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."
Shells are stored at the workshop of the "Forges de Tarbes," which produces 155mm shells, the munition for French Caesar artillery, in Tarbes, southwestern France, on April 4, 2023. (Lionel Bonaventure/Getty Images)
Slovak activists collected 3.9 million euros ($4 million) for the Czech ammunition initiative for Ukraine in 12 days, after the Slovak government refused to participate.
Slovak citizens started their campaign "Ammunition for Ukraine" on April 16 to raise additional funds for the Czech-led initiative of purchasing more artillery ammunition for Ukraine.
Ukrainian forces are facing a critical ammunition shortage, with Russia currently firing shells at a ratio of around 10:1, according to President Volodymyr Zelensky on April 16.
Slovak Foreign Minister Juraj Blanar said in late March that Slovakia would not send any arms to Ukraine as "the conflict does not have a military solution." Blanar met his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in Turkey on the sidelines of the Antalya Diplomacy Forum earlier in March.
The organizers of the Slovak fundraising campaign said that they refused to accept that their government did not join the initiative.
"Many people in Slovakia are ashamed of the government's orientation to Russia. This is the reason people are contributing," said Zuzana Izsakova, one of the organizers.
Over 60,000 Slovaks have contributed to the initiative, according to the organizers.
While the Czech foreign minister declined to give a timeline for the delivery of the shells, Tomas Pojar, a Czech national security adviser, said earlier that the first batches could be sent to Ukraine as early as June.
Francis Farrell
