Senior officials in the Trump administration—including the president himself—have verbally recognized Crimea as a part of Russia, a remarkable reversal of long-standing U.S. policy that made Kremlin propagandists on state-sponsored television laugh at the downfall of American power.

Putin's absence punctured hopes of a breakthrough in peace efforts that were given a push in recent months by the Trump administration and Western European leaders.

US President Donald Trump said there’ll be no resolution of Russia’s war in Ukraine until he meets with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, as the prospects for planned peace talks in Turkey remained uncertain.