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.
Kaja Kallas, Prime Minister of Estonia arrives at the European Union Council Meeting on March 24, 2023 in Brussels, Belgium. (Pier Marco Tacca/Getty Images)
Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas said that Ukraine would not get "any discounts" on its way to EU membership and must fully implement all the requirements to start the accession talks.
"They will not get any discounts like we didn't get any. These are difficult reforms, but they have to be fulfilled," Kallas told a press conference before the June 29 summit of EU leaders.
So far, Ukraine has fully completed only two out of seven steps outlined by the European Commission. Those are the judicial system reform with the creation of the High Council of Justice and the High Qualification Commission of Judges and bringing media legislation into full compliance with the EU directive.
Denmark's Foreign Minister also believes the EU should not "lower the bar" to speed up the accession of Ukraine and other candidate countries.
"If you don't complete the reform process before you enter, then there could be a risk of slowing down afterward. And we do not export stability, we risk importing instability. And that's why it is so important to stress the need of fulfilling the [EU membership] criteria," Lars Løkke Rasmussen told the Financial Times.
Rasmussen added that if there was going to be "special treatment" for Ukraine, it should be in the form of additional assistance by EU governments to help Kyiv meet the standards, as the process had been too bureaucratic in the past.
After presenting an interim assessment on June 22, the European Commission will give an official written evaluation of Ukraine's progress in fulfilling the EU's candidate criteria in October 2023.
On June 23, President Volodymyr Zelensky pledged that Ukraine would implement the remaining five requirements to launch the membership talks already this year. The Deputy Prime Minister in charge of Ukraine's EU accession also said it's manageable.
Ukraine officially applied for EU membership in late February 2022, just days after Russia began bombing Kyiv and other cities, starting an all-out war against the country. Ukraine was granted candidacy status in June.
Dinara Khalilova is a reporter at the Kyiv Independent, where she has previously worked as a news editor. In the early weeks of Russia’s full-scale invasion, she worked as a fixer and local producer for Sky News’ team in Ukraine. Dinara holds a BA in journalism from Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv and a Master’s degree in media and communication from the U.K.’s Bournemouth University.
Oleksiy Sorokin
