Latest news with #переговоры
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Lavrov dismisses Vatican as possible venue for Russia-Ukraine peace talks
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on May 24 cast doubt on the Vatican as a possible venue for future peace talks with Ukraine, saying the Catholic seat would not be an appropriate platform for negotiations between two Orthodox Christian nations, Reuters reported. Previously, Pope Leo XIV expressed his willingness to host the next round of peace talks in the Vatican. Several of Ukraine's partners, including the United States, have suggested that the Vatican could become a neutral platform for further negotiations. "Imagine the Vatican as a venue for negotiations," Lavrov reportedly said during a speech at the Diplomatic Academy in Moscow. 'It would be a bit inelegant for Orthodox countries to use a Catholic platform to discuss issues on how to remove the root causes (of the war)." Lavrov added that he believed "it would not be very comfortable for the Vatican itself to host delegations from two Orthodox countries in these circumstances." Ukrainian and Russian delegations met in Istanbul for peace talks on May 16, failing to reach a ceasefire agreement. During the meeting, Moscow demanded Kyiv withdraw from four Ukrainian regions it claims to have annexed, despite lacking full control over them. Ukrainian officials said the Russian delegation appeared to lack real authority and was unprepared to negotiate substantive terms. One outcome of the talks was a large-scale prisoner exchange, with 1,000 prisoners returning on each side beginning May 23. Ukraine had also proposed an immediate ceasefire and a potential face-to-face meeting between President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin — an offer Moscow declined. Zelensky met with Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican on May 18, following the pontiff's inauguration mass. The Ukrainian leader described the pope as "a symbol of hope for peace" and said the Holy See could play an important role in ending the war. The two discussed the return of children forcibly deported by Russia and other humanitarian issues. Zelensky presented Pope Leo with an icon painted on artillery debris from the front lines — a gift meant to represent Ukrainian children affected by the war. Before becoming pope, Leo XIV denounced Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine while serving as Bishop of Chiclayo in Peru. In his 2022 interview, he described it as "a true invasion, imperialist in nature, where Russia seeks to conquer territory for reasons of power." Read also: BREAKING: Ukraine brings home 307 POWs in 2nd phase of major prisoner swap with Russia We've been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
LBCI
19-05-2025
- Politics
- LBCI
Putin says Russia ready to 'work' with Kyiv on 'memorandum' for possible peace deal
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Monday after speaking with Donald Trump that Moscow will propose a "memorandum" that it will be willing to work with Kyiv on outlining positions for a possible peace agreement. "Russia will propose and will be ready to work with the Ukrainian side on a memorandum on a possible future peace agreement defining a range of positions," Putin told Russian media after a call with Trump. He added that the document could outline "the principles of settlement, the timing of a possible peace agreement and so on -- including a possible ceasefire for a certain period of time if appropriate agreements are reached." AFP
Al Jazeera
16-05-2025
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
Russia, Ukraine agree prisoner swap as talks end in less than two hours
Russian and Ukrainian officials met for less than two hours in Turkiye for their first direct talks in more than three years, aimed at ending the war. The delegations met on Friday at Istanbul's Dolmabahce Palace in Turkiye, where the two sides failed to agree on a ceasefire despite pressure from United States President Donald Trump to end the war. But before they adjourned, Kyiv and Moscow agreed to exchange 1,000 prisoners of war each, according to the heads of both delegations, in what would be their biggest such swap since the war began. Both sides also discussed a ceasefire and a meeting between their heads of state, according to chief Ukrainian delegate Rustem Umerov. Russian presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky, who headed Moscow's delegation, confirmed that both sides agreed to provide each other with detailed ceasefire proposals and a meeting between their heads of state. A Ukrainian source told the Reuters news agency, on condition of anonymity, that Russia's ultimatums to end the war included a demand for Kyiv to withdraw from parts of its territory to obtain a ceasefire, 'and other non-starters and non-constructive conditions'. Russia's demands were 'detached from reality and go far beyond anything that was previously discussed', the source said. Medinsky said Moscow was satisfied with the Istanbul talks' results and was ready to continue talking to Kyiv. At the palace, the two delegations sat in front of each other, the Russian officials dressed in suits and half the Ukrainians wearing camouflage military uniforms. Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, who chaired the meeting, told the delegations there were 'two paths' ahead of them. 'One road will take us on a process that will lead to peace, while the other will lead to more destruction and death. The sides will decide on their own, with their own will, which path they choose,' Fidan said. Russia has said it sees the talks as a continuation of the negotiations that took place in the early weeks of the war in 2022, which included demands on Ukraine to cut the size of its military. Reporting from Istanbul, Al Jazeera's Bernard Smith said the prisoner exchange, one of the largest since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, comes as both sides are 'under pressure' from Trump to end the war. 'This could be a way of indicating that there is something worth talking about at these talks,' Smith said. 'We know already though, both sides have very different views on how [a deal] should come about – the Ukrainians want an immediate 30-day ceasefire. The Russians want longer-term talks about Ukraine's status as a neutral country.' As the talks were under way, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Kyiv's top priority was 'a full, unconditional and honest ceasefire… to stop the killing and create a solid basis for diplomacy'. Zelenskyy, who was attending a European summit in Albania, said if Russia refused, new sanctions against its energy sector and banks should be imposed. While Russia has previously said it wants to end the war diplomatically and is ready to discuss a ceasefire, the prospects for a breakthrough in Istanbul were dim after Russia said President Vladimir Putin would not attend. Expectations lowered further after Trump said there would be no movement towards a ceasefire without a meeting between himself and Putin.
Free Malaysia Today
14-05-2025
- Politics
- Free Malaysia Today
Ukrainian attacks on Russia's Belgorod injure 16
Russian defences say their units destroyed 12 drones. (EPA Images pic) MOSCOW : A series of Ukraine drone attacks on the region of Belgorod injured at least 16 people yesterday, the governor of the region in Russia's southwest that borders Ukraine said today. Among the injured were a doctor and a paramedic, Belgorod governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said on the Telegram messaging app. Eight people were hospitalised, he added. The Russian defence ministry said that its units destroyed 12 drones that Ukraine launched overnight, three of them over the Belgorod region. The ministry reports only the number of drones destroyed, not how many Ukraine launched. Reuters could not independently verify the Russian reports. There was no immediate comment from Ukraine. Both sides deny targeting civilians in the war that Russia started with an invasion of Ukraine 2022. Russia's President Vladimir Putin called for direct talks with Ukraine tomorrow, while he called a proposal, issued at the weekend by Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky and his European allies for a 30-day ceasefire, an ultimatum. Zelensky said that he would attend the talks that are to take place in the Turkish city of Istanbul if Putin is also there, and urged US President Donald Trump, who offered to join the meeting, to come along as well.
Al Arabiya
12-05-2025
- Politics
- Al Arabiya
Russia drone attack on Ukraine's freight train injures driver
A Russian drone attack on Monday on Ukraine's railway infrastructure in the Donetsk region injured a locomotive driver of a civilian freight train, Ukrainian Railways said. 'Truce proposals are being ignored, hostile attacks on railway infrastructure ... continue,' Ukrainian Railways, Ukrzaliznytsia, said in a post on the Telegram messaging app. Over the weekend, European leaders joined President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in demanding a 30-day ceasefire from Monday.
