Ukraine Can Achieve Just and Lasting Peace Under Trump, Says Foreign Minister 

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha attends Raisina Dialogue in New Delhi, India, March 18, 2025. (Reuters)
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha attends Raisina Dialogue in New Delhi, India, March 18, 2025. (Reuters)
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Ukraine Can Achieve Just and Lasting Peace Under Trump, Says Foreign Minister 

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha attends Raisina Dialogue in New Delhi, India, March 18, 2025. (Reuters)
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha attends Raisina Dialogue in New Delhi, India, March 18, 2025. (Reuters)

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said on Tuesday that Kyiv was not the obstacle for a peace deal with Russia and believes it can achieve just and lasting peace under the leadership of US President Donald Trump.

Ukraine was waiting for clarity to emerge on the peace process after the conversation between Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, expected later on Tuesday, Sybiha said during an annual geopolitical conference in New Delhi.

Trump has been trying to get Putin to agree to a 30-day ceasefire proposal that Ukraine accepted last week but Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has also consistently said Ukraine's sovereignty is not negotiable and that Russia must surrender the territory it has seized.

"We are not the obstacle to achieving peace ... we really expect from Russian side unconditional yes for ceasefire," Sybiha said during a panel discussion.

Trump said he would speak to Putin on Tuesday morning about ending the Ukraine war, with territorial concessions by Kyiv and control of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant likely to feature prominently in the talks.

Trump, who as the presidential candidate promised to end the war in a swift 24 hours, faces a tough negotiator in Putin, who Zelenskiy has argued does not abide by agreements.

Sybiha accused Moscow of not wanting to end the war, adding that Ukraine will never recognize any of its territories occupied by Russian forces.

"Our approach: now is a time for diplomacy, for a strong diplomacy," he said. "We also really believe that with leadership of President Trump we could achieve long-lasting, just peace."

Ukraine's energy infrastructure has been the target of large-scale attacks since Russia's invasion in 2022, resulting in blackouts and freezing conditions for millions of people.

Ukraine has retaliated by launching long-range drone attacks on Russian oil refineries, pumping stations and ports used for oil and gas exports.



Pope Leo Appeals for Israel to Allow Humanitarian Aid in Gaza 

Pope Leo XIV blesses the crowd at the end of his first weekly general audience at St. Peter's Square in The Vatican on May 21, 2025. (AFP)
Pope Leo XIV blesses the crowd at the end of his first weekly general audience at St. Peter's Square in The Vatican on May 21, 2025. (AFP)
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Pope Leo Appeals for Israel to Allow Humanitarian Aid in Gaza 

Pope Leo XIV blesses the crowd at the end of his first weekly general audience at St. Peter's Square in The Vatican on May 21, 2025. (AFP)
Pope Leo XIV blesses the crowd at the end of his first weekly general audience at St. Peter's Square in The Vatican on May 21, 2025. (AFP)

Pope Leo XIV on Wednesday appealed for Israel to allow humanitarian aid to enter Gaza, calling the situation in the Palestinian enclave "yet more worrying and saddening".

"I renew my fervent appeal to allow for the entry of fair humanitarian help and to bring to an end the hostilities, the devastating price of which is paid by children, the elderly and the sick," the pope said during his weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square.

Leo, the former Cardinal Robert Prevost, was elected the leader of the Catholic Church on May 8 to succeed the late Pope Francis. He has mentioned the situation in Gaza several times in the first weeks of his papacy.

In his first Sunday message on May 11, the new pope called for an immediate ceasefire and for the release of all Israeli hostages held by Hamas.

Israel said on Monday that it would allow aid to enter Gaza after an 11-week blockade on the enclave, but the United Nations said no help had been distributed as of Tuesday.

Leo's appeal comes a day after British Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced his government had paused free trade talks with Israel and summoned the Israeli ambassador to the UK over the situation in Gaza.

Israel says it plans to intensify military operations against Hamas and to control the whole of Gaza, which has been devastated by an Israeli air and ground war since Hamas' cross-border attack on Israeli communities in October 2023.

Israel has said its blockade is aimed in part at preventing Palestinian gunmen from diverting and seizing aid supplies. Hamas has denied doing so.