A Putin-Zelensky meeting as the "next step"? Ukraine in favour of this possibility

A meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin must be "the next step", said Ukraine's chief negotiator in Istanbul, at the end of the first Russian-Ukrainian peace talks since the spring of 2022.

"I think the next step would be to organize a meeting at leader level," said Rustem Umerov, Ukraine's Defense Minister, in a brief speech to the press in Istanbul.

In recent days, however, Vladimir Putin has refused to meet his Ukrainian counterpart, who had proposed an "in person" exchange in Turkey. A source within the Ukrainian delegation said on Friday that the team sent by President Volodymyr Zelensky to discuss with the Russians in Istanbul would be leaving the Turkish city this evening.

These initial peace talks did not result in a ceasefire agreement, as requested by Kiev.