EU demands ‘explanations’ on Ukrainian reforms and says there ‘cannot be a compromise’ on corruption – as it happened

Ursula von der Leyen, European Commission president, says that Ukraine, as a candidate country for membership, needs to uphold ‘fight against corruption’

Back to Russia-Ukraine talks, AFP just reported, quoting a source in the Turkish ministry of foreign affairs, that the negotiations will start at 4pm GMT, so that’s 5pm London time and 6pm CEST in large parts of Europe.

The EU has also confirmed that trade commissioner Maroš Šefčovič will speak with US commerce secretary Howard Lutnick this afternoon as they continue talks on the EU-US trade relations ahead of next month’s deadline for tariffs.