Russia seems to be preparing a significant offensive in Ukraine as it is moving troops toward key positions on the front, the Financial Times reported on May 13, citing undisclosed Ukrainian intelligence officials.
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.
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.
Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó heads to the Vilnius NATO summit, July 11, 2023. (Source: Péter Szijjártó/Facebook)
Hungary's ratification of Sweden's NATO membership is "only a technical issue," the Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said on July 11.
"Our position regarding Sweden is also clear: the government supports NATO accession, which is why we presented the proposal on this issue to the parliament many months ago," Szijjártó wrote on Facebook.
"Closing the ratification process is only a technical issue."
The statement comes only a day after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan agreed to forward Stockholm's application to Turkey's parliament, opening the door to Sweden's membership.
Breaking with its long-standing neutrality policy, Sweden and Finland applied to join NATO in May 2022 in reaction to Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. While Helsinki has already joined the Alliance in this year's March, Stockholm's bid is still waiting for full approval by the Hungarian and the Turkish parliaments.
Budapest has been delaying the ratification over Sweden's past criticism of Hungary's democracy backsliding and the rule of law issues. In May, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said that the bilateral relations must improve before Hungary accepts Sweden's bid.
On June 28, Hungary announced the postponement of the vote on Sweden's accession to the legislative session in the fall. However, early in July, Szijjártó indicated that Budapest will not delay the issue if Turkey drops its reservations.
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
