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.
A captive named Umit allegedly agreed to serve in the Russian army in exchange for Russian citizenship and a monetary reward of 2 million rubles ($25,000).
Romanian farmers slowly drive their tractors on the road to Bucharest in Afumati village during protests on Jan. 16, 2024. (Daniel Mihailescu/AFP via Getty Images)
Romania's coalition government reached an agreement with the country's farmers and truck drivers to end a weeks-long protest against the import of products from Ukraine and other non-EU countries, the Romanian government announced on Feb. 2.
Romanian farmers and haulers joined forces on Jan. 14 and have been at the center of border blockadesto protest the export of agricultural products from Ukraine amid concerns over low prices for produce, rising costs, imports of cheap products, and EU climate change-related regulations.
To quell protests, the Romanian government agreed to make concessions, including taking steps to increase subsidies for diesel, address high insurance rates, expedite subsidy payments, and implement measures to alleviate border crossing wait times.
Romanian Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu signed an agreement with representatives of the protests to set up a committee alongside several ministries to come up with solutions, the government said.
Earlier this month, several Romanian farmers' organizations sent a joint letter to Romanian government officials demanding that the government advocate for import limits at the EU Agriculture and Fisheries Council or risk more blockades.
"All three of you (Romania's president, prime minister, and minister of agriculture) should assume and bear the consequences of the intensification of the protests in Romania and in the other member states, which will grow much faster than anyone expects and that the next step is for the disgruntled farmers from most of the EU member states to move and block the activity in Brussels," the letter read.
Polish farmers and truckers have held similar protests at Ukrainian border crossings for months.
Although Poland's trucker protests appeared to have at least been temporarily halted, Polish farmers have called for nationwide protests to begin in February if the EU does not give into its demands.
Dmytro Basmat is a senior news editor for The Kyiv Independent. He previously worked in Canadian politics as a communications lead and spokesperson for a national political party, and as a communications assistant for a Canadian Member of Parliament. Basmat has a Master's degree in Political Management from Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada, and a Bachelor of Arts in Politics and Governance from Toronto Metropolitan University.
Dmytro Basmat
