Talks between Ukraine and Russia will continue even if Russian President Vladimir Putin refuses to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, states Secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council (RNBO) and head of the Ukrainian delegation,

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has renewed his offer to meet Russia’s Vladimir Putin to negotiate an end to the war

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Tuesday renewed his offer to meet with Russian leader Vladimir Putin and negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine, as delegations from both governments prepared to hold a third round of direct talks.

Russian and Ukrainian delegates have begun their third set of direct talks in Istanbul, days after US President Donald Trump gave Moscow a 50-day deadline to make peace or face “very severe tariffs.” Russian President Vladimir Putin has not publicly acknowledged Trump’s ultimatum,

Ukrainian and Russian officials ended their third round of peace negotiations in under an hour Wednesday — falling short of establishing a cease-fire but agreeing to a prison swap. The talks took place in Istanbul just over a week after President Trump threatened Russian President Vladimir Putin with “very severe tariffs” if he doesn’t commit to a cease-fire in Ukraine within 50 days.

I STANBUL—President Trump’s ultimatum for Russian President Vladimir Putin is showing no signs of bringing Russia and Ukraine any closer to peace. The third round of direct talks between Ukrainian and Russian officials, held Wednesday in Istanbul, yielded few results. The two sides met for less than an hour.