Russia and Ukraine are set to hold their first direct peace talks in three years, both countries said Thursday, but hopes for a breakthrough remained dim after Russian President Vladimir Putin spurned an offer by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to meet face-to-face in Turkey.

Vladimir Putin rejected calls to join direct talks with Ukraine's leader in Turkey, seemingly unphased by mounting pressure from Trump to strike a peace deal.

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.

Donald Trump says he and Vladimir Putin need to get together to solve the Ukraine war. Trump says he doesn't "believe anything's going to happen, whether you like it or not, until he and I get together.

No, President Donald Trump is not going to Turkey to personally mediate Ukraine-Russia peace talks. For days, Trump repeatedly stirred speculation that he might upend his Middle East travel schedule – one his team meticulously crafted for weeks — to join the Russians and Ukrainians at the negotiating table.

June 15, 2024: Representatives of 92 nations meet in Nidwalden, Switzerland, to discuss Ukraine’s peace plan. Despite the growing number of delegates, a consensus remains elusive. The summit’s final statement is backed by most – although not all – participants.

If Vladimir Putin comes to Istanbul for negotiations on the war in Ukraine, nothing will come of it. It will be yet another attempt by the Kremlin to influence the peace talks, Ukrainian political analyst Taras Zahorodniy says in an interview on the YouTube channel of RBC-Ukraine.