The warring sides remain far apart after the third round of U.S.-brokered peace negotiations on Wednesday. But there was progress on humanitarian issues.

Peace talks and a settlement in Ukraine have never been on the real agenda of the West, Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Saturday, in her first comments on negotiations since Russian and Ukrainian officials held talks on Wednesday.

Kyiv and Moscow will hold a new round of peace talks — the first in seven weeks — on Wednesday in Turkey, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said.

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.

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.

Russia has warned there will be no “miracles” in a third round of direct peace talks with Ukraine set for Wednesday.

MOSCOW, RUSSIA | Xinhua | After a brief third round of talks in Istanbul on Wednesday, hopes for a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine remain, unsurprisingly, as frail as ever. During the 40-minute talks,

“Just as the negotiation table (between Russia and Ukraine) was established in Istanbul, the peace table will also be established in Türkiye in the not-too-distant future, and this bloody war will come to an end,” Erdogan said, speaking after a Cabinet meeting in Ankara.

Peace talks between Ukraine and Russia - the first in seven weeks - are planned for Wednesday in Turkey, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy quoted a senior Kyiv official as saying on Monday.

Ukrainian president and his French counterpart speak by phone as Kyiv seeks key weapons and presses for late August meeting after 3rd round of Istanbul peace talks