Nothing's going to happen until I meet Putin: Trump

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Thursday he had sent a team to Istanbul for the first direct peace talks with Russia in three years, but played down expectations of a breakthrough, saying Moscow was "not serious" about ending the war.

- Agencies

ISTANBUL:

After hours of confusion which saw both sides hurling insults at the other and uncertainty over whether Ukraine would show up for the talks, Zelensky ended the uncertainty.

He said his defence minister was en route to Istanbul from Ankara with a mandate to push for a ceasefire. Talks could take place late on Thursday or Friday, Zelensky added. Kyiv has baulked at what Zelensky called the "dummy" delegation of relatively low-level figures sent by Russia, after days spent calling on President Vladimir Putin to personally show up.

Host country Turkey remained optimistic and Russia's top negotiator Vladimir Medinsky said Moscow was ready to discuss "possible compromises" at the talks.