Prospects for any agreement to end Russia’s war in Ukraine grow dim as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky arrives in Ankara for talks with Turkey’s president.

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Wednesday spoke to his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin by phone and asked him to attend this week's talks with Ukraine in Istanbul, Lula's office said in a statement.

No, President Donald Trump is not going to Turkey to personally mediate Ukraine-Russia peace talks. For days, Trump repeatedly stirred speculation that he might upend his Middle East travel schedule – one his team meticulously crafted for weeks — to join the Russians and Ukrainians at the negotiating table.

June 15, 2024: Representatives of 92 nations meet in Nidwalden, Switzerland, to discuss Ukraine’s peace plan. Despite the growing number of delegates, a consensus remains elusive. The summit’s final statement is backed by most – although not all – participants.

U.S. President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin were still "maybes" for what could be the first direct peace talks between Moscow and Kyiv in years after the Kremlin on Wednesday held off disclosing who would represent Russia.

If Vladimir Putin comes to Istanbul for negotiations on the war in Ukraine, nothing will come of it. It will be yet another attempt by the Kremlin to influence the peace talks, Ukrainian political analyst Taras Zahorodniy says in an interview on the YouTube channel of RBC-Ukraine.

The US President was asked about the possibility of the Russian leader attending, as Vladimir Putin's spokesperson offered an ambigious answer to the question.