President Volodymyr Zelensky said he will meet with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara, but said both leaders are ready to fly to Istanbul if Russian President Vladimir Putin chooses to attend the talks there.
Andriy Yermak, Zelensky's chief of staff, said that the new pontiff had a phone call with Zelensky on Monday, during which the pope expressed willingness to facilitate meetings between global leaders and vowed to support efforts for "a just and lasting peace."
In an interview with French broadcaster TF1 on May 13, Macron discussed new Russia sanctions and stationing French nuclear weapons in other European countries as a deterrent against Russia.
Performing their song "Bird of Pray," Ukrainian band Ziferblat passed the Eurovision semi-finals on May 13, qualifying Ukraine for the grand final on May 17.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov confirmed that a Russian delegation will be in Istanbul on May 15 for direct peace talks with Ukraine. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Putin’s foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov will likely represent Russia.
The move follows Ukraine's ratification of the minerals agreement, deepening U.S.-Ukraine economic ties and signaling expanded U.S. involvement in Ukraine's long-term recovery.
"Ukraine has initiated a coordinated campaign to vilify Hungary in order to undermine our initiative to hold a poll on (Kyiv's) EU membership," Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz warned that further concessions from Ukraine during negotiations would be unreasonable if Russia continues to attack civilian targets.
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
