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.

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, while Ukraine said it was open to discussing neutral status for Ukraine if its security is backed by other nations.

Vladimir Putin has greatly reduced his public appearances and has not been seen since the end of March, with the Russian despot now unlikely to meet Volodymyr Zelensky in Turkey this week

Ukrainian Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko will travel next week to Banff, Alberta, where his counterparts in Group of Seven countries are holding their annual summit.