In an interview with French broadcaster TF1 on May 13, Macron discussed new Russia sanctions and stationing French nuclear weapons in other European countries as a deterrent against Russia.
Performing their song "Bird of Pray," Ukrainian band Ziferblat passed the Eurovision semi-finals on May 13, qualifying Ukraine for the grand final on May 17.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov confirmed that a Russian delegation will be in Istanbul on May 15 for direct peace talks with Ukraine. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Putin’s foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov will likely represent Russia.
The move follows Ukraine's ratification of the minerals agreement, deepening U.S.-Ukraine economic ties and signaling expanded U.S. involvement in Ukraine's long-term recovery.
"Ukraine has initiated a coordinated campaign to vilify Hungary in order to undermine our initiative to hold a poll on (Kyiv's) EU membership," Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz warned that further concessions from Ukraine during negotiations would be unreasonable if Russia continues to attack civilian targets.
U.S. President Donald Trump's special envoys, Steve Witkoff and Keith Kellogg, will travel to Istanbul for possible peace talks between Ukraine and Russia, Reuters reported on May 13, citing three undisclosed sources.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said he will meet with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara, but said both leaders are ready to fly to Istanbul if Russian President Vladimir Putin chooses to attend the talks there.
Chinese military personnel arrive in Belarus for joint military drills on July 6, 2024. (Belarusian Defense Ministry/Telegram)
A group of Chinese army personnel arrived in Belarus on July 6 to participate in a joint "anti-terrorist training," the Belarusian Defense Ministry reported.
The news comes days after Belarus, Moscow's key ally, joined the Shanghai Cooperation Organization led by China and Russia. It focuses on Eurasian political, economic, security, and defense issues.
The exercises aim to "exchange experience, coordinate Belarusian and Chinese units, and create a foundation for the further development of Belarusian-Chinese relations in the field of joint training of troops," according to the ministry.
They will take place in Belarus on July 8-19.
Belarus has supported Russian aggression against Ukraine but has not committed its own troops to fight directly in Russia's war. Russian forces launched the all-out invasion of Ukraine from Belarus in early 2022 but suffered a defeat near Kyiv and were forced to pull back.
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WTF is wrong with Russia?
Chinese leader Xi Jinping on July 3 indicated his support for Russia on the subject of its full-scale war on Ukraine, saying on the sidelines of the summit that China "has always stood on the right side of history."
In what was thesecond meeting of Xi and Russian President Vladimir Putin in the last two months, the leaders concurred that the bilateral relations were at ahistorical highpoint and jointly protect "regional tranquility and stability.
Although China officially maintains a neutral stance on Russia's full-scale war in Ukraine and denies providing lethal aid, Beijing andMoscow continue to strengthen their ties.
Various countries, including the U.S., have accused China of continuously aiding Russia's war machine in Ukraine by providing machine tools, weapons technology, satellite imagery, semiconductors, and otherdual-use technologies.
Ana Palacio
