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The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 6th, 2025: Zelensky Reveals Conditions For Ending The War & Israel Prepares For Palestinian Exodus From Gaza
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- [00:12]
Mike Baker
It's Thursday 6February. Welcome to the PDB Afternoon Bulletin. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. All right, let's get briefed. First, we'll begin in Ukraine, where President Zelensky has requested that the US Provide Kiev with nuclear weapons as an alternative security guarantee if NATO membership remains off the table. We'll discuss the implications and how President Trump's special envoy to Ukraine is responding. Then, following President Trump's remarks proposing a U. S. Led takeover of the Gaza Strip, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz has instructed the IDF to prepare plans to allow Palestinians to. To voluntarily leave the enclave. But first, our afternoon spotlight. Ukrainian President Zelensky is revealing his conditions for ending the war with Russia. And they come with a major ask from the United States. Provide Kiev with nuclear weapons to serve as a deterrent. Oh, is that all you want? Zelensky made the request on Tuesday during an interview with British journalist Piers Morgan, arguing that if there is to be any lasting and just peace in Eastern Europe, Ukraine must be granted meaningful security guarantees by the US And Europe that will keep the Putin regime at bay. Now, while Zelensky would prefer to be granted NATO membership, he said if the Trump administration remains opposed to their accession to the alliance, nuclear weapons would serve as a viable alternative. Yeah, so you either put us in NATO or how about you give us some nukes? Zelensky acknowledged that even if Kiev is offered a pathway to NATO membership, the process could drag on for years or even decades, and that in the meantime, nuclear weapons could deter Vladimir Putin from attempting to invade Ukraine again. Zelensky said, quote, what will be defending us against this evil? Will we be given nuclear weapons? Then let them give us nuclear weapons, end quote. During the interview, Zelensky noted that Ukraine once had a stockpile of nuclear weapons that they inherited after the fall of the Soviet Union, but voluntarily gave them up in 1994 after receiving security assurances from the US the UK and believe it or not, Russia. Zelensky was highly critical of that decision, arguing that the security guarantees lacked real teeth. Well, apparently so, leaving them vulnerable to Russia over the long term. He wants to avoid putting Ukraine in a similar position under any potential peace plans offered by the Trump administration. The Ukrainian leader continued, quote, let's do this. Give us back nuclear arms, give us missile systems, help us finance a million strong army, or deploy your contingents in parts of our country where we want stability so that people feel safe, end quote. But Zelensky's hopes are likely to be dashed by the Trump administration. Retired General Keith Kellogg, Trump's special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, dismissed the idea during an interview on Wednesday night arguing that it was a non starter. Kellogg said, quote, the chance of them getting their nuclear weapons back is somewhere between slim and none. And, and that's frankly so there would be none, let's be honest about it, he said. We both know that's not going to happen, end quote. Kellogg did confirm that plans are underway for meetings between President Trump and Zelensky and Putin and said both sides would need to make significant concessions if peace is to be achieved. But a timeline is still unclear and the administration remains tight lipped on how they plan to bring the nearly three year old conflict to a just resolution. Coming up, an update on President Trump's proposal for a U. S led takeover of the Gaza Strip. As Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz instructs the IDF to to prepare plans to allow Palestinians to voluntarily leave the enclave. I'll be right back.
- [04:12]
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- [05:38]
Mike Baker
Welcome back to the afternoon bulletin. Israel's Defense Minister Israel. Katz instructed the IDF Thursday to draft a plan allowing Palestinians to voluntarily leave the enclave, aligning with the President Trump's proposal for a U. S led takeover of the territory. Though details remain vague, Katz lauded Trump's initiative, suggesting it could, quote, allow a large population in Gaza to leave for various places in the world. The plan would reportedly offer exit options via land crossings with potential, quote, special arrangements for departures by sea and air. Katz framed it as granting Palestinians the, quote, freedom to leave and emigrate and as is customary everywhere in the world, end quote. Now, as we discussed on today's pdb, Katz's comments follow Trump's remarks on Tuesday alongside Prime Minister Netanyahu in which he suggested that the US should take a, quote, long term ownership position of Gaza, redevelop it and resettle its displaced population. However, Trump's proposal has faced intense pushback as you might imagine, with human rights organizations accusing him of advocating for ethnic cleansing. Netanyahu, in an interview with Fox News on Wednesday, defended the idea, stating, quote, the actual idea of allowing first Gazans who want to leave to leave. What's wrong with that? He added that the displaced Palestinians could return if necessary. The push for so called voluntary immigration has long been championed by Israeli hardliners who view mass Palestinian resettlement as a resolution to the conflict. In the early months of the Israel Hamas war, Netanyahu's government lobbied allies including the US and the UK to pressure Egypt into accepting hundreds of thousands of Palestinians. Now that effort was met with broad rejection as regional leaders feared Israel would permanently block their return. Neighboring countries such as Jordan have largely refused to accept Palestinian refugees, citing economic burdens and security concerns. Katz's plan marks a notable shift in Israeli policy as Israel has maintained a strict blockade on Gaza since 2007, when Hamas took power following Israel's withdrawal after nearly 40 years of occupation. In announcing his instructions to the IDF, Katz called on countries that recently recognized Palestinian statehood, such as Spain, Ireland and Norway, to open their doors to Palestinian refugees, stating that refusal would expose their, quote, hypocrisy. Spain's foreign minister swiftly rejected Katz's idea, stating, quote, gazan's land is Gaza and Gaza must be part of the future Palestinian state, end quote. On Thursday morning, Trump took to Truth Social to clarify his comments from earlier in the week, claiming that Israel would hand over Gaza to the US after hostilities cease and the population was resettled elsewhere. It's important to note that the President insisted that no American troops would be needed and that Palestinians would be, quote, resettled in far safer and more beautiful communities with new and modern homes in the region. End quote. For now, Katz's directive remains an early stage plan with no clear timeline or logistical framework. However, as both Trump and Israeli hardliners push for Palestinian resettlement, the debate over the enclave's future intensifies. And that, my friends, is the PDB Afternoon bulletin for Thursday 6th February. Now, if you have any questions or comments, please reach out to me at pdb@the firsttv.com and of course, as you may already know, to listen to the show ad free, well, simply become a premium member of the President's Daily Brief by visiting PDB premium.com see how simple that is? I'm Mike Baker and I'll be back tomorrow. Until then, stay informed, stay safe, stay cool.