After five days of confusion over Russian President Vladimir Putin’s proposal for direct talks with Ukraine, the day they were supposed to begin initially brought only more of the same: a seven-hour stakeout on the banks of the Bosphorus,

Last weekend saw a flurry of diplomatic activity surrounding the war in Ukraine. First, European leaders assembled in Kyiv on Saturday with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in a show of unity to put pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin for a ceasefire.

Germany's new Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Wednesday urged the West not to be divided on Ukraine and vowed to provide the financial means needed to build Germany's conventional army up into Europe's strongest.

For days, President Donald Trump repeatedly floated the possibility of scrapping his Middle East travel schedule — one his team meticulously crafted for weeks — and adding a stop to personally mediate Ukraine-Russia peace talks in Turkey.