The President's Daily Brief
February 28th, 2025: Putin Warns Europe Against Sabotaging Talks With Trump & Jailed Kurdish Militant Leader Calls For End To 40-Year Conflict With Turkey
Fri, 28 Feb 2025
In this episode of The President's Daily Brief: We'll begin with the latest threats from Russian strongman Vladimir Putin, who is warning European leaders against sabotaging potential rapprochement between Moscow and Washington. His remarks come as Russian and U.S. diplomats held their second round of direct talks in Istanbul on Thursday, and as British Prime Minister Keir Starmer met with President Trump at the White House regarding the war in Ukraine. Later in the show, the jailed leader of the militant Kurdistan Workers Party has called on his forces to disarm and disband, potentially signaling an end to its bloody 40-year conflict with Turkey's leaders. Plus, the Israeli military releases the findings of a major investigation into Hamas’s barbaric 7 October attack, acknowledging that the IDF underestimated the terror group and failed to properly protect their border. In our 'Back of the Brief' segment, President Donald Trump vows to move forward with crippling sanctions on Canada and Mexico next week, claiming our northern and southern neighbors are not doing enough to stem the flow of drugs into the US. To listen to the show ad-free, become a premium member of The President’s Daily Brief by visiting PDBPremium.com. Please remember to subscribe if you enjoyed this episode of The President's Daily Brief. YouTube: youtube.com/@presidentsdailybrief Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Chapter 1: What are Vladimir Putin's warnings to Europe?
It's Friday, 28 February. Welcome to the President's Daily Brief. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. All right, let's get briefed. First, Vladimir Putin is warning European leaders not to undermine attempts to restore diplomatic relations between Moscow and Washington. His remarks come as Russian and U.S.
diplomats held their second round of direct talks in Istanbul on Thursday, and as British Prime Minister Keir Starmer met with President Trump at the White House regarding the war in Ukraine. Well, Putin... Frankly, is acting like he's got the upper hand.
Later in the show, we'll turn to Turkey, where the jailed leader of the militant Kurdistan Workers' Party, that's referred to as the PKK, has called on his forces to disarm and disband. This is very big news, potentially signaling an end to its bloody 40-year conflict with Ankara.
Plus, the Israeli military releases the findings of a major investigation into Hamas's 7 October attacks, acknowledging that the IDF, the Israeli Defense Forces, underestimated the terror group and failed to properly protect their border.
Well, you may well agree with me that, you know, we didn't actually need a year and a half and a major investigation to tell us that they failed to protect their border.
And in today's back of the brief, President Trump vows to move forward with crippling sanctions on Canada and Mexico next week, claiming that America's northern and southern neighbors are not doing enough to stem the flow of drugs into the US. But first, today's PDB Spotlight.
We'll start things off today with the latest threats from Russian strongman slash despot slash president for life, Vladimir Putin, who is warning European leaders against sabotaging potential rapprochement between Moscow and Washington. How about that? You didn't know that I spoke French, did you? Rapprochement.
Speaking on Thursday to Russia's FSB security service, the successor to the Soviet-era KGB, which he once led, Putin said attempts to reboot long-frozen ties with the U.S. are going well and inspiring, quote, hope across Russia. but accused European leaders of working to undermine their progress. That's according to a report from Reuters.
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Chapter 2: What is the significance of the Putin-Trump talks?
As we've been tracking here on the PDB, diplomatic talks began last week in Riyadh between U.S. and Russian delegations, much to the alarm, of course, of leaders in Kiev and NATO, who were not invited and who fear they're being left in the dark about the Trump administration's strategy to end the war in Ukraine.
Putin's remarks were carefully calibrated, heaping praise on President Trump for what he called his pragmatic approach to diplomacy, while blaming former President Biden for causing what he described as a crisis in the, quote, entire system of international relations, end quote.
The comments are seen by many as part of a deliberate strategy to use flattery to draw the Trump administration closer to Russia and further away from Europe and Ukraine. Turning his attention to Europe, Putin said it was clear that many on the continent were not keen to see the two nuclear powers establish warmer ties, and issued a not-so-thinly-veiled threat, warning against any interference.
Yeah, it's not really veiled in any way, is it? He claimed that, quote, some Western elites are still determined to maintain instability in the world, and these forces will try to disrupt or compromise the dialogue that has begun, end quote. Putin said Russia would, quote, use all possibilities when it comes to diplomacy and our intelligence services to disrupt such attempts.
though he didn't elaborate on what that might look like. But he went further in his criticism of Europe, saying, "...they have begun to destroy Western society itself from within, evidenced by the problems in the economies of many Western countries and in their domestic policies and politics." End quote.
Now, the irony of the statement is hard to ignore, given the economic crisis facing the Putin regime due to his single minded focus on funding Russia's war machine. But who knows? Perhaps Putin just lacks a sense of irony or or self-awareness. The comments came as Russian and US teams held their second round of discussions on Thursday, this time in Istanbul, Turkey.
The talks lasted for six hours and reportedly focused on restoring staffing at their respective embassies in Washington and Moscow in order to build a foundation for further negotiations, though neither the Kremlin nor the White House disclosed details of the meeting. Prior to the discussions, however, a spokesman for the US State Department stressed that Ukraine was not on the agenda.
Following the meeting, a spokesman for the Russian Foreign Ministry said the latest talks would be among many aimed at rebuilding trust between Moscow and Washington before more substantive negotiations regarding ending the war in Ukraine would begin. That statement echoed remarks made by Putin on Monday that suggest a deal to secure an end to the war may still be very far off.
In the meantime, Trump has been holding talks with European leaders this week at the White House. He held a friendly meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday, who pressed Trump to take a more deliberate approach towards ending the war. On Thursday, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer visited the White House to deliver a similar message.
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Chapter 3: How is the conflict between the PKK and Turkey evolving?
All eyes in Europe, of course, will be on the White House Friday when Ukrainian President Zelensky meets face to face with President Trump to formally sign the agreement. All right, coming up after the break, the jailed leader of the militant Kurdistan Workers' Party calls on his forces to disarm and disband, signaling a potential end to their bloody 40-year conflict with Turkey's leaders.
Plus, the Israeli military releases the findings of a major investigation into the 7 October attacks by Hamas, admitting that they gravely underestimated the Iran-backed terror group. I'll be right back.
Was ist, wenn die Lösung für unsere Probleme dort lauert, wo Menschen normalerweise gar nicht hinkommen? Ein Schatz aus der Tiefsee, Millionen Jahre alt, den es aber wirklich gibt und den manche jetzt heben wollen.
We will pay peanuts for it and we can make billions.
Der Kampf um die Tiefsee, der hat längst begonnen. Das ist Enten, Land unter, von Andan und dem Futurium. Ab sofort auf Spotify.
Welcome back to the BDB. The imprisoned leader of the Kurdistan Workers Party, or known as the PKK, Abdullah Öcalan, issued a stunning call for his terror group to disband and lay down its arms on Thursday, potentially ending Turkey's four decade long war with the Kurdish separatists.
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Chapter 4: What are the findings of the Israeli military's investigation into Hamas's attack?
Chapter 5: What sanctions is President Trump planning on Canada and Mexico?
And in today's back of the brief, President Trump vows to move forward with crippling sanctions on Canada and Mexico next week, claiming that America's northern and southern neighbors are not doing enough to stem the flow of drugs into the US. But first, today's PDB Spotlight.
We'll start things off today with the latest threats from Russian strongman slash despot slash president for life, Vladimir Putin, who is warning European leaders against sabotaging potential rapprochement between Moscow and Washington. How about that? You didn't know that I spoke French, did you? Rapprochement.
Speaking on Thursday to Russia's FSB security service, the successor to the Soviet-era KGB, which he once led, Putin said attempts to reboot long-frozen ties with the U.S. are going well and inspiring, quote, hope across Russia. but accused European leaders of working to undermine their progress. That's according to a report from Reuters.
As we've been tracking here on the PDB, diplomatic talks began last week in Riyadh between U.S. and Russian delegations, much to the alarm, of course, of leaders in Kiev and NATO, who were not invited and who fear they're being left in the dark about the Trump administration's strategy to end the war in Ukraine.
Putin's remarks were carefully calibrated, heaping praise on President Trump for what he called his pragmatic approach to diplomacy, while blaming former President Biden for causing what he described as a crisis in the, quote, entire system of international relations, end quote.
The comments are seen by many as part of a deliberate strategy to use flattery to draw the Trump administration closer to Russia and further away from Europe and Ukraine. Turning his attention to Europe, Putin said it was clear that many on the continent were not keen to see the two nuclear powers establish warmer ties, and issued a not-so-thinly-veiled threat, warning against any interference.
Yeah, it's not really veiled in any way, is it? He claimed that, quote, some Western elites are still determined to maintain instability in the world, and these forces will try to disrupt or compromise the dialogue that has begun, end quote. Putin said Russia would, quote, use all possibilities when it comes to diplomacy and our intelligence services to disrupt such attempts.
though he didn't elaborate on what that might look like. But he went further in his criticism of Europe, saying, "...they have begun to destroy Western society itself from within, evidenced by the problems in the economies of many Western countries and in their domestic policies and politics." End quote.
Now, the irony of the statement is hard to ignore, given the economic crisis facing the Putin regime due to his single minded focus on funding Russia's war machine. But who knows? Perhaps Putin just lacks a sense of irony or or self-awareness. The comments came as Russian and US teams held their second round of discussions on Thursday, this time in Istanbul, Turkey.
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