KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Tuesday that he will travel to Turkey this week in an attempt to jump-start negotiations on ending Russia’s invasion, which began nearly four years ago.

Turkey provided a setting for low-level talks between Ukraine and Russia earlier this year, though the only significant progress in Istanbul was on exchanging prisoners of war. US-led international peace efforts have brought no breakthrough, either.

Zelensky said that he would be in Turkey on Wednesday, a day after visiting Spain, where he hoped for pledges of new support on Tuesday.

“We are preparing to reinvigorate negotiations, and we have developed solutions that we will propose to our partners,” Zelensky said on social media, without providing details. “Doing everything possible to bring the end of the war closer is Ukraine’s top priority.”

But Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Tuesday that “there will be no Russian representative in Turkey” on Wednesday, although he insisted that Moscow is ready to negotiate.

“For now, these contacts are taking place without Russian participation. We will await information on what would actually be discussed in Istanbul,” Peskov said during his daily conference call with reporters.

US President Donald Trump has expressed frustration with Russian President Vladimir Putin’s refusal to budge from his demands for putting an end to the........

© The Times of Israel