Delegations from Moscow and Kyiv will be in Istanbul Friday for what could be their first direct meeting on the conflict in Ukraine since 2022, but the absence of Russian President Vladimir Putin leaves little hope for progress in ending the war.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio downplayed expectations for the peace talks after Moscow sent a low-profile delegation and both sides traded insults ahead of the negotiations, initially slated for Thursday.

"I want to be frank... we don't have high expectations of what will happen tomorrow," Rubio said.

US President Donald Trump had earlier also appeared to concede that progress in Turkey was unlikely, saying there would be no movement towards ending the war until he met Putin.

"I don't believe anything's going to happen, whether you like it or not, until he and I get together," Trump told reporters on Air Force One.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also said he did not expect a breakthrough, accusing Moscow of being "not serious" about ending the war.

Putin last week proposed direct negotiations between the two sides,........

© International Business Times