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.
Russian dictator Vladimir Putin at the St.Petersburg International Economic Forum on June 16, 2023 in Saint Petersburg, Russia. (Photo by Contributor/Getty Images)
The first tactical nuclear weapons to be stationed in Belarus have arrived, Russian dictator Vladimir Putin claimed during the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum on June 16.
"The first nuclear charges were delivered to the territory of Belarus. But only the first,” Putin said. “This is the first part. But by the end of the summer, by the end of the year, we will complete this work.”
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and his Belarusian counterpart Viktor Khrenin first signed an agreement on placing Russian non-strategic nuclear weapons on Belarusian territory on May 26.
Shoigu reportedly said during the meeting between the two that control over the weaponry would remain with Moscow.
Earlier on June 13, Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko alleged that the first weapons shipment had arrived in the country. "We have missiles and bombs that we received from Russia," he said in an interview with a Russian state TV channel.
He claimed that the bombs Belarus received are "three times more powerful than those in Hiroshima and Nagasaki."
The agreement has been largely condemned by the West for violating the International Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, as well as for escalating Russia's unprovoked war of aggression on Ukraine.
The Pentagon has said, however, that while it continues to monitor this situation, it does not see any reason to adjust its own strategic nuclear posture as it has not received any indication Russia plans to use the nuclear weapons stationed in Belarus.
Haley Zehrung is a news editor at the Kyiv Independent. Previously, she was a Title VIII Fellow at the Department of State, where she conducted archival research in Kyrgyzstan. She has also worked at C4ADS, the Middle East Institute, and Barnard College. Haley completed a Bachelor of Arts and a Master of Arts at Columbia University in Political Science and Eurasian Studies.
George E. Bogden
