Macron calls for ‘direct talks’ between Ukraine and Russia
French president Emmanuel Macron called on Saturday for “direct talks” between Ukraine and Russia in the event of a ceasefire in Moscow’s three-year invasion, reports Agence France-Presse (AFP).
If there is a 30-day truce, as western countries have floated, “we will look to direct talks between Ukraine and Russia, we are ready to help,” Macron said in an interview with French news outlets TF1 and LCI while travelling to Kyiv to meet European leaders.
Key events
Germany warns Russia of harder sanctions if it refuses Ukraine ceasefire
German chancellor Friedrich Merz warned Russia will face harder sanctions if it refuses a 30-day ceasefire demanded by the west, in an interview published on Saturday by the Bild daily.
If president Vladimir Putin does not agree to the truce, “there will be a massive hardening of sanctions and the massive aid to Ukraine will continue – politically, of course, but also financially and militarily,” said Merz, who was visiting Kyiv on Saturday with the leaders of France, the UK and Poland.
Here are some images from Kyiv this morning coming in via the newswires:
Russia says western arms flows to Ukraine would need to stop during any ceasefire
Russia would require a halt to US and European arms supplies to Ukraine during any potential ceasefire, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said in an interview with ABC News.
“Otherwise it will be an advantage for Ukraine. Ukraine will continue their total mobilisation, bringing new troops to [the] frontline,” Peskov said. He added:
Ukraine will use this period to train new military personnel and to give a rest to their existing ones. So why should we grant such an advantage to Ukraine?
US president Donald Trump urged Russia and Ukraine on Friday to “get this stupid war finished”, as he pushed for a 30-day ceasefire that Ukraine says it is willing to agree to. But Peskov, in the interview, restated Russian concerns that Vladimir Putin had made public as far back as 13 March and set out in a phone call with Trump on 18 March.
“A ceasefire was supported by President Putin, but he asked several questions. He said that right now we have certain dynamics on the front, Russian troops are advancing, and advancing in quite a confident way,” he said, adding:
So if we speak about ceasefire, what are we going to do with shipments of weapons coming every day from the United States and from European countries?
According to Reuters, his comments underlined the lack of any shift in Russia’s position on a ceasefire since mid-March. During that time Trump, who previously had applied intense pressure on Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy, has shown growing impatience with Russia and questioned whether Putin was “tapping me along”. Peskov denied that was the case, and said it was Ukraine that was refusing to enter direct negotiations.
“President Putin is doing whatever is possible to solve the problem, to achieve a settlement through peaceful and diplomatic means. But having no peaceful and diplomatic means at hand, we have to continue the military operation,” he said.
Russia hoped that mediation by Trump would help to bring “a little bit more flexibility, a little bit more political will and wisdom to the Kyiv regime”, Peskov said.
Analysis: are we heading for a third world war?
In a week in which former allies in a redividing globe separately commemorated the 80th anniversary of the end of the second world war, the sense of a runaway descent towards a third world war draws ever closer.
The implosion of Pax Americana, the interconnectedness of conflicts, the new willingness to resort to unbridled state-sponsored violence and the irrelevance of the institutions of the rules-based order have all been on brutal display this week. From Kashmir to Khan Younis, Hodeidah, Port Sudan and Kursk, the only sound is of explosions, and the only lesson is that the old rules no longer apply.
This is forcing countries to rethink their relationships, writes Patrick Wintour in today’s Saturday read:
Slovak prime minister Robert Fico said on Friday his country wanted to develop relations with Russia, and he derided European Union detractors who created obstacles to his attendance at the second world war commemorations in Moscow, reports Reuters.
Fico broke ranks with the EU by visiting Moscow late last year, more than two years after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. He met Russian president Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin late on Friday evening after the Red Square parade marking the 80th anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany.
China’s Xi Jinping was among several dozen leaders at the commemorations, but nearly all western leaders stayed away.
Fico arrived after a circuitous journey made necessary by EU members’ barring his aircraft from their airspace, reports Reuters.
“As a head of government, I want to assure you that it is in my interest to have pragmatic relations with the Russian Federation,” Russian news agencies quoted Fico as telling Putin. He said he opposed the creation of any new “iron curtain and pledge to do everything so that we can shake hands across a curtain”.
He added:
Let us consider as a childish joke all the technical problems we confronted, created by our European Union colleagues.
Putin said Russia appreciated Fico’s decision to attend despite the “logistical obstacles that were created. But you are nonetheless here.”
Kaja Kallas, the EU’s top diplomat, had criticised Fico’s attendance at the Moscow ceremonies. Polish prime minister Donald Tusk said attending the victory parade and “applauding President Putin … brings shame to everyone who is there.”
In a response to Kallas’ comments on Facebook, Fico said he was paying tribute to Soviet Red Army soldiers who had liberated Slovakia in the war. Kallas had no right to criticise him, Fico said, as it was normal to hold a dialogue with other leaders.
Fico also told Putin he was prepared to use a national veto to oppose plans by the 27-nation EU to phase out Russian energy purchases. Slovakia and Hungary had earlier voiced opposition to the plan. Fico described the proposal as “simply economic suicide”.
Shaun Walker
It is Emmanuel Macron’s first visit to Kyiv since summer 2022, and the first visit as chancellor for Friedrich Merz, who only took office this week.
The four European leaders visited Kyiv’s Maidan on Saturday morning, together with Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his wife. Thousands of flags have been planted in the central square, to remember those who have been killed in the war with Russia. The leaders paid their respects and had a moment of silence, before heading to talks with Zelenskyy.
Later, Downing Street said the five would beam into a virtual meeting to update other leaders on progress being made for a so-called “air, land, maritime and regeneration force” that is planned to be part of a peace deal.
Macron calls for ‘direct talks’ between Ukraine and Russia
French president Emmanuel Macron called on Saturday for “direct talks” between Ukraine and Russia in the event of a ceasefire in Moscow’s three-year invasion, reports Agence France-Presse (AFP).
If there is a 30-day truce, as western countries have floated, “we will look to direct talks between Ukraine and Russia, we are ready to help,” Macron said in an interview with French news outlets TF1 and LCI while travelling to Kyiv to meet European leaders.
Shaun Walker
Saturday’s visit to Kyiv is likely to focus more on finding a common western position on Ukraine to take to Donald Trump, as European leaders try their best to keep the US onside. The Trump administration has so far appeared to be much tougher on Kyiv than Moscow, but there are some small signals that the mood in Washington might be changing, after a positive meeting between Trump and Zelenskyy in the Vatican on the sidelines of the pope’s funeral.
Even vice-president JD Vance, seen as the most sceptical of voices on support for Ukraine, has criticised Moscow’s stance in recent days. “Right now, the Russians are asking for a certain set of requirements, a certain set of concessions in order to end the conflict. We think they’re asking for too much,” he said earlier in the week.
Trump was asked by reporters in the Oval Office if he had a message for Putin on Friday, after the US embassy had released its air attack warning. “I have a message for both parties: Get this war ended,” he said, adding: “Get this stupid war finished. That’s my message for both of them.”
Leaders of UK, France, Germany and Poland arrive in Kyiv to push for 30-day ceasefire
The leaders of the UK, France, Germany and Poland have arrived in Kyiv for a symbolic visit to Ukraine, one day after Vladimir Putin hosted a set-piece military parade on Red Square. The visit comes as the US warned of intelligence about a big impending air attack on Ukraine.
Keir Starmer, Emmanuel Macron and Friedrich Merz arrived in Kyiv on the same train on Saturday morning, while Donald Tusk travelled on a separate train. The four leaders met in the Polish city of Rzeszow on Friday night before departing. On Saturday, they will meet Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy in a show of support for Ukraine, Downing Street said in a statement issued late on Friday.
“We, the leaders of France, Germany, Poland the United Kingdom will stand in Kyiv in solidarity with Ukraine against Russia’s barbaric and illegal full-scale invasion,” the four leaders said in a joint statement.
Meanwhile, Tusk said that anyone attending the military parade in Moscow to mark the end of the second world war had brought shame on themselves, after Slovak prime minister Robert Fico became the only EU leader to attend.
“I try not to comment on the decisions and behaviour of leaders of states, especially from our community,” Tusk told a news conference.
“But there is no doubt in my mind that being at the victory parade in Moscow and applauding President Putin … brings shame to everyone who is there.”
Here is a brief summary of other key developments:
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US President Donald Trump said on Friday he would like Putin and Zelenskyy to “get this war ended” in Ukraine as he pushes for a 30-day ceasefire. Trump, who departs on Monday on a trip to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, was asked what his message to Putin is in the wake of a warning from the US embassy in Kyiv about a “potentially significant” air attack in the coming days. “I have a message for both parties: Get this war ended,” Trump said of Ukraine and Russia. “Get this stupid war finished.”
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Ukrainian troops have made further attempts to breach the Russian border in the Kursk and Belgorod regions, the Russian defence ministry said on Friday. The defence ministry said the attacks occurred during a three-day ceasefire running from 8-10 May that Russia has unilaterally declared to mark the 80th anniversary of victory over Nazi Germany in the second world war. Ukraine has called the ceasefire a “farce” and on Friday documented scores of armed clashes.
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Ukrainian authorities claim to have busted a Hungarian spy ring operating on its territory, alleging that Budapest was collecting sensitive military data with one eye on a possible future incursion into the west of the country.
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North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said North Korea’s involvement in the Russia-Ukraine war was justified, calling it an exercise of sovereign rights in defence of a “brother nation,” state media KCNA reported on Saturday. Kim also said Pyongyang would not hesitate to authorise the use of military force if the United States persists in military provocations against Russia.
