This week, the world watched in anticipation for Russia’s Victory Day parade after President Volodymyr Zelensky commented that he could not guarantee the safety of those attending. Meanwhile, the European Union moves one step forward to banning Russian gas from the European continent. It is also revealed this week that U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has fallen out of step with the White House.
"(Russian) President (Vladimir) Putin... doesn't want to have a ceasefire agreement with Ukraine, but rather wants to meet on Thursday, in Turkey, to negotiate a possible end to the bloodbath. Ukraine should agree to this, immediately," U.S. President Donald Trump said.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio will travel to to Antalya, Turkey, for a NATO foreign ministers’ meeting from May 14–16, where he is expected to address the war in Ukraine and push for stronger Allied defense commitments.
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.
Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) and Vietnamese President To Lam (L) attend a welcoming ceremony on June 20, 2024 in Hanoi, Vietnam. (Contributor/Getty Images)
Russian President Vladimir Putin met with his Vietnamese counterpart To Lam during a state visit to Hanoi on June 20, Kremlin-controlled news agency RBC wrote.
Putin arrived in Vietnam after travelling to North Korea, his first such visit in 24 years. Russian President and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un signed on June 19 the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Agreement, as Pyongyang supplied Moscow with large packages of ammunition and supplies for use in the full-scale war against Ukraine.
Moscow and Hanoi adopted a statement on deepening their strategic partnership and signed over 10 documents, including a memorandum on the schedule for establishing a nuclear technology center in Vietnam, Kremlin-controlled state news agencies claimed.
Details of the signed documents remain unclear, but To Lam said that the two countries will also increase cooperation in defense and security.
Putin is expected to hold further talks with the Vietnamese president and other officials.
Putin has visited Vietnam four times previously, but not since the beginning of Russia's all-out war against Ukraine.
Vietnam and Russia have long had close relations, dating back to the Soviet Union's support for North Vietnam and its proxy forces during the Vietnam War. Hanoi has so far maintained a neutral stance regarding Russia's war against Ukraine.
While North Korea is a pariah state with few international allies, Vietnam and the U.S. have close ties despite their fraught history.
The announcement of the visit elicited a rebuke from U.S. officials.
"No country should give Putin a platform to promote his war of aggression and otherwise allow him to normalize his atrocities," a spokesperson for the U.S. Embassy in Vietnam told Reuters.
Katie Marie Davies
