U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio will travel to to Antalya, Turkey, for a NATO foreign ministers’ meeting from May 14–16, where he is expected to address the war in Ukraine and push for stronger Allied defense commitments.
The Kremlin said the leaders held a detailed discussion about the Russian initiative and Erdogan expressed full support, reiterating Turkey’s readiness to provide a venue and assist in organizing the negotiations.
Erdogan told Macron that international cooperation is critical for initiating peace negotiations and the "sensitive implementation" of Ukraine’s recovery and reconstruction processes, the Turkish Presidency reported.
The assault began around 2 a.m. on May 11, with Russian forces deploying 108 Shahed-type attack drones and decoy UAVs from multiple directions, Ukraine’s Air Force said.
"Think of the hundreds of thousands of lives that will be saved as this never ending 'bloodbath' hopefully comes to an end... I will continue to work with both sides to make sure that it happens."
U.S. State Department Spokesperson Tammy Bruce called for "concrete proposals from both sides" in order for Washington to "move forward" in peace negotiations.
"If they speak to each other in Russian, he doesn't know what they are saying," one Western official told NBC News. Michael McFaul, former U.S. ambassador to Russia, called Witkoff's approach "a very bad idea."
U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan speaks during a press conference at the White House on Nov. 13, 2023. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
U.S. intelligence on a "serious threat to national security" relates to Russia's desire to "put a nuclear weapon into space," ABC News reported on Feb. 14, citing two unnamed sources familiar with the discussions.
The reports came after Mike Turner, the chair of the U.S. House of Representatives intelligence committee, informed all Congress members about a "threat" related to "destabilizing foreign military capability."
According to ABC News, Russia may want to use a nuclear weapon against satellites rather than drop it on the Earth. One of the media's sources called such reports "a big deal," which is "very concerning and very sensitive."
The Kyiv Independent could not verify the report.
Many members of Congress described the issue "as serious without stoking public alarm," without mentioning the subject directly, ABC News reported.
U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said at a press briefing that he had scheduled a classified meeting with congressional leadership. He refused to say whether the "threat" would be discussed there and did not disclose other details, saying, "Americans understand that there is a range of threats in the worlds we are dealing with daily."
According to CNN, President Joe Biden's administration voiced frustration with Turner's decision to go public with the warnings before a planned meeting between security officials and leading lawmakers on Feb. 15.
Kateryna Denisova works as a News Editor at the Kyiv Independent. She previously worked as a news editor at the NV media outlet for four years, covering mainly Ukrainian and international politics. Kateryna holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Taras Shevchenko University of Kyiv. She also was a fellow at journalism schools in the Czech Republic and Germany.
Dmytro Basmat
