It is easy to start a war, but often far more complicated to end one. Unless one side secures a military victory over the other – which, at this stage of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, appears to be an unattainable goal for both Moscow and Kyiv – a negotiated peace is required. And that is when another journey begins, involving one or more mediators who themselves become nonbelligerent actors in the armed conflict.

US President Donald Trump is the first external actor to establish himself, since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, as a mediator accepted, whether willingly or unwillingly, by both warring countries.

Others had tried before him, from United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, French President Emmanuel Macron and the late Pope Francis. All of them failed.

After months of producing no tangible results since returning to the White House, punctuated by threats aimed at various actors, Trump has stepped up his efforts. First came a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on August 15 in Anchorage, Alaska, where he failed to secure either a ceasefire or a tripartite summit under Washington’s leadership. Then, in recent days, negotiations have begun around a “peace plan” developed with Moscow and now being discussed with Kyiv and European leaders.

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