Russia and Ukraine agreed a large-scale prisoner exchange, said they would trade ideas on a possible ceasefire and discussed a potential meeting between Volodymyr Zelensky and Vladimir Putin in their first direct talks in over three years on Friday.
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But coming out of the highly anticipated talks in Istanbul, which lasted just over 90 minutes, there were few signs of more significant progress towards ending the three-year war.
Kyiv was seeking an “unconditional ceasefire” to pause a conflict that has destroyed large swathes of Ukraine and displaced millions of people.
Moscow has consistently rebuffed those calls, and the only concrete agreement appeared to be a deal to exchange 1,000 prisoners each.
The two sides said they would “present their vision of a possible future ceasefire”, according to Russia’s top negotiator, Vladimir Medinsky.
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They did not agree any suspension to the fighting.