Russia and Ukraine have been holding their first direct peace talks in three years.They gathered in Istanbul for Turkish-brokered negotiations, but officials and observers expected the talks to yield little immediate progress on stopping the war.A Ukrainian delegation led by defence minister Rustem Umerov sat down with a low-level Russian team headed by presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky, according to Ukraine's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi, who published a photo of the meeting.

Russia and Ukraine have been holding their first direct peace talks in three years.They gathered in Istanbul for Turkish-brokered negotiations, but officials and observers expected the talks to yield little immediate progress on stopping the war.A Ukrainian delegation led by defence minister Rustem Umerov sat down with a low-level Russian team headed by presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky, according to Ukraine's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi, who published a photo of the meeting.