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."
Two Patriot air defense systems in Zamosc, Poland, on July 3, 2023. (Soeren Stache/picture alliance via Getty Images)
The United States will provide Ukraine with an additional Patriot missile system, senior administration and military officials told the New York Times on June 11.
The decision, approved by President Joe Biden, comes in response to Ukraine's urgent plea for enhanced air defenses amid a fierce Russian assault on the northeastern Kharkiv Oblast. This will be the second Patriot system supplied by the U.S. to Ukraine, alongside a routine but undisclosed supply of missiles for the system.
Biden’s decision reportedly came last week, according to the officials, after a series of high-level meetings and an internal debate over how to meet Ukraine’s pressing needs for bolstered air defense without jeopardizing U.S. combat readiness. Other allies, including Germany, have also contributed air defense systems and munitions to support Ukraine.
Officials stated that the new Patriot system, the second one the United States is sending to Ukraine, will be sourced from Poland, where it has been safeguarding a rotational force of American troops set to return to the United States. The system could be deployed to Ukraine's front lines within the next few days, contingent upon any required maintenance or modifications.
In April, President Volodymyr Zelensky said that "to cover Ukraine completely in the future, it is preferable to have 25 Patriot systems, with 6-8 batteries each." All the international partners are aware of Ukraine's need for air defense systems, Zelensky said, adding that some of the allies even know where systems must be set.
Olena Goncharova is the Head of North America desk at The Kyiv Independent, where she has previously worked as a development manager and Canadian correspondent. She first joined the Kyiv Post, Ukraine's oldest English-language newspaper, as a staff writer in January 2012 and became the newspaper’s Canadian correspondent in June 2018. She is based in Edmonton, Alberta. Olena has a master’s degree in publishing and editing from the Institute of Journalism in Taras Shevchenko National University in Kyiv. Olena was a 2016 Alfred Friendly Press Partners fellow who worked for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette for six months. The program is administered by the University of Missouri School of Journalism in Columbia.
The Kyiv Independent news desk
