This week, the world watched in anticipation for Russia’s Victory Day parade after President Volodymyr Zelensky commented that he could not guarantee the safety of those attending. Meanwhile, the European Union moves one step forward to banning Russian gas from the European continent. It is also revealed this week that U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has fallen out of step with the White House.
"(Russian) President (Vladimir) Putin... doesn't want to have a ceasefire agreement with Ukraine, but rather wants to meet on Thursday, in Turkey, to negotiate a possible end to the bloodbath. Ukraine should agree to this, immediately," U.S. President Donald Trump said.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio will travel to to Antalya, Turkey, for a NATO foreign ministers’ meeting from May 14–16, where he is expected to address the war in Ukraine and push for stronger Allied defense commitments.
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."
The Federal Palace, Switzerland's parliament building, in Bern, Switzerland, March 2023. (Stefan Wermuth/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Switzerland supports the creation of an international special tribunal to investigate Russia's "crime of aggression" against Ukraine, the Swiss foreign ministry said on Nov. 16.
"Switzerland is firmly convinced that the aggression against Ukraine must not go unpunished," the ministry said.
Switzerland would join 38 other countries that currently support the initiative, including many of Ukraine's allies in Europe, as well as Japan, Guatemala, and other countries.
In order for the special tribunal to succeed, the FDFA said, it should be internationally based and have broad international support, its actions should be grounded in international legal standards, and it should serve as a complement to existing international legal institutions, namely the International Criminal Court (ICC).
Although there is an existing basis for prosecuting human rights violations and war crimes through the ICC, it does not have jurisdiction to act on the crime of aggression because neither Russia nor Ukraine has ratified the ICC's Rome Statue.
Ratification of the statute establishes crimes that fall within the jurisdiction of the court. Ukraine is a signatory but has not ratified the statute.
In an announcement in June 2023 affirming Estonia's support for the tribunal, the Estonia Parliament likened it to the Charter of the International Military Tribunal of Nuremberg, which tried the crimes of the European Axis Powers after World War II.
Switzerland, a historically neutral country, has supported Ukraine with economic and humanitarian aid since the beginning of the full-scale invasion but has refrained from sending military support.
A Swiss law prevents the export of Swiss weapons to combat zones, even when supplied by an intermediary country.
Attempts to change the law since the full-scale invasion have been repeatedly voted down by the Swiss Parliament.
Asami Terajima
