Hopes of a peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine have risen after President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described Moscow’s demands as becoming “more realistic”.
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On Wednesday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was quoted in state-controlled media as suggesting that an “Austria-like” compromise could be reached. The next day, the Financial Times published a “15-point plan” that is currently being discussed by Ukrainian and Russian negotiators despite the ongoing bombardment of major cities.
The prospect of a peace deal came amid fears that the conflict could escalate after Moscow requested aid from its ally China. The US is also planning to deliver an arms package to Ukraine, including so-called “kamikaze” drones that it is hoped will bolster Kyiv’s aerial defences following weeks of success against Russian ground troops.
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Need a reminder of some of the other headlines over the past seven days?
- Jailed British-Iranian charity worker Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe returned home raising hopes that other Westerners held captive in Tehran could soon follow.
- Meanwhile, Iran has claimed responsibility for a missile attack near a new US consulate complex in Erbil, northern Iraq.
- Boris Johnson came back empty-handed after talks in Saudi Arabia on increasing oil production as the UK looks for ways to secure its energy supplies.
- The prime minister’s new energy strategy is also likely to include plans for more nuclear power plants, as well as increasing solar power generation.
- The Metropolitan Police faced further criticism after it emerged that officers strip-searched a black 15-year-old girl without an appropriate adult present.
- And a brutal assault on an Asian-American woman in the US put the rising tide of anti-Asian hate firmly under the spotlight.
