The Kremlin said the leaders held a detailed discussion about the Russian initiative and Erdogan expressed full support, reiterating Turkey’s readiness to provide a venue and assist in organizing the negotiations.
Erdogan told Macron that international cooperation is critical for initiating peace negotiations and the "sensitive implementation" of Ukraine’s recovery and reconstruction processes, the Turkish Presidency reported.
The assault began around 2 a.m. on May 11, with Russian forces deploying 108 Shahed-type attack drones and decoy UAVs from multiple directions, Ukraine’s Air Force said.
"Think of the hundreds of thousands of lives that will be saved as this never ending 'bloodbath' hopefully comes to an end... I will continue to work with both sides to make sure that it happens."
U.S. State Department Spokesperson Tammy Bruce called for "concrete proposals from both sides" in order for Washington to "move forward" in peace negotiations.
"If they speak to each other in Russian, he doesn't know what they are saying," one Western official told NBC News. Michael McFaul, former U.S. ambassador to Russia, called Witkoff's approach "a very bad idea."
Tougher sanctions "should be applied to (Russia's) banking and energy sectors, targeting fossil fuels, oil, and the shadow fleet," the leaders of Ukraine, the U.K., France, Germany, and Poland said in a joint statement.
"Russia is ready for negotiations without any preconditions," Putin claimed in an address marking the end of the three-day Victory Day ceasefire. He invited Ukraine to begin talks in Istanbul on May 15.
The Kyiv Independent's journalists work in the field during Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February-May 2022. (Courtesy)
In the final episode of the "Media in Progress" podcast series, we follow how the Kyiv Independent has become a world-renowned, established media outlet since Russia's full-scale invasion began on Feb. 24, and how our team of journalists continues to work during the war.
Elina-Alem Kent is the producer of Media in Progress, a podcast documenting the origin story of the Kyiv Independent and following the journey the team takes as they make an independent English media company from scratch in Ukraine. She previously worked at the lifestyle desk at the Kyiv Post covering the booming techno and art scenes of Ukraine as well as produced the Kyiv Post podcast. She has an International Relations degree from Boston University.
