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Important events are developing on the international political scene - according to Keith Kellogg, the US special representative for Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin may personally participate in the Russia-Ukraine talks scheduled for May 15 in Istanbul. If this happens, it is possible that US President Donald Trump will also attend the meeting. Kellogg explained this proposal as follows: "We hope that President Putin will also go to the talks. If so, then President Trump may also come to Istanbul. This will be a completely unexpected, historic meeting," he told reporters. Hope and pressure from Trump's visit According to a...

U.S. President Donald Trump's senior envoys Steve Witkoff and Keith Kellogg will travel to Istanbul for potential talks on Thursday on how to end Russia's war in Ukraine, three sources familiar with the plans said on Tuesday. However, a senior U.S. official said it was unclear whether anyone from the Russian government would show up. The White House, State Department, National Security Council and a spokesperson for Witkoff did not immediately respond to a request for comment. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy will only attend the talks this week if Russia's Vladimir Putin is also there, an aide to the Ukrainian leader...

Russia rejected Western claims that a ceasefire would improve the situation in Ukraine, with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stating that such an action would not lead to lasting peace, News.az reports citing TASS. "We are growing more and more concerned about what we are hearing from the West lately. The West - Brussels, London, Paris, Washington are starting to float the idea of a ceasefire as a means to give a respite to Ukraine and hence grant themselves a possibility to flood Ukraine with advanced long-range weapons again. Of course, this is not a path to peace," he said...

I find myself virtually alone in public life with this plea: Do not stop Israel's offensive in Lebanon until the job is finished. All the diplomatic ninnies in the world are pinning their hopes for peace in the Middle East on a cease-fire. For the life of me, I don't know why. I can't imagine what good could possibly come from a cease-fire when Israel appears close to destroying the infrastructure of the largest Islamic terrorist organization on the planet. You want proof that a cease-fire is exactly the wrong thing for Lebanon and the Middle East? Here it is:...

ISRAELI warplanes blasted Beirut and troops battled Hezbollah guerrillas on the border two weeks into the Lebanon conflict, as Israel effectively ruled out any chance of a rapid ceasefire. The bombing on the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital ended a 24-hour lull that coincided with a lightning visit to the region by US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. With no end in sight to a conflict that has already claimed at least 390 lives on the Lebanese side alone, Defence Minister Amir Peretz warned Israel could establish its own security zone in southern Lebanon if multinational troops were not...

Oct. 30, 2003 Hamas political chief rules out truce with Israel By ASSOCIATED PRESS BEIRUT, Lebanon Hamas supporters Photo: AP Khaled Mashaal, Hamas political chief, ruled out a quick agreement for truce with Israel, alleging it was because Israel and the United States were not interested. Israeli Prime Minister Ariel "Sharon does not want a cease-fire and the U.S. is preoccupied with Iraq and its elections," Mashaal, speaking from Beirut, said in an interview Wednesday with the Dubai-based Al-Arabiya television. Earlier Wednesday, Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia said truce talks with Hamas have been "constructive" and he hoped to get...