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The first direct talks between Russia and Ukraine in more than three years are scheduled to take place in Türkiye’s largest city, Istanbul, on Thursday.

On Sunday, Russian President Vladimir Putin offered to resume direct dialogue between Moscow and Kiev in order to find a lasting settlement to the ongoing conflict that would address its root causes.

After US President Donald Trump supported the proposal and said Kiev should accept it “immediately,” Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky, who had previously ruled out any talks with Moscow, also expressed his readiness to travel to Istanbul.

Kiev had earlier stated that the only official from Moscow that Zelensky would talk to is Putin. However, the Russian president has so far made no indication that he is planning to travel to Türkiye.

Moscow and Ukraine last talked to each other in April 2022, also in Istanbul. Russia, which initially expressed satisfaction with the results of that meeting and withdrew its forces from the outskirts of Kiev as a goodwill gesture, later accused Ukraine of backtracking on the progress achieved in Türkiye, saying it had lost trust in Kiev’s negotiators.

Russian officials, including President Putin, later blamed the West and, in particular, then-UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson for derailing the peace process, saying he had urged Kiev to “just continue fighting.”

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