That will take some doing. Putin remains uninterested in peace talks as long as Russian troops continue to gain ground in Ukraine’s east, albeit at a slow pace, and while Ukrainian forces hold seized territory in the Kursk region inside Russia, according to John Herbst, a former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, and other former officials.

Russian President Vladimir Putin could meet with former U.S. President Donald Trump sometime in February or March, a senior Russian lawmaker said Thursday. Leonid Slutsky, chairman of the State Duma’s International Affairs Committee,

President Donald Trump says his administration has already had “very serious” discussions with Russia about its war in Ukraine and that he and Russian President Vladimir Putin could soon take “significant” action toward ending the grinding conflict.