Latest news with #UKRAINIANFOREIGNMINISTRY


New York Post
12 hours ago
- Politics
- New York Post
Ukraine showers Trump with praise for strikes on Iran while ex-Russian prez floats giving Tehran nukes
Ukraine's Foreign Ministry cheered the US strikes against Iran, and backed President Trump's assertion that Tehran cannot be permitted to obtain nuclear weapons. Meanwhile, former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev blasted the move and starkly warned that 'countries are ready to directly supply Iran with their own nuclear warheads,' while chiding that Trump can kiss his dreams of a Nobel Peace Prize goodbye. 'As early as this spring, the United States warned Iran of the consequences in the absence of constructive steps,' Ukraine's Foreign Ministry said in a statement. 'Iran is complicit in the crime of aggression against Ukraine. The Iranian regime is providing military assistance to Russia, including the supply of UAVs [unmanned aerial vehicles] and technologies that Russia consistently uses to kill people and destroy critical infrastructure.' Throughout the war, Russia has turned to Iran and North Korea for resources to assist in its bloody invasion of neighboring Ukraine. Iran has supplied the Russians with critical drone technology. 3 President Trump ordered strikes on three nuclear sites in Iran. AP 3 President Trump has had a rocky relationship with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. UKRAINIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY/AFP via Getty Images Ukraine had once been in possession of the world's third-largest stockpile of nuclear weapons during the collapse of the Soviet Union. It relinquished those nukes as part of the 1994 Budapest Memorandum in exchange for security guarantees from the US, Russia and the United Kingdom. 'We are convinced that the measures taken by the United States and Israel against Iranian nuclear facilities have sent a clear message to the Iranian regime — a message that the continuation of policies aimed at destabilizing regional security is unacceptable,' Kyiv added in a statement. 'As for Iran's future, we firmly believe that the Iranian people — with their proud, millennia-old history –deserve a dignified, free, and happy life in peace and mutual understanding with Israel and all other nations of the world.' Russia roundly condemned the strikes, with Medvedev being among the most forceful. 3 Dmitry Medvedev delivered a stern rebuke of President Trump over the strikes on Iran. 'A number of countries are ready to directly supply Iran with their own nuclear warheads,' Medvedev put in an ominous X post. 'At this rate, Trump can forget about the Nobel Peace Prize — not even with how rigged it has become. What a way to kick things off, Mr. President.' There are at least eight countries believed to have nukes: China, India, France, North Korea, Pakistan, Russia, the United Kingdom and the US. Israel has been coy about whether it posses them. Vice President JD Vance rebuked Medvedev's apparent threat. 'First of all, I think it's a bizarre response, but I also don't know that that guy speaks for President Putin or for the Russian government,' Vance shot back. '[Russia has] been very consistent that they don't want Iran to get a nuclear weapon.' 'I'll let President [Vladimir] Putin speak to what the official Russian position on this is.' Medvedev served as Russia's president from 2008 to 2012 and is generally seen as a close ally of Russian tyrant Vladimir Putin. Currently, he serves as the deputy chairman of the Security Council of the Russian Federation.


Toronto Sun
16-05-2025
- Politics
- Toronto Sun
Russia and Ukraine hold first direct peace talks in 3 years amid low expectations
Published May 16, 2025 • 4 minute read This handout photograph taken and released by Ukrainian Foreign Ministry on May 16, 2025, shows members of Ukrainian (L) and Russian (R) delegations attending a meeting at the Turkish Presidential office Dolmabahce, in Istanbul. Photo by HANDOUT/UKRAINIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY / AFP via Getty Images ISTANBUL, Turkey — Russia and Ukraine held their first direct peace talks in three years Friday, gathering in Istanbul for Turkish-brokered negotiations, but officials and observers expected them to yield little immediate progress on stopping the more than three-year war. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account A Ukrainian delegation led by Defense Minister Rustem Umerov sat down with a low-level Russian team headed by presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky, according to Ukraine's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi, who published a photo of the meeting. The officials present sat around a U-shaped table, with the Russians and Ukrainians facing each other. A senior Ukrainian official close to the talks said that Kyiv's delegation was prepared to 'achieve a lot today' and with a real mandate to resolve key issues. The official, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to make official statements, said the outcome hinges on whether Moscow is equally serious. Both countries have tried to persuade U.S. President Donald Trump, who has expressed frustration over the slow progress and threatened to punish foot-dragging, that they are eager to resolve the conflict amid extensive diplomatic maneuvering. Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The latest push to end the fighting got off to a rocky start on Thursday, when Russian President Vladimir Putin spurned an offer by Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy to meet face-to-face. Delegations from the two countries also flew to different Turkish cities and put together teams of significantly different diplomatic heft for possible talks. Although expectations for a possible Putin-Zelenskyy meeting were low, the apparent lack of traction in peace efforts frustrated hopes of bold steps being taken in Turkey toward reaching a settlement. The two sides remain far part The two sides are far apart in their conditions for ending the war, and Trump said Thursday during a trip to the Middle East that a meeting between himself and Putin was crucial to breaking the deadlock. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. On Friday, Trump said a meeting with Putin would happen 'as soon as we can set it up.' 'I think it's time for us to just do it,' Trump told reporters in Abu Dhabi. Comments Friday by Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov appeared to indicate that momentum for a summit is building, as Peskov told reporters top-level talks were 'certainly needed.' But he noted that preparing a summit would take time. RECOMMENDED VIDEO Ukraine has accepted a U.S. and European proposal for a full, 30-day ceasefire, but Putin has effectively rejected it by imposing far-reaching conditions. Meantime, Russian forces are preparing a fresh military offensive, Ukrainian government and Western military analysts say. Russia's invasion has killed more than 12,000 Ukrainian civilians, the U.N. says, and razed towns and villages. Tens of thousands of Ukrainian soldiers have died, and likely a larger number of Russian troops, officials and analysts say. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. On the battlefield, one Ukrainian soldier said he wasn't hopeful that the talks would bring a swift end to the war. 'I don't think they will agree on anything concrete, because summer is the best time for war,' he said, using only the call sign 'Corsair,' in keeping with the rules of the Ukrainian military. 'The enemy is trying to constantly escalate the situation.' But he told The Associated Press that many of his fellow soldiers 'believe that by the end of the year there will be peace, albeit an unstable one, but peace.' A Friday morning drone attack on the northeastern Ukrainian city of Kupiansk killed a 55-year-old woman and wounded four men, Oleh Syniehubov, head of the Kharkiv Regional Military Administration, said. All the victims worked for a municipal utility. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. After Putin didn't take up Zelenskyy's challenge to sit down with him in the Turkish capital on Thursday, the Ukrainian president accused Moscow of not making a serious effort to end the war by sending a low-level negotiating team that he described as 'a theater prop.' Even so, Zelenskyy said that he was sending a team headed by his defense minister to Friday's meeting in Istanbul. That would show Trump that Ukraine is determined to press ahead with peace efforts despite Russian foot-dragging, Zelenskyy said, amid intense diplomatic maneuvering by Kyiv and Moscow. The Russian delegation also includes three other senior officials, the Kremlin said. Putin also appointed four lower-level officials as 'experts' for the talks. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. A flurry of diplomatic activity in Istanbul A flurry of diplomatic activity took place in Istanbul before the talks. Ukrainian officials held an early-morning meeting with national security advisers from the United States, France, Germany and the United Kingdom to coordinate positions, a senior Ukrainian official told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter. The U.S. team was led by retired Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg, Trump's special envoy to Ukraine and Russia, while Umerov and presidential office chief Andriy Yermak represented Ukraine, the official said. A three-way meeting between Turkey, the U.S. and Ukraine also took place, Turkish Foreign Ministry officials said. The U.S. side included Secretary of State Marco Rubio as well as Kellogg. Rubio on Thursday said he didn't foresee major developments in Istanbul. 'We don't have high expectations of what will happen tomorrow. And frankly, at this point, I think it's abundantly clear that the only way we're going to have a breakthrough here is between President Trump and President Putin,' Rubio told reporters Thursday in Antalya, Turkey. Zelenskyy, meantime, flew to Albania to attend a meeting Friday of the leaders of 47 European countries to discuss security, defense and democratic standards against the backdrop of the war.