RT News - May 17 2025 (17:00 MSK)

Moscow says a meeting between Vladimir Putin and Zelensky is possible, but only if progress is made after the first direct Russia-Ukraine talks in over three years comes up short of a peace plan, but positive groundwork is seemingly laid. At Washington's initiative, Russia and America's top diplomats pick up the phone. They're happy with the huge POW exchange in the works with Sergey Lavrov grateful for Trump insisting Kiev officials meet directly with their Russian counterparts. With Round two of Romania's presidential election in less than a day “France is trying to subvert democracy and rob the people of their vote”. That's according to the euro skeptic frontrunner, as Brussels and company scrambles to derail his campaign. And as 2,000 Indonesians sign up for an experimental tuberculosis vaccine sponsored and dished out by the Bill Gates foundation. Criticism of the campaign erupts online suggesting locals are being used as guinea pigs.