As a reminder, Russia still occupies nearly 20% of Ukrainian territory and the prospects for a ceasefire, or even lasting peace between kyiv and Moscow, remain minimal at this stage.
But this is the first time since the failure of talks in the spring of 2022, in the wake of the Russian assault in February, that Volodymyr Zelensky has raised the idea of discussions with Russia without a prior Russian withdrawal from Ukrainian territory.
The Kremlin, for its part, has so far ruled out any peace talks until Ukraine gives up the five regions that Moscow claims to annex and renounces its alliance with the West. This would amount to a de facto capitulation.
The Russian courts have brought forward the resumption of the closed-door trial of American journalist Evan Gershkovich, who is being tried for “espionage” in Yekaterinburg in the Urals, to Thursday, after the hearing had been initially scheduled for August 13.
The timetable was brought forward “at the request of the defence”, according to the press service of the Sverdlovsky Regional Court, while the reporter has been detained for more than a year on the basis of accusations that the Russian justice system has never substantiated.
The Kremlin said on Tuesday that it wanted to “understand” the comments of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who the day before opened the door to talks with Russia by assuring that he was in favour of Moscow’s presence at an upcoming peace summit.
“The first peace summit was not a peace summit at all. So, apparently, we must first understand what he (Zelensky) means by that,” Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in an interview with Zvezda TV channel, broadcast on Telegram on Tuesday. Ukraine hosted a summit in Switzerland in June, to which Russia was not invited.
New British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, returning from a NATO summit, launched a review of Britain’s armed forces on Tuesday to set out a path forward to increase defence spending to 2.5% of GDP.
Keir Starmer said the review, which will be overseen by Defence Secretary John Healey, would ensure “responsible increases in defence spending”.
The rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union held by Hungary since the beginning of July has turned into a confrontation, following the visit, without the slightest consultation, of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
On Monday evening, the European Commission announced that “in light of recent developments” its commissioners would not participate in the multiple meetings planned in Hungary over the next six months.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has decided that the institution will be represented “only at senior official level” at informal Council meetings scheduled in Hungary until the end of the year, her spokesperson Eric Mamer announced on X.
Diplomatic negotiations, fighting on the front line, follow with us the developments in the Russian-Ukrainian conflict on Tuesday, July 16.
Source: www.20minutes.fr
