اروپا امروز: پوتین می‌گوید جنگ اوکراین شاید به‌زودی پایان یابد؛ نشست وزرای خارجه در بروکسل

euronews (بزبان فارسی)

اروپا امروز: پوتین می‌گوید جنگ اوکراین شاید به‌زودی پایان یابد؛ نشست وزرای خارجه در بروکسل  برنامه صبحگاهی اصلی یورونیوز «اروپا امروز» را ساعت ۸ صبح به وقت بروکسل تماشا کنید؛ تنها در ۲۰ دقیقه شما را در جریان مهم‌ترین خبرهای روز قرار می‌دهیم  لب بیشتر : http://parsi.euronews.com/2026/05/11/europe-today-putin-says-war-in-ukraine-may-end-soon-as-eu-foreign-ministers-meet-in-brusse  مشترک شوید: یورونیوز به یازده زبان دیگر در دسترس شماست

Transcript

00:14Good morning, it is Monday the 11th of May. I'm Maeve McElmahan and this is Europe Today.

00:21Your daily date with European news and analysis live here on Euronews.

00:26Coming up, EU foreign ministers gather in Brussels for talks on the ongoing war in the Middle East.

00:32Joined by Canada's foreign minister, Anita Adnan, they'll be discussing the diplomatic deadlock between the US and Iran

00:39after President Trump slammed Iran's counter-proposals as, quote, totally unacceptable.

00:45And while the European Union celebrated Europe Day on Saturday, the Kremlin staged its annual Victory Day parade in Moscow.

00:54So, President Putin defended Russia's full-scale war in Ukraine.

00:58He criticised NATO and also hinted that the conflict could be nearing an end.

01:03We'll debunk his speech.

01:04And Hungary has a new prime minister.

01:07In an inauguration ceremony that took a rather lively turn,

01:11Peter Mayer was sworn in to lead the country for the next four years.

01:16Excitement levels were so high that the stage literally turned into a dance floor.

01:20And the World Health Organization says there's no cause for panic after a cruise ship linked to the Hansa virus

01:27outbreak docked in Tenerife.

01:29Passengers must remain, though, in quarantine for 42 days.

01:34But foreign ministers are huddling, as I said, in Brussels today,

01:37just while Russia's Vladimir Putin has said he's ready to meet Ukraine's President Zelenskyy to discuss ending the full-scale

01:44war.

01:45For the latest, we can bring in now our Ukraine correspondent, Sasha Vakilina.

01:49Sasha, is there any evidence to back up this statement where Putin said that he's ready to end the war?

01:54None whatsoever in a nutshell, because he also continued saying that he believes victory has always been Russia's and will

02:02always be.

02:03So probably what Vladimir Putin meant when he addressed the parade on the 9th of May was the way he

02:10sees the ending of his full-scale invasion of Ukraine has not changed.

02:14He still wants Russia to win there, which is also interesting given the fact that he actually gave that speech

02:21expressing that confidence that victory will be for Russia at the parade,

02:25which had no heavy military equipment in a very scaled-down format, and also the parade, the ceasefire upon which

02:32was only possible thanks to Donald Trump.

02:36And tell me, was there anything new in the statement that he said, apart from that?

02:40There were a couple of aspects.

02:41And first of all, there was the fact that Putin actually said that he would be willing somehow to meet

02:48Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

02:49This is the first time that he actually says that.

02:52And there are a few interesting things about it.

02:53First of all, even the fact that he admitted that he would be willing to do so, because for years

02:59now, Putin has not been even recognizing Zelenskyy as president of Ukraine.

03:05So that's already a new thing there.

03:07And also, he said that the meeting could possibly take place in a third country.

03:12And this is indeed crucial.

03:15Now, Putin said a meeting in a third country is also possible, but only once final agreements have been reached

03:21on a peace treaty for a long-term historic perspective to take part in this event and sign a treaty.

03:26But it must be a final step.

03:30Now, one of the countries that I would like to mention right now would be Azerbaijan, because on the 25th

03:35of April, Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited Azerbaijan.

03:37And standing there next to President Ali, he actually said that he would be willing to meet with Putin in

03:43Azerbaijan.

03:44So there is this possibility there.

03:47And another thing is that Putin also said that he doesn't mind having an EU negotiated to help get closer

03:55to that moment.

03:56He did specify, though, that there could be any leader, according to him, who has not said any, quote, nasty

04:03things about Russia, unquote.

04:06And then he did float the idea of who could that be and who he wants to see as a

04:11negotiator.

04:12And here, he knows very well that that candidate is a no-go both for Ukraine and for the European

04:17Union.

04:17And Sasha Vakilina, that candidate you're mentioning, of course, is the former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder.

04:22However, Putin has said that he could be the right mediator in the Russia-Ukraine peace talks.

04:27And we want to hear now how Germans have been reacting to this idea.

04:30So we can head straight over to Berlin and bring in our correspondent, Laura Fleischmann.

04:35Good morning, Laura.

04:36Can you just remind our viewers this morning who Gerhard Schroeder is and why Vladimir Putin likes him so much?

04:44Good morning to you, too.

04:46And well, with Schroeder, Putin brings one of the most prominent and also most controversial political figures in Germany into

04:53play.

04:53Schroeder was the German Chancellor, a Social Democrat Chancellor, from 1998 until 2005.

04:59And the relationship, the friendship between Putin and Schroeder goes way back.

05:04They've been friends even before his chancellorship.

05:06And during his time in office, they went to the sauna oftentimes together.

05:09This really shows how close they were.

05:11They visited each other's birthday parties, and Schroeder also called Putin a flawless Democrat.

05:17Some, however, called Schroeder one of the most important lobbyists of Putin and Russia here in Europe.

05:23But what is even more interesting is what happened after Schroeder's time in office.

05:27He started working for multiple Russian state energy companies, such as Gazprom, Nord Stream 2, and also for Rosneft,

05:35which is now on the EU sanctions list.

05:37And he kept on defending his friendship to Putin, with Putin, stating that it might end the war between Russia

05:46and Ukraine,

05:47and that he even tried to mediate between both parties in 2022.

05:51He went to Istanbul and Moscow on his own without consorting the German government.

05:57However, this mediation attempt ended up failing.

05:59So it does come to no surprise that Russia and Putin are now floating the idea of Schroeder potentially mediating.

06:06And what is even more interesting is the timing of this proposal.

06:10Just recently, the EU Council President, Antonio Costa, stated that there might come a time when the EU and Russia

06:16will need to talk directly, to engage directly.

06:20However, he quickly added that now is not the time.

06:23So against this backdrop, it seems that Putin tries to influence the EU and tries to put pressure on in

06:29order to decide who is sitting at the table and when.

06:33And Laura, what have the reactions been to this in Germany?

06:36Are people taking this seriously?

06:40Well, the short answer is not really.

06:43The German government immediately rejected the proposal, stating that the offer is a sham.

06:48And furthermore, they added that it is part of the hybrid strategy of Russia trying to further divide the European

06:55Union.

06:55And there is already some division taking place here in Germany.

06:58The SPD, the party of Gerhard Schröder, stated that one should at least be open to the idea of him

07:05being a mediator.

07:06That is what the Speaker of Foreign Relations of the SPD stated.

07:10But in the past, the former party co-president of the SPD stated that Schröder is not really a statesman

07:19anymore,

07:19and that he is more of a businessman pursuing his business interests.

07:23But what is even more important is whether Ukraine would even accept Schröder as a potential mediator,

07:29which is, of course, unlikely, since Ukraine will likely not see Schröder as a neutral who serves both sides.

07:36So to summarise, Berlin sees this more as a political act and less as a genuine peace initiative.

07:42Laura Fleischmann, thank you so much for that live update there from the German capital.

07:47This is a topic, of course, that will be making an appearance at the EU Foreign Affairs Council meeting taking

07:52place today.

07:53For the view now from the Swedish government, I'm joined now on set by Sweden's Minister for Foreign Affairs, Maria

07:59Malmer-Steunergaard.

08:00Great to have you back with us here on Europe Today.

08:02Good morning.

08:03Thank you. Good morning.

08:03So you're hearing these reports this morning of Gerhard Schröder potentially mediating between Ukraine and Russia.

08:09Would you trust him?

08:11Well, I want to begin in another end.

08:13I think the main problem is that Russia is not really interested in peace.

08:18They are trying different manoeuvres, but we need to keep our focus where it needs to be,

08:24and that is on increasing the pressure on Russia and increasing the support for Ukraine.

08:29So there's a lot more to be done, and these are things that will be discussed today.

08:33But yet Antonio Costa has been saying recently that it is perhaps time to talk to Russia.

08:39We're hearing names floated like Emmanuel Macron or Georgia Maloney or Pedro Sanchez.

08:43Which person would you like to see?

08:45I'm not there yet.

08:47I think that sooner or later we will have to talk to Moscow.

08:52But since Putin is not really interested in any serious peace talks,

08:57then I think we should, like I said, focus on changing the calculus to make him interested in that.

09:03And then we will have a discussion about how the forms...

09:07How do you change the calculus?

09:09That's the question.

09:10Yes.

09:10So we need to increase the pressure on Russia.

09:13There is a lot more to be done on sanctions.

09:15I need to see the full service maritime ban.

09:19And that is something that should be in a 21st sanctions package.

09:24And then we need to increase the support for Ukraine.

09:27I'm very pleased that we agreed upon the 90 billion euro loan.

09:31But this cannot be an excuse to do less bilaterally.

09:36So we need to continue to support Ukraine bilaterally and then add those 90 billions.

09:42Then that will make Ukraine a lot stronger.

09:45And we see how Russia is getting weaker and weaker, having problems recruiting new soldiers.

09:51And look at the big victory day that was a very small victory day with no display of military hardware

10:01because the Kremlin was afraid of Ukrainian drones.

10:05And just bring us inside the council meeting today.

10:07How has the mood changed with the new government in Hungary and a new Hungarian foreign minister, Anita Orban?

10:12She won't be there today physically because she's having her hearing.

10:15But of course, will things change now when it comes to Ukraine?

10:19Well, I think there are a lot more smiles in the room nowadays and better possibilities for Europe to be

10:29stronger

10:29and to act more swiftly, which is absolutely necessary, not only to help Ukraine,

10:34but also to make sure that the EU becomes a stronger geopolitical player, geopolitical player.

10:42And yes, I'm very hopeful that with the new Hungarian government,

10:47we will be able to make those decisions that are absolutely needed for Ukraine.

10:53But we'll see what happens in Bulgaria.

10:55And on your plates, of course, today, the diplomatic deadlock between the US and Iran.

11:00It feels sometimes like the EU is just staring at the Strait of Hormuz with absolutely no say in the

11:05matter

11:06and just hoping the problem will go away.

11:08Well, we are preparing for the next phase.

11:13So once we have a lasting ceasefire or a peace, then that is the time when Europe should bring assets

11:20and make sure that we keep the Strait open because that is so important for international trade and also for

11:26our growth.

11:28But we are not going to enter this war during these circumstances.

11:34But we are preparing.

11:35And that is very important because we want to contribute.

11:38You want to contribute.

11:39And of course, you're opening a spy agency, I believe, in Sweden as a reaction to the full-scale war

11:43in Ukraine.

11:44Tell us about that.

11:45And do you have the voters on board, given this year you have big elections as well in Sweden?

11:48We have big elections.

11:50There is going to be a vote this summer on the new agency.

11:53I am convinced that this is something that should have been done a long time ago.

11:58We are now members of NATO.

12:00We align ourselves much more with the services of other countries.

12:04We need to develop technology a lot more, become better at looking into open source intelligence.

12:11And all of that is on the plate of the new agency.

12:15And on those elections taking place, Israel-Sweden relations will also play a big role.

12:21We know that Sweden did recognize the state of Palestine, but this decision could be reversed.

12:24Which camp are you in here?

12:26No, I think that we should not reverse that.

12:28I mean, we made our decision and people should be able to trust our decisions when it comes to foreign

12:33policy.

12:34So I don't see that there will be a change in that regard.

12:38However, I see the necessity to put more pressure on Israel because we are so worried about the development in

12:43Gaza.

12:44Not a lot of focus there right now because there is so much going on in the rest of the

12:49world.

12:50But the situation is still horrible for people living there.

12:54And the situation on the West Bank is deteriorating.

12:57So we need to put more pressure on it.

12:58And today you could sign off on sanctions on violent settlers in Israel.

13:02I hope we will be able to do that.

13:04But we should also move forward with sanctions on extremist ministers in the Israeli government.

13:10OK, Minister, a lot, of course, on your plates today at that foreign ministers meeting, as always.

13:15Thank you so much for coming in to us.

13:17But now, moving on, Brussels is still digesting the outcome of the local elections in the UK last week

13:23that saw the former Brexiteer Nigel Farage rise through the ranks.

13:27Ten years on since the Brexit referendum, the question now is what this result will mean for EU-UK ties

13:32and, of course, the political future of Labour's Keir Starmer.

13:36Our Jakob Yanis takes a look.

13:39To the victor go the spoils.

13:41Nigel Farage's pro-Brexit Reform UK party became the biggest winner of last week's English local elections,

13:47gaining over 1,400 council seats.

13:50We have absolutely stormed it.

13:53These are historic results.

13:55And as they were mostly gained from Labour, all attention turned to its leader.

14:00And I take responsibility.

14:02When voters send a message like this, we must reflect and we must respond.

14:10But is his time in number 10 already on the clock?

14:15Despite a massive Westminster majority, last Thursday's local election buttering has left Starmer on notice.

14:22And ironically, this majority makes him easier to criticise.

14:26His own party members feel safe breaking rungs because the government is not at immediate risk of falling.

14:33And ousting a Labour leader is much harder than a Tory.

14:36According to the Labour Party rulebook, rivals need 81 MPs to go public just to trigger a vote.

14:43And while the trade unions and party members stay quiet, Starmer holds a structural shield that makes him safer than

14:50the headlines suggest.

14:52And with Britain's economy hurt post-Brexit, Starmer is pursuing a high-stakes pivot.

14:57At a recent summit in Armenia, he opened talks to join the EU 90 billion euro loan for Ukraine.

15:04And it seems to be a cash-for-play strategy.

15:07The UK helps to pay the interest in exchange for British defence firms accessing EU contracts.

15:13Ultimately, Starmer's future depends on how the next election is framed.

15:17If the conversation stays on the economy and closer ties to the EU,

15:22he's more likely to stay in power because public sentiment on Brexit has soured.

15:27But if the framing shifts to migration, Nigel Farage and Reform UK hold the advantage.

15:33And for now, the English public is left to see whether his grand vision for the country can survive a

15:38stark reality of local politics.

15:45Jakob Janis there on a story that's been closely watched here from Brussels.

15:50But now, just over one month or under one month after historic elections,

15:54Hungary's new Prime Minister, Béter Maillard, was sworn in on Saturday in Budapest,

15:58bringing an end to Viktor Orbán's 16 years in power.

16:02Tens of thousands of Hungarians gathered outside the iconic Parliament building in Budapest to celebrate the moment.

16:08For more now on what challenges face the new Prime Minister, I'm joined by our Hungarian correspondent, Sándor Zíros.

16:14So we're looking at those pictures there that, quite frankly, resemble a festival or a big, huge party.

16:19But huge expectations now on Béter Maillard.

16:22Their voters are euphoric, but the question, will he be able to deliver?

16:25Tell us more about this moment.

16:26Well, good morning.

16:28As you said, Béter Magyar made sure that everyone in Hungary during the weekend talks about his inauguration.

16:35They made a huge show, a huge festival out of these events.

16:39There was a children's corps playing in the chamber.

16:42Some deputies were crying.

16:44The minister was dancing.

16:46Béter Magyar made even the DJ.

16:48And then overnight, there was a huge festival, a huge fiesta celebrating the end of the Orbán's government and the

16:56start of the new government.

16:58Now for the substance, Béter Magyar said that this is not a simple change of government, but a change of

17:04system.

17:04And he's opening a new era in the Hungarian history.

17:09He criticized Orbán for his corruption and he warned for investigations against him.

17:16He also called for resignation of the Hungarian president, Tomás Súlyok, whom he called a puppet of Orbán.

17:24And he called for a new style of governance in Hungary.

17:29Let's take a listen of what he said.

17:35A country can be lifted up by a few courageous and honest decisions, but it can also be destroyed by

17:41selfishness and arrogance.

17:42That is precisely what I would like to state clearly here in the House of Hungarian, democracy and constitutionalism, that

17:49I will not rule over Hungary.

17:51I will serve my country.

17:52A very enthusiastic Péter Magyar there, the new prime minister of Hungary.

17:59But Chandler, what about Viktor Orbán?

18:00What is his legacy?

18:01He seems to have just disappeared from the political sphere.

18:04Exactly.

18:05He seems a little bit disappearing.

18:07And I feel like he's not taking this electoral defeat very lightly.

18:12So, for example, on Saturday, he was supposed to be in the parliament having his farewell speech and handing over

18:18the power in person to Péter Magyar.

18:21But he didn't show up.

18:22He's also not taking his parliamentary mandate, which is highly unusual and not traditional in many aspects.

18:30But Orbán wants to continue his fight.

18:34He wants to stay as a head of the Fidesz party.

18:37He wants to reorganize Fidesz party.

18:40But there are cracks already on his legacy.

18:43And what we call the Orbán system is already cracking.

18:47There are many investigations running already against his associates, for example, for corruption or misuse of power.

18:56Many of his associates are trying to change sides and trying to get connected to the new government.

19:03And what is really remarkable, Orbán's media machine is largely silenced.

19:09All of these pro-Orbanist voices in the Hungarian media are disappearing.

19:14OK, Chandra Zeros, thank you so much for those insights.

19:17And we can read, of course, longer reads from Chandra Zeros on the challenges now facing Péter Magyar.

19:23But that does bring this Monday's edition of Europe Today to an end.

19:27Thank you so much for tuning in.

19:29Do reach out to us, drop us a line, tell us what you thought.

19:32Or if you have any questions or comments, europetoday at euronews.com.

19:37That is our email address.

19:39Take care.

19:39Thanks again for watching.

19:40And see you very soon here on Euronews.

19:42Let's meet you.

19:54See you soon.

19:55See you soon.

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