War in Ukraine ʹ Zelensky's close European allies set 5 conditions for peace talks with Russia

In a joint statement following talks in London, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, United Kingdom Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said they would be firmly standing next to Ukraine”.

Five conditions include halting fighting, launching negotiations from the current position on the ground, and guaranteeing <x0 strong” security for Ukraine.

Leaders reiterated the need for the US to be part of the process at a time when US President Donald Trump's focus has shifted to the Iran war.

In December, the US urged Russia and Ukraine to quickly sign a war-breaking plan that began with Russian President Vladimir Putin's decision in February 2022 to launch a full-scale invasion of its neighbour.

The warring parties have recently intensified anti-other attacks, with Russia using rockets and afraid to attack Ukrainian cities and Ukraine showing increased capacity to reach deep on Russian territory with new technologies.

On Saturday, Ukrainian fears hit Russia's second largest city, St Petersburg, while he hosted the last day of a major economic forum -- an attack described as the unprecedented “” by Russian authorities.

Zelensky sent an open letter to Putin calling for direct negotiations to end the war, an offer repeatedly rejected by the Russian leader. He said he would end the war only when Russia's purposes were met. / Periscope/