Andriy Yermak, Zelensky's chief of staff, said that the new pontiff had a phone call with Zelensky on Monday, during which the pope expressed willingness to facilitate meetings between global leaders and vowed to support efforts for "a just and lasting peace."
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 of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, attends a press conference during NATO Summit at LITEXPO Lithuanian Exhibition and Congress Center in Vilnius, Lithuania on July 12, 2023. Beata Zawrzel/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that the Turkish parliament would ratify Sweden's accession to NATO if the U.S. approves the sale of its F-16 fighter jets to Ankara, Reuters reported on Sept. 26.
Erdogan told reporters on his flight back from Azerbaijan that Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan discussed the issue of Sweden's NATO aspirations with U.S. State Secretary Antony Blinken in New York last week.
According to the Turkish president, the Biden administration is linking the F-16 sales to Ankara's approval of the Swedish NATO bid.
"If they (the U.S.) keep their promises, our parliament will keep its own promise as well. Turkish parliament will have the final say on Sweden's NATO membership," Erdogan said.
Both Sweden and Finland applied to join the Alliance in May 2022 due to Russia's aggression against Ukraine. Turkey initially blocked both of their bids but gave the green light to Helsinki in March.
Erdogan seemingly conceded to back Sweden's bid and forward it to the Turkish parliament on July 10 after meeting NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson.
A day after the announcement, the Biden administration said that it would move forward with the sale of F-16s to Turkey. Ankara requested to buy $20 billion of F-16 aircraft and nearly 80 modernization kits for its existing warplanes from the U.S. in October 2021.
Since then, neither the ratification of Sweden's NATO bid nor the sale of the jets have been finalized.
Sweden also waits for a green light from Hungary, another NATO member that has not approved Stockholm's accession to the alliance so far.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on Sept. 25 that Budapest is in "no rush" with the ratification, suggesting further delays before the Nordic country can join the military bloc.
Martin Fornusek is a news editor at the Kyiv Independent. He has previously worked as a news content editor at the media company Newsmatics and is a contributor to Euromaidan Press. He was also volunteering as an editor and translator at the Czech-language version of Ukraïner. Martin studied at Masaryk University in Brno, Czechia, holding a bachelor's degree in security studies and history and a master's degree in conflict and democracy studies.
Martin Fornusek
