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.
Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba (L) and Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis in Kyiv on Jan. 27, 2024. (Dmytro Kuleba/X)
Ukraine and Lithuania have determined joint steps in scaling up drone production for Ukraine’s Armed Forces, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said during the press conference with his Lithuanian counterpart, Gabrielius Landsbergis, in Kyiv on Jan. 27.
"Lithuania has technologies, and Ukraine has opportunities to scale up production, and this was the key theme (of our meeting)," Kuleba said.
"There is a clear understanding of what, how, and when we will do things in order for Ukrainian-Lithuanian cooperation in drone production to yield maximum results in the shortest terms."
Landsbergis arrived in Kyiv earlier on Jan. 25. His country is one of Ukraine's strongest allies.
Kuleba’s announcement follows President Volodymyr Zelensky's recent visit to Lithuania, during which heads of the states signed new agreements on joint defense production, including anti-drone systems, while Vilnius also approved long-term support of 200 million euros ($219 million) for Ukraine.
"Today, me and Gabrielius focused on fulfilling those agreements that the president had reached," Kuleba said on Jan. 27.
On X, Landsbergis wrote that he and Kuleba discussed "the need for Ukraine and its allies to ramp up production quicker than the enemy ramps up theirs."
"We cannot let Russia gain any advantage that would tempt them into launching more 'operations,'" he wrote.
Apart from drone production, Kuleba and Landsbergis also discussed the European Peace Facility (EPF), the EU’s funding mechanism for sustaining European military supplies to Ukraine.
Under the EPF, member states receive reimbursement for weapons they send to Ukraine, with the decisions to allocate and disburse funds requiring unanimous support. However, EU members have argued over reimbursement rates and the use of the facility to offset purchases, while Hungary has blocked the eighth tranche of funding to compensate EU countries for supplies.
During the press conference, Landsbergis said that even though the EU member states were "unable to reach certain agreements or coordination" on the issue, he views future steps "more optimistically."
Kuleba said they were working on unblocking the EPF, also adding that there were some positive developments.
Daria Shulzhenko is a reporter at the Kyiv Independent. She has been a lifestyle reporter at the Kyiv Post until November 2021. She graduated from Kyiv International University with a bachelor’s in linguistics, specializing in translation from English and German languages. She has previously worked as a freelance writer and researcher.
Oleksiy Sorokin
