emboldened him over time.


“Mr. President, with respect, I think it’s disrespectful for you to come into the Oval Office to try to litigate this in front of the American media,” Vance said. “You should be thanking the president for trying to bring an end to this conflict.”


Zelensky challenged him back.


“Have you ever been to Ukraine? Come once?” he asked.


“You bring people, you bring them on a propaganda tour, Mr. President,” Vance responded, and then challenged him over problems they’ve had with their military.


“First of all, during the war, everybody has problems, even you,” Zelensky said. “But you have nice ocean and don't feel now, but you will feel it in the future.”


Then, Trump joined in.


“You don’t know that. Don’t tell us what we’re going to feel. You’re in no position to dictate that,” he said, his voice raising.


“You're right now not in a very good position. You've allowed yourself to be in a very bad position,” he added. “You don't have the cards right now. With us, you start having cards.”


“I’m not playing cards. I’m very serious, Mr. president,” Zelensky responded. “I’m very serious.”


“You're gambling with lives of millions of people,” Trump said. “You're gambling with World War III. You're gambling with World War III. And what you're doing is very disrespectful to the country -- this country, that’s backed you! Far more than a lot of people said they should had.”


Vance joined back in, asking, “Have you said thank you once, in this entire meeting?”


Zelensky said he has often thanked the American people for their support in the war effort.


“Your country is in big trouble,” he said, as Zelensky tried to speak again.


“Wait a minute. No, no, you’ve done a lot of talking,” Trump said. “Your country is in big trouble.”


“You’re not winning this,” he added, and then put on a mocking voice. “Then you tell us, ‘I don't want a cease fire. I don't want a cease fire.’”


Trump paused a minute, and then added, “It’s going to be a tough deal to make.”


But nerves were still high. One reporter in the room asked what would happen if Russia broke a ceasefire, and Trump responded, “What if a bomb drops on your head right now?”


Trump tried to calm the room a bit, while still expressing dismay with Zelensky.


“You don't have the cards. But once we sign that deal, you're in a much better position. But you're not acting at all thankful. And that's not a nice thing. I'll be honest. That's not a nice thing.”


He then ordered reporters out of the room and, as they were leaving, offered an aside.


“This is going to be great television,” he said. “I will say that.”


Trump has declared his faith that Putin, too, wants to end the war and will abide by any peace agreement that is struck. He has held back from criticism of the Russian leader even as he has hit Zelensky, and this week sided with Moscow and Pyongyang against Ukraine in a vote marking the war’s anniversary at the United Nations.


But Trump has often taken pains to be polite with other leaders when he has met them in person and has had positive face-to-face conversations with Zelensky in the past, something the Ukrainian leader was banking on when he rushed to Washington this week for the encounter.


Trump several times cast himself as a mediator between the two countries, saying he wanted to open up communications with Russia in a way that Biden’s administration would not, while also aligning himself with Ukraine by hosting Zelensky at the White House.


While the meeting grew heated as it went on, it began with niceties typical of such encounters.


Trump reaffirmed that there would continue to be military assistance for Ukraine — “Hopefully we won’t have to send much because I’m looking forward to getting it done quickly” — and he said the U.S. was still committed to NATO and to protecting Poland.


“I hope I’ll be known and recognized as a peacemaker,” Trump said several times in the Oval Office, as the two leaders met and took questions. He expressed optimism that a deal would bring the war to an end and that aid to Ukraine could be used for rebuilding rather than for fighting.


“I give tremendous gratitude, generals and your soldiers and yourself, in a sense, that been very hard fighting, very tough fighting, great fighters, and we have to be very proud of them,” he said. “But now we want to get it over. It's enough. We want to get it over with. So it's an honor to have you here.”


Zelensky told Trump that he hoped that he would have a “strong position to stop Putin.”


“I hope that together we can stop him,” he said. “But for us, very important to save our country, our values, our freedom, democracy.”


Zelensky brought out Manila folders of pictures to show Trump — pictures of “ladies and men,” saying he didn’t want to show photos of children.


“Even in the war there are rules,” he said. “These guys, they don’t have rules.”


Trump also brushed aside questions of whether the United States was still siding with Zelensky. It should be obvious that Zelensky had U.S. support, Trump said, since he was sitting next to him.


“I think that the United States on our side from the very beginning of occupation,” Zelensky said. “And I think that Trump is on our side.”


What readers are saying

The comments overwhelmingly express embarrassment and shame over the meeting between President Trump and President Zelensky, with many criticizing Trump's behavior as disrespectful and supportive of Putin. Commenters praise Zelensky for his courage and leadership, contrasting it... Show more

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By Michael Birnbaum

Michael Birnbaum is a White House correspondent for The Washington Post, covering the Trump presidency. He previously covered national security and diplomacy from Washington and served more than a decade in Europe as The Post’s bureau chief in Brussels, Moscow and Berlin. He joined The Post in 2008. Send him secure tips on Signal at @mbwp.01.follow on X@michaelbirnbaum


By Matt Viser

Matt Viser is the White House bureau chief for The Washington Post. He has covered four administrations, as well as Congress, the State Department, and presidential campaigns. He joined The Post in October 2018, and was previously deputy chief of the Washington bureau for the Boston Globe. Send him secure tips on Signal at @mattviser.95.follow on X@mviser

NATO Secretary General to attend a meeting of European leaders on 2 March 2025

 

Press Release

28 February 2025

 

NATO Secretary General to attend a meeting of European leaders in the United Kingdom

On Sunday, 2 March 2025, the NATO Secretary General, Mr Mark Rutte, will travel to London, United Kingdom, to attend a meeting of European leaders on Ukraine.

No media opportunity is foreseen.

Photographs will be available on the NATO website after the event.

AL - MONITOR End of an era? PKK leader Ocalan orders militants to end war with Turkey, 'dissolve' While Ocalan's call raises hopes for ending decades of conflict with Turkey, questions remain about the future of Kurdish politics in Syria and the broader region. Amberin Zaman Feb 27, 2025

 AL - MONITOR

End of an era? PKK leader Ocalan orders militants to end war with Turkey, 'dissolve'

While Ocalan's call raises hopes for ending decades of conflict with Turkey, questions remain about the future of Kurdish politics in Syria and the broader region.

Amberin Zaman

Feb 27, 2025


Ocalan flag

A protester waves a flag bearing a portrait of Abdullah Ocalan, the leader of the Kurdistan Workers Party jailed in Turkey since 1999, during a demonstration calling for his release in the Kurdish-majority city of Qamishli in northeastern Syria on Feb. 15, 2025. — DELIL SOULEIMAN/AFP via Getty Images



In a widely anticipated statement that many hope will set the stage for ending more than more than four decades of conflict between Turkey and the Kurds, imprisoned Kurdish leader Abdullah Ocalan called on his followers Thursday to lay down their weapons and disband the rebel organization.


“I am making a call for the laying down of arms, and I take on the historical responsibility for this call,” Ocalan said in his remarks that were relayed at a news conference in Istanbul. “All groups must lay [down] their arms, and the PKK must dissolve itself,” after convening a congress to that end.


The 75-year-old rebel chief made no reference to the Kurdish-led statelet in northeast Syria, which reveres him as its ideological leader. Turkey views the entity as an existential threat. Mazlum Kobane, commander in chief of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), the Pentagon’s top ally in the fight against the Islamic State, confirmed that the call was not directed at his group. “Just to make it clear, this is only for the PKK, nothing related to us in Syria,” Kobane said.


Differences over Syria were a key obstacle in close to a year of secret peace talks that led to Ocalan’s call. Turkey was insisting that they encompass northeast Syria, where Turkish forces and allied Sunni factions have been waging a ferocious nine-year campaign to destroy the self-declared Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria over its links to the PKK.


But Ankara appears to have softened its stance, as several Arab nations have pushed back against Turkey’s growing influence in Syria, where an al-Qaeda offshoot overthrew Bashar al-Assad and seized power on Dec. 8 of last year. If the shift proves lasting, this would mean a big win for Syria’s Kurds.


The scene in Istanbul was initially festive, as lawmakers from Turkey’s largest pro-Kurdish DEM Party took turns reading Ocalan’s orders to his outlawed PKK — first in Kurdish and then in Turkish — before an audience that included Kurdish politicians recently freed from prison and the mothers of Kurds forcibly disappeared by the Turkish state. The news conference was carried live by national television.


A photograph of Ocalan flanked by the DEM lawmakers who had met with him on his prison island earlier in the day was shown on a giant screen. Wearing a cherry-colored shirt and a navy blazer, the once burly PKK leader looked grayer and thinner than in the last official photographs of him that were circulated more than a decade ago during previous peace talks.


Blast from the past 


In arguments reminiscent of his 1999 courtroom trial in which he was sentenced to life imprisonment, Ocalan contended that the conditions for the PKK’s continuation — including the collapse of socialism in the 1990s — no longer existed, thereby “weakening the PKK’s foundational meaningfulness.” He also claimed that Kurdish identity was no longer rejected in Turkey, and that there were improvements in freedom of expression, even as large numbers of Kurds airing nationalist opinions or wearing Kurdish symbols continue to be prosecuted and jailed amid a fresh wave of repression.


A separate nation state, federation, administrative autonomy or “culturalist solutions” were not the answer, Ocalan said. “There is no alternative to democracy in the pursuit and realization of a political system. Democratic consensus is the only way,” he added. His reference to administrative autonomy may still be interpreted as a message to the self-declared autonomous administration in northeast Syria, which Turkey and Syria’s new Islamist leaders say must be dissolved.


However Foza Yusuf, a key official in the Kurdish-led administration, echoed SDF commander Kobane’s views that Ocalan was not alluding to Syria. “His statement reveals once again his strategic brilliance. His call will have a serious impact on the political map of the Middle East and will be a milestone in the struggle for democracy," Yusuf said.


" We knew he would not make us part of any bargain because we are part of Syria and he would not do so out of democratic respect.  Our deals, agreements need to be made with Damascus, not with Turkey,” Yusuf told Al-Monitor. "This is confirmation that there are no organic links between us and the PKK.” The distinction may prove to be a double-edged sword, allowing Turkey to pursue its attacks against the Syrian Kurds even as it makes peace with its own.


Drawing on the Turkish government’s narrative that malign external forces are willfully pitting Turks against Kurds, Ocalan also emphasized the “spirit of fraternity” between Turks and Kurds that was essential to “survive against hegemonic powers.” He also credited Erdogan and his nationalist ally, Devlet Bahceli, for creating the conditions for the current talks.


In October 2024, Bahceli signaled that secret talks with the PKK and the government — first reported by Al-Monitor — were underway when he invited Ocalan to the parliament where he said he should make a call to disarm, the very same call the PKK leader made today.


Official reaction has been muted so far, and there was no response from the PKK at the time this article was published.


Efkan Ala, the deputy chairman of Erdogan’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and a key figure in the previous peace talks that collapsed in 2015, was the first to comment on the Turkish side.


“The upshot of [Ocalan’s] call is for the terrorist organization to dissolve itself, and everyone must make an effort to achieve this result,” Ala told the pro-government news channel A Haber. “If terrorism persists, we are determined to continue fighting it,” he said.


Cheers and tears 


Thousands gathered before giant screens erected in the main squares of cities in the predominantly Kurdish southeast region to watch the news conference. They cheered and ululated before Ocalan’s message was read out. Some could not conceal their shock when they heard his words. “There were quite a few people crying, asking why Ocalan had given up so much without getting anything in return,” local journalist Selim Kurt told Al-Monitor from Diyarbakir, the Kurds’ informal capital.


Similar sentiments were echoed in Istanbul, prompting DEM lawmaker Sırrı Sureyya Onder to note that the PKK leader had also said that “democratic politics and a legal framework” were needed — ostensibly from Ankara — for his followers to disarm and disband.


Those words were not included in the statement that was read aloud.


More than 40,000 people, most of them PKK fighters, have died in the rebels’ armed campaign launched by Ocalan in 1984, which originally aimed for an independent Kurdish state carved out of Turkey, Iran, Iraq and Syria. The rebels have said since the early 1990s that they would settle for local autonomy.


It remains unclear what the government has offered in return for Ocalan’s call, with the talks shrouded in secrecy. Sources with close knowledge of the negotiations say Ocalan has been promised vastly improved internment conditions and that numerous Kurdish political prisoners — most notably Selahattin Demirtas, Turkey’s most popular Kurdish politician — will be freed. Amnesty for PKK fighters untainted by the violence is reportedly in the cards, and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in Iraq has offered asylum to senior PKK cadres, the sources told Al-Monitor.


A first and necessary step for the process to continue would be a mutually declared ceasefire, PKK sources say. There are unconfirmed reports that the PKK will release two senior operatives from Turkey’s national intelligence agency, MIT, whom the group kidnapped in Iraqi Kurdistan’s Sulaimaniyah province in 2017.


But the path to lasting peace is peppered with pitfalls, as previous attempts have shown.


Erdogan’s nationalist detractors were quick to slam Ocalan’s call. Ali Sehiroglu, deputy chairman of the far-right Zafer (Victory) Party, vowed in a post on X to undo “this murky process.”


“We will not let the [Turkish] republic be destroyed! We will not allow the Turkish homeland to be divided,” Musavat Dervisoglu, leader of the nationalist Iyi (Good) Party, posted on X.


The main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), which has relied on Kurdish support in recent elections, endorsed Ocalan’s call. CHP leader Ozgur Ozel said the call was “important,” and expressed hope that the PKK would heed it.


One of the chief goals of Erdogan’s outreach to Ocalan is to drive a wedge between the CHP and the DEM ahead of the next presidential and parliamentary elections, which are scheduled to be held in 2028. Being able to claim victory over the PKK — an organization that is designated as a terrorist group by Turkey, the United States and the European Union — would give Erdogan a huge boost among nationalists. Overtures to Ocalan, long labeled a "baby killer,” would win over enough Kurds, Erdogan's thinking goes.


The logistics of disarming are daunting. “Historic call, yes, but the PKK will not disappear tomorrow. On a practical level, the PKK needs security guarantees to hold a congress, at least a big one, and that is going to require more than Ocalan’s statement,” said Aliza Marcus, author of “Blood and Belief: The PKK and the Kurdish Fight for Independence.”


“Additionally, how is ‘dissolve’ defined here? There are thousands of armed rebels in the mountains of Iraqi Kurdistan — the group cannot simply dissolve or even disarm without a decision on what happens to these people. Where do they go? What will they do? Will they be allowed to return to Turkey and enter legal politics? Is the KRG going to allow them to settle in Iraqi Kurdistan? The PKK is supposed to dissolve itself, but its cadre do not just disappear,” Marcus told Al-Monitor.


The silver lining, Marcus noted, is that “in dissolving itself, the PKK would in essence be giving its local affiliates, whether for Syria or Iran, the independence they were promised back when these parties founded in 2003.” “Whether Ankara accepts this is another question,” Marcus added.


Ezgi Akin contributed to this report from Ankara.


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