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.
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.
Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto (L), Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, and presidential office head Andriy Yermak (R) at a meeting in Uzhhorod on Jan. 29, 2024. (Office of the President)
Ukraine and Hungary agreed to establish a special commission to deal with the unresolved issues of national minorities and to present a “concrete understanding” of this topic within 10 days, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on Jan. 29.
The comments came at a joint press conference with Kuleba's Hungarian counterpart Peter Szijjarto and Ukraine's Presidential Office head Andriy Yermak in Uzhhorod in Ukraine's Zakarpattia Oblast on Jan. 29.
Budapest has repeatedly accused Kyiv of oppressing the rights of Hungarian minorities that live in the western regions of Ukraine, near the border between the two countries.
During his first visit to Ukraine since the beginning of the all-out Russia war, Szijjarto said that Budapest had formulated an 11-point request to Ukraine regarding the rights of national minorities.
According to the minister, Hungary wants to return the rights its minority had before 2015. The list includes the restoration of the status of a national school, the ability to take a high school diploma in Hungarian, and the ability to use Hungarian in public life.
Kuleba said that the commission, organized by the two countries' foreign ministries, will present to the Ukrainian and Hungarian governments which issues on the list need to be resolved.
"If earlier we were moving on the issue of national minorities in the context of making decisions on Ukraine's membership in the EU, now we want to have this discussion at the bilateral level to resolve the issue,” Kuleba noted.
The language law, which has long a source of strife between Hungary and Ukraine, was instituted in 2017 and requires at least 70% of education above fifth grade to be conducted in Ukrainian.
Ukraine has significant Hungarian and Romanian minorities, and both countries have criticized the law as discriminatory. Ukraine responded that it does not intend to crack down on its minorities, only to ensure that every Ukrainian citizen has sufficient knowledge of Ukraine's official language.
In September 2023, the Ukrainian parliament approved changes to national minorities law, which was one of seven steps recommended by the European Commission in June 2022 for Ukraine's accession to the European Union. The changes were signed into law by President Volodymyr Zelensky in November.
Nate Ostiller
