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.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said he will meet with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara, but said both leaders are ready to fly to Istanbul if Russian President Vladimir Putin chooses to attend the talks there.
Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine Olha Stefanishyna attends the Acting for Survivors event on June 15, 2023. (Eugen Kotenko / Ukrinform/Future Publishing via Getty Images)
Ukraine will not completely fulfill all the seven EU recommendations presented to Kyiv to launch accession talks by October, Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration Olha Stefanishyna said, as reported by Interfax-Ukraine on Aug. 17.
However, the country should be able to ensure the implementation of all agreed legislative and institutional steps by that period, she added. Ukraine should also be able to restore on time the electronic declaration of assets for public officials, as per the EU recommendations, Stefanishyna commented.
"In October, we will not hear that we have implemented all seven recommendations by 100% since we are talking about the fundamental transformations in the country that are related to human rights, the process of deoligarchization, which has also become one of the pillars of fundamental democratic reforms," Stefanishyna said during the event "What does Ukraine's path to the EU look like" in Kyiv.
"These are changes that will be introduced for years."
Stefanishyna nevertheless said that the Ukrainian government hopes for the accession talks to start by the end of 2023, with December considered to be "the last opportunity" to make the decision.
Ukraine officially applied for EU membership in late February 2022 and was granted candidate status in June last year. To start the membership negotiation process, Kyiv needs to implement seven reforms outlined by the European Commission.
On June 22, the Commission said that Ukraine has completed two out of seven steps. At the time, Stefanishyna voiced conviction that Kyiv will be able to fulfill the remaining five criteria by October 2023, when the European Commission is expected to provide an official assessment of the progress.
Oleksiy Sorokin
