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Russia 'ready' for talks, but demands recognition of occupied territories
Russia claimed it was ready to conduct talks with Ukraine ‘without any preconditions’, AFP said state media reported, after US president Donald Trump questioned Russian leader Vladimir Putin’s willingness to halt the three-year offensive.
But then in other comments, reported almost simultaneously by AFP, the country’s most senior diplomat said that its claims over five Ukrainian regions including Crimea were “imperative” to talks aimed at resolving the conflict.
“International recognition of Russia’s ownership of Crimea, Sevastopol, the Donetsk People’s Republic, the Luhansk People’s Republic, the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions is imperative,” foreign minister Sergei Lavrov told Brazilian newspaper O Globo, using the Kremlin’s names for the Ukrainian regions.
In the interview, published online here, Lavrov also said the ball was “not in our court” as he tried to put pressure on Kyiv to make concessions in order to progress the talks.
In good news for Kyiv elsewhere, Johann Wadephul, an experienced pro-Ukraine politician from the conservative CDU, will be Germany’s next foreign minister, the party said in a statement.
Wadephul, 62, has long been a close confidant of incoming chancellor Friedrich Merz and a key adviser to him on foreign policy issues, AFP noted, adding that he is known for pushing for more weapons to support Ukraine.
Wadephul will be the first German foreign minister from CDU since 1966.
In other interesting appointments, Katherina Reiche is expected to get the economy portfolio, and Karsten Wildberger, CEO of MediaMarktSaturn Retail Group, will lead the new digital ministry tasked with rapid digitisation of public services.
But all of these appointments hinge on the CDU/CSU-SPD coalition deal being formally confirmed by SPD members. Their vote closes tomorrow, with the result expected on Wednesday.
If all goes well, Merz should be formally elected new chancellor, replacing Olaf Scholz, in early May.
Morning opening: What's next for Ukraine?
US President Donald Trump has said he thinks Volodymyr Zelenskyy is ready to give up Crimea, despite his Ukrainian counterpart’s previous assertions on the Black Sea peninsula that was annexed by Russia in 2014.
Not sure if Zelenskyy or Ukraine will agree with that suggestion.
Speaking over the weekend, just days after the pair met at Pope Francis’s funeral in the Vatican, Trump said “Oh, I think so,” in response to a question on whether he thought Zelenskyy was ready to “give up” the territory.
German defence minister Boris Pistorius on Sunday said the US proposal for Ukraine to cede territory to Russia was “akin to a capitulation”.
In an interview with the broadcaster ARD, he said that Kyiv knew that a peace agreement may involve territorial concessions.
“But these will certainly not go … as far as they do in the latest proposal from the US president,” Pistorius said. “Ukraine on its own could have got a year ago what was included in that [Trump] proposal, it is akin to a capitulation. I cannot discern any added value.”
Despite the comments on Crimea, the US president expressed newfound sympathy for his Ukrainian counterpart on Sunday, saying he “wants to do something good for his country” and “is working hard”.
Asked what he wants Putin to do, Trump replied: “Well, I want him to stop shooting. Sit down and sign the deal. We have the confines of a deal, I believe, and I want him to sign it and be done with it.”
“Do you trust President Putin?” Trump was asked.
“I’ll let you know in about two weeks,” Trump said.
Just this morning, Putin thanked North Korean leader Kim Jong-un for the “feat” of Pyongyang’s troops in helping wrest back the area held by Ukraine in Russia’s Kursk region, AFP reported.
“The Korean friends acted, guided by the sentiments of solidarity, justice and real camaraderie,” the Kremlin cited Putin as saying.
Let’s see what updates we’re going to get during the day.
We are also expecting updates on the new government formation process in Germany, a Danish royal visit to Greenland, and potential updates on the timeline for the process to pick Pope Francis’s successor.
It’s Monday, 28 April 2025, it’s Jakub Krupa here, and this is Europe Live.
Good morning.
