Zelensky says ‘will be waiting’ to meet Putin for talks in Turkey

· France 24

12/05/2025 - 04:56

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12/05/2025 - 04:15

Ukraine's European allies to meet in UK

The UK will on Monday host European ministers for "critical" talks on "repelling Russian aggression", two days after Ukraine's allies demanded that Moscow accept a ceasefire.

Representatives from France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain and the EU will join Foreign Secretary David Lammy in London for a meeting of the so-called "Weimar+" group.

The coalition was set up in February in response to shifting US policy towards the war between Ukraine and Russia, and European security in general, under President Donald Trump.

Lammy is expected to announce further sanctions targeting those backing Russia's invasion, his ministry said.

11/05/2025 - 21:23

Ukrainian missile attack injures 3 in Russia's Kursk region, TASS reports

Three people were injured in a Ukrainian missile attack in the town of Rylsk in Russia's Kursk region on Sunday, state news agency TASS reported, citing regional governor Alexander Khinshtein.

The missile strike hit a hotel building, Khinshtein said, adding that two wounded people with shrapnel wounds to the head were taken to hospital.

11/05/2025 - 19:14

Zelensky urges Russia to accept truce, says 'will be waiting' for Putin in Turkey

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Sunday he would be ready to meet Vladimir Putin for talks in Istanbul on Thursday after US President Donald Trump told him to agree to an offer of talks with Russia immediately.

Zelensky, in a post on X, also said that Ukraine expected a full ceasefire to start on Monday in order to provide the necessary basis for diplomacy to end the war.

"And I will be waiting for Putin in Türkiye on Thursday," he said.

11/05/2025 - 18:36

Trump calls for Ukraine, Russia to meet for talks without delay

US President Donald Trump called Sunday for Ukraine to accept Russia's offer to meet this week in Turkey, after Kyiv linked participation in talks to a 30-day ceasefire.

"President Putin of Russia doesn't want to have a Cease Fire Agreement with Ukraine, but rather wants to meet on Thursday, in Turkey, to negotiate a possible end to the BLOODBATH," Trump wrote on his Truth Social network, adding: "Ukraine should agree to this, IMMEDIATELY."

11/05/2025 - 16:40

Turkey ready to host Russia-Ukraine peace talks, Erdogan tells Putin

Turkey is ready to host negotiations to help end the war in Ukraine, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told French President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday, describing the moment as a "historic turning point" in peace efforts.

Erdogan emphasised Ankara’s commitment to facilitating dialogue between Kyiv and Moscow. Ukraine, meanwhile, stated it is willing to enter talks with Russia — but only if a 30-day ceasefire begins on Monday. 

11/05/2025 - 15:10

US Secretary of State Rubio to attend NATO meeting on Ukraine-Russia

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will attend the informal NATO foreign ministers meeting in Turkey on May 14-16 to discuss ending the Russia-Ukraine war.

"Looking towards the NATO Summit in The Hague this June, the Secretary will advance President Trump's agenda of ensuring that our Allies contribute their fair share to making NATO stronger and more effective," the State Department said in a statement.

11/05/2025 - 14:45

Pope Leo XIV calls for peace in Ukraine and Gaza, saying 'Never again war'

Pope Leo XIV called for a genuine and just peace in Ukraine and an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, in his first Sunday noon blessing as pontiff that featured some symbolic gestures suggesting a message of unity in a polarised Catholic Church.

 

“I too address the world's great powers by repeating the ever-present call ‘never again war,’” Leo said from the loggia of St. Peter’s Basilica to an estimated 100,000 people below.

 

It was the first time that Leo had returned to the loggia since he first appeared to the world on Thursday evening following his remarkable election as pope, the first from the United States. Then too he delivered a message of peace.

11/05/2025 - 14:21

Russia 'trying to buy time' with proposed talks

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday welcomed Russia’s offer for direct peace talks, but insisted there must be a full, temporary ceasefire in place before negotiations can start. 'There's very much the feeling that Russia's Vladimir Putin is trying to buy time' by proposed talks, FRANCE 24's Emmanuelle Chaze reports from Kyiv.

11/05/2025 - 14:07

Putin and Erdogan discussed proposed Ukraine talks by phone, Kremlin says

Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Tayyip Erdogan spoke by phone on Sunday, the Kremlin said, where they discussed Putin's proposal to hold Russia-Ukraine peace talks in Istanbul on May 15.

The Kremlin said Erdogan told Putin he "fully supported" the proposal and was ready to host the talks in Istanbul.

11/05/2025 - 13:54

France stressed need for Ukraine ceasefire in call with Erdogan, says Macron's office

Macron held a phone call with Erdogan on Sunday morning to debrief him on the talks he and other European leaders recently held in Kyiv, Macron's office said.

In the call, Macron stressed what the Elysee Palace called a "necessity" for Russia to agree to an unconditional 30-day ceasefire.

Erdogan's office earlier said his country was ready to host talks on a ceasefire and permanent peace between Russia and Ukraine in a readout of the conversation with Macron.

11/05/2025 - 13:44

11/05/2025 - 13:43

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz says Russian proposal for Ukraine talks 'far from sufficient'

Russia's offer to negotiate directly with Ukraine is "a good sign" but "far from sufficient", German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Sunday, pressuring Moscow to agree to a Europe-backed 30-day truce.

"We expect Moscow to agree to a ceasefire that allows real talks to take place. First the weapons must be silenced, then the discussions can begin," the new conservative leader said in a statement.

11/05/2025 - 13:42

Erdogan tells Macron that Turkey is ready to host Russia-Ukraine negotiations

Turkey is ready to host negotiations for a ceasefire and permanent peace between Russia and Ukraine, President Tayyip Erdogan told his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron in a phone call on Sunday, Erdogan's office said.

In the phone call, Erdogan said: "A historic turning point has been reached in efforts to end the war between Ukraine and Russia, that this opportunity must be seized, and that Turkey is ready to provide all kinds of support, including hosting negotiations, to achieve a ceasefire and lasting peace."

11/05/2025 - 13:40

Zelensky says 'ready' for talks but wants a ceasefire first

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday said that he expects Moscow to commit to a 30-day ceasefire starting on Monday and that Kyiv was "ready" for direct talks with Russia.

Zelensky spoke hours after Putin proposed direct talks with Kyiv but stayed silent on the ceasefire.

"There is no point in continuing the killing even for a single day. We expect Russia to confirm a ceasefire -- full, lasting and reliable -- starting tomorrow, May 12, and Ukraine is ready to meet," Zelensky said on social media.

Zelensky also spoke hopefully about Russia considering to end the three-year-old war.

"It is a positive sign that the Russians have finally begun to consider ending the war," Zelensky said. 

"The entire world has been waiting for this for a very long time. And the very first step in truly ending any war is a ceasefire."

11/05/2025 - 13:38

Russia says proposed talks will take into account 2022 draft deal

Kremlin foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov said on Sunday that peace talks between Russia and Ukraine proposed by Putin will take into account the situation on the ground as well as the negotiations of 2022, the Interfax news agency reported.

11/05/2025 - 13:37

The chances that Russia would accept the ceasefire are 'quite slim'

FRANCE 24’s correspondent in Kyiv, Emmanuel Chaze, said the chances that Russia would accept the ceasefire are “quite slim”.

The US initially put forward a proposal of a ceasefire on March 11 and “it had been supported by Ukraine’s allies as well as by Kyiv”.

11/05/2025 - 13:36

Trump says he will 'continue to work' with Russia, Ukraine to end war

US President Donald Trump said Sunday he will "continue to work with both sides" to end the conflict in Ukraine, following Russian President Vladimir Putin's proposal for direct talks with Kyiv and calls from European leaders for a ceasefire. 

"A potentially great day for Russia and Ukraine!" Trump posted on his Truth Social platform, without specifying what he was referring to.

"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."

11/05/2025 - 13:35

Macron says Putin's announcement is a 'first step, but not enough'

Putin's proposal for direct negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, made in response to a 30-day ceasefire called for by Kyiv and its European allies, is "a first step, but not enough", French President Emmanuel Macron said Sunday.

"An unconditional ceasefire is not preceded by negotiations," Macron told reporters as he stepped off a train in the Polish city of Przemysl on his return from a trip to Ukraine, adding that Putin was "looking for a way out, but he still wants to buy time".

11/05/2025 - 13:34

Russia launches air strike on Kyiv, mayor says

Ukraine's air defence units were trying to repel a Russian air attack on Kyiv, the city's mayor said, after Ukraine's air force warned of a drone attack on the capital.

The attack came hours after Putin proposed direct talks with Ukraine on May 15 that he said should be aimed at bringing a durable peace.

Reuters' witnesses heard blasts in Kyiv from what sounded like air defence units in operation.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP, Reuters)