The first direct talks between Ukraine and Russia on ending their war in more than three years started on Friday in Istanbul, with expectations low that the two sides would agree to end Europe’s deadliest conflict since World War II.
Kyiv is seeking an “unconditional ceasefire” to the fighting, which has killed tens of thousands, destroyed large swathes of Ukraine and displaced millions of people.
Moscow says it wants to address the “root causes” of the conflict and revive failed 2022 negotiations in which it made sweeping territorial and political demands of Ukraine.
Turkey’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan opened the meeting between Russian and Ukrainian delegations around 1:35 pm (1035 GMT) in Istanbul’s Dolmabahce Palace.
He sat at the head of a table in front of Turkish, Russian and Ukrainian flags — with Russian and Ukrainian delegations facing each other, footage from the room showed.
