Istanbul — it’s where Asia meets Europe, but as we now know, not where Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will meet Russian President Vladimir Putin. The world's media descended on the Turkish city on May 15,

Vladimir Medinsky, the head of Russia's delegation at peace talks on Ukraine in Turkey, said on Thursday that Moscow's aim was to secure a long-lasting peace with Kyiv by looking for common ground and removing the reasons for the conflict.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Thursday he is sending a team headed by his defense minister to Istanbul for the first direct peace talks with a Russian delegation since the early weeks of Moscow’s full-scale invasion in 2022.