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."
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and Romanian President Klaus Iohannis at the Cotroceni presidential palace in Bucharest, Romania, on Tuesday, Oct. 10, 2023. (Andrei Pugnovschi/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Nearly 60% of the total volume of Ukrainian grain exports transit through Romania, Klaus Iohannis, the Romanian president, said in Bucharest on Oct. 10.
Speaking at a joint press conference with President Volodymyr Zelensky, who was in Bucharest for an official visit, Iohannis said that over 27 million metric tons of Ukrainian grain have transited through his country since the beginning of the full-scale invasion.
In August, Romanian Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu said that the government was aiming for 60% of Ukrainian grain exports to transit through the country and that they were working to improve relevant infrastructure.
Bucharest and Kyiv have made an agreement that aims to double the current transit capacity at Romanian ports, Iohannis said in Bucharest.
Russia has attempted to block Ukraine's ability to export its agricultural products by withdrawing from the Black Sea Grain Initiative in July and starting a campaign of strikes against Ukrainian ports and grain infrastructure.
These attacks often hit Ukraine's ports on the Danube River, which forms part of the border with Romania in Odesa Oblast.
In September, debris from Russian attack drones was found in Romania at least three times, leading to the introduction of new security measures by Bucharest to protect the civilian population near the Danube River.
Dominic Culverwell
