The warring sides are still far apart heading into the third round of U.S.-brokered peace negotiations, set for Wednesday in Istanbul.

A third round of peace talks between Ukrainian and Russian officials is planned to take place later this week in Turkey, according to Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky. “Today, I discussed with Rustem Umerov the preparations for the exchange and another meeting in Turkey with the Russian side.

The Kremlin sees no basis for miracles in Russian-Ukrainian peace talks. Zelensky aims to expedite ceasefire negotiations.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday renewed his offer to meet with Russian leader Vladimir Putin and negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine, as delegations from both governments prepared to hold a third round of direct talks.

Ukraine said it would send a high-level negotiating team to Turkey peace talks with Russia, even as Moscow wrote off the talks before they had started.

Ukraine and Russia will resume face-to-face peace talks in Turkey on July 23 amid escalating airstrikes and entrenched demands from both sides.

Russia and Ukraine are expected to hold another round of negotiations on Wednesday in Istanbul, but the two warring countries have flatly rejected each other’s demands.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday said Kyiv has proposed renewed peace talks with Moscow next week, urging direct negotiations with President Vladimir Putin. The call comes as Russian strikes killed at least three people in Ukraine,