The diplomatic road that paved the way for a planned Trump-Putin meeting on Ukraine
Putin's foreign affairs adviser Yuri Ushakov said Thursday a meeting could take place as early as next week, although he noted that such events take time to organize. No date is confirmed.
He also played down the possibility of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy joining the summit.
A meeting between Putin and Trump would be the first U.S.-Russia summit since former President Joe Biden met with the Kremlin leader in 2021. There's no guarantee a Trump-Putin meeting would lead to the end of the fighting, since Moscow and Kyiv remain far apart on their conditions for peace.
Key events that shaped efforts to end the war since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022:
Feb. 28, 2022: Ukrainian and Russian delegations meet in neighboring Belarus for the first time since the invasion. Talks continue for the next two weeks, but no agreements emerge other than a decision to set up humanitarian corridors for civilians.
March 21, 2022: Zelenskyy calls for direct talks with Putin but is rebuffed by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. A day later, Zelenskyy says he is prepared to discuss a commitment for Ukraine to not to seek NATO membership in exchange for a ceasefire, the withdrawal of Russian troops and a guarantee of Ukraine's security.
March 29, 2022: Talks begin in Istanbul, with Moscow saying it's willing to 'fundamentally cut back' military activity near Kyiv and the northern city of Chernihiv. Kyiv said it was open to discussing neutral status for Ukraine if its security is backed by other nations.
April 7, 2022: Lavrov rejects a Ukrainian peace proposal as 'unacceptable.' He says Kyiv has walked back on an agreement to exempt the Crimean Peninsula from wider Ukrainian security guarantees. Russia illegally annexed Crimea in 2014.
July 22, 2022: Russia and Ukraine, with mediation by Turkey and the U.N., agree on a deal to unblock supplies of grain stuck in Ukraine's Black Sea ports, ending a standoff that threatened global food security. The deal expires a year later.
Sept. 30, 2022: Russia illegally annexes the Ukrainian regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson, even though it doesn't fully control any of them. Ukraine responds by applying to join NATO and by enacting a decree that declares negotiations with Putin 'impossible.'
Dec. 7, 2024: U.S. President-elect Donald Trump meets Zelenskyy and other European leaders in Paris.
Feb 12. 2025: Trump and Putin agree to begin negotiations on ending the Ukraine war in a phone call that ends a three-year U.S.-led effort to isolate Russia over Ukraine.
Feb. 18, 2025: Russian and U.S. officials, including Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, meet in Saudi Arabia and agree to work toward ending the war, as well as restoring bilateral ties. Ukrainian officials are not invited.
Feb. 28, 2025: Zelenskyy meets with Trump, Rubio and Vice President JD Vance in a contentious session in the Oval Office. A proposed minerals deal between the countries is left unsigned.
March 11, 2025: U.S. and Ukrainian officials meet in Saudi Arabia, with American officials putting forward a plan for a 30-day ceasefire. Kyiv agrees to the proposed truce.
March 13, 2025: Putin effectively rejects the ceasefire plan, stating certain issues must be resolved. He also meets with U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff in Moscow. Witkoff would travel to Russia twice more in April to meet Putin.
March 18, 2025: A proposal is put forward for a temporary halt on strikes on energy infrastructure. Both sides agree to the plan, but soon accuse each other of violations, and the measure later expires.
April 19, 2025: Putin announces a 30-hour ceasefire to mark the Easter holiday, although attacks continue across Ukraine.
April 28, 2025: The Kremlin declares a unilateral 72-hour ceasefire starting May 8 to mark Russia's Victory Day celebrating the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II. Kyiv does not agree, preferring a 30-day truce proposed by U.S. officials. Both sides accuse each other of violating it.
May 11, 2025: Putin proposes restarting direct talks with Ukraine in Istanbul 'without preconditions' but does not agree to the 30-day ceasefire. Zelenskyy challenges Putin to meet in Turkey.
May 15, 2025: Russian and Ukrainian delegations meet for direct talks in Istanbul for the first time since early 2022. Subsequent meetings are held on June 2 and July 23, but aside from ongoing exchanges of prisoners of war and the bodies of fallen soldiers, no substantive progress is made on key issues.
July 14, 2025: Trump says he will implement 'severe tariffs' on Russia and countries that continue to buy Russian oil unless Moscow reaches a peace deal with Ukraine within 50 days. Two weeks later, on July 28, he says that he will shorten that deadline to 10-12 days.
Aug. 6, 2025: Witkoff visits Moscow and meets with Putin two days before Trump's deadline. Later that day, a White House official speaking on condition of anonymity in order to discuss internal plans says Trump and Putin could soon meet in person. A day later, the Kremlin confirms the planned meeting but does not set a date.
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