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."
U.S. President Joe Biden speaks during an event to celebrate the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and to mark Disability Pride Month on the South Lawn of the White House on Sept. 9, 2024 in Washington, DC. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
U.S. President Joe Biden's administration aims to improve Ukraine's "strategic position" on the front line as much as possible before his presidential term expires this January, the Wall Street Journal reported on Sept. 12, citing an undisclosed senior U.S. official.
The news came days after the Biden administration reportedly sent a classified report to Congress on its strategy for the war in Ukraine. No details of the plan are available at the moment.
The White House is discussing how best to help Kyiv over the next four months, regardless of who wins the election, the WSJ wrote.
Decisions include potentially lifting some restrictions on the use of long-range Western-supplied weapons against targets inside Russia, a move the details of which Biden is reportedly finalizing.
The U.S. president's top aides "have no illusions" that Ukraine will be able to win the war before the end of Biden's term, but they are not pushing Kyiv to hold peace talks with Russia or "trying to dictate" battlefield plans, U.S. officials told the newspaper.
"(The goal is to) improve Ukraine's strategic position to the greatest extent possible between now and the end of the term," a senior administration official said.
According to U.S. officials, the Biden administration wants Ukraine to focus on halting the Russian advance in the country's east along current battle lines. They are concerned that by sending troops to carry out an operation in Russia's Kursk Oblast, Kyiv has "spread its forces too thin and left itself vulnerable in the east," the WSJ reported.
While Moscow claimed to have recaptured 10 settlements as of Sept. 12, the Pentagon said that the counteroffensive against Ukrainian forces in Kursk Oblast is "marginal" at this stage.
Speaking of Russia's counterattack, President Volodymyr Zelensky said that "everything is going according to our plan."
The president also said earlier that the seized territories during the Kursk operation are part of Kyiv's "victory plan," which he wants to present to the U.S. in September.
Kateryna Denisova works as a News Editor at the Kyiv Independent. She previously worked as a news editor at the NV media outlet for four years, covering mainly Ukrainian and international politics. Kateryna holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Taras Shevchenko University of Kyiv. She also was a fellow at journalism schools in the Czech Republic and Germany.
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