International

Zelenski asks for “guarantees” from the US, the EU and Turkey for a possible peace agreement with Russia

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky advanced this Tuesday in Ankara, moments before his meeting with his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who will ask for “security guarantees” from the United States, the European Union and Turkey for any peace agreement reached with Russia.

“As a country, we want peace, we want the war to end. But we want the end of the war to be based on certain security guarantees,” Zelenski said in an interview with the Turkish agency Anadolu.

“We hope that these security guarantees will be offered by the United States, the European Union, Turkey and the whole of Europe,” specified the Ukrainian president, whose meeting with Erdogan is simultaneous to the beginning of the United States’ negotiations with Russia in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia.

By also referring to “all of Europe”, Zelenski also seems to ask for guarantees from other countries such as the United Kingdom or Norway, which have given great support to Ukraine but are not partners of the EU.

The Ukrainian president said he would like to “see Turkey involved” in the peace process “if Turkey can offer Ukraine the necessary security guarantees,” and stressed Ankara’s role as a mediator with Moscow in the past

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At the same time, Zelenski ruled out officially ceding parts of Ukrainian territory to Russia.

“We will never, under any circumstances, recognize that our temporarily occupied territories are part of Russia. They are part of Ukraine,” the Ukrainian president told the aforementioned agency.

He also insisted that neither in past negotiations had he accepted an “ultimatum” and that he would not accept it now.

The president stressed that, as the French president, Emmanuel Macron, had told him in a telephone conversation held yesterday, the current negotiations do not deal with the issue of prisoners of war, which he considered fundamental.

“If a truce is negotiated, first of all, our people must be allowed to return,” Zelenski said.

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The president made these statements during an inauguration ceremony of a new building of the Ukrainian embassy in Ankara, moments before starting his meeting with Erdogan at the presidential palace.

He stressed the presence at the event of a delegation of Crimean Tatars, a Turkish-speaking ethnic group that Ankara considers persecuted by the Russian authorities, and thanked Turkey and Qatar for their help in promoting the release of Tatar political prisoners in Crimea.

International

Two killed in shooting at restaurant near Frankfurt Airport

Two people were shot dead early Tuesday at a restaurant in Raunheim, near Frankfurt Airport, according to local police.

Preliminary findings indicate that an armed individual entered the establishment at around 03:45 local time (02:45 GMT) and opened fire on the victims, who died at the scene from their injuries.

The suspect fled and remains at large, while the motive behind the shooting is still unclear, German media reported. Authorities have launched a large-scale search operation.

International

U.S. counterterrorism chief resigns over opposition to war in Iran

Joe Kent, director of the National Counterterrorism Center, announced Tuesday that he has resigned from his post, citing his opposition to the ongoing war in Iran.

In a post on X, Kent said he could not, “in good conscience,” support the conflict, arguing that Iran did not pose an imminent threat to the United States. He also claimed that the war was driven by pressure from Israel and its lobbying influence in Washington.

In a resignation letter addressed to Donald Trump, Kent alleged that at the start of the current administration, senior Israeli officials and influential figures in U.S. media carried out a disinformation campaign that undermined the “America First” platform and fostered pro-war sentiment aimed at triggering a conflict with Iran.

Kent further stated that he could not support sending a new generation of Americans to “fight and die in a war that provides no benefit to the American people and does not justify the cost in American lives.”

Since the United States and Israel launched attacks against Iran on February 28, at least 13 U.S. service members have been killed, while 10 others have been seriously wounded and around 200 have sustained minor injuries, according to a report published by The Wall Street Journal.

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International

German president warns Iran war could spread and disrupt Strait of Hormuz

The president of Germany, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, warned Monday that the war involving Iran could expand and further disrupt shipping through the strategic Strait of Hormuz. He urged a swift end to hostilities between Iran, United States and Israel.

Speaking in Panama City during a joint appearance with Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino, Steinmeier said available information suggests Iran has significant capacity to disrupt maritime traffic through the key oil route.

“Iran has considerable potential to interfere with shipping through the Strait of Hormuz,” Steinmeier said through an interpreter. “We should therefore reach an end to the hostilities as soon as possible and call on all parties involved to make that happen.”

The remarks came during Steinmeier’s visit to Panama, the first by a German president to the Central American nation.

The German leader described the possibility of the conflict spreading as “very dangerous,” saying recent developments indicate that such a scenario cannot be ruled out.

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Over the weekend, U.S. President Donald Trump urged allied nations to help ensure safe passage for ships through the Strait of Hormuz after Iran moved to block the waterway in response to U.S. strikes. However, several allies—particularly in Europe—have shown little support for the proposal.

“Some are very enthusiastic, others are not, and some are countries we have helped for many years,” Trump told reporters at the White House. “We have protected them from terrible external threats, and they’re not that enthusiastic. And the level of enthusiasm is important to me.”

Meanwhile, Kaja Kallas, the European Union’s top diplomat, said the Strait of Hormuz falls “outside NATO’s scope” and stressed that “the war involving Iran is not Europe’s war.”