Russia-Ukraine conflict newest: Trump says he may be a part of Putin and Zelensky at Turkey peace summit

The European Union doesn’t intend to revive its imports of Russian vitality after a possible peace deal between Ukraine and Russia, the bloc’s Power Commissioner mentioned this morning.

“The European Union could be very clear, we don’t want vitality from Russia sooner or later. We do not want it now, and we is not going to want it after a peace,” Dan Jorgensen advised reporters at a gathering of EU ministers in Warsaw.

The EU intends to halt imports of Russian pure fuel by the tip of 2027 to deprive Russia of income that helps gasoline his conflict on Ukraine, the bloc’s government department mentioned final week.

“Putin has proven that he doesn’t thoughts weaponising fuel,” Mr Jorgensen has mentioned as he outlined the plan final week.

“We don’t wish to refill his conflict chest and help his conflict economic system as a result of who is aware of which nations will likely be subsequent.”

The European bloc says it has minimize fuel imports from 45 per cent to 19 per cent, and oil from 27 per cent to three per cent, of its prewar ranges. However that also makes it Russia’s greatest fuel consumer, with pipelines in operation throughout the Black Sea, Belarus, and Turkey, in keeping with the Power and Clear Air assume tank.

Russia says its international minister Sergei Lavrov and his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan spoke yesterday to debate Vladimir Putin’s proposal to carry direct Russian-Ukrainian talks this week in Turkey.

“The heads of the 2 ministries mentioned points linked with the initiative by Russian Federation President VV Putin about starting direct talks on a Ukrainian settlement on 15 Might in Istanbul,” the ministry mentioned in a press release.

A Turkish diplomatic supply earlier mentioned the 2 ministers had spoken, however gave no additional particulars.

Mr Putin issued the proposal on the weekend after European leaders met in Kyiv and urged Russia to comply with a 30-day ceasefire in its conflict in Ukraine by Monday or face new sanctions.

Turkish international minister Hakan Fidan mentioned that he anticipated the 2 sides to achieve a compromise within the coming days that may break the impasse over whether or not talks may start and not using a truce in place.

In Kyiv, residents expressed a mix of hope and despondency on the newest peace efforts.

Russian president Vladimir Putin would not desire a truce to halt the conflict, as a result of “it is going to imply that he has misplaced,” Antonina Metko, 43, advised AP.

“That’s the reason they’re suspending it. And all the things will proceed in the identical approach. Sadly,” she mentioned.

Ukraine, together with European allies, has demanded that Russia settle for a ceasefire beginning Monday [yesterday] earlier than holding peace talks. Moscow successfully rejected that proposal and as a substitute referred to as for direct negotiations in Istanbul.

Vladyslav Nehrybetskyi, 72, was extra upbeat, saying that “the seeds” of a peace settlement are being sown, although “a troublesome course of” lies forward.

Ukraine’s authorities has tried to maintain up the momentum for a peace deal began by the Trump administration.

Whereas the Kremlin has successfully rejected an unconditional 30-day ceasefire proposed by the European nations, it has reiterated it could participate in doable peace talks later this week with out preconditions.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky threw down the gauntlet to his Russian counterpart and mentioned he’s prepared to fulfill Vladimir Putin in Turkey “personally” to settle the conflict.

Up to now 24 hours, there was no direct response from the Kremlin to the invitation made by Mr Zelensky for a face-to-face assembly.

However Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov refused to say who may journey to Istanbul from the Russian aspect.

“General, we’re decided to significantly search for methods to realize a long-term peaceable settlement. That’s all,” Mr Peskov mentioned.

If Mr Zelensky and Mr Putin, who make no secret of their contempt for one another, had been to fulfill on Thursday it could be their first face-to-face assembly since December 2019.

Donald Trump has steered he may be a part of Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian president Vladimir Putin in Turkey this week if the 2 leaders meet for peace talks there.

“You will have an excellent outcome out of the Thursday assembly in Turkey … and I imagine the 2 leaders are going to be there. I’ve received so many conferences, however I used to be serious about truly flying over there. There is a risk of it, I suppose, if I feel issues can occur, however we have got to get it finished,” Mr Trump mentioned within the White Home yesterday.

Mr Trump’s present schedule has him visiting Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar this week.

The US president added that he insisted that the assembly between the 2 leaders takes place.

“I feel you’re going to have … possibly an excellent assembly, you may have the potential for an excellent assembly. A gathering wasn’t going happen, and I insisted that that assembly take[s] place…,” Mr Trump mentioned.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has backed Donald Trump’s presence at peace talks in Istanbul this week, saying Ukraine has “all the time supported diplomacy” and that he’s “prepared to return to Türkiye”.

“President Erdogan has expressed full readiness to host the assembly. It can be crucial that President Trump totally helps the assembly, and we wish him to seek out a possibility to return to Türkiye,” Mr Zelensky mentioned in his nightly tackle.

He additionally referred to as out silence from the Kremlin on direct presents from Kyiv for peace talks.

“Moscow has remained silent all day relating to the proposal for a direct assembly. A really unusual silence. A technique or one other, Russia must finish this conflict – and the earlier, the higher. There is no such thing as a sense in persevering with the killing,” he mentioned.

Ukraine’s air defence models destroyed all 10 drones that Russia launched in a single day, Ukraine’s air pressure mentioned this morning.

That is the bottom variety of drones that Russia has launched in an in a single day assault in a minimum of a number of weeks, in keeping with Reuters’ calculations.

The Kremlin has fired again in opposition to Poland’s declare Russia was behind a fireplace that destroyed a purchasing centre in Warsaw final yr.

Polish international minister Radek Sikorski mentioned yesterday that he was ordering the closure of Russia’s consulate within the southern metropolis of Krakow in response to the blaze.

“The Russian consulate must depart. And if these assaults proceed, we’ll take additional motion,” Mr Sikorski mentioned.

Talking with journalists, Kremlin spokesperson DmitryPeskov described the accusations as being groundless and rooted in anti-Russian sentiment.

He additionally mentioned that Warsaw’s determination to shut the consulate would harm bilateral relations between Russia and Poland, which Mr Peskov described as already being in “a deplorable state.”

The month-long break from preventing was designed, Zelensky mentioned, because the “basis for diplomacy” to permit talks for an extended deal. It was purported to be a continuation of a three-day non permanent truce that Putin had initially referred to as, however which expired on Sunday.

And as a substitute of pausing preventing, Putin referred to as for direct peace talks to be held on 15 Might in Istanbul, brokered by his frenemy, Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

We will solely assume Putin anticipated his spanner-in-the-works suggestion to be rejected by Zelensky.

Chief worldwide correspondent Bel Trew seems at how the week may unfurl:

The Ukrainian army’s common employees mentioned that as of 10pm (1900 GMT) yesterday, there have been 133 clashes with Russian forces alongside the frontline since midnight, when the ceasefire was to have come into impact.

Ukraine’s prime commander, Oleksander Syrskyi, was quoted by Volodymyr Zelensky as saying the heaviest preventing nonetheless gripped the Donetsk area, the main focus of the jap entrance, and Russia’s western Kursk area, 9 months after Kyiv’s forces staged a cross-border incursion.

The preventing was on the identical depth it could be if there have been no ceasefire, mentioned Viktor Trehubov, a spokesperson for the army on Ukraine’s jap entrance.

In accordance with the Institute for the Examine of Conflict, Ukrainian forces lately superior within the Toretsk path in Ukraine, whereas Russian forces superior at Toretsk, Pokrovsk, and Novopavlivka.