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.
EU flags in front of the European Commission building in Brussels, Belgium, on Dec. 28, 2023. Photo for illustrative purposes. (Dursun Aydemir/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Ukraine and the EU signed an agreement on March 12 on transitional financing of 6 billion euros ($6.5 billion) for Kyiv as part of the bloc's long-term 50 billion euro ($55 billion) support plan, the Ukrainian Finance Ministry announced.
The EU approved the four-year Ukraine Facility in February, allocating 33 billion euros ($36 billion) in loans and 17 billion euros ($18.6 billion) in grants.
Based on the newly signed agreement, Ukraine's state budget should receive 4.5 billion euros ($4.9 billion) in transitional financing in March and the remaining 1.5 billion euros ($1.6 billion) in April "after the European Commission evaluates the completed indicators."
"I am grateful to the European Union for its significant and timely financial support," Finance Minister Serhii Marchenko said while signing the document.
"The transitional financing mechanism will cover the urgent budget needs until the final approval of the Ukraine plan for the Ukraine Facility," he added.
Kyiv prepared a draft of the plan, which details its vision for Ukraine's recovery, reconstruction, and modernization under the Ukraine Facility, in December 2023, submitting it to the European Commission.
After the plan is fully approved, an additional 1.9 billion euros ($2.1 billion) in unconditional financing would be made available for Ukraine, the Finance Ministry said.
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.
The Kyiv Independent news desk
