Boris Johnson repeatedly told the public that Brexit would mean taking back control of Britain's borders and migration system. Plans unveiled to ease prisons crisis - politics latest But in a leaked recording obtained by Sky News, Chris Philp, now shadow home secretary, said Britain's exit from the EU - and end of UK participation in the Dublin agreement which governs EU-wide asylum claims - meant they realised they "can't any longer rely on sending people back to the place where they first claimed asylum". Mr Philp appeared to suggest the scale of the problem surprised those in the Johnson government. "When we did check it out… (we) found that about half the people crossing the Channel had claimed asylum previously elsewhere in Europe." In response tonight, the Tories insisted that Mr Philp was not saying the Tories did not have a plan for how to handle asylum seekers post Brexit. Mr Philp was also immigration minister in Mr Johnson's government so would have been following the debate closely. In public, members of the Johnson administration were claiming this would not be an issue since asylum claims would be "inadmissible", but gave no details on how they would actually deal with people physically arriving in the country. A Home Office source told journalists once the UK is "no longer bound by Dublin after the transition", then "we will be able to negotiate our own bilateral returns agreement from the end of this year". This did not happen immediately. In the summer of 2020, Mr Johnson's spokesman criticised the "inflexible and rigid" Dublin regulations, suggesting the exit from this agreement would be a welcome post-Brexit freedom. Mr Philp's comments suggest a different view in private. The remarks were made in a Zoom call, part of a regular series with all the shadow cabinet on April 28, just before the local election. Mr Philp was asked by a member why countries like France continued to allow migrants to come to the UK. He replied: "The migrants should claim asylum in the first safe place and that under European Union regulations, which is called the Dublin 3 regulation, the first country where they are playing asylum is the one that should process their application. "Now, because we're out of the European Union now, we are out of the Dublin 3 regulations, and so we can't any longer rely on sending people back to the place where they first claimed asylum. When we did check it out, just before we exited the EU transitional arrangements on December the 31st, 2020, we did run some checks and found that about half the people crossing the channel had claimed asylum previously elsewhere in Europe. "In Germany, France, Italy, Spain, somewhere like that, and therefore could have been returned. But now we're out of Dublin, we can't do that, and that's why we need to have somewhere like Rwanda that we can send these people to as a deterrent." Mr Johnson announced the Rwanda plan in April 2022 - which Mr Philp casts as the successor plan - 16 months after Britain left the legal and regulatory regime of the EU, but the plan was blocked by the European Court of Human Rights. Successive Tory prime ministers failed to get any mandatory removals to Rwanda, and Sir Keir Starmer cancelled the programme on entering Downing Street last year, leaving the issue of asylum seekers from France unresolved. Speaking on Sky News last weekend, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said there has been a 20% increase in migrant returns since Labour came to power, along with a 40% increase in illegal working raids and a 40% increase in arrests for illegal working. Britain's membership of the EU did not stop all asylum arrivals. Under the EU's Dublin regulation, under which people should be processed for asylum in the country at which they first entered the bloc. However, many EU countries where people first arrive, such as Italy, do not apply the Dublin rules. The UK is not going to be able to participate again in the Dublin agreement since that is only open to full members of the EU. Ministers have confirmed the Labour government is discussing a returns agreement with the French that would involve both countries exchanging people seeking asylum. Asked on Sky News about how returns might work in future, the transport minister Lilian Greenwood said on Wednesday there were "discussions ongoing with the French government", but did not say what a future deal could look like. She told Sky News: "It's not a short-term issue. This is going to take really hard work to tackle those organised gangs that are preying on people, putting their lives in danger as they try to cross the Channel to the UK. "Of course, that's going to involve conversations with our counterparts on the European continent." Pressed on the returns agreement, Ms Greenwood said: "I can confirm that there are discussions ongoing with the French government about how we stop this appalling and dangerous trade in people that's happening across the English Channel." A Conservative Party spokesman said: "The Conservative Party delivered on the democratic will of this country, and left the European Union. "The last government did have a plan and no one - including Chris - has ever suggested otherwise. "We created new deals with France to intercept migrants, signed returns agreements with many countries across Europe, including a landmark agreement with Albania that led to small boat crossings falling by a third in 2023, and developed the Rwanda deterrent - a deterrent that Labour scrapped, leading to 2025 so far being the worst year ever for illegal channel crossings. "However, Kemi Badenoch and Chris Philp have been clear that the Conservatives must do a lot more to tackle illegal migration. "It is why, under new leadership, we are developing g new policies that will put an end to this problem - including disapplying the Human Rights Act from immigration matters, establishing a removals deterrent and deporting all foreign criminals."

Reece Galbraith, 33, admitted to manslaughter over the deaths of Archie York, seven, and Jason "Jay" Laws, 35, after the blast in Violet Close in Benwell, Newcastle, on 16 October 2024. The former construction worker, who was also badly injured in the explosion, has been sentenced to 14 years. Six properties divided into two flats each were destroyed in the explosion, which led to a major emergency services response and made families homeless. Archie was asleep when the blast ripped through the home he shared with parents Katherine and Robbie and his baby brother Finley. Police investigating the explosion discovered that the flat operated by Galbraith and Laws was used as a "drugs lab" to produce cannabis concentrates, known as "shatter" or "butane honey oil", in a highly dangerous process. The product was then turned into cannabis edibles, also known as "gummies". 'You killed my son' Archie's mother, Katherine Errington, shouted "you killed my son" at Galbraith as she read her victim impact statement in court. She sobbed as she told the defendant: "You brought gas canisters into a building where families lived. You ran a drugs operation under the floor where my children slept. "You took risks for profit and didn't care who got hurt. You killed my son." She added her "entire world was shattered, literally and irreversibly" by the events of that day. More than 100 people displaced The court heard it destroyed six out of the 12 flats in the block and was followed by a "fierce fire" that caused so much damage the whole block has since been demolished. More than 100 people were displaced to temporary accommodation and 53 of the 80 residents will not be returning, while the financial impact is said to be about £3.7m. Prosecutor David Brooke KC said Laws had been using the flat for months and there was "little purpose" for it other than the production of cannabis. The court heard Galbraith was found walking away from the street immediately after the explosion, asking about his friend. He suffered extensive burns and was in hospital for about a month, initially in an induced coma. Mr Brooke said Galbraith had been at the flat since about 6pm the previous evening and his fingerprint was found on one of the butane bottles at the property. A bag containing packages of cannabis sweets was found in Laws' car which had both his and Galbraith's DNA on some of the packets. 'Process is inherently dangerous' Experts found the explosion was caused by the ignition of liquid butane gas, which had been released and built up within the premises as part of the illegal "shatter" production. Mr Brooke said more than 100 butane canisters were found in the flat as well as other "sophisticated and expensive" equipment. The prosecutor said: "The process of making shatter is inherently dangerous because butane is highly flammable. "It is dangerous even to store butane bottles inside let alone use the liquid gas in a process like this. The liquid gas will expand a nominal 230 times as it becomes gas." At the time of the explosion, Galbraith was already being investigated for being concerned in the supply of cannabis. Officers later found 250 cannabis sweets, moulds and 300g of a sweet mixture when they searched his house. He was released pending further investigation. Police also found evidence on his phone that he was dealing in cannabis and cannabis sweets with Laws from at least as far back as November 2023. Jailing Galbraith, the judge, Mr Justice Cotter, said: "Archie York was just a seven-year-old with a wonderful and exciting life ahead of him. "You bear responsibility for all this loss and destruction."

Sir Keir Starmer handed the invitation to the US president during a visit to the Oval Office. The newly elected Liberal leader Mark Carney said that the invitation "cut across clear messages" that the Canadian government was trying to send to the White House in response to their threats against Canada's sovereignty. "I think, to be frank, they [Canadians] weren't impressed by that gesture... given the circumstance. It was at a time when we were being quite clear about the issues around sovereignty." Explained: Who is Mark Carney? It comes as the Canadian prime minister has invited the King, who is Canada's head of state, to open its parliament later this month in a "clear message of sovereignty". It is the first time the sovereign has carried out this function in nearly 50 years and Mr Carney says it's "not coincidental". "All issues around Canada's sovereignty have been accentuated by the president. So no, it's not coincidental, but it is also a reaffirming moment for Canadians." The former Bank of England governor was re-elected after a campaign fought on the promise of standing up to American threats to Canadian statehood. He had refused to speak to Mr Trump until Canadian sovereignty was respected. It followed Mr Trump threatening to make Canada the 51st state of the US. Mr Carney justified making his first foreign trip as prime minister to the White House by stating Mr Trump had changed his intentions to annex Canada from an "expectation to a desire". "He was expressing a desire. He'd shifted from the expectation to a desire. He was also coming from a place where he recognised that that wasn't going to happen. "Does he still muse about it? Perhaps. Is it ever going to happen? No. Never." The high-stakes meeting in the Oval Office was not confrontational, with Mr Carney praising the president's approach as "very on top of the essence of a wide range of issues" and "able to identify the points of maximum leverage, both in a specific situation but also in a geopolitical situation". Since the meeting, tensions between the two countries have abated. Further negotiations on trade and security are expected soon. Given the deep economic integration of the two nations, neither side expects a deal imminently, but both sides concur that constructive talks have led to progress on an agreement. With greater goodwill between the two North American neighbours, Mr Carney also expressed optimism about Mr Trump's efforts to broker peace between Ukraine and Russia. The prime minister confirmed his view that the president was an "honest broker" and that his counterpart had been "helpful" in bringing momentum to a 30-day ceasefire between the warring nations. Despite a reset in relations between the United States and Canada, Mr Carney remained circumspect. His motto is: "Always plan for the worst." Read more from Sky News:Trump signs deals in Saudi Arabia - with murder long forgottenMenendez brothers' murder sentences reduced And to that end, nothing is being taken for granted: "We do plan for having no deal, we do plan for trouble in the security relationship. We do plan for the global trading system not being reassembled: that's the way to approach this president."

That is the essence of Donald Trump's foreign policy laid out unashamedly this week. And in the Middle East, it might just pay dividends. Can it work elsewhere, most of all to end Russia's war with Ukraine? Or will it make matters worse? For his critics, Trump's Middle East tour has been purely transactional and amoral. No lectures to the autocrats of the region about human rights. No pressure to make them more like America. But that's the point. That was where previous US presidents went wrong, Trump said. Trump the showman, Trump the deal maker, is back on the world stage. Own your story, and say you're winning, always. We are used to how Donald Trump operates, as president as he was real estate developer. His Riyadh speech for instance, was littered with half-truths, outright falsehoods and exaggerations. But it also wove a narrative of success, and, pushed hard enough, that can acquire its own momentum. Others want in on it. Ask the Syrians. Ahmed al Sharaa, former Jihadi and one of America's most wanted and now Syrian leader has been actively courting the US president. Reported offers of a Trump Tower in Damascus and a minerals deal like the one with Ukraine appear to have paid off. Persuaded by both Saudis and Turks, the US president is lifting all US sanctions on Syria. But Trump wants more. He wants Syria to join his biggest diplomatic achievement, the Abraham Accords. They are the normalisation agreements brokered by the Trump administration in its first term between Israel and Gulf nations. That would utterly transform the region. There are obstacles. Israelis will need persuading, to say the least. But if Trump wants it, they may find it hard ultimately to stand in his way. Will the same business-first approach work to bring peace to Ukraine? On the one hand, it seems to have already helped Ukraine. The minerals deal it has signed with President Trump is understood to have made him far more sympathetic to their cause. This reportedly coincides with growing impatience with Vladimir Putin's refusal to agree to a ceasefire. However, in the long term, Russia may offer more attractive prospects for deals with the Trump administration. Putin's officials have reportedly been making much of those prospects. Russia has enormous mineral and hydrocarbon wealth to offer. 👉 Follow Trump100 on your podcast app 👈 President Trump has at times, and utterly unfairly, seemed to resent Ukraine standing in the way of progress towards a lucrative rapprochement with Moscow. The minerals deal may have made him more even-handed. The hope is that will motivate the US to be firmer with both sides and do more to pressure them to end this war.

It follows the exposure of a previously unknown vulnerability in software used by hundreds of companies. But unlike the recent attacks against M&S, Co-op and Harrods, the latest incident was not ransomware but rather remote code execution. This is where hackers take control of devices and networks over the internet to run potentially malicious programmes or steal data and information. Politics latest: Reform MP won't face charges The event - revealed by analyst Arda Buyukkaya at cybersecurity firm EclecticIQ - used a previously unknown backdoor in a piece of software called SAP Netweaver, with a patch since released. Cody Barrow is the chief executive of EclecticIQ and previously worked at the Pentagon, the NSA and US Cyber Command. He told Sky News: "Governments should treat this as a critical national security threat", adding that it is the kind of scenario that keeps people like him up at night. Mr Barrow said the exploitation of networks is "extensive and ongoing", with more than 500 SAP customers affected and more potentially at risk. He urged users to update their software to the latest version. Gas giant Cadent, publishers News UK, Euro Garages (EG) Group, Johnson Matthey and Ardagh Metal have been named as victims, with US and Saudi Arabian entities also targeted. NHS England has posted a warning about the exploit on their website, although it is not clear if they are impacted. The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), the UK government's authority on cyber threats and part of GCHQ, are monitoring the situation. An NCSC spokesperson told Sky News: "We are monitoring for UK impact following reports of a critical vulnerability affecting SAP NetWeaver being actively exploited. "The NCSC strongly encourages organisations to follow vendor best practice to mitigate the vulnerability and potential malicious activity. "Vulnerabilities are a common aspect of cyber security, and all organisations must consider how to most effectively manage potential security issues." JP Perez-Etchegoyen, the chief technical officer of Onapsis - which specialises in the cybersecurity security of SAP - told Sky News that exploits of the backdoor were first observed at the start of this year, and began to increase in March. Last week, Cabinet minister Pat McFadden warned companies that recent cyber attacks on M&S, Co-op and Harrods should be a "wake-up call" for businesses. A spokesperson for Cadent declined to comment on the specific attack, but the company works with the NCSC on cyber security issues. A spokesperson for News UK declined to comment. EG Group, Johnson Matthey and Ardagh Metal have not responded to Sky News requests for comment. Read more from Sky News:China attempting to spy on UK onlineWarning over China-backed botnet attack According to the initial summary of the exploit, analysts linked the attacks to "Chinese cyber-espionage units". This was based on a variety of factors, including Chinese-named files identified as part of the hack, and the way the hackers operated. The aim of the Chinese groups is to "operate strategically to compromise critical infrastructure, exfiltrate sensitive data, and maintain persistent access across high-value networks worldwide", said the summary. The targets in the UK were said to include critical gas distribution networks, and water and integrated waste management utilities. 👉Listen to Politics at Sam and Anne's on your podcast app👈 A spokesperson for SAP said: "SAP is aware of and has been addressing vulnerabilities in SAP NETWEAVER Visual Composer. SAP issued a patch on 24 April, 2025. "A second vulnerability has also been identified and a patch was released on 13 May, 2025. "We ask all customers using SAP NETWEAVER to install these patches to protect themselves." The Chinese embassy in London has been approached for comment.

On Wednesday morning, Israeli airstrikes hit homes in Jabalia, in northern Gaza, killing at least 53 people, according to the Hamas-run health ministry. The Indonesian Hospital said 22 of those who died were children. The Israeli military refused to comment on the strikes, but had warned local residents to evacuate late on Tuesday night due to Hamas infrastructure in the area, including rocket launchers. Middle East latest - Trump to meet Asia's richest man in Qatar On Tuesday, nine missiles hit the European Hospital and its courtyard in the south of the Palestinian territory, killing at least 16 people, the Gaza health ministry said. Israel said it had hit a "Hamas command centre" beneath the hospital in Khan Younis. Hamas denies exploiting hospitals and civilian properties for military purposes. Security Council urged to 'prevent genocide' The United Nations' top humanitarian official briefed the Security Council on Tuesday evening, warning they must "act now" to "prevent genocide", a claim that Israel vehemently denied. Tom Fletcher, head of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, accused Israel of "deliberately and unashamedly" imposing inhumane conditions on Palestinians by blocking aid from entering Gaza more than 10 weeks ago. The UN and aid groups have rejected Israel's attempt to control aid distribution. "It is a cynical sideshow. A deliberate distraction. A fig leaf for further violence and displacement," Mr Fletcher said about the proposal. Blast threw hospital staff to the floor British surgeon Dr Tom Potokar, who is based at the European Hospital in Gaza, described hearing "one extremely loud explosion followed very, very rapidly by a number of others". He told Sky News' Gareth Barlow that he rushed outside and saw "a huge crater in the entrance to the hospital" and "quite a few wounded lying around". He said the hospital is "barely functional" after suffering internal damage with "rubble on the floor... bits of ceiling coming down, water leaking from the roofs, and large cracks in the actual walls". Colleague Milena Chee was in the intensive care unit when she says a "very strong and loud blast" threw her to the floor, adding staff were "very scared and shocked". Describing the impact of Israel's aid blockade on Gaza, Ms Chee said: "There is no medical supplies whatsoever. There is no tissues to wipe our hands when we wash them. Now there is even no water. We lack soap, cleaning materials, medications, supplies, consumables, whatever you can think about... it is lacking." Earlier, a well-known Palestinian photojournalist died following a separate attack on the Nasser Hospital, also in Khan Younis, said the ministry. Hassan Aslih - one of two patients who died - had been accused by Israel of working with Hamas and was recovering from an earlier airstrike. Aslih, who has hundreds of thousands of followers on social media and previously worked with several Western news organisations, was said by the Israelis to have recorded and uploaded footage of "looting, arson and murder" during Hamas's 7 October 2023 attack into Israel that triggered the war in Gaza. At least 160 journalists and media workers have been killed in Gaza since the start of the war, according to the International Federation of Journalists. Gazan officials accuse Israel of deliberately targeting journalists. Israel denies this and says it tries to avoid harm to civilians. Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump has spoken on the phone to Edan Alexander after he was released by Hamas on Monday, as part of ongoing efforts to achieve a permanent ceasefire with Israel. The 21-year-old was believed to be the last living American hostage in Gaza. Read more:Timeline: Key events of war in GazaPope raises Gaza in Sunday message Some 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken hostage in the 7 October attack on southern Israel, according to Israeli figures. Israel's response has killed more than 52,000 Palestinians, according to local health officials, and destroyed much of the coastal territory. Gaza's health ministry records do not distinguish between civilians and combatants. An aid blockade since March has left the population at critical risk of famine, according to the World Health Organisation, which warned on Tuesday that hunger and malnutrition could have a lasting impact on "an entire generation".

The 64-year-old presenter faced criticism after he shared a post on Instagram from the Palestine Lobby group showing a picture of a rat and titled: "Zionism explained in two minutes." In a statement, he said: "On Instagram I reposted material which I have since learned contained offensive references. "I very much regret these references. "I would never knowingly share anything antisemitic. "It goes against everything I believe in. "The post was removed as soon as I became aware of the issue. "Whilst I strongly believe in the importance of speaking out on humanitarian issues, including the tragedy unfolding in Gaza, I also know that how we do so matters. "I take full responsibility for this mistake. "That image does not reflect my views. "It was an error on my part for which I apologise unreservedly." Rats have historically been used in antisemitic propaganda, including by the Nazis in 1930s Germany. Lineker's agent told the BBC the presenter immediately deleted the post when he learned about the image's symbolism. The presenter was temporarily suspended from the BBC in March 2023 after an impartiality row over comments he made criticising the then-government's new asylum policy. In November he announced he would be stepping down from presenting Match Of The Day but will still host World Cup and FA Cup coverage.

Counter-terrorism police found an arsenal of more than 200 weapons that included crossbows, swords, machetes, axes, a baseball bat and numerous hunting knives, following raids on properties in Yorkshire, Derbyshire and Staffordshire. An almost completed FGC-9 Mk II printed assault rifle was found in the loft of one of the suspects. It was missing the barrel and firing pin but the men were sourcing the components to complete the weapon. The three men had a shared interest in bushcraft and YouTube "prepper" videos, claiming in court they were preparing for a "shit hits the fan" scenario such as a Russian invasion or a zombie apocalypse. However, prosecutors said they were actually preparing for a race war and had used the prepper groups to recruit an inner circle which moved on to neo-Nazi chat groups before setting up their own private group, as they prepared to take action. Detective Chief Superintendent James Dunkerley, head of Counter-Terrorism Policing North East, said the "self-styled militant online group" espoused "vile racist views" and took "real world steps to plan and prepare for carrying out an attack on innocent citizens". Bethan David, head of the Crown Prosecution Service's Counter-Terrorism Division, said that the 3D-printed firearm "could have been used to devastating consequences" if it had been completed. The group was infiltrated by an undercover officer and on 5 January last year, Brogan Stewart messaged the officer on the encrypted Telegram app, telling him he was disillusioned with other far-right groups that just "sit around and talk". "I want to get my own group together because action speaks louder than words," he added. Stewart, 25, from Tingley, Wakefield, appointed Christopher Ringrose, 34, from Cannock, Staffordshire, who had constructed the 3D firearm and Marco Pitzettu, 25, from Mickleover, Derby, as "armourers" for the new group. Stewart convened a group telephone call on 5 February in which he said the plan was to "cruise around" looking for "human targets" near an Islamic education centre, "do what whatever we do then back at mine for tea and medals and a debrief." Before the "operation" went ahead he wanted the members, who had never met in person, to "hang out, bring ourselves closer together and just cement that brotherhood" on 18 February, but the event did not go ahead and the group were arrested on 20 February. All three were found unanimously guilty of preparing acts of terrorism and possessing information useful for terrorism. Ringrose was found guilty of manufacturing the lower receiver for a 3D firearm. Pitzettu pleaded guilty to possessing a stun gun. The judge, Mrs Justice Cutts, remanded all three in custody ahead of sentencing in July and told them they must expect "substantial custodial sentences."

The most recent incident saw a businessman's daughter violently ambushed in the street in Paris. It took place on Rue Pache in the French capital's 11th arrondissement on Tuesday morning. Captured on video and shared widely online, three masked men appear from a parked van and begin wrestling a woman to the ground. After failing to snatch her amid the struggle, they retreat to the van and drive off. According to reports, the target's father is the co-founder of French cryptocurrency exchange platform Paymium. She is believed to be 34 and was with her partner at the time. Prosecutors have not confirmed the victim's identity but have launched an investigation led by the organised crime unit of the Paris police force. Authorities are now looking into whether the recent string of incidents are linked. On Wednesday, French interior minister Bruno Retailleau promised to meet figures from across the crypto sector to make them aware of the current risks and promote measures they can take to protect themselves. Company owner also targeted in Paris Tuesday's incident comes after another on 29 April, which saw a crypto marketing firm owner kidnapped and held to ransom for more than two days before being found with his finger cut off. At around 10.30am on 29 April, the 60-year-old, who co-owned his business in Malta with his son, was kidnapped by four men in ski masks as he walked down a street in Paris's 14th arrondissement. After they forced him into a van, he was eventually discovered two days later during a raid of a property in Essonne, 12 miles south of Paris. Read more from Sky NewsSenators try to ban Trump's 'corrupt' crypto schemes£1.5bn in cryptocurrency stolen in biggest hack everWhat we know about the Bybit heist While he was being held, his attackers demanded a ransom of between £4m and £6m but failed to extort any money, newspaper Le Parisien reported. Five suspects, aged between 20 and 27, were arrested at the scene of the raid, which took place around 9pm. They remain under investigation Essonne's state prosecutor said in a statement: "The victim appears to be the father of a man who made his fortune in cryptocurrencies, with the crime involving a ransom demand." Co-founder and his wife abducted from home On 21 January, David Balland, the co-founder of crypto firm Ledger, and his wife were abducted from their home in Mereau, central France. The attack happened in the early hours of the morning, with suspects separating the couple immediately and taking Balland to a house in the nearby town of Chateauroux, where they also cut one of his fingers off. Police were alerted to the kidnapping by Mr Balland's business partner who had received a video of his severed finger with a demand for a €10m cryptocurrency payment. Detectives traced and freed him, finding his wife tied up in the boot of a vehicle in a car park in Essonne the following day. Nine people were arrested and are still under investigation. Crypto influencer's father kidnapped In December last year, the father of another French cryptocurrency influencer was targeted at his home in eastern France alongside his wife and daughter. Their attackers tied them up and forced the 56-year-old man into a car, driving him away before demanding a ransom from his son, who lives in Dubai. The son contacted police and his mother and sister were quickly freed. His father was found tied up in the boot of a car in Normandy, showing signs of having suffered physical violence and been sprayed with petrol. Other similar incidents have also been reported in Spain and Belgium in recent months.

If the proposed meeting in Istanbul goes ahead, it would mark only the second ever time the two leaders have sat down together. The first was in 2019, when the two sides discussed an end to the fighting in Ukraine's eastern region of the Donbas, where Ukrainian troops had been fighting Russian-backed separatists since 2014. Ukraine war latest: Follow live updates It remains unclear what will unfold on Thursday and even if the leaders will show up - though Mr Zelenskyy said earlier this week that he would be "waiting in Turkey" for the Russian president "personally". Here is what happened last time Mr Putin and Mr Zelenskyy came face to face. What happened during the 2019 meeting? To try and end fighting in the Donbas region, Mr Zelenskyy and Mr Putin travelled to Paris in December 2019 for the Normandy Format Summit - an informal forum that was set up by French, German, Russian and Ukrainian diplomats after the conflict in the Donbas began. It came after Mr Zelenskyy, who had never held political office, became Ukrainian president in May of the same year. In the election, he beat Petro Poroshenko - a billionaire confectionery magnate and former Ukrainian foreign minister - who had met and spoken directly with Mr Putin on numerous occasions, but had failed to solve the conflict with Russia. Alongside French president Emmanuel Macron and then German chancellor Angela Merkel, Mr Putin and Mr Zelenskyy sat opposite each other at a round table to discuss how they would end the conflict that had led to thousands of deaths. The summit did lead to some agreements between the two nations. This included implementing "all necessary ceasefire support measures" before the end of 2019 and to release all prisoners of war. Agreements were also made to disengage troops in three further areas of the Donbas region by the end of March 2020 - both Ukrainian troops and Russian-backed rebels had already pulled out of three frontline locations in the months before the meeting. Both sides also said they wished to implement the political provisions of the Minsk agreements, which were signed back in 2014 and 2015 as a first attempt to secure a ceasefire between the Ukrainian government and Russian-backed separatists. The agreements included a roadmap for elections in the occupied regions of Luhansk and Donetsk and a plan to reintegrate the territory into the rest of Ukraine. What happened after? The 2019 meeting was seen at the time as an important step forward in ending the conflict, and some prisoner exchanges did take place, but it failed to provoke any real long-term change. Russia and Ukraine continued to disagree on issues including the withdrawal of Russian-backed troops and elections in areas of Ukraine held by separatist rebels. The summit then took place again in Paris in January 2022, but was instead attended by representatives of Russia, Ukraine, Germany and France, not the four leaders. In February 2022, senior diplomats met again, this time in Berlin, to try and find a way out of the conflict. Weeks later, on 24 February, Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. In an address to the French parliament in March 2022, Mr Zelenskyy said the invasion had "ruined" the efforts of the Normandy Format. What could happen if they meet again - and will Trump be there? If a meeting between Russia and Ukraine happens on 15 May, it is uncertain if Mr Putin will attend. The meeting was first proposed by the Russian president, instead of accepting an unconditional 30-day ceasefire, but since the Kremlin has remained tight-lipped over who will travel to Turkey and whether it will include Mr Putin. Ukraine's allies remained deeply sceptical about whether Mr Putin was serious about the talks. Russia has also continued its nightly attacks on Ukraine. Unlike the 2019 discussions, America has been heavily involved in trying to secure peace between the neighbouring countries. US President Donald Trump heavily encouraged Mr Zelenskyy to "immediately" accept the invitation to the meeting, going as far to say he is "thinking" of attending himself, if he thinks it would be helpful. But Sky News US correspondent Mark Stone thinks the prospect of three presidents being in the same room is unlikely. "If Putin and Zelenskyy were to meet, obviously, Trump would not want to miss out on the limelight there. But I am not going to put my money on it. At this stage, I just don't see Putin turning up," he said on the Trump 100 podcast. Read more from Sky News:Key moments that have shaped Trump and Zelenskyy's relationshipSky correspondent on her run-in with Trump loyalist Fellow Sky correspondent James Matthews added that Mr Trump's attitude towards the conflict is in stark contrast to the claim he made on the campaign trail that he could end the war in a day. He said: "Beyond that campaigning bravado, Trump's stewardship over the diplomacy of the Russia-Ukraine conflict has been short of what he would have wanted. "For all the warmth towards Putin, he has been given the cold shoulder in return... Publicly, he is talking about possibly getting on a flight, and it isn't the image of a president in control of events, it is the leader of the free world actually being led by events."