Ukraine wants to organize a meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin. This will be the next step in negotiations with Russia, says Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov.

Russia and Ukraine are set to hold their first direct peace talks in three years, but hopes for a breakthrough are still dim after Russian President Vladimir Putin spurned an offer by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to meet face-to-face in Turkey.

By Tom Balmforth and Vladimir Soldatkin ISTANBUL (Reuters) -Russian President Vladimir Putin sent a second-tier team of aides and deputy ministers to hold peace talks with Ukraine in Turkey on Thursday,