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.
U.S. President Donald Trump's special envoys, Steve Witkoff and Keith Kellogg, will travel to Istanbul for possible peace talks between Ukraine and Russia, Reuters reported on May 13, citing three undisclosed sources.
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.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky holds a phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sept. 7, 2023. (Source: Volodymyr Zelensky / Telegram)
President Volodymyr Zelensky vetoed the bill by the Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine's Parliament, that would prolong restrictions on electronic asset declarations for public officials, the president announced on Sept. 12.
"Declarations must be open. At once. Not in a year. The registry should be opened now," Zelensky said on his Telegram channel.
The Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine's parliament, passed a bill on Sept. 5 to restore the requirement for top officials to declare their assets, an anti-corruption measure central to talks on Ukraine's accession to the European Union.
However, the Rada made a number of amendments, one of which meant that there would be no public access to officials' asset declarations for one more year, and only law enforcement agencies would be able to check them.
The system of compulsory asset declarations was originally instituted as part of the country's fight against corruption following the 2014 EuroMaidan Revolution. All declarations were open to the public, a level of transparency especially important for journalists and civil society.
At the start of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the requirement for submitting e-declarations was suspended and public access to the declarations was shut down. Officials have still been able to submit them on a voluntary basis.
Members of the European Parliament appealed to Zelensky to veto the bill, fearing it would undermine trust in reforms. A petition launched on Sept. 6 asked the president to demand the Rada to change the law so that asset declarations are publicly accessible.
Elsa Court
