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.
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."
President Volodymyr Zelensky speaks with the G7 leaders, as well as European Union officials, during the G7 summit in Hiroshima, Japan, on May 21, 2023. (President's Office)
President Volodymyr Zelensky proposed to hold the Summit of the Peace Formula in July, a "symbolic" time when Ukraine will mark 500 days of defending against Russia's full-scale invasion.
Speaking at a summit called "Towards a peaceful, stable and prosperous world," attended by G7 countries and other allies, including South Korea, Brazil, and Australia, Zelensky extended invitations to all parties who are "determined to bring this war to an end."
"Even if we are separated by distance, we are not decoupled by common understanding," Zelensky said.
"You would defend yourselves if your home was broken-into, if the enemy came at your gate and deports your children, – you would not surrender to the colonizers, you would unite the whole world, you would fight – as we are fighting," he added.
Much remains unclear about the summit, including where Zelensky envisions the event to be held. Late last year, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said Ukraine was looking to hold a similar peace summit with UN involvement by the end of February 2023, and he proposed the location to be the United Nations headquarters.
The peace summit that Kuleba mentioned, however, never ended up taking place.
Zelensky emphasized that each point of the Ukrainian Peace Formula, which he introduced in November during the G20 Summit, is based on UN resolutions. The 10-point peace formula, supported by many Western allies, includes the restoration of Ukraine's territorial integrity, a complete withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine, and the punishing of those responsible for war crimes.
While addressing the G7 leaders earlier on May 21, Zelensky, who came to Hiroshima after addressing the Arab League in Saudi Arabia, said that Ukraine is now "doing everything" to gain support for the Ukrainian peace formula.
"We are doing everything to unite the whole world around the peace formula - around the peace summit, which will give impetus to the implementation of the formula," Zelensky said.
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The Kyiv Independent news desk
