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."
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Wednesday, May 14
"Contrary to Kremlin narratives, time is not on Russia’s side," reads a new report from the Stockholm Institute of Transition Economics (SITE).
Wednesday, May 14
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.
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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.
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"Our people are going to be going there," U.S. President Donald Trump said.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz warned that further concessions from Ukraine during negotiations would be unreasonable if Russia continues to attack civilian targets.
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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.
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Serbia places its troops on Kosovo border on 'highest level of combat readiness'
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Serbia's Interior Minister Bratislav Gasic said on Dec. 26 that he had "ordered the full combat readiness” of the country's police and security troops on the border with Kosovo.
Gasic said in a statement that he acted on the orders of Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic so that “all measures be taken to protect the Serbian people in Kosovo," AP reported.
The move comes amid increased tensions between the two states and claims that Kosovo is preparing an attack on ethnic Serbs in northern Kosovo.
The government in Kosovo has not commented on the claims but has previously accused Serbian President Vucic of deliberately stirring tensions between the two countries.
A day before, NATO-led peacekeepers in Kosovo said they were investigating a shooting incident in northern Kosovo at a road barricade manned by local ethnic Serbs.
Earlier in August, tensions also flared when the government in Pristina, Kosovo said Serbs living in the north would have to use license plates issues in Pristina. Roadblocks were set up in protest, but were eventually removed with the oversight of NATO peacekeepers.
Serbia has never recognized Kosovo, which has an ethnic Albanian majority, as an independent state after it broke away from Serbia following a war in 1998-99. The United States and most European Union member states have recognized Kosovo's independence, which was officially declared in 2008.
Serbia, whose military is armed through Russian donations and purchases, has been threatening force against Kosovo since it became independent.
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