"Let's talk about a ceasefire, about peace scenarios, let's mobilize diplomacy and approach weapons as a last resort," Slovak President-elect Peter Pellegrini said without elaborating on concrete steps.
The comments indicated a change of heart from Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto, who said in November 2023 that the "time is not yet ripe" for ceasefire talks between Russia and Ukraine.
Switzerland has invited Pope Francis to attend the upcoming global peace summit dedicated to ending the war in Ukraine, Swiss President Viola Amherd said on May 5.
"That is why, for our part, we will continue to be concerned about Zelensky having everything he needs," U.S. national security spokesperson John Kirby said.
While Russia has not been invited to the summit, Head of the Presidential Office Andriy Yermak said that China’s attendance would be very important, and that Ukraine is making every effort to engage Chinese delegates in participating in the event.
Ukraine's peace summit in Switzerland will be held on June 15-16, based on an agreement between Kyiv and Bern, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on May 2.
The final list of countries attending the Qatar meeting has not been finalized but Russia has not been invited and China's participation remains unclear, Bloomberg said.
Russia has to participate in a global peace summit "sooner or later," even if it does not attend its first meeting, Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis said in Bern, as reported by the Associated Press (AP) on April 10.
Key developments on April 6-7: * Prosecutor General's Office: Russian soldiers kill 3 Ukrainian POWs * Trump reportedly wants Ukraine to cede Crimea, Donbas to Russia * Russia lost 7 aircraft in Ukraine's April 5 attack on air base, source says * Zelensky says Kharkiv is prepared for a potential Russian offensive * North Korea’
Following an inconsistent start, France, under the leadership of the increasingly outspoken President Emmanuel Macron, has become one of Ukraine's strongest supporters.
"The longer the war goes on, the more territory Russia will gain until they hit the Dnipro, which is tough to overcome. However, if the war lasts long enough, Odesa will fall too," Elon Musk said on X.
The liberation of Ukraine's territories occupied by Moscow after a full-scale invasion in February 2022 could push Russian President Vladimir Putin to negotiate, President Volodymyr Zelensky said in an interview with CBS News published on March 28.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has dismissed Ukraine’s peace plan, saying it is pointless to ask for Moscow to withdraw its troops from areas it currently occupies.
Over two years into Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the mood among Ukraine’s supporters is dropping. There are several reasons for this, including Ukraine’s unsuccessful counteroffensive last year, the replacement of the popular Valerii Zaluzhnyi as commander-in-chief of Ukraine’s Armed Forces, tension among Ukraine’s leadership,
Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba is expected to visit India later this month, marking his first trip to the country, The Hindu reported on March 19, citing an undisclosed diplomatic source.
Chinese President Xi Jinping will meet with French President Emmanuel Macron in France this May, Politico reported on March 18. This would be the Chinese leader's first visit to Europe since the pandemic.
President Volodymyr Zelensky held a call with Indonesian President-elect Prabowo Subianto on March 18, after the ex-general claimed victory in the election on Feb. 14.
China is considering taking part in talks on Ukraine's peace formula in the coming months, Chinese Ambassador to Switzerland Wang Shihting told Swiss newspaper Neue Zuercher Zeitung on March 18.
"The Kremlin has presented its list of conditions that it as an aggressor has no right to put forward," Czech President Petr Pavel said on March 16.
Andriy Yermak, the head of Ukraine's Presidential Office, suggested in February that representatives from Russia might be invited to the scheduled talks.
Many critics of Western support for Ukraine have claimed that providing arms to Kyiv "unnecessarily prolongs the war," alleging that peace would come faster if the weapons stopped flowing. Ukrainian officials have dismissed this idea, arguing that such a step would only hasten Russian occupation of the country.
The first condition for peace in Ukraine is for Russia to cease its hostilities, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican's secretary of state, said on March 11.
Pope Francis' call for Ukraine to "not be ashamed to negotiate" with Russia received critical responses from German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and NATO General Jens Stoltenberg on March 11.
The comments came after French President Emmanuel Macron recently said that Western military presence in Ukraine cannot be “ruled out” in the future. The U.S. and multiple European allies, as well as NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, have distanced themselves from Macron’s statement.
Key developments on March 9-10: * CNN: US prepared 'rigorously' for potential Russian nuclear strike in Ukraine in 2022 * UK, Italy oppose deploying Western troops to Ukraine * UK Defense Ministry: Ukraine increasing fortifications along the front line * Zelensky denounces Pope Francis' proposal to negotiate peace with Russia * Air Force: Ukraine downs
"Don't be ashamed to negotiate before things get worse," Pope Francis said in an interview when asked whether Ukraine's potential negotiations with Russia would legitimize the aggressor.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that Turkey is ready to host a peace summit between Ukraine and Russia after the meeting with his counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky on March 8 in Istanbul.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi praised the strengthening of relations between Beijing and Russia, and claimed that China is a "force for peace" and stability during a press conference on March 7.
Russia is waging a disinformation campaign regarding peace negotiations to win preemptive concessions from the West ahead of talks, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said in its March 3 report.
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan called for discussions on a ceasefire in Ukraine to begin following a diplomatic forum in the Turkish city of Antalya, Reuters reported.
A peace plan proposal drafted during Russian-Ukrainian negotiations in 2022 would see Ukraine turn into a militarily neutered country, permanently vulnerable to Russian aggression, the Wall Street Journal reported on March 1 after reviewing the document.
There is consensus among observers of Russia’s war against Ukraine that it should end as soon as possible. Most Ukrainians couldn’t agree more. Today, one suspects, many Russians would also not mind ceasing the carnage. Why, then, is there still not – and likely will not be any time
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