Russia's Vladimir Putin spurned a challenge to meet face-to-face with Volodymyr Zelenskiy in Turkey on Thursday, instead sending a second-tier delegation to planned peace talks, while Ukraine's president said his defence minister would head up Kyiv's team.
They will be the first direct talks between the sides since March 2022, but hopes of a major breakthrough were further dented by US President Donald Trump who said there would be no movement without a meeting between himself and Putin.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio later echoed that view, telling reporters in the Turkish resort of Antalya that Washington "didn't have high expectations" for the Ukraine talks in Istanbul.
Zelenskiy said Putin's decision not to attend but to send what he called a "decorative" line-up showed the Russian leader was not serious about ending the war. Russia accused Ukraine of trying "to put on a show" around the talks. It was not clear when the talks would actually begin. "We can't be running around the world looking for Putin," Zelenskiy said after meeting Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara.
"I feel disrespect from Russia. No meeting time, no agenda, no high-level delegation - this is personal disrespect. To Erdogan, to Trump," Zelenskiy told reporters. Zelenskiy said he himself would also not now go to Istanbul and that his team's mandate was to discuss a ceasefire. Ukraine backs an immediate, unconditional 30-day ceasefire but Putin has said he first wants to start talks at which the details of such a truce could be discussed.
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