George Simion, leader of Romania's far-right AUR party, who won the first round of the presidential election with nearly 40% of the vote, reiterated that if elected, he would oppose any further assistance to Ukraine and shift Romania’s focus inward.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping hailed their countries' relationship on May 8, vowing to increase cooperation in all areas, including military ties.
"There is Turkey, which maintains channels of communication. And then, above all, there is the People's Republic of China, which, more than anyone else, has the means to make (Russian President Vladimir) Putin come to the negotiating table and soften his demands," Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said on May 8.
The United States will be ready to "walk away" from the negotiating table if it does not see Russia making progress in negotiation to end the war, U.S. Vice President JD Vance told Fox News on May 8.
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico arrived in Moscow on May 9 to celebrate Victory Day, commemorating the 80th anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II.
US President Donald Trump on May 8 called for a "30-day unconditional ceasefire" between Ukraine and Russia. Writing on Truth Social, Trump expressed his hope for "an acceptable ceasefire," with both countries "held accountable for respecting the sanctity of... direct negotiations."
President Volodymyr Zelensky had a "constructive" phone call with United States President Donald Trump on May 8, discussing the war, continued pressure on Russia, and a potential ceasefire.
The survey, conducted between April 24 and May 4, shows that 56.9% of respondents would not be willing to compromise on either territorial integrity or Ukraine’s pro-Western direction in any potential talks with Moscow.
U.S. Cardinal Robert Prevost was elected the new pope and leader of the Roman Catholic Church on Thursday, taking the name Pope Leo XIV, a senior cardinal announced on May 8 to crowds gathered in St. Peter’s Square, according to Vatican News.
The flags of the European Union and Ukraine outside the EU Parliament building in Brussels, Belgium, on Feb. 24, 2023. Photo for illustrative purposes (Ksenia Kuleshova/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
The European Commission will recommend that the EU start accession talks with Ukraine before July, when Hungary will assume the rotating presidency of the Council of the EU, the Financial Times (FT) reported on June 7.
Belgium, the current holder of the presidency, is "pressing ahead hoping to achieve unanimity" for the move before Hungary assumes the presidency on July 1, the FT said, citing three people familiar with the matter.
Budapest has maintained close ties with the Kremlin since the launch of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and has repeatedly opposed sanctions against Moscow and obstructed EU support for Kyiv.
Politico also reported in May that EU and Ukrainian officials are pushing to begin formal accession negotiations by June 25, with intense diplomacy underway to convince Hungary to drop its objections to Kyiv's membership.
Ukraine received EU membership candidate status in June 2022. In November 2023, the European Commission recommended launching accession talks with Kyiv.
The European Council then agreed to open accession talks with Ukraine and Moldova the following month.
For talks to begin, the EU needs to unanimously agree that Ukraine has undertaken measures to improve issues like corruption and the protection of minority languages.
"Hungary is expected to raise objections," particularly on the minority language issue, the FT said.
Budapest has repeatedly claimed that the Hungarian ethnic minority concentrated in southwestern Ukraine is discriminated against due to Kyiv's language laws.
The European Commission is also pushing for formal talks to begin with Moldova, but Georgia will not get the green light due to Tbilisi adopting the "foreign agents" law "in defiance of Brussels' warnings," the FT said.
Martin Fornusek
