Türkiye ready to host Russia-Ukraine peace talks
Türkiye is prepared to host peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has told his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron. The country already hosted the talks between Moscow and Kiev in 2022, although they never resulted in a breakthrough.
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Russia Today
2 hours ago
- Russia Today
Kiev sends the living to die, but won't accept its dead
It is sad, but peace remains elusive in the war between, on one side, Ukraine and – through Ukraine – the West and, on the other, Russia. Recently, the US has at least admitted that Moscow has plausible and important interests at stake and that the West has been using Ukraine to fight a proxy war against Russia. While very late and still incomplete, such truthfulness could help fashion the kind of realistic compromise needed to end this war. Yet Washington's European vassals have chosen this moment to discover their usually terminally atrophied capacity for talking back to the US: They clearly want the war to continue, even though that means Ukraine – about which they pretend to care – will lose even more people and territory. Against this backdrop, it was no wonder that the latest round of the renewed Istanbul talks between Russia and Ukraine produced no breakthrough, little progress, and only very modest concrete results. Also, on the eve of the talks, the Zelensky regime launched terror attacks on civilian trains in western Russia and a series of sneak drone strikes throughout the country that – in the most generous reading – involved the war crime of perfidy: That, obviously, did not help find a way forward either. Indeed, by now it is clear that Kiev's sneak drone attacks in particular have only further undermined the Zelensky regime's already fragile standing in Washington: US President Donald Trump has been explicit that he accepts Russia's right to massively retaliate, or, in the original Trumpese, 'bomb the hell' out of Ukraine. Luckily for Ukraine, Moscow is generally more restrained than America would be in a similar situation, and it should stay so. Yet the fact remains, Kiev's sneak drones have made no substantial military difference in its favor, but they have done significant political damage – to Kiev, that is. Regarding the Istanbul talks, it is likely that these assaults were meant to torpedo them. Yet Moscow did not fall for that rather transparent play. Its delegation turned up; so the Ukrainian one had to do the same. In addition, Russia ended this round of the negotiations with several good-will gestures, including an agreement to exchange POWs who are particularly young or in bad health and the offer to hand over the frozen (a common practice in war) bodies of 6,000 fallen Ukrainians. Both initiatives have run into trouble. To be precise, both are being impeded by the Ukrainian leadership. The POW swap has been delayed, and Ukrainian officials have failed to show up at the border to receive the first 1,212 of their deceased soldiers. Regarding both, Kiev has blamed Russia. Yet, remarkably, the Ukrainian statements, in reality, prove that it is indeed Kiev that is – at the very least – slowing these processes down. For what Ukrainian officials are really accusing Russia of is moving faster. The reasons for this obstructionism are unclear. The Ukrainian authorities have not shared them with the public. But there are some plausible guesses. One very likely reason why Kiev is reluctant to accept the 6,000 bodies of its own fallen soldiers is that the 'preponderant majority' of them, according to a Ukrainian member of parliament, were killed specifically during Ukraine's insane and predictably catastrophic incursion into Russia's Kursk region. Started on August 6 of last year, the operation was initially hyped by Ukrainian propagandists and their accomplices and useful idiots in the West. For the clear-eyed, it was obvious from the beginning that this was a mass kamikaze mission, wasting Ukrainian lives for no military or political advantage. Was the Zelensky regime trying to create a territorial 'bargaining chip'? Or once more 'shift the narrative,' as if wars are won by rewriting a movie script? Influence last year's US elections? Prepare for a possible victory by then presidential candidate Donald Trump? All of the above? We don't know. What we do know is that nothing Kiev may have fantasized about has worked. Indeed, by now the Kursk fiasco has only made Kiev's situation worse. Russia has retaken the territory in Kursk Region that Ukraine had seized and is advancing on the Ukrainian side of the border, taking settlements at an accelerating pace and getting close to the major regional city of Sumy. Clearly, those fallen during that particular suicide mission are evidence of Kiev's recklessness, hypocrisy, and incompetence. No wonder they seem to be less than welcome at home. A second reason for Kiev's reluctance may be even more sordid. There is speculation, for instance on social media, that it is financial. More importantly, a Russian diplomat, Sergei Ordzhonikidze, has made the same claim on the Telegram channel of the Izvestiia newspaper. For according to Ukrainian legislation, the families of the fallen soldiers are entitled to substantial compensation. Painful as it may be to acknowledge it, the Zelensky regime is not incapable of such a massive lack of piety. Whatever the precise reasons for Kiev's odd refusal to take back its prisoners and dead, they are certain to be base. This may jar with the West's well-organized and stubbornly delusional Zelensky fan club. But the best they could do for 'ordinary' Ukrainians is to put pressure on their worn-out idol to accept the prisoners and the fallen. And, of course to finally end the war.
Russia Today
6 hours ago
- Russia Today
NATO to limit Ukraine discussions to avoid provoking Trump
NATO is going to keep discussions of Ukraine 'short' at its upcoming annual summit in the Netherlands in order to avoid provoking US President Donald Trump, Reuters has reported, citing the organizers of the event. The summit is scheduled to take place in The Hague on June 24 and 25. Ukraine's Vladimir Zelensky, who had once been a regular guest of honor at NATO events following the escalation of the conflict between Moscow and Kiev in February 2022, has not been officially invited to attend yet. The European NATO members are 'desperate to avoid upsetting a volatile Trump' during the summit, Reuters said in an article on Friday. According to the sources, the written statement summarizing the results of the event is expected to be 'unusually short' in order to reduce the chance of disagreements. Whether the document 'will even identify Russia as a threat or express support for Ukraine is still up in the air,' they said. Unlike the two previous years, the leaders of the bloc's member states do not plan to hold a formal meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Council as part of the summit, the officials said. According to a diplomat from the bloc, it could be replaced by a working dinner with either foreign or defense ministers. Another senior NATO diplomat told Reuters that it would be 'at least a PR disaster' if Zelenskiy does not attend the summit in some form. According to the sources, the Ukrainian leader would have to settle for an invitation to a pre-summit dinner, hosted by Dutch King Willem-Alexander. This way, he could travel to The Hague without angering Trump, they explained. The US president, who is trying to broker an end to the fighting between Moscow and Kiev, had previously ruled out the possibility of Ukraine joining NATO. Russia has repeatedly stated that moves towards admitting the country into the bloc would be crossing a red line and have been one of the key reasons for the conflict, insisting that Ukraine should adopt a neutral status as a key condition for a lasting peace. The New York Times reported earlier this week that Trump, who had a public spat with Zelensky at the Oval Office in February, 'reserves special animosity' for the Ukrainian leader and considers him 'a bad guy.'
Russia Today
9 hours ago
- Russia Today
Western Europe blocks Ukraine peace
NATO-aligned European countries are obstructing peace efforts in Ukraine, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov has said. Several EU member states are deliberately undermining negotiations and prolonging the conflict, he told TASS in an interview published this week. In May, under pressure from US President Donald Trump, Kiev agreed to direct talks with Russia, a step Moscow called logical and overdue. It marked the first such negotiations in three years and involved senior officials. Both sides pledged to stay in contact, completed a 1,000-for-1,000 prisoner swap, and exchanged ceasefire proposals. EU and NATO leaders, however, were 'relentlessly encouraging Kiev to continue hostilities,' Ryabkov said, citing a steady flow of weapons, military equipment, and pledges of continued support. He added that acts of sabotage and provocation were being planned and carried out, along with disinformation efforts aimed at disrupting the negotiation process. Last week, Kiev launched a coordinated drone strike on multiple Russian air bases and blew up railway bridges, causing the derailment of both civilian and freight trains. At least seven people were killed and more than 120 injured, including children. Russian authorities labeled the strikes 'terrorism' and accused Ukraine of trying to derail US-backed peace efforts. Some military analysts suggested that such attacks would not have been possible without Western intelligence support. Ryabkov also accused certain EU leaders of meddling in US domestic politics by pressuring Trump to adopt former President Joe Biden's more aggressive pro-Ukraine stance. As an example, Ryabkov cited German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who met with Trump in Washington earlier this week. Merz urged the US to intensify its involvement and increase pressure on Russia. He had earlier lifted restrictions on German-supplied weapons to Ukraine, a move Ryabkov said contradicted efforts toward a political settlement. Ryabkov's remarks were echoed by Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, who accused Brussels of fully aligning with Kiev's military aims and called the EU a 'war party.' 'The main signals from Brussels and European capitals now relate to... plans for the militarization of Europe, which is clearly at odds with the mood of the presidents of Russia and the United States,' Peskov added. According to Germany's Kiel Institute, the EU has provided nearly €50 billion in support to Ukraine since the beginning of the full-scale conflict in 2022, in addition to significant bilateral aid from member states.11:56got thank you
