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
Turkey is ready to again host peace talks between Russia and Ukraine, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in a video address to the Ukraine-Southeast Europe summit on Feb. 28, the Anadolu news agency reported.
President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in Saudi Arabia on Feb. 27 for talks with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Zelensky announced on social media.
Ukraine could invite representatives from Russia to a future peace summit if an upcoming meeting of global leaders in Switzerland proves successful, Andriy Yermak, Ukraine's Presidential Office head, said at the "Ukraine. Year 2024" forum on Feb. 25.
"No. It is not true," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said of the report, which claimed that Russian President Vladimir Putin had proposed a ceasefire in Ukraine to the U.S.
Both the Russian officials and an unnamed American source said that the U.S. ruled out holding any back channel peace talks that did not include Ukraine. The U.S. source also said it would not engage in official peace talks with Russia.
NATO should extend an invitation to Ukraine at the Washington Summit in July, as it could serve as “an instrument” to ending Russia’s war, the alliance’s former Secretary General, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, said on Jan. 30 in Kyiv. “I know that (NATO's invitation to Ukraine) would be a
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba met with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov on March 10 in Turkey, in an attempt to broker a 24-hour ceasefire and a humanitarian corridor to the southern port city of Mariupol, encircled by Russian troops. According to Kuleba, no results were reached since Lavrov didn’
