Hungary cancelled a meeting planned for May 12 with a Ukrainian delegation on the rights of national minorities, Hungary's Deputy Foreign Minister said on May 11, amid a deepening spying scandal between the two countries.
Three were injured in Russia's Kursk Oblast when the town of Rylsk was allegedly struck by a missile attack on May 11, local governor Alexander Khinshtein claimed.
This week, the world watched in anticipation for Russia’s Victory Day parade after President Volodymyr Zelensky commented that he could not guarantee the safety of those attending. Meanwhile, the European Union moves one step forward to banning Russian gas from the European continent. It is also revealed this week that U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has fallen out of step with the White House.
"(Russian) President (Vladimir) Putin... doesn't want to have a ceasefire agreement with Ukraine, but rather wants to meet on Thursday, in Turkey, to negotiate a possible end to the bloodbath. Ukraine should agree to this, immediately," U.S. President Donald Trump said.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio will travel to to Antalya, Turkey, for a NATO foreign ministers’ meeting from May 14–16, where he is expected to address the war in Ukraine and push for stronger Allied defense commitments.
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.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and President of the National Council of Austria Wolfgang Sobotka in Kyiv on Sept. 26, 2023. (President of Ukraine Official Site)
President Volodymyr Zelensky held a meeting with Austrian National Council President Wolfgang Sobotka, on Sept. 26 in Kyiv.
Zelensky thanked Sobotka for his "constant support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, as well as our European aspirations."
The realization that Ukraine is and will be part of Europe is what "really inspires and motivates our soldiers," Zelensky added.
The two discussed the the seven steps recommended by the European Commission for Ukraine to start European Union accession talks and economic cooperation between Ukraine and Austria, in particular the involvement of Austrian businesses in Ukraine's reconstruction.
Zelensky also said that he appreciates that Austria is ready to support the implementation of his peace formula, a 10-point peace plan to end Russia's war that he announced in November 2022 at the G20 summit.
Sobotka has been the president of the National Council, the lower house of the Austrian Parliament, since 2017.
Sobotka was part of a delegation from the Austrian parliament that arrived in Kyiv on Sept. 25.
Francis Farrell
