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.
Hungarian Trade and Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto speaks during an interview in Ankara, Turkiye on May 03, 2023. (Photo by Omer Taha Cetin/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said that his country won’t support the 11th sanctions package against Russia and the 500 million euro military support tranche for Ukraine unless Kyiv removes the Hungarian bank from the blacklist.
On May 4, Ukraine’s National Corruption Prevention Agency designated Hungary’s OTP Bank an “international sponsor of war” due to the bank’s decision to continue operating in Russia and adherence to a credit law directly referring to the proxy regimes in Russian-occupied Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts.
OTP Bank is one of the 50 largest banks in Russia, serving more than 2.2 million customers.
The bank provides “preferential lending conditions to (members of) the Russian military,” including the opportunity to defer payments on loans, the National Corruption Prevention Agency wrote.
On May 15, Szijjarto said that “OTP has not violated any international laws. Its operations fully comply with all kinds of expectations and legislation.” “Placing it on the list of international sponsors of war is unacceptable and scandalous,” he added.
A senior EU official said that the EU will discuss this issue on May 22 in Brussels, CNN reported.
“We’re going to talk to the Ukrainian side. We’ll talk to the Member States, talk to Hungary, of course,” the official said.
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The Kyiv Independent news desk
