A Frenetic Week
Last week, the world focused on President Trump’s visit to Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the UAE, and the Russia-Ukraine “peace talks”, and the rising death toll in Gaza.
Looking at the welcome extended to Mr. Trump and the deals made in the three Gulf nations, one cannot help but remember President Biden’s visit to the region in July 2022.
Expectations regarding President Biden’s Middle East tour were not high. The war of words over what was said and not said about the Khashoggi murder had already poured cold water on the visit. His talks with regional leaders did not break new ground. Before the visit, some senior US officials said that “the Biden doctrine for the Middle East” would be based on principles of partnership, deterrence, diplomacy, integration, and values as opposed to regime change through military force and nation building, objectives that were out of America’s reach to deliver and drained its resources and capacity. Such remarks made little impact, if any, on Arab leaders.
Last week in Riyadh, President Trump, in person, went far beyond the Biden officials.
In a major address, he declared that a new generation of leaders is transcending the ancient conflicts and divisions of the past and forging a new future for the Middle East. He said, “This great transformation has not come from Western interventionists … In the end, the so-called ‘nation-builders’ wrecked far more nations than they built — and the interventionists were intervening in complex societies that they did not even understand themselves… After so many decades of conflict, finally it is within our grasp to reach the future that generations before us could only dream about — a land of peace, safety, harmony, opportunity, innovation, and achievement right here in the Middle East.”
Before meeting Syrian leader Ahmed al-Shaara in Riyadh, Mr. Trump had declared his intention to lift wide-ranging sanctions on Syria, and this sparked jubilation in Damascus. However, this is not a done deal, and as Secretary Rubio said, it would depend on the progress made. The Trump administration is pressuring al-Shaara to join the Abraham Accords.
The leaders of the three Gulf nations extended President Trump lavish welcomes. They enjoyed displaying their personal ties with him and pledged trillions in US investments through deals signed during his visits. Thus, President Trump returned to Washington fully satisfied.
Last week, President Putin turned down President Zelensky’s call for a face-to-face meeting in Istanbul. Instead, he sent there what the Western media has called a “low-level delegation”. Mr. Zelensky unwillingly agreed to the talks. Leading Russia’s delegation was Vladimir Medinsky, a former culture minister and a staunch nationalist who had led the Russian delegation in the March 2022 Istanbul peace talks.
Despite President Zelensky’s call, supported by Mr. Trump, there was no chance of President Putin having a face-to-face meeting with Mr. Zelensky whom he, unfortunately, does not consider his equal. Mr. Putin would prefer Istanbul as the venue for the Russia-Ukraine talks; he would have Vladimir Medinsky as the head of the Russian delegation, because he wants to remind the Ukrainian side that talks would only restart from where they were left three years ago, with no change in the Russian position.
Nonetheless, the two sides agreed to swap 1,000 prisoners of war each and continue the talks. Russia “noted” Ukraine’s request for direct talks between Presidents Putin and Zelensky.
Last week, disappointed with Mr. Putin’s no-show in Istanbul, President Trump said, “Nothing’s going to happen until Putin and I get together.” Mr. Putin is in no rush for such a meeting. Even if that were to happen soon, Mr. Putin would not easily agree to a peace deal pushed by Washington. He would consider this incompatible with Russia’s international status as a global power.
On May 9, a huge parade in Moscow to celebrate the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany in World War II and to display Russia’s military might was attended by leaders of more than twenty countries, among them President Xi Jinping. Presidents Putin and Xi Jinping reaffirmed the mutual support between their countries in statements to the media. More than anything else, this was a message to Washington.
Following President Trump’s address in Riyadh, Secretary Rubio said that this was one of the most impressive speeches of Mr. Trump’s presidency, and one of the most meaningful speeches by an American president overseas in decades. He also underlined President Trump’s commitment to stopping, preventing, and ending wars.
The first test of Mr. Trump’s sincerity in promising to end wars will be stopping the continuing massacres of civilians in Gaza. However, there were reports that Washington does not plan to force Israel to end the war in the Strip.[i] These came as no surprise as Israel launched a major offensive in Gaza after airstrikes that killed more than a hundred.
The 34th Arab League Summit was held in Baghdad last Saturday. Among the attendees were Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres. However, many Arab countries were represented by their foreign ministers. The final communique reaffirmed the League’s categorical rejection of the displacement of the Palestinian people and stressed the urgent need to deliver humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip. Would the League’s calls have any impact on current developments? No.
As for Türkiye, we are in the process of creating a “terrorless Türkiye”, with the AKP government still negotiating the details of a broad agreement. The people of Türkiye would unquestionably like to put unhappy memories of the past behind them for good. Following its recent congress, the PKK leadership announced that the group has agreed to dissolve itself and disarm. However, the content of the statement they published triggered a strong reaction from the Turkish public because it not only referred to “the annihilation policies rooted in the Treaty of Lausanne and the 1924 Constitution” but also mentioned “a genocide system”.
For Turks, the Lausanne Peace Treaty confirmed the victory of their War of Independence. It is the founding document of the Republic. It sent into the dustbin of history the Treaty of Sèvres signed between the victorious Western powers and the decadent, corrupt Ottoman administration. Those powers wanted to confine Türkiye to a small stretch of territory in central Anatolia, making it a small state continuing with its decayed Ottoman traditions and irreversibly part of the Islamist Middle East. In brief, signing the Treaty of Sèvres was a treasonous act. Atatürk upended their plans.
The 1924 Constitution reflected the forward-looking, progressive spirit of the founders of the Republic.
The DEM Party leaders and their partners must understand that the path to resolving Türkiye’s problems is restoring our democracy, not dealmaking, and not questioning our historical achievements as a nation.
Today marks the 106th anniversary of Atatürk’s landing at the Black Sea port city of Samsun in 1919 to raise the flag of our War of Independence. We remain eternally grateful to him for his victories over the occupiers, securing our independence, laying down the foundations of the modern Republic of Türkiye, and his historic reforms that enabled our nation to move forward.
[i] https://www.timesofisrael.com/witkoff-told-mediators-us-not-planning-to-force-israel-to-end-gaza-war-officials-say/