President Donald Trump recently expressed his dissatisfaction with the state of negotiations to end the war in Ukraine.
Last week, Trump said he believed that only he could die of peace talks and arranged a call this morning to speak directly with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Here’s how we got here:
Consultations in Türkiye bring little progress. Ukraine and Russia held their first in-person meeting in Turkey last week in three years, but the scope of discussion was limited and the presence of national leaders was lacking.
Putin originally pitched the meeting face-to-face with Ukrainian President Voldymir Zelensky, whom he first accepted. However, as neither leader ultimately attended, Zelensky criticized his Russian counterparts for not sending a high-level delegation.
The meeting led to a prisoner exchange and further discussion of the two presidential meetings, but it hardly seemed to change substantially under the terms of the country’s ceasefire.
Zelensky Conference in Rome: Zelensky said he had a “good meeting” in Italy yesterday with US Vice President J.D. Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
It was the first time Zelensky and Vance sat together. The Vice President denounced the Ukrainian leader at a notorious oval office meeting in February.
“I have confirmed Ukraine’s preparations for true diplomacy and emphasized the importance of a complete and unconditional ceasefire as soon as possible,” the Ukrainian leader said of the Italian association.
Disbanding “logjam”: Rubio told CBS’s “Face the Nation” yesterday that he needs patience but “we don’t have time to waste.” The Secretary of State has indicated that Trump should move talks directly with Putin, warning Russia against the provision of unrealistic ceasefire terms.
Trump’s special envoy Steve Witcoff echoed over Rubio, saying that ABC’s “this week” and Trump’s call will “settle some of the logjams and take them where we need to reach.”