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."
Tougher sanctions "should be applied to (Russia's) banking and energy sectors, targeting fossil fuels, oil, and the shadow fleet," the leaders of Ukraine, the U.K., France, Germany, and Poland said in a joint statement.
"Russia is ready for negotiations without any preconditions," Putin claimed in an address marking the end of the three-day Victory Day ceasefire. He invited Ukraine to begin talks in Istanbul on May 15.
People walk along an alley of graves of Ukrainian soldiers at Lukianivskyi cemetery in Kyiv, Ukraine on Oct. 28, 2023. (Valentyna Polishchuk/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)
Ukraine retrieved the bodies of 94 fallen Ukrainian soldiers from Russian-occupied territories on Nov. 20, the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of the Prisoners of War reported.
In exchange, Ukraine transferred the remains of an undisclosed number of Russian soldiers killed in combat to the Russian side, the headquarters said.
The bodies of Ukrainian soldiers will be transported to specialized state institutions for forensic examination and identification. Afterward, they will be handed over to their relatives for the funeral.
The Geneva Conventions dictate that people who lost their lives during war are entitled to a dignified burial.
The bodies of around 2,000 soldiers have been repatriated to Ukraine in the last two years, according to the Headquarters. In the previous transfer on Oct. 27, Ukraine managed to retrieve the bodies of 50 fallen defenders.
Ukraine has not disclosed how many soldiers were killed in Russia’s full-scale invasion. Former Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar said in July last year that this information would remain secret until the end of martial law.
“This is information that the enemy should not know because military specialists can draw many conclusions from this data and use it for analysis and planning,” Maliar said on Facebook.
Asami Terajima
