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Russian and Ukrainian negotiators met in Istanbul on Friday at their first direct peace talks in more than three years, under pressure from US President Donald Trump to end Europe’s deadliest conflict since World War Two.

Live Turkish television pictures showed Russian and Ukrainian negotiators holding discussions together with a Turkish delegation. Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan was making a speech at the start of the meeting.

The meeting at the Dolmabahce Palace on the Bosphorus marks a rare sign of diplomatic progress between the warring sides, who had not met face-to-face since March 2022, the month after Russia’s invasion.

Expectations for a major breakthrough, already low, were dented further on Thursday when Trump said there would be no movement without a meeting between himself and Russia’s President Vladimir Putin.

Setting out Kyiv’s priorities, the head of Ukraine’s delegation said peace was only possible if Russia agreed to a 30-day ceasefire, the return of abducted Ukrainian children and an exchange of all prisoners of war.

Russia says it wants to end the war by diplomatic means and is ready to discuss a ceasefire. But it has raised a list of questions and concerns, saying Ukraine could use the pause to rest its forces, mobilise extra troops and acquire more western weapons.

Ukraine and its allies accuse Putin of stalling, and say he is not serious about wanting peace.

It was Putin who proposed the direct talks in Turkey, but he spurned a challenge from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to meet him there in person. Instead, he sent a team of mid-level officials, and Ukraine responded by naming negotiators of similar rank.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Trump’s Ukraine envoy Keith Kellogg were also in Istanbul, where a flurry of separate meetings took place earlier on Friday.

Rubio told reporters on Thursday night that, based on the level of the negotiating teams, a major breakthrough was unlikely.

“I hope I’m wrong. I hope I’m 100% wrong. I hope tomorrow the news says they’ve agreed to a ceasefire; they’ve agreed to enter serious negotiations. But I’m just giving you my assessment, honestly,” he said.

Russia said on Friday it had captured another village in its slow, grinding advance in eastern Ukraine. Minutes before the start of the Istanbul meeting, Ukrainian media reported an air alert and explosions in the city of Dnipro.”

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is hosting EU chiefs at a summit on Monday, the first of its kind since Brexit, as he tries to deepen relations with the bloc.

UK PM Keir Starmer hosts EU chiefs at a summit to strengthen post-Brexit ties, negotiating a defence pact, fishing rights, and aligning standards. Youth mobility remains a key issue, with the UK open to a controlled scheme amid immigration concerns.

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is hosting EU chiefs at a summit on Monday, the first of its kind since Brexit, as he tries to deepen relations with the bloc.

Here are the main issues at stake, with sensitive details still being thrashed out in hardball negotiations that are set to go down to the wire.

– Defence pact –

Both parties are hopeful of reaching agreement on a security deal as Europe races to rearm over fears about Russian aggression and that President Donald Trump is uncommitted to protecting the continent.

The deal would allow Britain to attend certain ministerial meetings and take part in some European military initiatives and missions.

It would also aim to further involve the British defence industry in European efforts to develop its own military industrial base, benefiting UK defence companies such as BAE Systems and Rolls-Royce.

The deal could lead to London accessing a 150-billion-euro ($167-billion) defence fund being set up by the bloc although a further agreement would be needed to give Britain’s defence industry full access to the EU programmes.

Discussions have been complicated by some EU countries, including France, working behind the scenes to link the signing of the defence partnership to the renewal of an agreement giving EU fishing boats access to British waters.

EU foreign affairs chief Kaja Kallas voiced confidence this week that fish quotas do not need to be agreed before penning the security deal.

But negotiations on this point were heading for the eleventh hour, with EU diplomats yet to sign off on the compromise being drawn up by the European Commission.

The current five-year fishing agreement expires in 2026.

EU countries want the agreement rolled over, in return for slashing red tape for British food exports — a key item on London’s wish list.

But Britain is understood to be offering four more years of access to its waters, less than hoped for on the EU side — which may seek to curtail the food checks deal as a result.

The army said on Telegram it had begun the “initial stages” of the offensive, known as Operation Gideon’s Chariots.

The Israeli military said Saturday it had launched “extensive strikes” as part of a fresh offensive in Gaza, after rescuers reported 100 people killed in the besieged Palestinian territory.

The army said on Telegram it had begun the “initial stages” of the offensive, known as Operation Gideon’s Chariots.

The operation was part of “the expansion of the battle in the Gaza Strip, with the goal of achieving all the war’s objectives, including the release of the abducted and the defeat of Hamas”, it said in a post in Arabic.

A separate statement in English said the army was “mobilizing troops to achieve operational control in areas of the Gaza Strip”.

Gaza’s civil defence agency said Israeli strikes on Gaza had killed 100 people on Friday, while the army said its forces had “struck over 150 terror targets throughout the Gaza Strip” in 24 hours.

Israel resumed its military offensive in Gaza on March 18 after a two-month truce in its war against Hamas, which was triggered by an attack by the Palestinian group in October 2023.

The latest operation comes as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces increasing pressure to lift a sweeping aid blockade on Gaza, as NGOs warn of critical shortages of food, clean water, fuel and medicines.

The return to fighting since March 18 has drawn international condemnation, with the UN’s rights chief on Friday denouncing the renewed attacks — and what he described as an apparent push to permanently displace the population.

‘Ethnic Cleansing’

“This latest barrage of bombs… and the denial of humanitarian assistance underline that there appears to be a push for a permanent demographic shift in Gaza that is in defiance of international law and is tantamount to ethnic cleansing,” Volker Turk said in a statement.

The main Israeli campaign group representing the families of hostages said that by extending the fighting, Netanyahu was missing a “historic opportunity” to get their loved ones out through diplomacy.

Hamas on Friday demanded the United States press Israel to lift the aid blockade in return for a US-Israeli hostage released by the group.

Edan Alexander, the last living hostage with US nationality, was freed last week after direct engagement with the Trump administration that left Israel sidelined.

As part of the understanding with Washington regarding Alexander’s release, senior Hamas official Taher al-Nunu said the group was “awaiting and expecting the US administration to exert further pressure” on Israel “to open the crossings and allow the immediate entry of humanitarian aid”.

Israel says its decision to cut off aid to Gaza was intended to force concessions from Hamas, which still holds dozens of Israeli hostages seized during the October 7, 2023 attack that sparked the war. 

‘People Are Starving’

US President Donald Trump acknowledged on Friday that “a lot of people are starving” in the besieged Palestinian territory.

“We’re looking at Gaza. And we’re going to get that taken care of,” Trump told reporters in Abu Dhabi, on a regional tour that excluded key ally Israel.

The Arab League is to meet in Baghdad on Saturday to discuss regional crises, with Gaza expected to be high on the agenda.

United Nations chief Antonio Guterres will attend the summit, and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez — who has sharply criticised Israel’s offensive in Gaza — is expected to address it as a guest.

The Hamas attack of October 7, 2023 resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people on the Israeli side, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.

Of the 251 hostages taken during the attack, 57 remain in Gaza, including 34 the military says are dead.

The health ministry in the Hamas-run territory said 2,985 people have been killed since Israel resumed strikes on March 18, taking the war’s overall toll to 53,119.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday said called for “strong” Western action against Moscow if peace talks that will be held in Istanbul fail.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday said called for “strong” Western action against Moscow if peace talks that will be held in Istanbul fail.

“We had a real chance to take important steps toward ending this war if only Putin had not been afraid to come to Turkey,” Zelensky told European leaders in Tirana.

“If it turns out that the Russian delegation really is just theatrical and can’t deliver any results today… there needs to be a strong reaction, including sanctions against Russia’s energy sector and banks,” he said.

Negotiators from both the countries will meet today on Friday for the first peace talks after more than three years. However, expectations for a major announcement were dampened after US President Donald Trump said that there would be no movement without a meeting between himself and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Zelensky accused Putin of not agreeing with his meeting requests to “resolve all the important issues”. He said, “I was ready for a direct meeting with Putin, whether in Ankara or in Istanbul, and not just for a meeting but to resolve all the important issues. But he didn’t agree with anything I put to him.”

He said that Ukraine’s first priority is a “full, unconditional, and honest ceasefire”, which he said “must happen immediately to stop the killing and create a solid basis for diplomacy”

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