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."
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz during a news conference following a Special European Council summit in Brussels, Belgium, on April 18, 2024. (Simon Wohlfahrt/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
The decreasing popularity of Germany's Social Democratic Party (SPD), headed by Chancellor Olaf Scholz, is connected to some voters' opposition to the party's support for Ukraine, Scholz said in an interview with Tagesschau published on June 24.
The effect is most directly felt in some states in Germany's east, where SPD is only polling at 7% ahead of upcoming local elections scheduled for September.
SPD suffered a bruising loss in the elections for the European Parliament earlier in June, coming in third place, behind the center-right Conservative Christian Union-Christian Social Union (CDU/CSU) and far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD).
Many voters do not agree with the government's support for Ukraine and sanctions against Russia, which is "also reflected by the election results," Scholz said.
At the same time, the electoral impact notwithstanding, Scholz said he believes there is currently "no alternative to changing (the government's policy toward Ukraine)."
Scholz said he is hopeful that the upcoming elections would not result in an AfD prime minister being elected, which he said would be "very depressing." Nonetheless, he acknowledged that AfD would likely play a role in the forthcoming governing coalition.
Recent polls have also indicated signs of nationwide skepticism toward Germany's support for Ukraine, with 58% of respondents saying in March that they opposed the provision of long-range Taurus missiles. Another 31% said they were not in favor of delivering any German-made weapons to Ukraine.
Nate Ostiller is a former News Editor at the Kyiv Independent. He works on special projects as a researcher and writer for The Red Line Podcast, covering Eastern Europe and Eurasia, and focused primarily on digital misinformation, memory politics, and ethnic conflict. Nate has a Master’s degree in Russian and Eurasian Studies from the University of Glasgow, and spent two years studying abroad at Kyiv-Mohyla Academy in Ukraine. Originally from the USA, he is currently based in Tbilisi, Georgia.
Elsa Court
