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.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz during a conference following a Special European Council summit in Brussels, Belgium, on April 18, 2024. (Simon Wohlfahrt/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Group of Seven (G7) leaders did not entertain Russian President Vladimir Putin's peace proposals for its war in Ukraine, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said during the Ukraine peace summit, the Guardian reported on June 16.
Putin stipulated on June 14 that for peace negotiations to proceed, Ukrainian troops must withdraw from Ukraine's Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia oblasts. He also demanded Ukraine recognize Russia's illegal annexation of these regions and renounce any ambitions to join NATO.
President Volodymyr Zelensky rejected Putin's conditions on the same day, likening them to Adolf Hitler's invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1938-1939.
Presidential advisor Mykhailo Podolyak denounced Putin's proposal as "highly offensive to international law" and indicative of the Russian leadership's inability to assess reality accurately.
Scholz explained that Russia's proposals were not discussed at the peace summit on June 15-16 because they were widely seen as unserious and intended to distract from the summit.
World leaders convened at a Swiss mountain resort overlooking Lake Lucerne to rally support for Ukraine’s peace proposals during the first day of a two-day international summit. Over 90 countries are participating in the event, where Zelenskyy proclaimed that "history would be made."
Dominic Culverwell
