Russian and Ukrainian negotiators met in Istanbul on Friday at their first direct peace talks in more than three years, under pressure from US President Donald Trump to end Europe’s deadliest conflict since World War Two.
Live Turkish television pictures showed Russian and Ukrainian negotiators holding discussions together with a Turkish delegation. Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan was making a speech at the start of the meeting.
The meeting at the Dolmabahce Palace on the Bosphorus marks a rare sign of diplomatic progress between the warring sides, who had not met face-to-face since March 2022, the month after Russia’s invasion.
Expectations for a major breakthrough, already low, were dented further on Thursday when Trump said there would be no movement without a meeting between himself and Russia’s President Vladimir Putin.