Brazilian President Lula da Silva claimed that Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha had appealed to his Brazilian counterpart, Mauro Vieira, to ask Putin if he was willing to conclude a peace agreement.
Earlier reporting from the Washington Post cited a former Russian official who claimed Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Putin’s foreign policy aide, Yuri Ushakov, would represent Moscow in the talks.
The Council of Europe on May 14 approved the creation of a special tribunal to prosecute Russia's top leadership for the crime of aggression against Ukraine, Ukrainian lawmaker Maria Mezentseva reported.
Viktoria Roshchyna, 27, disappeared in August 2023 while reporting from Ukraine's Russian-occupied territories. Moscow admitted she was in Russian detention the following year.
Dutch Justice Minister David van Weel speaks about the future of the EU-led special tribunal for the crime of aggression against Ukraine and its role in bringing Russia to justice.
Turkish officials told Bloomberg that while they don't expect Trump to visit Istanbul, they are not ruling it out, and preparations for any scenario are underway.
Melkonyants was arrested in August 2023 in connection with the activities of the European Network of Election Monitoring Organizations (ENEMO), which was co-founded by Golos's legal predecessor, the Golos association.
Ukraine's underground storage facilities are currently using 19.4% of their capacity. Almost 32%, or 2.79 bcm, less gas is available in the storages than in the previous year, according to the estimates.
The majority of Ukrainians, 71%, do not support holding elections before a full peace deal, even in the case of a ceasefire and security guarantees, according to a poll published by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS) on May 14.
"He'd like me to be there, and that's a possibility. ... I don't know that he would be there if I'm not there. We're going to find out," U.S. President Donald Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One while traveling to Qatar, Reuters reported.
Trump has long demanded that NATO allies increase their military spending, previously calling for the alliance to raise its benchmark from 2% to 5% of GDP.
Slovakia's Prime Minister Robert Fico (L) and Russia's President Vladimir Putin shake hands during a meeting in the Kremlin. (Artyom Geodakyan/TASS)
During a news conference following a meeting of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that he was open to having Slovakia host potential peace talks following the inauguration of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump.
Responding to questions from journalists, Putin said that Slovakian officials "would be happy to provide their own country as a platform for negotiations. We are not opposed, if it comes to that. Why not? Since Slovakia takes such a neutral position."
Putin's comments come after Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico met with Putin at the Kremlin during a visit on Dec. 22 to discuss gas supplies after Kyiv said it would not extend the deal on transiting Russian gas to Europe past Dec. 31.
The visit by the Russian-friendly leader was heavily criticized by EU and Ukrainian officials,with President Volodymyr Zelenskycalling Fico's pro-Russian energy policy a "big security issue" for Slovakia and Europe.
"Why is this leader so dependent on Moscow? What is being paid to him, and what does he pay with?" Zelensky asked in his criticism of Fico.
Under Fico's leadership, Slovakia took a sharp foreign policy turn, halting military supplies to Ukraine from the Slovak Armed Forces' stocks and adopting more Russian-friendly rhetoric.
Putin's comments surrounding possible peace negotiations come ahead of the January inauguration of Donald Trump, who has pledged to get the U.S. "out" of Russia's war and negotiate a quick peace deal.
During his press conference, Putin provided contradictory statements on bringing the war to an end in 2025, saying that Russia aims "to end the conflict," while also stating his hopes that Russia will "achieve success on the front line."
Trump suggested on Dec. 22 that Putin wants to hold a meeting with him "as soon as possible."
Trump has nominated retired general Keith Kellogg as his special Ukrainian peace envoy, tasked with leading negotiations between Kyiv and Moscow. Kellogg is expected to visit Ukraine before Trump's inauguration.
Kellogg previously co-authored a peace plan that would freeze the front line in Ukraine, take NATO's accession off the table for an extended period, and partially lift sanctionsimposed on Russia. The plan would also cut off military aid to Ukraine unless Kyiv agreed to enter negotiations.
The Financial Times reported on Dec. 20 that despite these proposals, Trump intends to continue sending U.S. weapons to Ukraine when he becomes president.
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.
Sonya Bandouil
